Japanese Home Cooking Class in Tokyo. YUCa's Food & Lifestyle Media from Japan

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Virtual Class Schedule

In-person Class Schedule

  • Yuka's Japanese Cooking
    2-34-8, Nishiogu116-0011
    May 1(Wed) 10:00-12:30

    Ramen & Gyoza

  • Yuka's Japanese Cooking
    2-34-8, Nishiogu116-0011
    May 2(Thu) 10:00-12:30

    Ramen & Gyoza

  • Yuka's Japanese Cooking
    2-34-8, Nishiogu116-0011
    May 9(Thu) 10:00-12:30

    Ramen & Gyoza

  • Yuka's Japanese Cooking
    2-34-8, Nishiogu116-0011
    May 10(Fri) 10:00-12:30

    Okonomiyaki & Gyoza

  • Yuka's Japanese Cooking
    2-34-8, Nishiogu116-0011
    May 13(Mon) 10:00-12:30

    Ramen & Gyoza

  • Yuka's Japanese Cooking
    2-34-8, Nishiogu116-0011
    May 15(Wed) 10:00-12:30

    Ramen & Gyoza

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Basic ingredients for Japanese Cooking

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Dashi (だし):The most basic broth on which much of Japanese food is based. Umami rich ingredients like kelp (Kombu), Bonito flakes, dried sardines and dried shiitake mushrooms are all key ingredients to make Dashi. For more about Dashi, please read this page!

Soy sauce (醤油): A primary seasoning of washoku. Traditionally steamed soybeans and roasted wheat are mixed with koji mold and salt, and fermented for several months or longer.

Types of soy sauce: 
Koikuchi (濃口) : Dark color soy sauce. The most popular type in Japan.
Usukuchi (薄口) : Lighter color than koikuch. Normally saltier. Convenient to highlight the color of food. It is popular in the Kansai area.
Tamari (たまり) : A little bit sweet. Normally Gluten-free. Often served with sashimi. The taste is more intense and rich in umami with a thicker mouth feel.

Sake (日本酒): A national alcohol beverage of Japan. It is delicious and flavorful as a beverage, and also very handy in cooking. Sake can remove unwanted odor like fishiness, soften texture of food and increase umami. Can be drunk hot or cold.

Recommend:
Purchase Nihonshu (日本酒)or Seishu (清酒) from the sake section. As with wine, if you cook with sake, the food will naturally pair well with sake. There are several grade in Sake, I recommend Junmaishu (純米酒) or upper.

Mirin (みりん): A sweet cooking liquid with around 14% alcohol and is made with sticky rice, koji and added distilled alcohol such as shochu. Mirin helps to create a dish with deep and complex taste, because the alcohol has an ability to penetrate into food together with other flavor elements. It also helps to tenderize, sweeten and glaze food to give a beautiful shine.

Substitutions : 1 Tbsp dry sherry and 1/2 tsp sugar
                           Or, use sweet sherry
Or, heat two parts sake and one part sugar

Mirin is an ingredients of Toso(屠蘇), spiced medicinal sake that is drunk during the New Year celebration to ward off illness.

Recommend:
Purchase high-quality hon mirin (本みりん) which usually has orange color. It is sweet, but mellower than sugar.

Vinegar (酢): Made from sake rice, Tane koji (seed molt), water, yeast, rice vinegar and acetobacter. Vinegar is very delicate product and should be added toward the end of cooking or it loses its aroma. Vinegar, too, can help cleanse the aromas of fish. Rice wine vinegar, rice vinegar (komezu) is the preferred vinegar in Japan. It is milder and sweeter than other types of vinegar. Rice vinegar is used in many dishes, such as sushi rice and Japanese-style quick pickles, and meat dishes to reduce fattiness.

Miso (味噌): An important seasoning in washoku and also an essential ingredient in miso soup. A rich savory paste from fermented food made from soy beans, salt and grain (usually rice or barley). Red miso (Aka miso) is dark and high in protein and salt. White miso (Shiro miso) is milder and sweeter and suitable for dressings. Medium (Awase miso) is all-purpose, being a mix of red and white miso. Mame miso is made with soybeans (mame) only (popular in Nagoya). If rice (kome) is added, it is called kome miso, the most common type. With barley (mugi), it is called mugi miso (popular in Kyushu). For more about miso, please read this article.


Other common pantry items:

Yakumi (薬味): Herbs and spices called yakumi can play a major role in elevating delicious flavor of washoku, which tend to consist of only a few ingredients. Yakumi also offers heatlhy benefits such as boosting appetite and helping digestion. Vegetable yakumi includes shiso, wasabi, sansho and togarashi. There are fruit yakumi, such as umeboshi (pickled plum), yuzu and sudachi citrus. Fish can be yakumi, e.g. bonito flakes and sakura shrimp. 

Wasabi (わさび): Japanese horseradish, available grated and in tubes; look for products that are one hundred percent wasabi, often labeled “hon wasabi”.

Yuzu Kosho (柚子こしょう): A salty and spicy paste made from salt, yuzu rind and chili peppers.

Yuzu (柚子): The skin of aromatic citron; a popular condiment, it is available freeze-dried.

Shichimi (七味): A blend of seven spices, often including dried red chili pepper, dried yuzu peel, ao nori, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, white poppy seeds, and Sansho peppers. Blend vary; often served with noodles such as udon.

Ichimi (一味): Dried red chili pepper (togarashi), also called ichimi togarashi.

Katakuriko (片栗粉): A starch originally made from dogtooth violet, it is more commonly found made from potatoes. Used to thicken sauces, it is similar to cornstarch but with a finer texture.

Goma Abura (ごま油): An aromatic sesame oil used for its aroma and nutty flavors.


Memo :

1. Are you looking for Japanese kitchenwares and seasonings etc? Visit YJC store on Amazon!
2. Would you like to cook many more recipes? Download Free recipe app from here! “Recipe by YJC

* Reference of this article : Food Sake Tokyo (The Terroir Guides) 

Kid-Friendly Japanese Food : vol.9

Categorised in: | Link of this article

Menu:
– Rice and Nori chips [Recipe]
– Fried salmon topped with Yukari
– Bacon and egg
– Octopus shape sausage
– Natto *fermented soybeans
– Miso soup with wakame, komatsuna and tofu [Recipe]
– Yogurt with strawberry jam

Memo:
1. Looking for cookware for babies and toddlers? Please visit YJC Online Store!
2. Are you interested in trying other recipes? Download our free recipe App: “Recipe by YJC”

YUCa’s Diary : Week 3, 2021

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My son Kengo and I wrote a votive tablet at the park we visited the other day. It was a park, not a shrine, so I wonder what would happen, but I feel that writing it will change my consciousness again. What is your resolution for this year?
Mine? “
May my YouTube Channel buzz …” 😊
先日訪れた公園に絵馬があったので、息子と一緒に書いてみました。(というか息子が書いてくれました。)神社ではなく公園だったのでどうなることやらですが、書くとまた意識が変わる気がします。今年のあなたの決意は何ですか?
私は、「YouTubeチャンネルでバズりますように♡」です。叶うといいなぁ。😊

Recipe : Amazake + 3 Flavors

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In this recipe video, I will show you how to make Japanese superfood and also fermented rice drink called “Amazake”. This Amazake is made of Rice Koji (mold) and Rice Porridge, and is one of the Japanese vegan foods as well. This recipe video is the remake and upgraded version of my previous Amazake recipe. So this time, I will share three flavors. I hope you enjoy this tutorial and give it a try!
Read More

YUCa’s Table : vol.199

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Menu:
– Sumashi-jiru with Komatsuna, Fried tofu and Wheat gluten
– Japanese rice [w/Pot] [w/Rice Cooker]
– Teriyaki chicken with yukari [Recipe]
– Salad with cucumber, fish cake and dried Bonito flakes
– Tamagoyaki (Japanese omelette) [Original] [w/Mayonnaise]
– Natto (Fermented soybeans)
– Pickles [Recipe]
– Yogurt with Apple and blueberry jam

* Would you like to cook Japanese cuisine anytime?
☞ Download free app “Recipe by YJC” (iOS, iPad OS and Android)

Kid-Friendly Japanese Food : vol.8

Categorised in: | Link of this article

Menu:
– Rice balls with various toppings [Recipe]
– Miso Mayo Chicken [Recipe]
– Potato Croquette
– Tofu salad
– Nori seaweed
– Miso soup with wakame and fried tofu [Recipe]
– Yogurt with strawberry jam

Memo:
1. Looking for cookware for babies and toddlers? Please visit YJC Online Store!
2. Are you interested in trying other recipes? Download our free recipe App: “Recipe by YJC

YUCa’s Diary : Week 2, 2021

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It’s getting normal to see Sui-chan standing up and walking by herself.
These days, she tries to share her foods with Mario and Luigi.
So, when she’s eating something, this situation happens. Staring…

娘が自分で立って歩く日が多くなってきました。
そんな昨今、ふと気づくと娘がワンコたちに自分のおやつを与えようとすることが。
その心遣いはいいのですが、よく見ていなきゃとヒヤヒヤの日々です。

Dashi (Japanese Soup Broth) だし

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Dashi (だし) is the most important soup/broth to create the authentic Japanese palate. Umami-rich ingredients like kelp (Kombu), Bonito flakes, and dried sardines are all key ingredients of dashi.

The most basic dashi, Ichiman (number-one) dashi is made from kelp and bonito flakes. In parts of Japan, Niboshi (dried sardines) are used instead of bonito flakes. Fried shiitake mushrooms and scallop ligaments can also be used in dash, as can the head and bones of sea bream (tai no are dashi).

Vegetarian dash can be made from kelp, along with dried shiitake mushrooms or other dried vegetables such as gourd (kanpyo), daikon  (kiriboshi daikon), or soybeans (daizu).

The main ingredients of Dashi


1. Kelp (Kombu 昆布) : The cold, mineral-rich waters surrounding Hokkaido provide 99.5% of the country’s kombu. Most kombu is sold in long strips. But it is also available in shavings (tor0ro or boor) to add to soup or sprinkle over the rice. Kombu can also be wrapped around was fish in a process called kobujime, which changes the fish’s texture and adds umami.

There are more than forty types of child and farmed kombu. The name of a specific variety of kombu often reflects where it was harvested. These are the five most popular:

Rishiri kombu (利尻昆布) : Harvested near Rishiri Island, this is an aromatic kombu that makes a clear broth, popular with chefs in Kyoto. It is considered a high-quality kombu and is often used in top restaurants.
Rausu Kombu (羅臼昆布) : This thick kombu has a stickiness to it, and a deep. Rich flavor that is slightly sweet. Also a high-quality kombu, it is the kombu that is used to make other shaved kombu products such as tororo and oboro.
Ma Kombu (真昆布) : Thick and rich in umami, slightly sweet, with an elegant flavor, this is also considered a top kombu.
Hidaka Kombu (日高昆布) : From the Hidaka region, this kombu is a popular variety used by busy home cooks because it quickly imparts its flavor when simmered in water. It is also reasonably priced and can be used as an ingredients for fish cake stew (oden), sea vegetables and seafood simmered in soy (Tsukudani) and other kombu dishes.
Naga Komnbu (長昆布) : A very long kombu (more than ten meters long), naga kombu is also used in dishes such as oden and Tsukudani. It is found only in the wild – not farmed- and is reasonably priced.

2. Bonito flakes (Katsuobuashi かつお節) : Dried and shaved bonito flakes, a key ingredients in dash, brings a smoky richness to the broth. It can be made from a variety of fish including yellowfin tuna, mackerel, and anchovies – each, of course,  with its own flavor profile.

To make katsuobushi, the bonito is simmered and its bones are removed after which it is dried and smoked. Sometimes a mold that promotes fermentation is added to the bonito, other fish are processed in a similar fashion.
There are two major types of Katsuobushi:

Arabushi (荒節) : Light in flavor, this dried and smoked katsuobushi is the most popular type, especially in the Kyoto and Osaka region.
Karebushi (枯節) : A mold that promotes fermentation and imparts a stronger umami flavor is added to arabushi, resulting in this type of Katsuobushi, popular in the Tokyo region.

Different ways to shave fish flakes:
Atsu kezuri (厚削り) : Thick-cut shavings that make an intense dash, used in dishes that are simmered for a long time.
Hanakatsuo (花かつお) : Thinly shaved flakes used for making dash quickly
Hana kezuri (花削り) : Very thin shavings also used to make instant dashi
Ito kezuri (糸削り) : Thin strands often used as a garnish for tofu or vegetables

3. Dried Sardine (Niboshi 煮干し) : Small fish that are simmered in salty water and sun-feed before being used to make dash. Niboshi can be made from a variety of fish.

Popular types of Niboshi:
Katakuchi iwashi (片口鰯) : The most popular type of niboshi, made with anchovies; commonly used for making dash.
Ma iwashi (真鰯) : Made with pilchard, popular for soba or udon.
Urume iwashi (潤目鰯) : Low in fat, and odorless, this Iiboshi made with round herring makes a clear-colored dash popular in the Kyoto and Osaka region.
Tobiuo (飛魚) : Dashi made with the flying dish is slightly sweet and popular in the Nagasaki region.
Ma aji (真鯵) : Niboshi made with jack mackerel; results in a delicate and sweet dashi.
Tai (鯛) : Sea bream Iiboshi makes a delicate, elegant dash; found in dishes served at a Kaisei restaurant rather than at a neighborhood noodle shop.

4. Dried Shiitake (乾燥しいたけ) : It gives an earthy aroma, reminiscent of the forest floor, to dashi. It is particularly useful in vegetarian Shojin ryori .

Storage:
Those dried ingredients are available to keep in a dark and cool place for 6 months to 1 year.

Popular recipes that has Dashi:

– Miso soup with tofu and wakame
– Veggie Miso Soup
– Tonjiru
– Nasu Dengaku
– Daikon Dengaku Miso
and more…!

Memo :

1. Are you looking for Japanese kitchenwares and cooking tools etc? Visit YJC store on Amazon!
2. Would you like to cook many more recipes? Download Free recipe app from here! “Recipe by YJC

* Reference of this article : Food Sake Tokyo (The Terroir Guides) 

Kid-Friendly Japanese Food : vol.7

Categorised in: | Link of this article


Menu:
– Tamago sandwich [Recipe]
– Karaage fried chicken [Recipe]
– Tuna salad with spinach and carrot
– Soup with cabbage, komatsuna and carrot
– Banana
– Yogurt with blueberry

Memo:
1. Looking for cookware for babies and toddlers? Please visit YJC Online Store!
2. Are you interested in trying other recipes? Download our free recipe App: “Recipe by YJC

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