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YUCa’s Diary : Week 22, 2021
Weekend has come! I visited Ariake area with my family and enjoyed the sunny day.
This week, my son will be 6 years old. Wow, 6 years old?! Still can’t believe. Especially, when I watch my YouTube videos, he is still 2 to 4 years old.
Anyway, I am so happy to be his mother and learn, experiment and try new things together everyday. And, I feel thankful that he helps me out and plays with his super energetic little sister Sui-chan. I want him to make various friends and spend fun time at his kindergarten. Oh, one more thing! Eat more veggies!!! 😉
YUCa’s Diary : Week 21, 2021
I usually work from home almost every day. I go outside several times a day because of children’s private schools and kindergarten pick-ups, but I still go back and forth on the same road. That’s why, on weekends, it’s a good habit for me to go out with my family, mainly in Tokyo, and I love it. I try to eat foods that I don’t usually eat when I’m on the go, and things that I don’t make myself. That’s because I think it’s important to get new stimuli by staying outside my comfort zone.
This habit also applies to my children (especially my daughter Sui-chan). She is very interested in food and seems to like trying to taste anything, so I try to feed her as much as possible.
YUCa’s Diary : Week 20, 2021
Happy Birthday, Luigi!
Luigi became 7 years old recently. Kengo and I made easy and healthy birthday cake for him. (Technically, for Mario and Luigi.) We used sweet potato, broccoli, tofu and soy yogurt. As a final touch, Kengo put special cookies for dogs on top! They ate all of them! So happy.
Luigi is always scared and cowardly, but has a very adorable personality. Sometimes the gestures and behaviors are like cats. In my family hierarchy, I always chase after my brother Mario because I want to escape from the bottom. It’s hard to get into a fight with Mario, but he must be desperate every day.
Such a Luigi is already 7 years old. I may think that he is a puppy forever, but I want to be careful about his health and let him spend his precious time.
YUCa’s Diary : Week 19, 2021
Handmade rice cracker!
During Golden Week, My family and I went to Kawagoe and Tokorozawa in Saitama prefecture, which I had always been interested in for a long time. In Kawagoe, we visited an area called Dagashiya Yokocho (Japanese candy shop street) and baked rice crackers for the first time. I was impressed! I didn’t think it would be so difficult. The result of the rice cracker was just like patience and luck. We visited many other places and tasted various foods there. If you are interested in, check my Instagram for more details.
Sea vegetables for Japanese Cooking
Sea vegetables, a name for aquatic vegetarian more accurate than that oft-used “seaweed” have a prominent place on the Japanese table and are valued for being rich in minerals and low in calories. Kaiso (海藻) is the generic term for sea vegetables; well-known sea vegetables found frequently on the Japanese table include Kelp (kombu 昆布), Laver (Nori 海苔), sea tangle (wakame わかめ), and hijiki (no English name). Wakame is often used in miso soups or on salads; Hijiki is often simmered in soy sauce and broth (dashi). Red algae (tengusa) is another major sea vegetables. It won’t be found on the dinner plate, but it is widely consumed – it’s the major components of agar agar (kanten), a low-calorie gelatin.
Kelp:
Kelp (Kombu 昆布) is the king of sea vegetables. It is an essential component in Dashi, the broth used in many Japanese dishes. A natural source for glutamic acid, it is rich in umami. Kombu thrives in the cool, mineral-rich waters surrounding Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island.
Some Kombu products (not the Kombu used in dashi) include:
Komochi Kombu : Kombu layered with herring eggs.
Kombu cha : Kombu that has been dried and crushed into a powder; most often used for tea, soup stocks, or for thickening non-oil salad dressings.
Musubi Kombu : Knots of Kombu, often found in fish cake stew. (Oden)
Oboro : Shaved Kombu, used for soups Tororo : Shaved Kombu, used in soups and wrapped around rice and other items.
Laver:
Laver (Nori 海苔) is toasted and most often found surrounding roll sushi. 80% of Japan’s nori is harvested in the Ariake Bay and Seto Naikai in southern Japan. Before eating, nori may be warmed slightly over low heat to bring out its aroma.
Some nori products include:
Aonori: Green laver that has been dried and flaked; used as a topping on food such as okonomiyaki, Japanese savory pancake.
Aosa: Green laver similar to aonori.
Ajitsuke nori: Laver seasoned with soy sauce and mirin; popular at breakfast.
Mominori: Shredded bits of ajitsuke nori; often used as a garnish over noodles.
Yaki nori: Toasted nori, used for rolled sushi
Memo :
1. Are you looking for Japanese cookbooks and kitchenwares 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)
Tango no Sekku (Children’s Day)
Children’s Day is a Japanese national holiday which takes place annually on May 5th, and it is part of Golden Week Holidays.
The day was originally called “Tango no Sekku”, or Boy’s Festival, was celebrated in order to wish the healthy growth of the boys in the family. Outside of their houses, families with boys fly large carp streamers called “Koinobori”. Inside they display various kinds of warrior dolls or ornamental helmets called Kabuto because they are believed to be symbols of strength and vitality. At night, people put iris leaves and roots in the bath. It is believed that it will purge noxious vapor.
In 1948, this day was designated a national holiday and renamed “Children Day”. It is now a day for boys and girls to celebrate together.
Traditional foods such as “kashiwa-mochi” and “chimaki” are eaten on that day. Kashiwamochi is steamed dumplings filled with sweet red bean paste and wrapped in oak leaves. Oak trees don’t drop their leaves until new shoots have begun to appear. The leaved represents the wish for continuation of the family line and are thus an auspicious part of these traditional sweets. (To see Kashiwamochi, please check this article.)
Chimaki is also dumplings made of glutinous rice, wrapped in bamboo leaves and tied with a piece of rush. This type of sweets came from China and is seen in various forms around Japan. I found the one at the international supermarket in town.
This year, I displayed the koinobori that Kengo created inside of the house and had special chimaki that is made of glutinous rice with chestnuts and read bean paste inside.
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YUCa’s Diary : Week 18, 2021
Time to enjoy strawberry!!! My little chef Kengo and I made milk pudding topped with strawberry jelly sauce. Recently, he wants to cook with a kitchen knife. Adult knives are dangerous, so I use children’s knives. Children’s knives are dull, so you can use them with confidence. You will practice with this knife for a while.
YUCa’s Diary : Week 17, 2021
I think of this every week, but one week goes by in a blink of an eye. I shoot two recipe videos every week, but when I’m fluttering, I’m likely to forget what recipe I shot.
They always fall asleep just after the filming starts, but I am always healed by Mario and Luigi.
YUCa’s Diary : Week 16, 2021
Tonkatsu for Lunch. The other day, my family and I visited Yamagata prefecture and had lunch at our favorite restaurant in the Shonai airport. Their signature dish is Tonkatsu and we always choose this!
Do you know Tonkatsu (とんかつ)? I remember that my cooking class guests sometimes misunderstood Tonkatsu (=Fried pork fillet) with Tonkotsu (=Pork bone). There are some tips to make crispy and juicy Tonkatsu. If you are interested in making Tonkatsu at home, please check here!
In Yamagata, we visited an aquarium famous for the best jellyfish in Japan. We were all surprised to meet so many kinds of jellyfish in one day.
Thank you for watching my interview on NHK World
Thank you for watching my interview on both BIZ STREAM & NEWSLINE IN DEPTH on NHK World!
Although the influence of the pandemic is still continuing, I started my online class with the hope that we can feel the connection between people through cooking and help enrich your life.
To commemorate this broadcast, I decided to hold a special campaign. If you make a reservation using this campaign code, you will get 20% off the tuition fee for online classes. Please take this opportunity to invite your friends and family to experience the online class.
Online Cooking Class : https://yjc.tokyo/category/virtual-japanese-cooking-class
Campaign code : NHK2021BIZ
I look forward to cooking with you online!
YUCa
