LUNCH TIMES!! YEY! IT'S TIME TO EAT JAPANESE FOOD!!

Hello all.. ^(^v^)^

Before New years eve come, i'll explain you about Japanese food recipes and how to make it!

here weeee.. goooooo~

1. Zoni Recipe

Zoni is Japanese mochi (rice cake) soup. It's a Japanese tradition to eat zoni on New Year's holiday. Ingredients for zoni vary region to region. Basically, zoni is seasoned with soy sauce in eastern Japan, and it's seasoned with shiromiso (white miso) in western Japan.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups dashi soup stock
• 4 blocks mochi (rice cake)
• 1/4 lb. boneless chicken thighs
• 2 inches carrot, cut into thin rectangles
• 4 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
• 3 inches negi, or leek, rinsed and diagonally sliced
• 1/4 lb. fresh spinach, boiled and cut into 2 inches
• 4 slices kamaboko or naruto (fish cakes)
• 1 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp soysauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Preparation:

Cut chicken thighs into small pieces. Put dashi soup stock, chicken, carrot, and shiitake in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface. Turn down the heat to low. Add sake, sugar, and soy sauce in the soup. Simmer for a few minutes. Meanwhile grill mochi in the oven until softened. Add grilled mochi, kamaboko or naruto, and negi slices in the soup.

Makes 4 servings

taken from: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/mochi/r/zoni.htm

2. Onigiri

Onigiri is a rice that filled with anything you like (but usualy filled with fish raw or half boiled fish and vegetables) and it covered by seaweed.

Ingredients:

• Rice (it’s up 2 you how much rice do you need)
• Seaweed
• Jelly Powder (to make rice more delicious, but it is not must)
• Fish raw
• Vegetables (as you want, so if you don’t like it, don’t use it)

Preparation:

Insert rice to a rice cooker and insert jelly powder into it, after it done pull out the rice from rice cooker and now let it cool for a while and now it’s time to make a content. first cut fish raw and make it slice. After that it’s up to you to make it fried or half boiled or keep it. it same thing with vegetables but for vegetables wash it first to make it clean. or you can make it with shredded meat that has been boiled and fried an you can mix it with vegetables.

well.. it’s time to mix meat and vegetables to put into rice. Take some rice and take some content that has been you made and put the content onto rice. and take some rice again and put it onto content and rub it and make a triangle form like the picture above. and the final step is cut the seaweed and make it rectangle and cover the rice at the edge of the rice. And done!! you can make it more cooler with decorate it like the picture above.

3. Sushi

Before You Start Making Sushi

1. 1. Nigiri-zushi are bundles of rice, topped with wasabi and fish. Once served, nigiri should be taken by the fingers and dipped fish-side only into soy sauce.
2. 2.Sashimi is simply raw fish, sliced thinly, served without rice.
   • Sashimi can consist of salmon, squid, or other fresh seafood.
   • Martha Stewart's website has a simple recipe for Sashimi Salad made with fresh tuna.
3. 3. Chirashi-zushi is prepared in a bowl, with several different kinds of fish and vegetables mixed in with rice. It can almost be described as a sushi salad. Check out this helpful step-by-step from East Sea Road on how to prepare Chirashi-zushi
4. Oshizushi literally means "pressed sushi". It is made by layering the ingredients on top of rice in a wooden mold, known as an Oshizushi-Bako.
   • Sushi Day has a helpful post on How to make Oshizushi
   • Oshizushi Boxes are available from Amazon.com
5. Maki-zushi is rice and seafood, rolled up in nori seaweed. This is the most popular variety of sushi in America, and it is what we will be making in the steps below.

Ingredients:

1. Sushi or Sashimi-Grade Fish

• Despite popular belief, there is no official definition for the term "sushi-grade". The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not determine safety standards for raw fish.
• In order for seafood to be safe for consumption in sushi, it must be frozen at under -4°F for a significant enough time to have killed any parasites.
• Although many markets are starting to carry Sashimi-grade fish, you should not assume that all fish from your local market has gone through the necessary steps to destroy parasites. Do not assume that fish is safe to eat raw unless it is clearly labeled as "Sashimi-Grade"

2. Two vegetables or other fillings

• Vegetables are your best opportunity for creativity when making sushi.
• Some popular fillings include cucumber, avocado, carrots andasparagus.

3. Short-Grained Rice

• Typical long-grained rice used in many American dishes will not work for your sushi, as it will not take on the necessary, sticky consistency.

4. Rice Vinegar

• For best results, use only Japanese rice vinegar.
• There are several varieties of seasoned rice vinegar, often made withsake, that can be used if desired.
• Check out this blog post from The Perfect Pantry for a helpful overview of Japanese rice vinegars.

5. Nori

• Nori is a thin sheet of seaweed, ideal for rolling sushi. Nori can be ordered online through igourmet, Amazon.com, or purchased at Asian specialty stores.

6. Ginger Root

• The ginger served alongside sushi is pickled and sliced thinly. This is called "Gari".
• You can buy pre-made gari, or make it yourself from using rice vinegar, sugar, and ginger root.
• Gari should be eaten between sushi courses to cleanse the palate. See the section below on making fresh gari.

7.

1. Wasabi
   • Wasabi plants naturally grow only in certain river valleys of Japan. For this reason, buying fresh wasabi root can be quite expensive. In fact, there is a good chance that you have never tried real wasabi. The "wasabi" served typically at sushi restaurants is actually an imitation product made of horseradish and mustard seed.
   • Fresh Wasabi Rhizomes can be purchased online from Real Wasabi and Pacific Farms USA.
   • The section below on making wasabi covers both versions of this food.
2. Soy Sauce
   • Any common brand of soy sauce will work fine for your sushi.
   • Remember, do not pour the soy sauce over the sushi, and only dip it "fish-side-up".

• You will also need the following accessories:

1. Sharp Knife
   • Any standard kitchen knife, kept sharp, will do, though you may want to get a special sushi knife. They can be purchased at any kitchen accessories store, or you can find them online at Amazon.com or compare prices through NexTag.
2. Bamboo Mat
   • Bamboo Mats are placed under your sushi and make it easier to roll. They can be purchased as part of a "sushi kit", which may also contain chopsticks, rice molds, and "how-to" books.
   • Amazon.com has a wide variety of sushi kits.

Making Sushi Rice

1. Prepare the rice vinegar by heating it with sugar and salt until they are dissolved.
2. Rinse the rice in cold water for several minutes.
3. Steam in a rice cooker.
4. One can alternately bring water to a boil, add the rice, then cook over very low heat until the water is evaporated. This will leave the rice sticky and perfect for spreading on your nori.
5. Either use the rice soon after preparing it, or cover it with a damp cloth to keep it moist.
6. Do not refrigerate the cooked rice.

well.. it’s enough for now.. maybe next time i’ll add others Japanese Food Recipes so don’t go anywhere only at Japan’s Media.

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