Easy, Tasty, Fun, Creative and Kawaii Japanese Food Recipes and Cooking Hacks Blog with How-To YouTube Cooking Show Video Tutorials. Bento, Healthy Sweets and More!!! Make Your Life Easier ;)
You can use plastic wrap to form the rice into animal shapes. However, using the molds saves time ;) Great tool when you have a lot of Onigiri to prepare!
Just press some cooked Japanese rice into the mold.
Decorate with Nori seaweed sheet, ham, cheese, and/or Kinshi Tamago (shredded egg crepes).
Difficulty: VERY Easy
Time: 3min
Number of servings: 160ml mug
Ingredients:
4 tbsp. cake flour
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. water
1 tsp. cooking oil *if you like
a few drops of vanilla extract *if you like
maple syrup *if you like
Directions:
1. I use 160ml mug. Put all ingredients in the mug then mix well. Add cooking oil to make it rich. Add a few drops of vanilla extract to make it appetizing.
2. Microwave at 600w (medium) for 2 minutes.
3. Sprinkle with maple syrup if you like.
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How To Cook Corn on the Cob in the Microwave
Difficulty: VERY Easy
Time: 5min
Number of servings: 1
Ingredients:
1 corn on the cob
Directions:
1. Leave one sheet of husk around the corn.
2. Place it on a microwavable dish or wrap in plastic wrap (to save dish washing).
3. Microwave at 500w (medium) for 5 minutes.
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Matcha Green Tea Oreo Cheesecake
Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 45min + cooling time
Number of servings: 18×8cm (7x3inch) loaf pan
Ingredients:
200g (1 cup) cream cheese *room temperature
100ml whipping cream *room temperature
4 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 egg *room temperature
2 tbsp. Matcha green tea powder
9 OREO cookies
Directions:
1. Roughly crush OREOs in a Ziploc bag. *cheap bags would wound up with holes…
2. Place all ingredients at room temperature in a bowl. Mix well with a whisk until smooth.
3. Place half of the OREOs in a cake pan. Pour in the batter. Then top with the rest of the OREOs.
4. Bake at 180C (350F) for 30-40 minutes until slightly golden on top.
5. Leave to cool. Then put in the fridge until cold.
I make these small rice balls because my daughter does not eat well~ in this way she enjoys eating those with chopsticks or I can put in her mouth while she walks around… haha #2years8months
Difficulty: VERY Easy
Time: 3min
Number of servings: n/a
Ingredients:
cooked rice
rice seasonings
Nori seaweed sheet cut into small pieces
Directions:
1. Cut Nori seaweed sheet into small pieces then stock them in an air-tight container with a silica gel (desiccant).
2. Place cooked rice on a sheet of plastic wrap to save dish washing. Sprinkle with rice seasonings of your choice, tap a little bit with a rice paddle to mix, then wrap to make a thin roll.
3. Pinch off bite-sized pieces with Nori to make small rice balls. Make as many you want.
Hot Cake Mix is versatile. You can make cakes, cookies, muffins, or any kind of sweets :D
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Soft and Chewy ANPANMAN Cookies (NO EGG)
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20min
Number of servings: about 20 pieces
Ingredients:
1 (150g) Morinaga Hot Cake Mix (flour)
3 tbsp. granulated sugar
40g (about 3.5 tbsp.) butter (chilled and diced)
2 tbsp. Milk
Wilton Icing Gel Color RED
brown chocolate pen (or chocolate in a plastic bag)
Directions:
1. Place the Hot Cake Mix, granulated sugar, and butter (chilled and diced), then blend with your fingertips.
2. Add milk to form a dough.
3. Remove a little piece then color it with the red icing gell color to make the noses and the cheeks. Shape the dough into logs, wrap in plastic wrap, then cool in the fridge for a few minutes to set. Slice the dough for the face into 5mm (0.2 inch) thick. Slice the noses and cheeks thinner then place them on the faces.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
5. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 180C (350F) for 10 minutes.
6. When the cookies are completely cool, melt the chocolate pen or some chocolate in a pastry bag. Snip off the end to draw the faces.
Directions:
1. Cut a sausage in half. Use the kitchen shears to make 8 legs. (See Video)
2. Microwave on medium for 10 seconds or until the legs curl up. If you are using non-cooked sausages, you want to BOIL or PAN FRY them thoroughly.
3. Insert black sesame seeds for eyes, then eat with tomato ketchup if you like.
BTW, at my daughter’s nursery school, they microwave kids’ Bento lunch box, so I just make the slits then put in the Bento lunch box. Super easy and happy for both of us ;)
The trick to no-fail thick and fluffy pancakes is Morinaga's Hot Cake Mix!!! It is a very popular product known for many years. Even if you mix in a circular motion, you can make a thick pancake. Perfect for kids to cook.
Btw, not sponsored. LOL Don’t take me wrong. I know you don’t want to waste time to fail, so I am sharing this with you instead of the from scratch video. VERY EASY as you can see.
It is our culture using the Hot Cake mix. You can find it at Japanese grocery stores or online for sure!
Hot Cake Mix is versatile. You can make cakes, cookies, muffins, or any kind of sweets :D I will show you how to make them someday!
The pancake molds I used ふんわりホットケーキ型:
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The Trick to No-Fail Thick and Fluffy Japanese Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 (150g) Morinaga Hot Cake Mix (flour)
160ml milk
1/2 tsp. vinegar *vinegar makes the cake even fluffier
cooking oil
butter cake syrup (maple syrup)
Directions:
1. Mix cake mix, milk, and vinegar. Do not over mix, some lumps are okay.
2. Grease the cake rings and a frying pan with cooking oil. Pour batter to about half full. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes. Flip them over, cover, and cook on low for 5 minutes.
3. Check for doneness with a skewer. Remove from the cake ring and serve on a plate. Place a piece of butter on top and pour some cake syrup.
You can wrap in a plastic wrap and freeze to eat later.
Microwave for a minute and you can enjoy fresh and fluffy pancake :)
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NO BAKE Rainbow Soymilk Cheesecake
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20min + cooling time
Number of servings: 18cm (7inch) cake pan with a removable bottom or muffin rings are OK
Ingredients:
200g (1 cup) cream cheese *room temperature
5 tbsp. granulated sugar
200ml soy milk *room temperature
60g (2.1oz.) biscuits
30g (2.5 tbsp.) butter *room temperature
6g (1 tbsp.) gelatin powder
2 tbsp. hot water Wilton Icing Gel Colors
Directions:
1. Smash the biscuits in a Ziploc bag, add butter, then mix well. Press firmly into a cake pan or muffin rings.
2. Put cream cheese and sugar in a bowl, then mix well. Add soy milk and mix well. You can add lemon juice and/or vanilla extract if you want.
3. Mix gelatin and hot water, then add and mix well.
4. Divide it into 5 small bowls, then mix in your favorite icing colors.
5. Pour it into the pan from the center then cool in the fridge until firm for 2 hours. (You may want to cool the mixture slightly not to blur the colors.)
You can change the flavor by using your favorite flavored chocolate ;) hehe
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2-Ingredient Icebox and Piped Cookies
Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 20min
Ingredients for Icebox Cookies:
50g (1.8oz.) milk chocolate
5 tbsp. cake flour or all purpose flour
Ingredients for Piped Cookies:
50g (1.8oz.) milk chocolate
2 tbsp. cake flour or all purpose flour
Directions:
1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water (60C/140F).
2. Add flour then mix well.
3. To make icebox cookies, shape the dough into a log, cool in the fridge for a few minutes to set. Slice the dough into 5mm (0.2 inch) thick. To make the piped cookies, put the dough into a piping bag with a star tip, pipe out the dough into a spiral shape.
4. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 180C (350F) for 10 minutes.
You can make as many flavors as you want in a second ;) hehe
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2-Ingredient French Toast
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min (incl. soaking time)
Number of servings: 1
Ingredients:
A slice of bread
100ml ice cream of your choice
Directions:
1. In a bowl, melt an ice cream of your choice. If you want to make it rich, add 1 egg then mix well.
2. Cut and soak the bread pieces for over 20 minutes. Flip them over once or twice to soak evenly.
3. Heat butter (optional) in a frying pan if you are not using non-stick pan. Place the bread, cover and cook both sides on low for 3 minutes.
The meat chunks are made with meat slices, so it is very easy to bite and eat.
Sweet and Sour Pork (we call it "Subuta" in Japanese) is a popular Chinese dish in Japan.
Enhances your appetite in hot and humid summer season!
It goes great with rice. Perfect for Bento box.
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Microwave Sweet and Sour Pork
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 15min
Number of servings: 4
Ingredients:
300g (10.6oz.) pork loin slices *any portion is okay
A
* 1 egg
* salt and pepper
starch *corn or potato is okay
100g (3.5oz.) onion
100g (3.5oz.) carrot
2 = 60g (2.1oz.) green peppers
1 tbsp. sesame oil
B
* 6 tbsp. tomato ketchup
* 2 tbsp. sugar
* 2 tbsp. vinegar
* 2 tbsp. Sake
* 2 tsp. (5g) chicken stock powder
* 2 tsp. grated ginger
Directions:
1. Rub A into the pork slices. Roll the pork slices into chunks. Then dust with starch.
2. Cut the onion, carrot, and green peppers into small chunks (make sure they are not too big to cook thoroughly).
3. Place onion and carrot chunks in a microwavable dish. Put the pork chunks on top of them. Sprinkle with sesame oil. Cover with plastic wrap, then Microwave at 500w (medium) for 5 minutes.
4. Open then add the green pepper chunks and B. Mix very well. Cover with plastic wrap then Microwave at 500w (medium) for 5 minutes.
NOTE: Please use a microwavable dish that is big enough to place all ingredients. Otherwise it can boil over.
You can find the chocolate transfer sheets at DAISO (Japanese dollar shop), Tomizawa (TOMIZ, 富澤商店), etc… https://tomiz.com/item/00085200
To use the chocolate transfer sheet, you will need sweets with flat and hard surface, covered with melted chocolates… Tim Tam is also perfect for this recipe! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn8n8G_b3L4
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Printed KitKat (using Chocolate Transfer Sheets)
Difficulty: SUPER EASY
Time: 5min
Number of Servings: N/A
Directions:
1. Cut the chocolate transfer sheet according to the size of the area you plan to decorate.
2. Heat a frying pan, stop the heat, then melt the surface of KitKat with the remaining heat.
3. Place the transfer sheet on the melted surface before it hardens. Make sure that there are no bubbles in between the sheet and the chocolate.
4. Chill in the fridge or freezer until firm. Carefully peel off the sheet.
Other sweets you may want to try:
Tim Tam, Tirol Chocolates, etc...
Beni Shōga (Red Pickled Ginger) is a type of Tsukemono (Japanese pickles) that have been pickled in Akaumezu (red plum vinegar), the brine produced when making Umeboshi (pickled plums). The red color is derived from Akajiso (red Shiso leaves).
It is usually served with Yakisoba, Takoyaki, or Okonomiyaki.
Directions:
1. Pour some hot water in a glass cup to disinfect it. Empty the jar and dry it out. It will dry quickly with residual heat.
2. Peel and cut the ginger into thin strips.
3. Boil for 2-3 minutes to remove the bitter taste. Leave to cool, then drain well using paper towels. *you can drink or use the broth if you like.
4. Place Akaumezu and the ginger slices in the disinfected cup. You can eat it after 6 hours.
* You can keep in the fridge good for about 3 days.
Difficulty: Super Easy
Time: 3hrs
Number of Servings: N/A
Ingredients:
200g (7oz.) ginger
100ml vinegar (rice or cereal)
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
1. Pour some hot water in a glass cup to disinfect it. Empty the jar and dry it out. It will dry quickly with residual heat.
2. Peel and slice the ginger. (If you are using young ginger leave the red part, then it will become pink when pickled.)
3. Boil for 2-3 minutes to remove the bitter taste. Leave to cool, then drain well using paper towels.
4. Heat the vinegar, sugar, and salt to mix well. You can either use a pot or a microwave.
5. Place the sweetened vinegar and the ginger slices in the disinfected cup. You can eat it after 3 hours.
* You can keep in the fridge good for about 3 days.
Directions:
((Filling))
1. Well drain the pineapples then chop.
2. Place the chopped pineapples, granulated sugar, and water in a pot, then simmer on medium for about 20 minutes, keep stirring, until the water is gone, sticky, and golden brown. Then leave to cool.
((Dough))
1. Cream the butter in a bowl. Add granulated sugar, powdered milk, and an egg, then mix well. Sift in flour, starch, and baking powder, then mix with a spatula while the dough is powdery, then use your hands to form it into one. Divide the batter into 10 portions and form them into balls.
2. Flatten out the dough with a rolling pin, place the filling in the center, then pinch the dough to seal it securely. Shape the cake into a square using a scraper.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Place the cakes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 180C (350F) for about 10 minutes.
