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 ;)
My daughter went to Potato Digging. Last year we made some french fries so this year we decided to make very simple croquettes which we can fully enjoy the fresh potatoes 😋💖
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: about 20~30 pieces
Ingredients:
2.6lb (1200g) potatoes
80ml soy milk
1 tsp. salt
pepper
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup water
vegan Panko (bread crumbs)
deep frying oil
Directions:
1. Wash potatoes and boil them from water. When it comes to a boil, cook on medium for 15 minutes. Insert a bamboo skewer to check if the potatoes are done.
2. Peel while potatoes are hot and mash them with a fork.
3. Mix in soy milk, season with salt and pepper, then shape into round or oval patties.
4. Dip into flour and water mixture, coat with Panko (bread crumbs).
5. Deep fry in oil at 180C (350F) until golden brown. Eat as is or with ketchup 👍
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 2 servings
Ingredients:
120g (4.2oz.) penne pasta
200g (7oz.) frozen broccoli
2 bacon slices
100ml heavy cream
4 tbsp. parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
Directions:
1. Defrost frozen broccoli. Cut bacon into small strips.
2. Cook penne pasta according to the package in salted boiling water. Save 50ml of cooking water for later use.
3. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and cook bacon.
4. Add broccoli and 50ml of pennne cooking water, then break the broccoli into small pieces.
5. Add heavy cream and cook until the liquid is reduced to 2/3.
6. Add pennne, parmesan cheese, and season with salt and pepper to finish,
Any famous boba tea place? Let me know 😋
I did not really like Tapioca for many years but recently I had a quite good Tapioca milk tea at a local restaurant and got interested in making it at home. hehe
This Tapioca Express was very easy yet delicious with nice chewy texture 💖
カルディでは500円くらいでもっと安かったです。
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How to Make Tapioca Bubble Tea
Difficulty: VERY Easy
Time: 60min
Number of servings: 2 servings
This Tapioca product is 4 servings so maybe you want to double the Tea recipe.
Tapioca is perfect for Ice cream topping as well.
You can save Tapioca in the freezer, defrost at room temperature to use.
Ingredients:
1 box Tapioca Express (おうちでタピオカ)
2 earl grey tea bags (or any favorite flavor is OK)
1 cup (240ml) hot water
1 cup (240ml) milk
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Use a big spouted measuring cup, pour some hot water over the tea bags and leave for about 15~30 minutes.
2. Remove the tea bags, mix in granulated sugar, and cool in the fridge.
3. Meanwhile, put Tapioca in boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir immediately to avoid them sticking to the bottom of the pot.
4. Stop the heat, cover, and steam for 20 minutes. Pour tapioca into a sieve and rinse with cold running water.
5. Mix cold tea and cold milk together.
6. Put some Tapioca in a glass, pour some tea to finish.
Difficulty: VERY Easy
Time: 5min
Number of servings: 2 servings
Ingredients:
4 slices of bread
2 eggs
2 tsp. water
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. chopped onion or tartar sauce if you like
salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Put eggs and water in a microwavable bowl then mix well.
2. Do not cover and microwave at 500w for 1 minute. Mix well then again microwave at 500w for 30 seconds.
3. Mix in mayonnaise, chopped onion or tartar sauce, salt and pepper.
4. Spread the mixture in the center of a slice of bread. Then top with another slice of bread. You can place a slice of ham if you like ;)
Rice getting hard / drying out in the fridge overnight, solution?
The answer is easy. It is to mix in oil. You can use any cooking oil but adding some healthy one is a better choice I think 😉No microwaving (reheating) needed when you eat 👍
BTW "Oil Onigiri" is something popular here in Japan, in the way it makes the Onigiri tasty!
If you are making Onigiri a night before, I recommend not touching the it with your bare hands. This is why I use plastic wrap. In this way Onigiri will be bactaria free and lasts longer.
My daughter learned "Squirrel's Cake" song at Kindergarten. She said it is a chocolate cake with honey coating. However, I searched and noticed it was the third lyric, the bear's cake with honey. Squirrel garnished with some acorns! hehe
Directions:
1. Put chocolate and butter in a microwavable bowl. Microwave at 600w for 30sec and mix until smooth.
2. Add beaten egg, granulated sugar, and milk. Then mix well.
3. Sift in flour and mix well.
4. Pour it into cups, bake in an oven at 170C (340F) for 25~30 min.
5. Finish with honey.
Directions:
Divide Chikuwa into 6 pieces then put cucumber, ham, corn kernels, or whatever you think you can fit in the hole is OK. Be creative! My daughter said those with incisions around the holes (flowers) are easier to stuff the ingredients👍
I hope this Behind the Scenes video gives an idea how we filmed all these videos. ARIGATO with big hugs❤️
Those who think this VR180 videos are not centered, this is why: VR180 videos are made for 3D view with a headset. Moving around the screen is an option for 2D viewers. VR video is interesting in the way you can have a feel getting into the video. Thus, keeping an eye level horizontally is necessary, like you stand or sit right in front of a person. This is why not centered in 2D view. Interesting thing about this technology is not only this. Maybe in future, these videos can be projected in your room and you can be in the video cooking with me. Don't you think it amazing?! This is why I say use a headset to experience this technology with me! Thanks for watching all my 6 VR180 videos.
I used Z CAM K1 Pro Cinematic VR180 Camera.
Superior image quality, Stereoscopic 3D!
The Ice Cream Song my daughter (4years4months) learned at Kindergarten was the perfect recipe 😊💖
Homemade Ice Cream
I used KAI's Ice Cream Maker Machine:
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How to Make Homemade Ice Cream
Difficulty: VERY Easy
Time: 25min
Number of servings: 3 servings (1/2 quart)
Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
100ml heavy whipping cream
80ml whole milk
3 tbsp. granulated sugar
a few drops of vanilla extract if you have
Directions:
1. Pre-Freeze the ice cream maker's freezer bowl for more than 12 hours.
2. Put all ingredients in a clean bowl then mix well.
3. Pour it into the ice cream maker's freezer bowl, then press the button to start. It can take about 20 minutes.
*If you think your ice cream is too soft, transfer to a container using a rubber spatula then freeze.
In 1948, the government renamed the Tango no Sekku (端午の節句) to Kodomo no Hi (こどもの日), children's day, to respect children's personalities and to celebrate their happiness. But Tango no Sekku event is held on the same day because it is a traditional festival to pray for the health and courage of boys.
Sukiyaki (すき焼き) is a traditional and popular Japanese hot pot (nabe) cooked with thinly sliced beef but you can also enjoy it with chicken. Especially the grilled chicken makes it tasty and delicious!
Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 4
Ingredients
350g (12.5oz.) chicken thigh
200g (7oz.) Yaki-Dofu (grilled tofu)
300g (10.5oz.) Shirataki (translucent Konnyaku noodles)
4 shiitake mushrooms *you can also add Enoki, Shimeji, Maitake, etc...
4 long green onions
1 carrot
200g (7oz.) Shungiku (garland chrysanthemum) *Watercress can be a substitute
cooking oil
Warishita (Sukiyaki sauce seasonings)
* 100ml Kombu broth (or water)
* 100ml Sake
* 100ml Mirin (sweet Sake)
* 100ml soy sauce
* 4 tbsp. sugar
udon noodles if desired
fresh raw eggs if desired
Directions:
1. Lightly sprinkle the chicken with Sake, salt and pepper and leave for 5 minutes to remove the bad smell. Cut yaki-dofu into bite sized pieces. Boil shirataki 2-3 minutes in order to remove dirt. Remove stems and cut shiitake mushrooms in half. Chop long green onions into 7cm (2.5inches) pieces. Slice carrot with peeler as much as you want. Separate shungiku leaves and stalks, cut leaves into bite-sized pieces and cut stalks diagonally.
2. Heat cooking oil in the pot and cook the long onions and skin-side of chicken until crisp golden (long onion gives nice flavor). Chicken doesn’t have to be cooked thoroughly because it is going to be simmered later. Slice the chicken into bite-size pieces.
3. In the same pot, put vegetables, chicken, and Warishita (Sukiyaki sauce) and simmer on medium for about 10 min until everything is done.
4. If desired, dip sukiyaki into beaten fresh raw eggs to eat!
You can either cook Sukiyaki at the table or in the kitchen and eat at the table on a portable stove.
You can add udon if desired. It goes great with Sukiyaki!
The next day, you can simmer the leftover broth with beaten eggs and make rice bowls. yummy!!!
Please don't change the amount of the ingredients. They are necessary to make unbreakable cookies! hehe
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How to Make Stained Glass Cookies
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 60min
Number of servings: about 5 cameras and 5 glasses
Ingredients:
200g (1 cup) cake flour *all purpose is OK
100g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter *room temperature
60g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
a pinch of salt
1/2 beaten egg *room temperature
a few drops of vanilla extract
candies of your choice
Directions:
1. Cream the butter with a whisk in a bowl. Sift in powdered sugar, add a pinch of salt, then mix well until smooth.
2. Add beaten egg little by little and mix well. Mix in vanilla extract if preferred.
3. Sift in flour then cut through with a spatula to mix and form it into one. Using a plastic wrap, spread out the dough into a flat sheet. Put in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
4. Cut out the dough while cold. When the dough becomes warm and soft, put in the fridge. Cold dough is easy to handle.
5. Bake in the oven at 170C (340F) for 5 minutes. Cool the cookies so that you won't burn yourself and place the crushed candies. (placing whole candies are ok but if there are many different shapes in your cookies, crushed ones are better to fill in evenly) Then bake again in the oven at 170C (340F) for 10 more minutes. Leave to cool until candies are cold.
I used pasta making machine Atlas 150 Marcato made in Italy 👍
3.5mm cutter roller is perfect but 6mm (which comes with the machine) is good, too. https://amzn.to/2UAtidG
You need only 4 ingredients! Using a bread machine and a pasta maker machine, you can make silky-smooth and chewy Udon noodles in a minute!!! (Any bread machine is OK if it can knead)
FYI: Perfectly kneaded dough is the KEY to activate the gluten in the flour and gives the noodles the silky-smooth and chewy texture. This is why we used a bread machine. My mom used to make udon like this when we lived in Jordan many many years ago 😉Using hands or feet is pretty much a work if you want to serve udon quickly for family.
How to Make Udon Noodles
If you don't have a bread machine, you can put the dough in a plastic bag, wrap in a towel, and knead with your feet for about 5 minutes until smooth. If you use your hands (palms) it may take for about 15 minutes.
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Homemade Udon Noodles from Scratch
Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 15min + 2hrs resting time
Number of servings: n/a
Ingredients
4 cups (500g) all purpose flour
1 cup (240ml) water
1 tbsp. salt
1 egg white
Directions:
((Using a machine))
1. Put all the ingredients in a bread machine and knead.
2. Place the dough in a plastic bag and rest for about 2 hours.
3. Divide it into 5, roll out the dough and put through the pasta maker machine at the dial to the widest setting (usually setting number 1). Feed it through the rollers.
4. Then begin rolling it thinner, by turning the dial to the next narrowest setting (most likely number 2).
5. Attach the noodle-cutting attachment to the pasta machine (3.5mm or 6mm is perfect for Udon), sprinkle the dough lightly with flour, and feed it into the cutting attachment.
6. Cook the Udon in boiling water for 10 minutes. Wash the noodles very well with running water if you want to serve cold Udon.
7. Serve the udon with shredded Nori seaweed sheet, wasabi, chopped onions, and Tsuyu (dipping sauce). You can also serve with Tempura! Yummy!
((by hands or feet))
1. Mix water and salt very well to make salted water.
2. Add water little by little then quickly mix with your hand until the dough crumbles. Make sure water is mixed evenly. When you see a lump, you want to crumble it.
3. Form it into a ball.
4. Knead the dough for 15 minutes using your palms, just like you make a bread, stretch the dough for a few times using your palms, fold it in half, turn it around (90C), and stretch again. Repeat and knead until smooth. You can put the dough in a plastic bag and step it on with your feet for 5 minutes, this allows you to get much more pressure on the dough to activate the gluten.
5. Put it in a plastic bag, rest the dough for 2 hours at a room temperature.
6. Roll out the dough into a thin rectangle, sprinkle lightly with flour, then fold it into thirds, slice it into 0.2 inch (5mm) or as you desire.
7. Cook the Udon in boiling water for 10 minutes. Wash the noodles very well with running water if you want to serve cold Udon.
8. Serve the udon with shredded Nori seaweed sheet, wasabi, chopped onions, and Tsuyu (dipping sauce). You can also serve with Tempura! Yummy!
((Udon Dashi))
Boil 600ml Dashi broth (made with Dashi powder is ok), 2 tsp. Soy sauce, 1 tbsp. Mirin (sweet Sake), ½ tsp. Salt in a pot.
Easter decors are available in Japan but we don't mainly celebrate it in here in Japan, maybe only for a specific group of people. Around this time, people enjoy Sakura or get ready for Kodomono-hi on May 5th 🎏I made these videos because I used to live in the US and I came up with some kawaii ideas 🐣💖
Tempura Moriawase (Assorted Seafood and Vegetable Tempura)
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 4 or more
Ingredients
vegetables of your choice (Okra, Maitake mushrooms, Kabocha (Japanese squash), sweet corn kernels, grape tomatoes etc...)
seafood of your choice (prawns, fish, squid, etc...)
--Tempura Batter
* 1 cup ice water
* 1 cup (120g) all purpose flour
--Tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce)
* 200ml dashi broth (using packaged dashi powder saves time)
* 4 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
* 4 tbsp. soy sauce
vegetable oil
grated daikon radish
salt and sudachi (or lemon) if desired
Directions:
1. Prepare vegetables and seafood before frying. I will explain how to for shrimps: Wash, peel (leave the tails) and devein the shrimps. Make 4-5 incisions (about 1/3 depth) in their stomach side to straighten them. Then cut off the tip of the tail and remove the water inside to avoid splatters when deep frying.
2. Tentsuyu: In a pan, bring dashi broth, mirin, and soy sauce to a boil.**
3. Tempura Batter: Beat an egg and add ice water to make them 200ml liquid. (Be sure to use ice water not to activate the gluten) Pour the mixture into a large bowl, sift flour in and mix lightly. The batter should be lumpy, do not over-mix.
4. Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan to 180~190C (340~350F).
5. Lightly dip the ingredients in the batter and fry them immediately until golden and crisp. Drain tempura on a rack or a sheet of clean paper towel. (Do not fry too many at once.)
6. Serve with tentsuyu and grated daikon radish. Or salt and sudachi (or lemon) is good, too!
Tempura is best served hot!
**For tentsuyu, you can use Yamasa's Konbu Tsuyu (3 times concentrated Konbu kelp seaweed soup stock). You just need to dilute it with hot water as directed on the package. This product is very convenient and it is available overseas!
