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 ;)
I did not expect my kids to enjoy this much and eat well ✨
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Tofu Sushi (Healthy Guilt-Free Sushi Idea Recipe)
Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 10min
Ingredients:
firm Tofu *won't break easily but any Tofu you like is OK
Sashimi or any Sushi toppings of your choice
soy sauce
Wasabi *if you like
Directions:
1. Drain well, wipe off excess water, and cut Tofu into bite-size pieces. If you have time, drain Tofu, wrap with paper towels, then place a heavy plate on top, and leave for 30 minutes to press out the water.
2. Slice Sashimi if it is too thick. Then put on top of Tofu.
3. Serve with soy sauce and Wasabi just like you eat Sushi!
Only 5 ingredients 👍 Saltiness of Umeboshi (pickled plums) and flavor of Aojiso (Japanese perilla leaves) are simple, refreshing, yet delicious 😋 Use ground chicken to make it healthy but any meat will do!!!
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 25 pieces using 3inch Gyoza wrappers
Ingredients:
200g (7oz.) ground chicken *thigh/breast any portion is ok
100g (3.5oz.) minced onion
4 1-inch Umeboshi (pickled plums)
13 Shiso leaves (perilla leaves)
25 (3inch) Gyoza wrappers
Directions:
1. Wash Shiso leaves and drain well. Cut in half.
2. Remove seeds from Umeboshi and chop.
3. Mix ground chicken, minced onion, and chopped Umeboshi. Divide it into 25 portions.
4. Place Shiso leaf on a Gyoza wrapper. Place the filling on the Shiso leaf then roll. Put water along the edge of the wrapper by fingers, fold into semi circle, gather the front side of the wrapper and seal.
5. Heat cooking oil if you are NOT using a non-stick pan. Cook on high heat until the bottoms become brown.
6. Turn the heat down to medium, add 50ml water (or about 1/3 of their hight), cover and steam the gyoza on med-high heat until cooked. Uncover and cook on high heat until the water is gone and crisp.
7. Serve with ponzu sauce or dressing if you like.
Ninjin Shirishiri (Stir-fried Carrot Strips) is a local dish of Okinawa prefecture. "Shirishiri" means thin strips (julienne strips) in Okinawan dialect.
Stir-fried carrot strips are very sweet. Adding tuna makes the dish very tasty yet addictive. Cooking carrot with oil makes the process of absorbing nutrients of carrot easy.
This dish is delicious even if it is cold, thus perfect for bento side dish as well.
5 MIN Carrot Shiri Shiri (Local Okinawan Cuisine Recipe)
Difficulty: VERY Easy
Time: 5min
Number of servings: 4
Ingredients:
2 carrots (300g/11oz)
2 small canned Tuna total of about 160g (6oz) *Either tuna in oil or water is ok.
2 eggs
1 tbsp. Mirin (sweet Sake)
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. toasted white sesame seeds
Directions:
1. Peel and diagonally slice the carrots. Then cut into about 2-inch (5cm) long thin strips. Drain canned tuna.
2. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan and stir-fry carrot strips until tender.
3. Add drained tuna, Mirin (sweet Sake), sugar, and soy sauce. When they are mixed evenly, add eggs then mix until nicely coated and cooked.
4. Mix in toasted white sesame seeds to finish.
Baked Donuts (No Yeast, Fluffy Moist Delicious Recipe)
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 12 5cm (2inch) donuts
Ingredients:
1 egg
3 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. whipping cream *milk is ok but heavy cream is delicious
a few drops of vanilla extract
4 tbsp. all purpose flour
4 tbsp. almond powder/flour *all purpose flour is ok
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. melted butter
powdered sugar to finish *if you like
2 tbsp. chocolate chips *if you like
Directions:
1. Mix egg and sugar in a bowl.
2. Add honey, whipping cream, and vanilla extract, then mix well.
3. Sift in flour, almond powder, and baking powder, then mix well.
4. Mix in melted butter. Add chocolate chips if you like.
5. Spoon the mixture (or using a piping bag is easy) into the mold up to 80% full.
6. Bake at 180C (350F) for 12~13 minutes.
7. Cool completely in the mold and push them out.
8. Sprinkle with powdered sugar to finish if you like.
These are my favorite dishes which my mom used to cook when I was living with her. I wrote these recipes when I was in my early twenties. Now after over a decade, I don't even remember what other dishes she cooked and so does my mom 😵 During this quarantine, I want to take time to reflect and recall more other recipes if possible 🤔💬
It seems like I liked her potato dishes 😋💕 I haven't posted the recipe yet but her Chive Gyoza and Baked Chicken with Crispy Potato Flakes is super delicious. I will someday soon❣️
As you can see, I uploaded my mom's cooking videos earlier in the year when I started my channel. They are very important to me 👍
SPAM Teriyaki goes perfect with white rice. SPAM Teriyaki flavor makes vegetables tasty. I used Shimeji mushrooms but try with the vegetables you like 😋👍
I am not that fan of eating luncheon meat however, sometimes I have one can in my kitchen pantry till almost it expires. haha
FYI: SPAM (shoulder of pork and ham) is a canned precooked meat product made by Hormel Foods Corporation.
Directions:
1. Dice SPAM meat. Remove the stem of Shimeji mushrooms then break into bite-size pieces.
2. Heat cooking oil in a frying pan, cook diced SPAM until nicely browned.
3. Add Shimeji and cook until coated with oil. Season with Teriyaki sauce, then cook until tender.
4. Serve rice in a bowl, place lettuce leaves, put Teriyaki SPAM, and garnish with boiled eggs.
Japanese Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (we call Roll Kyabetsu) is typical Japanese home cooked main dish that everyone wants to remember. It goes perfect with white rice 😋
I will share with you the very basic simple recipe. Try this first. Then arrange it in the way you like by adding or changing the ingredients 😉
TIPS: Use a pot that fits the cabbage rolls tightly (put the cabbage scraps to fill the openings), then you don't have to worry about the rolling technique. They won't move and open while cooking 💡
Basic Cabbage Rolls (One of the BEST Japanese Home Cooking Recipes)
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 1hr
Number of servings: 8 pieces
Ingredients
340g (12oz) ground beef and pork mixture *any kind of ground meat is ok
1 (200g/7oz) minced onion
1 cabbage (8 nice leaves or more)
1 consommé cube *any bouillon cube is ok
1 tbsp. cooking oil
salt and pepper
nutmeg *if you have
parsley flakes
ketchup *if you like
Directions:
1. Carefully peel up to 16 nice cabbage leaves. Place them on a microwavable dish, cover lightly with plastic wrap, then microwave on medium (600W) for 5 minutes. You can boil in a large pot until soft and drain as well. Shave the core to make it flat if it is too thick.
2. Heat cooking oil in a frying pan, cook minced onion until tender. Add half the amount of ground meat and cook until no longer pink, season with salt and pepper, then transfer it into a large bowl to cool.
3. When the meat is cold enough to handle, add the rest of the ground meat, 1/2 tsp. salt, pepper, and nutmeg and knead well with your hands. Divide it into 8 portions.
4. Place the meat mixture on a cabbage leaf, then roll up securely. If leaves are small overlap small cabbage leaves (2 or 3 leaves) together then wrap.
5. Use a pot that fits the cabbage rolls tightly. Place the cabbage rolls and put the cabbage scraps to fill the openings. Make sure they don't move while cooking.
6. Break the consommé cube in quarters and put them on top, place bay leaves, pour 1 cup (240ml) of water, cover, and cook on medium low for 30 minutes.
7. Place the cabbage rolls on serving dishes. Season the broth with salt and pepper then pour over the cabbage rolls. You can thicken the broth with slurry (1 tbsp. starch diluted with 2 tbsp. water) to make a thick sauce if you like. You can serve with ketchup if you like (many kids like to eat in this way). Sprinkle with parsley flakes to finish.
Marie Biscuit is a well known snack in Japan. I was organizing our emergency bag and found the biscuits almost expired, so we decided to make Kids' favorite shortcake with a lot of cream 🍰💕
Of course you can use store-bought whipped cream to save time 😉 Enjoy 👍
FYI: Marie Biscuit
Perfect shortcake idea when flour is out of stock 😅
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5-Ingredient Marie Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake (NO OVEN Recipe)
Difficulty: VERY Easy
Time: 15min + cooling time
Number of servings: 3 cakes
Ingredients:
18 Marie biscuits
100ml milk
200ml whipping cream
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
3 strawberries
* You can put some chopped strawberries or fruits inside but I didn't because kids did not want to.
Directions:
1. Combine whipping cream and granulated sugar in a dry clean bowl. Float the bottom of the bowl in ice water, whisk the cream until it forms a soft peak. Then put it in a piping bag.
2. Soak a biscuit in milk for 5 sec (or longer is okay before biscuit breaks). Shake off the milk and place it on a plate. Pipe out the cream, then place another layer of milk-soaked biscuit. Repeat this to complete 6 layers or more or less, as you prefer.
3. Coat with cream, pipe out some whipped cream on top.
4. Cover and place the cake in the fridge for a few hours ~ a day. Biscuits will become soft and fluffy like a sponge cake.
5. Garnish with strawberry on top before you serve.
Kamaage Udon is Udon served in a wooden bowl with some hot cooking water. You dip Udon into dipping sauce and eat with some toppings if you like. Tempura sides are perfect. If you have ever tried it at a restaurant (such as Marugame Udon Restaurant), you know it is pretty simple yet delicious.
I was not sure if I should get the wooden bowl to recreate it at home while plastic one is available. However, by serving it in a wooden bowl, I noticed it keeps Udon hot for a long while, looking good with a nice steam rising from it. It was fantastic and everyone liked it 😉 If you get a chance to get a wooden bowl, please try it out 💖
How to Make Kamaage Udon (Marugame Inspired Recipe)
Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 5min
Number of servings: 4
Ingredients
4 frozen Udon noodles *I used TableMark (Katokichi), any brand is OK
Tsuketsuyu (Udon dipping sauce)
* 300ml Dashi broth (using packaged dashi powder saves time)
* 4 tbsp. Mirin (sweet Sake)
* 4 tbsp. soy sauce
condiments of your choice (chopped green onions/chopped long onions/grated ginger/white sesame seeds/Tenkasu crunchy bits of deep fried flour-batter/etc...)
Tempura if you like
Directions:
1. In a pot, bring Dashi broth, Mirin, and soy sauce to a boil. You can also microwave until it comes to a boil.
2. Bring water to a boil in a large pot, if your pot is small cook Udon 1 serving at a time, cook Udon on medium high heat as directed on its package. (Cooking time was 1 minute for TableMark frozen Udon) You shake the noodles in boiling water then stop the heat when they are separated.
3. Using the edge of a serving bowl, slide in the noodles to drain water when you serve.
4. Add some hot cooking water.
5. Serve with Tsuketsuyu (dipping sauce), condiments, and Tempura if you like.
I love using Kayanoya Dashi. Vegan/Vegetarian people can use Kombu or Vegetable Dashi broth for the dipping sauce 👍 https://amzn.to/3ca6ypI
EXTRA: My darling found this online sold at 3000yen and thought he can make it 😅 I said Nooooo but it turned out quite good❣️ You can make this in child size as well. Toddlers suddenly take of mask, so this is pretty useful. You can temporarily keep the mask in your pocket cleanly.
What You Need:
face mask you use
plastic file folder
graph paper (you can print out online)
scissors
box cutter
ruler
pen or pencil
scotch tape
Kakiage is Japanese vegetable fritters, sometimes with seafood. Vegetable strips are the main ingredients. Leftover vegetables are okay! Vegan/Vegetarian people can use Kombu Dashi broth for the dipping sauce 👍
Using round aluminum foil molds, you can deep fry the vegetable strips with less batter coated. In this way Kakiage becomes very light and crispy 😋
You can serve it with rice or Udon noodles for example, as a side dish. Or, you can put on top of rice or Udon noodles to make a bowl dish. It is up to you 😉
Light and Crispy Kakiage Tempura (Japanese Vegetable Fritters Recipe)
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 15min
Number of servings: 4 pieces of 8cm (3inch) Kakiage
Ingredients
100g (3.5oz) onion slices
30g (1oz) carrot strips
30g (1oz) whole kernel corn
--Tempura Batter
* 1/2 cup ice-cold water
* 1/2 cup all purpose flour
--Tentsuyu (Tempura dipping sauce)
* 100ml Dashi broth (using packaged dashi powder saves time)
* 2 tbsp. Mirin (sweet Sake)
* 2 tbsp. soy sauce
vegetable oil for deep frying
Directions:
1. Cut aluminum foil about 30cm (12inch) long, fold it into quarters lengthwise. Make a ring then fold the ends together to make 8cm (3inch) circle. (please see the video)
2. Place the cut vegetables in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp. of all purpose flour from Tempura Batter, then coat evenly with your hands.
3. Tempura Batter: Mix ice-cold water and all purpose flour. Make sure to use ice-cold water not to activate the gluten. The batter should be lumpy, do not over-mix.
4. Add the vegetables then toss lightly.
5. Heat 5cm (2inches) of oil in a pan to 170C (340F). Place one or two aluminum foil rings (depending on the size of the pan), then put 1/4 of the vegetables in each ring little by little to form into circles. When the bottoms are cooked, remove the rings, flip them over and cook thoroughly until crisp golden. Then drain well. (Do not deep fry too many at once.)
6. Tentsuyu: In a pan, bring Dashi broth, Mirin, and soy sauce to a boil. You can also microwave until it comes to a boil. **
7. You can eat with salt, with Tentsuyu, or serve on top of rice with Tentsuyu to make Tendon (Tempura rice bowl), etc... it is up to you.
**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!
https://amzn.to/2Yc3GEF
Directions:
1. Cut carrot into thin strips. Cut green onions into half. Remove the hard ends of Enoki mushrooms.
2. Place the pork slices vertically so that each slice overlaps the adjacent one. Place the vegetables then roll. Dust with Katakuriko.
3. Heat cooking oil in a frying pan, cover, and cook on low for 7-8 minutes.
4. Mix Teriyaki Sauce then add into the pan, put on high until the sauce thickens.
5. Cut into bite-size pieces, serve on a plate, and drizzle with the sauce in the pan.
I started my cooking channel since 2011 to share beautiful Japanese food culture with you. Fun and easy-to-follow tutorials 👍I hope my recipes are inspiring to try out new things. Please search within my blog to find the recipes you need 😋
