I love pickles.
When I thought I had tried every kind of pickles, I found something new!
Well, it was technically called “tsuke-mono,” Japanese style pickles.
When I saw Kabocha Tsukemono in Kyoto, Japan, I had to try it.
It was pleasantly crunchy, and the combination of sweetness, saltiness, and tartness was perfect.
My pickled Kabocha turned out great!
Love the bright orange color as well.
It’s been a while since I baked Shoku-pan, Japanese Pullman bread.
I made a calculation error and ended up with a tall loaf instead of two regular loaves.
But it’s minor.
I kind of liked the look of this loaf.
I hope you can tell how soft and fluffy the inside is from this picture.
Last night I watched a movie called “Toast.”
It’s a 2010 film based on the memoir of Nigel Slater, a British chef/food writer.
It was interesting to learn that his mother was not a good cook at all, yet, he developed strong passion and love for food at an early age.
Whenever dinner failed, she would make toasts, and he said something like you cannot be mad at someone who makes you a toast which is crispy outside and once you bite into it you taste this wonderful softness inside.
I totally agree.
So happy to be able to enjoy a toast with my homemade vegan butter again.
It’s easy to make Japanese curry if you use the pre-made roux which you can buy at any grocery stores in Japan and many Asian stores in the U.S.
I do use it because it’s convenient, but when I have time I like to make from scratch.
This curry turned out to make me feel somewhat nostalgic because it tasted like the kind of curry prepared in the early Showa era, when premade roux did not exist.
(I’m only imagining though because when I was born the pre-made roux did already exist.)
I also added Koya-tofu Katsu.
During our recent stay in Japan I cooked Koya-tofu a lot as it was easily accessible.
It has a great firm texture and is juicy at the same time.
I liked it so much that I brought some home.
This time I made my own Panko simply because I didn’t have any at home.
The extra crunchy Panko made this katsu extra tasty.
