by : Reiko Air Fryer, Japanese Food, Rice/Grains, Tofu

Tofu Karaage Onigiri Lunch
豆腐唐揚げおにぎり定食

It was a busy week, and I was glad that I decided to give myself a day off today.

You need to listen to your mind and body, right?

Instead of working, I decided to make a nice lunch for myself and my hubby.

This salted Kombu seaweed is one of my favorite things to keep in my pantry.

It’s not always easy to find in the U.S., so when I find it, I always buy it.

The salted Kombu and chopped pickled beets were added to freshly cooked Japanese rice.

Taste it first and then add salt if it’s needed.

The salted Kombu is quite salty, so you want to make sure if additional salt is needed first.

These Onigiri turned out so pretty with the pink color from the beets.

But they are also super tasty!

Kombu Onigiri is one of my favorites.

I also made Karaage with the extra firm tofu from Costco.

The Costco tofu is so firm, firmer than the regular extra firm one I buy from other stores, and it works great for this dish.

Karaage is a Japanese fried chicken.

You marinade the chicken first, and I do the same with my tofu.

I used my air fryer to fry the marinated and floured Tofu.

It works every time.

Also found the lunch tray are miso soup, kimchi, and curried chickpea salad.

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by : Reiko Japanese Food

Homemade Takuan (Japanese Pickled Daikon)
自家製たくあん

Growing up I ate a lot of pickled vegetables.

We call Japanese pickles, “Tsukemono”, and since I loved it so much that my mom would call me “Ms. Tsukemono”.

Takuan is one of the tsukemono I loved.

It was always yellow, but I never gave a lot of thought to that.

For some reason as a kid I vaguely believed some Daikon was naturally yellow, although I never saw yellow Daikon sold at stores.

When I found out later that the yellow color was usually artificially added, I was shocked.

So I decided to make Takuan myself.

First, I got a Daikon from the largest Asian grocery store in this area, United Noodles.

Just pickled.

Day 1.

Day 5.

You may ask if I used artificial yellow dye.

Well, the answer is NO.

I still wanted my Takuan yellow, so I used Turmeric.

So it’s a “natural” yellow color.

My first homemade Takuan turned out great!

I don’t know why I didn’t make it sooner.

I used this recipe (Japanese) ↓　

https://cookpad.com/recipe/2570586

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Soup/Stew

Kasu-Jiru (Japanese Sakekasu Soup) Lunch
アジア食料品店で仕入れた色々で、粕汁”地味”ごはん

I had a lunch date with a friend in Minneapolis last weekend.

So, I decided to stop at the largest Asian grocery store, United Noodles, which is located about 10 minutes from the restaurant where I met my friend.

I used to go there all the time, but since they opened a smaller store close to our home, I haven’t been there much.

I was excited to find out how they have changed.

I heard a lot of nice things about this rice, so I decided to try it for the first time.

I was glad that they carried this rice.

The rice (shape and size) looked very similar to the kind of rice I grew up with in Japan, and when cooked it was very tasty!

It’s a bit pricey, but it definitely tastes different and much better than the other cheaper ones I’ve had.

I don’t know why I didn’t try this sooner.

I told you about this Sake Lees in my previous posts.

Another thing I wanted to make with this was soup.

Since I was out of miso, I bought this one at the store too.

This was a new brand for me to try.

These are Daikon leaves.

If you ever see a Daikon with leaves attached, buy them and do not discard the leaves.

I always loved them in my miso soup, so I was so excited to find these at the store.

The soup turned out so good!

The sakekasu (Sake Lees) gives a nice flavor and depth to the soup.

I also made this gochujang braised potato, with tomatoes and Hijiki seaweed.

The idea came from a traditional Japanese dish called “niku-jaga” which literally means meat-potatoes, but this gochujang-tomato version seemed to appeal better to my husband because it has a stronger flavor.

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Other

Plum Amazake Cocktail
梅酒甘酒カクテル

I don’t drink alcohol much.

Beer is too bitter, and wine taste too grown-up.

But I do like certain cocktails.

I found this Sake Lees at the largest Asian grocery store in the city, United Noodles.

You can use it for many different things.

But one of the reasons I bought was because I wanted to make Amazake.

There are two ways to make Amazake, and this version with the use of Sake Lees is the easier one.

You combine and cook Sake lees and water, and once it’s boiled you add sugar (I added a little salt, too).

Amazake has a very unique taste, and it is probably one of those that you either love or hate.

I happen to love it.

This is my homemade plum wine.

It’s delicious when served over ice like this.

I thought it would be fun to mix them together to make a cocktail.

It turned out great!

This was so good that I had a bit too much.

I wish I served it in a pretty glass and garnished with mint or something.

Well, next time.

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Sweets

Sweet Azuki Paste Stuffed Hoji-Tea Donuts
ほうじ茶あんドーナツ

I’ve been having craving for Azuki paste stuffed donuts.

I was even in the mood for making paste from scratch, but I was not able to find dry Azuki beans at any stores.

So I decided to try making a quick version by using this can.

Seeing “Kombu Seaweed” bewildered me a bit.

No one wants the taste or smell of seaweed in your sweet azuki paste.

These were how the beans looked after drained and rinsed.

No Kombu smell or taste!

I was relieved.

I added some water and sugar and cooked them until the paste had the right thickness.

I added ground Hoji-tea leaves to the donut dough.

Loved the combination of Hoji tea and Azuki.

They were good, but I will try a different donut dough recipe next time.

This was a bit dense, and it created a crust a bit too crispy to me, although my husband liked it.

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Tofu

Koya-Tofu Nanban
高野豆腐南蛮

Chicken Nanaban is a popular dish in Japan.

It’s fried chicken coated with sweet tangy glaze and then served with chunky mayo-based sauce.

To veganize the dish I used Koya-tofu (freeze dried tofu) in place of chicken.

I “fried” my Koya-tofu in my air fryer first.

Make sure it’s coated well with this delicious sauce.

Soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, crushed red pepper flakes.

It’s best to enjoy this dish with white rice.

I can eat bowls of rice endlessly!

Traditionally, you add chopped boiled eggs to the mayo sauce.

But instead I used capers, which added some interesting flavor and texture.

I also added finely chopped radish.

Homemade vegan mayo, mustard, ketchup, salt, pepper, chopped radish, chopped capers.

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by : Reiko Gluten Free, Japanese Food

Oatmeal Okonomiyaki
オートミールお好み焼き

Traditionally, Okonomiyaki is made of wheat flour.

But recently I’ve been making mine with oatmeal as a main ingredient, and I’ve been loving it.

The batter was made of oatmeal, rice flour, chickpea flour, extra firm tofu (pureed), water, salt, sugar, soy sauce.

It does not look very smooth before cooking, but don’t worry.

Once placed in a pan, lightly pressed, and cooked, it stays together and makes a perfect textured Okonomiyaki.

This time I added mushrooms, cabbage, corn, and chive flower to the batter.

But you can really use anything you like, from meat, seafood, to veggies.

For the sauce, this is my favorite, Japanese Worcestershire sauce.

I drizzle this sauce over Okonomiyaki still being cooked in a pan.

Let the sauce fall on the pan from the side of Okonomiyaki.

It caramelizes and creates a wonderful smell in the kitchen.

This is a thicker and sweeter type of sauce.

(The one you see in the photo is actually for Japanese fried noodles “Yakisoba”, but the same company sells the okonomiyaki sauce similar to this).

My husband prefers this.

It was served with mustard, homemade vegan mayo, Aonori (dried seaweed flakes), and pickled beets.

Itadakimasu – Thank you for the food.

Yum!!

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by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Japanese Food, Rice/Grains

Natto Fried Rice
盛りだくさん納豆チャーハン

I think this was my first Natto fried rice, but it’s a popular dish, so I may have made it before (I just don’t remember).

One of my Instagram friends gave me some ideas regarding what to put along with natto, so I was prepared.

-Natto

-Garlic

-Mushrooms

-Butternut squash

-Shungiku

-Capers

It turned out great!

I will definitely make it again.

I loved all the flavors coming together, sweet, salty, bitter…

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Leaf Vegetables

Air-fryer Egg Rolls
エアフライヤーで春菊春巻き

Making eggrolls has become so easy with my air fryer.

I don’t have to worry about using a lot of oil or making a mess in the kitchen.

The final result is wonderful, too.

They are so crispy and delicious!

Green leafy vegetable called Shungiku is one of my recent favorite things to use as part of the filling.

Its unique bitterness is so refreshing.

I served them with “sujoyu” (mixture of soy sauce and vinegar) plus mustard.

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by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Japanese Food, Noodles/Pasta

Natto Radish Spaghetti for One
納豆ラディッシュおろしスパゲッティひとりごはん

My husband was out and about, and I was on my own for lunch.

So, a Natto dish was perfect to make!

My husband likes a lot of Japanese food, but Natto is not one of them.

I LOVE Natto, and this turned out to be a fabulous meal for me.

Freshly cooked spaghetti was served with Natto, grated radish, scallion, roasted Nori, olive oil, and soy sauce.

Itadakimasu – Thank you for the meal.

He usually detects the smell, but not this time.

I ate lunch early, washed everything well, and even took out the garbage.

I don’t blame him.

Natto does have a strong smell…

*I updated my Instagram page, and it now shows highlights from our 2023 vacation in Spain. Check it out!

https://www.instagram.com/culinarytribune/

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