This is another somen soup dish I love.
I make this when I want something light yet rich and satisfying, if that makes sense.
The soup is not the cream type, but it’s full of flavor.
Then chili garlic oil was drizzled at the end.
Tasty!!
This dish is good cold or hot.
Topped off with tempeh, scallion, and sesame seeds.
Ankake means thickend sauce in Japanese.
Spaghetti served with this type of sauce is very popular in the Nagoya region where I grew up.
It’s far from so-called gourmet type of dish, but it’s loved by the locals.
I’ve never made it myself, because there is a restaurant called Yokoi https://yokoi-anspa.jp/ in Nagoya that makes the best Ankake spaghetti (I believe they are the one who created this dish), and I would just go to the restaurant whenever I had craving for it.
Now living in the U.S., I can’t find it anywhere near me (Unfortunately no Japanese restaurants in the U.S. make this dish).
I would tweak things a bit next time, but overall my first Ankake Spaghetti turned out really good.
Definitely satisfied my craving.
Noodles, veggies, soup, together, cold, and refreshing.
This was exactly what I needed!
Yaki-bitashi is a Japanese cooking method.
It means fry (or sautee) first and then marinade.
I gathered all my favorite vegetables for this dish.
Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, but I tend to go for smaller sized versions like the one I grew up with in Japan.
Their seeds are smaller and the skin is softer.
So when I found these at Costco, I decided to try them.
Funny they call them “baby” eggplant, but this is the regular size in Japan.
Many Japanese noodles have become known in the U.S. the past several years (e.g., ramen, udon, soba, etc.), but I don’t think a lot of people know this one, “somen.”
Somen is the thinnest version of Japanese noodles (I believe).
And we (and I) enjoy eating Somen in summer for some reason.
This is good hot or at room temperature, but GREAT cold!
Napolitan Spaghetti is a popular spaghetti dish in Japan.
Because of the name, I believed it was an Italian dish for the longest time.
It’s basically spaghetti sauteed with veggies like onions, peppers, and sausage, and coated with ketchup.
But first I want to talk about the sausage.
This is vegan sausage, just in case you are wondering.
I found this at a co-op store.
We really like it.
Everything from taste to texture, to look.
I cooked them with a little oil, but the sausage gives out a lot of oil itself.
(I’ve since started cooking these with no oil, and it works out better.)
This was so tasty!
Ohagi is a type of Japanese traditional sweets.
Made with super sticky rice (sweet rice cooked and mashed into almost mochi) and sweet Adzuki beans.
Regular Japanese rice (used for Sushi) is often described as “sticky” in the U.S., but the rice we use to make Ohagi is an even stickier type of rice, sold as sweet rice in the U.S.
I got my Adzuki beans from a local co-op.
I often use pre-made sweetened Adzuki (simply because it’s easy), but this time I cooked the beans myself.
Traditionally, there are two versions that are very popular.
One is a ball of super sticky rice covered with sweet Adzuki beans.
The other is a ball of super sticky rice stuffed with sweet Adzuki beans (sometimes no filling inside) covered with sweetened Kinako (roasted soy bean powder).
This time I experimented with various ingredients, traditional and not so traditional.
In the picture above, you will find…
-Adzuki
-Coconut
-Cinnamon
-Matcha
The other four are…
-Purple Potato
-Black Sesame
-White Sesame
-Raspberry White Bean
They all turned out great, and I love how they look together with various colors and textures.
It makes a perfect snack.
We’ve been having hot and humid weather lately in Minnesota.
On a hot day like this I like something light, and Bukkake Soba is a perfect dish.
“Bukkake” means “dump stuff”, so you can basically use anything.
Enoki mushroom is one of my favorite mushrooms.
I like my Enoki simply sauteed.
It becomes sweet and super flavorful.
Freshly cooked Soba noodles.
This Bukkake version was made with Natto, turmeric tofu, Enoki, and salted Shio-Kombu.
But at the last minute I decided to add roasted Yaki-nori seaweed.
A drizzle of soy sauce.
And it was ready!
I made Taiyaki again.
This was my second time using my new Taiyaki pan, and I think my skills improved!
I wanted to color my “fish” pink, so I used raspberry powder (ground freeze-dried raspberries).
But apparently, it was turned blue due to an interaction with another ingredient in the batter, likely baking soda.
The blue actually was pretty cool, but it was not intended (lol).
Taiyaki is traditionally filled with sweet Azuki beans, but this time I decided to use different fillings.
This one is PB & J.
I used unsweetened creamy peanut butter and lingonberry jam.
The picture doesn’t do it justice, but it was delicious!
My new favorite for sure.
Apple compote, dry cranberries, and Shiso.
This was very good too.
Loved the chunky apples.
I enjoyed these Taiyaki with coffee.
Nigiri and rolls are popular types of Sushi in the U.S., but there are so many other kinds of sushi in Japan.
Bamboo sushi or “Sasa-sushi” is a type of pressed sushi and wrapped in bamboo leaves.
I recently bought a package of bamboo leaves, and I thought it would be fun to try making bamboo sushi for the first time.
(There were one hundred leaves in the package!)
These are so pretty.
Super happy with how they looked.
This time I made two versions.
It was so much fun to make them, as it was like artwork.
I liked them both.
No, I can’t choose which I like better.
One was white rice sushi, topped off with lemon, vegan smoked salmon, red onion slices, and capers.
The other was brown rice sushi, with vegan sausage, turmeric tofu, sauteed Bunapi mushrooms, and edamame.
This sushi is delicious with the wonderful toppings, but there is a reason why it’s wrapped in leaves.
The aroma from the bamboo is transferred to the sushi and creates an amazing unique flavor.
Very refreshing and perfect on a hot summer day.
Wakame is a type of Japanese seaweed.
When I was in elementary school, they served Wakame rice for lunch once in a while, and it was one of my favorites.
(Interestingly, we had bread 80% of the time instead of rice for school lunch in Japan, the country that has always been so proud to be one of the best rice producers. I never understood that…)
A dish that combines two of my favorite things, tofu (soft) and natto.
Plus Japanese mustard, soy sauce, and Shiso leaves.
I placed the tofu and natto along with the sauce and condiments over rice.
So good!
Well, yesterday I made Taiyaki, and today I made Takoyaki.
Sound similar, but they are very different.
Takoyaki is Japanese savory octopus ball.
I use King mushrooms in place of octopus, and this gives a similar look and texture, and I LOVE its taste.
Seriously, I don’t miss octopus at all, as these mushrooms are so tasty.
You pour batter first until it comes up half way and add all the things you want to add to the balls.
I used sauerkraut, scallion, ginger, along with the sauteed king mushrooms.
Pour more batter over to fill (you want to overfill) the holes.
Turn them and cook more.
This is the fun part!
Served with my homemade sweet sauce, vegan mayo, crashed fried onions, dried Aosa seaweed, and scallion.
YUM!
Vegan Takoyaki Batter (makes 25 balls): 250ml boiling water + a piece of Dashi Kombu (let it soak for about 15 minutes), 100g soft tofu, 25g garbanzo flour, 70g AP flour, a pinch of baking powder – Puree with hand blender until smooth. 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/4-1/2 teaspoon sugar
