Soup/Stew

What food come to your mind when you hear “autumn”?

In Japan people list…

Mushrooms, persimmon… and chestnut.

The chestnut is probably one of the most loved fall foods.

It’s usually used for sweets (there is a popular chestnut cake called “Mont Blonc”).

I was tempted, but since I’m watching my sugar intake, I decided to use it for a savory dish.

I made the curry from scratch this time, without using the store-bought “roux”.

My husband said it was better than the store-bought one, which made me relieved and happy.

I got these roasted chestnuts from an Asian grocery store.

Along with the chestnuts, in this curry you’ll find onion, carrots, mushrooms, and Renkon lotus root.

It was finished with spiced roasted crispy chickpeas.

I liked the idea of adding chestnuts to curry, but these particular chestnuts were not as sweet as I had expected.

I will probably use the rest to make something sweets after all.

Do you like chestnuts?

How do you like to eat them?

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.