food-tabi --- culinary adventures!

Sempai

2009-03-03T18:31:00.000+09:00

Today was the end of my my first year as a PhD student. After our final presentation, Aline and I were coerced to attend our sempai's sayonara party at a Chinese restaurant in the university. I like that particular Chinese restaurant as they serve Chinese food that is not entirely "japanized," meaning that the food was actually tasty. Well, the party wasn't as bad as we imagined it to be, everyone in the room had to make a speech, and true to Japanese fashion, it actually even had a schedule and guest list. It felt like a wedding reception. Hahahaha...

Well, the snow continues to fall, which is ironic since the plum blossoms have already blossomed. It fell in angry clumps that made tapping sounds on my plastic umbrella as I walked home. Strangely, my legs felt warm even though I was wearing a skirt (and stockings, and socks, and boots). I stopped by a path and took a picture as I proceeded home.

How fast time flies... this April, Aline and I will be the sempais.

Parmesan Cookies a la Herbinha

2009-01-17T13:47:00.000+09:00

I love pão de queijo! They're yummy, yummy cheese bread from Brazil, and I can't get enough of it. Sometimes we order them online from the Brazilian grocery, or make them by hand using an instant pão de queijo mix... just add eggs! Now Famima (convenience store) has them too, but they're rare and expensive. However, my love for cheese and all things cheesy has led me this wonderful recipe for parmesan cookies. I made slight modifications because I kinda got frustrated while I was making them. It's soooo... easy and delicious! Try them and make your day a bit more special. Yields about 24 cookies.

Parmesan Cookies a la Herbinha ^__^

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (or the powdered kind)
1/2 cup melted butter
coarse ground pepper, dried basil flakes, seeds etc.

Mix the flour and parmesan cheese together, add the melted butter and knead throroughly. Pinch off small portions, form into a ball and flatten. Each cookie should be at least 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle with pepper, basil flakes, or seeds. Bake in for 12 minutes in a 180C oven. Finito!

Yummmm... so good you wouldn't want to share! I know I don't. Hahahahaa...

my first cookies --- double chocolate cookies

2006-10-27T18:53:00.000+09:00

look at my these! my first ever baked goods! yeah... im such a loser, it's the first time in my entire life that i've ever baked anything. just in case you're wondering, they're double chocolate cookies. they're soft and chewy inside, but crunchy on the outside. my roommate likes crunchy cookies though, so made some of the crunchy sort for her too. i simply left them in the oven for a slightly longer period of time.

now to chow down on some cookies... hehehe

lazy kitchen recipes

2006-09-09T19:19:00.000+09:00

there are days when you feel so lazy you dont wanna lift a finger. but even though you feel like a sloth in human form, you still need to eat. so here are some quick fixes i whipped up in my humble kitchen. Please note that I do not actually measure when I cook. I just put them all together by whim. It's actually a great way to cook, and everyone can do it!!!

LEMON ROSEMARY CHICKY

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, pounded flat
olive oil, 4 tablespoons
lemon or calamansi juice, 4 tablespoons
dried rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

How To:
Pound the chickies flat. place them in a shallow container and drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice on top. sprinkle the rosemary to coat the chicken, then sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. leave in the fridge for about 4 hours or so overnight is best). grill the chicken for a wonderful, aromatic, and yes... healthy chicken meal!
Toss them together with some greens (like the string beans sauteeed with sausage as seen on the pic. It's a simple and tasty meal!

SALTY WHITE FISH AND GRILLED EGGPLANT ENSALADA

Salty Fish Ingredients:
white fish, deboned and filleted
salt
vegetable oil (somehow, fish doesnt taste good fried in olive oil. to me at least)

Ensalada Ingredients:
2 eggplants, cut crosswise into flat rectangular strips
2 salted eggs (if you dont have any, hard-boiled eggs will do)
3 tomatoes cut into wedges
olive oil (1 tablespoon)
salt
Dressing:
balsamic vinegar (2 tablespoons)
olive oil (1 tablespoon)

How To:
Lightly salt the fish, then fry in oil. place on paper towel to drain excess oil and set aside. Rub eggplant strips with olive oil and salt, then grill. While grilling, toss the other ingredients in a bowl with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. When the eggplants are done, toss them with the rest of the salad. This dish is wonderful with rice.

nagasaki tabi food

2006-08-27T22:34:00.000+09:00

travelling always brings you face to face with new and exciting food. so my recent travel to kyushu, the southernmost island in japan got me some interesting finds. nagasaki has a varied history compared to the rest of japan, since many foreigners made it their home way before it became fashionable for westerners to come as english teachers. let's just say that it's a very international city. however, quaint japanese things still surface, such as this interesting concoction called soba ice cream.

soba, or buckwheat noodles are a favorite among japanese people. but to turn it into ice cream! i was wondering if they have this flavor at baskin robbins! it's mildly sweet and creamy, and the red bean paste complements it perfectly. i say, its quite good! and yes, id want to eat it again.

since we're on the subjevt of ices, if you happen to visit a park in nagasaki, you'll notice these bent old ladies pushing wooden carts, selling... ice cream! they basically only sell vanilla ice cream, which is more like sherbet but the expreience of buying icre cream from a little, old ambulant vendor in japan! priceless.

pipot's homestay family reccomended turkey rice as a must-try in nagasaki. intrestingly enough, we found a store that sells the famed turkey rice just before we headed out to fukuoka station back to tokyo. we don't really know if the "turkey" in turkey rice meant the tukry bird or the country. either way, the dish is a far cry from anything turkey. it's a disappointing dish that's really more like kitchen leftovers thrown together. yuck. once is enough!

Cupcake!

2006-05-28T15:35:00.000+09:00

I had decided to make cupcakes but seeing as I had just bought a packet of dried coconut, I wanted to use it. I took a random recipe from allrecipe.com and substituted the chocolate chips for coconut. They were pretty easy to make. I think they came out pretty nicely. I also switched to lower fat cream cheese so I won't feel guilty about eating more than one! And now I must have people finish it because I'm itching to make cookies :D

Black Bottom Cupcakes
Original recipe yield: 24 cupcakes.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1 cup water
* 1 tablespoon vinegar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup white sugar

Topping
* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1 egg
* 1/3 cup white sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two 12 cup muffin pans with paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup sugar, oil and water until blended. Stir in the vinegar and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture until incorporated. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Fill muffin cups 1/3 full with chocolate batter, then top with a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Bake cupcakes in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until done.

Is it cake yet? (Almond Yogurt Cake)

2006-05-21T13:31:00.000+09:00

I made an almond yogurt cake last night and I've discovered two things: my convenient all-in-one adjustable measuring spoon must only be used for dry ingredients; and we actually have two nine-inch cake pans in the house for some reason.

Because of the aforementioned measuring utensil, I put in too much almond extract into the batter. This resulted in a very almond-y smelling cake. HOWEVER! It tastes pretty darn good and dad likes it.

Here it is right out of the oven and onto a plate. I had decided to omit the fruit ingredient since ... well ... I still have to hunt for frozen blueberries and they're usually really expensive.

I can't say it was a complete success as the bottom part of the cake had stuck itself onto the cake pan. Perhaps I'll need to try parchment paper next time. Butter apparently does not work.

I got this recipe here.

Almond Yogurt Cake

2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon almond extract
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9" cake pan with cooking spray.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and beat well. Mix in yogurt and almond extract until mixture is smooth.
Stir wet and dry ingredient together until just combined. Spread evenly into prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until tester just comes out clean.

And now, it's time to bully my sister's boyfriend into coming over and eating it haha :D

Korakuen Bento

2006-05-21T10:59:00.000+09:00

A bento is a typical Japanese boxed lunch usually served by moms for their kids to eat at school, but boxed lunches in japan has become more than that as you can find them virtually anywhere from convenience stores, to train stations, parks and gardens, theme parks... everywhere at least. The bento has become an art form and most popular locations serve a "special" bento, that can only be bought and eaten at that particular location.

Anyway, i was able to visit Korakuen, one of the three most famous gardens in Japan. It is located in Okayama, in the Chuugoku region of Japan. And being famous, of course gives them the distinction of serving their own bento.

Take a gander at this beautiful bento! And mind you, it's not pretty, but really yummy as well!

Clockwise from top: tender bamboo shoots with slices of pimiento, fish stwed in light miso, boiled eggplant with sauce, rolled chicken cutlet with egg, tsukemono or pickled vegetables, sweet taro and boiled quail egg, fragrant and lightly flavored rice in sesame, sakura and matcha with a cute bean paste peach sweet in the middle, slightly sweet boiled octopus with crane-shaped radish, egg that looks like jello.

Okay, so let's start with the rice. japanese rice is really good but this is truly artful rice as it is very lightly flavored with traditional flavors like sakura (cherry blossoms), and matcha. the pickled vegetables are quite a surprise because they're not too salty or sour as some yucky pickled veggies are but slightly sweet and crunchy. the "egg that looks like jello" was also a pleasant surprise because it's like a poached egg that with a very mild sweet-salty seasoning. and the octopus didn't try to force itself away from my teeth! that was how tender it was. and the slices of fish and chicken were absolutely lovely! no overpowering flavors, very natural and healthy. yes, this is really good bento! and for the price of JPY1,500... it's well worth your money!

Okra-Bihon and Fried Pork in sesame Oil

2006-05-17T23:05:00.000+09:00

i bought some fresh okra and pork yesterday. i've been wondering what to do about them and came up with these very simple recipes.

Okra and Bihon (Vermicelli)

Ingredients:
a pack of okra (about 8) sliced
vermicelli, single serve pack
1/4 large white onion, sliced thinly
garlic, 3 cloves crushed
salad oil, 2 tbsp
oyster sauce, 3 tbsp
salt to taste
water

procedure:
soak the vermicelli until soft, drain and set aside.
heat oil in a pan, sautee garlic until brown. add sliced onions and sautee for a few minutes until tender. next, add the okra and stir in the vermicelli. stir in water, mix well, add salt to taste. add oyster sauce and sautee. leave to simmer for a few minutes.

the soft vermicelli noodles are pretty good with the crunchy okra. the oyster sauce, used minimally makes the dish tasty without overpowering the subtle flavors of the the vegetables.

Super simple fried pork in sesame oil

Ingredients:
pork, cut into very thin strips
soy sauce
garlic, 3 cloves crushed
finely ground pepper
2 tbsp sesame oil
a dash of lemon

Procedure:
marinate the pork strips in soy sauce, garlic, and pepper. make sure that the soy sauce is just enough to partially cover the meat. it's best to marinate in a tighly sealed container so you can shake the ingredients to make the flavor seep through the meat. leave in the refrigerator for a few hours to overnight.

heat the sesame oil in a pan, fry the pork strips and crushed garlic until done. add a dash of lemon before serving.

it's super simpe and cheap, and very tasty too! you can marinate the meat and cook a few strips at a time. it's perfect for people on the go.

welcome to food tabi!

2006-05-17T22:31:00.000+09:00

welcome to food tabi!

tabi, in japanese means travel. and this is what this site is all about; food, travel, and more food! why? because we love food~!

anyways, i decided to start this blog because upon coming here to japan, i realized that i don't know how to cook! i tried to subsist on food bought from the convenience store but after two weeks of eating the nasty stuff, i decided to learn how to cook on my own. these are recipes which i invented, most notably, the eureka recipes. i'll also be adding some food reviews too.

my wonderful foodie friends will contribute their own food adventures. live life to the fullest! let's eat!