Sleepless nights drive my mind ... crazy.
Weird images kept popping up out of no where,
Even though no impression of those were made before ^^
Had to continuously reflect myself for getting angry,
So frequently, [Sigh]
Trash lying around,
So much,
And it is waiting in patience,
For the right time to lay an ambush,
Catch naive fools off guard,
Drive them to the edge...
Things don't come easily,
And to make it even more worthy,
I'll join the battle,
So
You must have prepared carefully to touch that "free" lunch,
Or at least it looks like that way.
Admire myself to a certain extent.
No matter how far or which corner alarm clock/cell phone/touch is ,
After its very first ring, I can turn it off with half an eye open and a sleepy head.
Not even set it snooze !!!
And as a result, no problem to get right back to the dream which was paused in the middle.
Like a mummy knows exactly where delicious prey is hiding by its smell and sound of heart-beat !!!!
[Sigh] What's the point setting the alarm clock at the first place [Sigh]
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Peace of mind
Like a new sensation, an awareness that has never been seen before.
Like fully confident that you're holding the key for every single doors, a generic solution to all puzzles.
Everything is simple and easy.
All I need to do is step by step pull the string out of that big mess.
Yet don't really understand the reason why ^^.
[A friend dared say ... because my head got hit by a bottle couples of day ago, it resets my "PC" ! hahaha]
I love it, really love it ?
Et si c'était vrai...
Skimming the content reminds me "Midori no hibi" anime, which let me down a little bit; yet decided to flip its cover. And a huge intersection between 2 sets, story line and my own life, surprised me.
Couldn't stop laughing until my stomach hurt,
Couldn't stop crying, sniffing like a child,
... [sigh]
From that day, I've treasured silence sunrise even more,
Felt less lonely and ... pessimistic...[neither more optimistic though]
On the other hand, some missing piece troubles me quite a bit ^^,
Again, don't truly rush to find out what it is/ they are [unlike the old me, tried all means to solve, then reach the state of panic, insecureness, loss of direction, ... even hatred. "Time can be substituted by effort and algorithms", what a confident me ! hahaha ].
Not absolutely true after all, for some can only be clear by the hand of time [sigh]
Wish Tine find himself, made a right decision of his life, and show me his bright smile again ^^
Wish Ahn keep enjoying his life as he does now
Wish Udy get over his break-up soon
Wish Ritue ... quit his current damn job, find one new company that understand his ability more !!!
Wish other friends health.
And her, too; All the best ! The biggest mistake that I made was not honest to myself, but I promise, I'll see you soon. [Simply can't give you up after more than a decade loving you, hahaha]
Me have a nice day ^^V
Like fully confident that you're holding the key for every single doors, a generic solution to all puzzles.
Everything is simple and easy.
All I need to do is step by step pull the string out of that big mess.
Yet don't really understand the reason why ^^.
[A friend dared say ... because my head got hit by a bottle couples of day ago, it resets my "PC" ! hahaha]
I love it, really love it ?
Et si c'était vrai...
Skimming the content reminds me "Midori no hibi" anime, which let me down a little bit; yet decided to flip its cover. And a huge intersection between 2 sets, story line and my own life, surprised me.
Couldn't stop laughing until my stomach hurt,
Couldn't stop crying, sniffing like a child,
... [sigh]
From that day, I've treasured silence sunrise even more,
Felt less lonely and ... pessimistic...[neither more optimistic though]
On the other hand, some missing piece troubles me quite a bit ^^,
Again, don't truly rush to find out what it is/ they are [unlike the old me, tried all means to solve, then reach the state of panic, insecureness, loss of direction, ... even hatred. "Time can be substituted by effort and algorithms", what a confident me ! hahaha ].
Not absolutely true after all, for some can only be clear by the hand of time [sigh]
Wish Tine find himself, made a right decision of his life, and show me his bright smile again ^^
Wish Ahn keep enjoying his life as he does now
Wish Udy get over his break-up soon
Wish Ritue ... quit his current damn job, find one new company that understand his ability more !!!
Wish other friends health.
And her, too; All the best ! The biggest mistake that I made was not honest to myself, but I promise, I'll see you soon. [Simply can't give you up after more than a decade loving you, hahaha]
Me have a nice day ^^V
Friday, September 24, 2010
A great purpose of life or a suicide of one bug into the fire
Just the undeniable fact that I want to change the world,
Where:
Everyone don't have to worry walking in the pitch dark,
People are ensured they got what they indeed deserve,
Yes, that might sound like a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, evil for evil.
When there's so much trash, its smell gets into people living around, influence their minds, and I simply can't accept that.
Not a hero,
Not a god,
But ready to jump into the fire for what I believe,
And I believe this world must be changed.
What can I do ?
- Gather all people having the same ideal around the world.
- Introduce a secret society for the sake of a better world (It doesn't matter what those naive would say, when word finds its dead end, convince has no use, belief has no effect, ... as the matter of fact, brute force has its turn.)
- Do my own job for a sufficient fund.
- Make use of all and ever known knowledge for this organization.
Even if I myself have to commit a serious crime, and I knew that is for the sake of justice, I will do it without the second thought.
Where:
Everyone don't have to worry walking in the pitch dark,
People are ensured they got what they indeed deserve,
Yes, that might sound like a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, evil for evil.
When there's so much trash, its smell gets into people living around, influence their minds, and I simply can't accept that.
Not a hero,
Not a god,
But ready to jump into the fire for what I believe,
And I believe this world must be changed.
What can I do ?
- Gather all people having the same ideal around the world.
- Introduce a secret society for the sake of a better world (It doesn't matter what those naive would say, when word finds its dead end, convince has no use, belief has no effect, ... as the matter of fact, brute force has its turn.)
- Do my own job for a sufficient fund.
- Make use of all and ever known knowledge for this organization.
Even if I myself have to commit a serious crime, and I knew that is for the sake of justice, I will do it without the second thought.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Another unsuspecting Thursday evening
A friend of mine had his girlfriend broke up with him, saying he hadn't paid sufficient time caring her.
A friend of mine had broken up with his girlfriend, saying she didn't stood by his side while he had been fought for her.
A friend of mine is about to break up with his girlfriend, saying long-distance relationship has no future at all.
A me of mine wanted to see her so much,
A me of mine wanted to bring her my spaghetti,
A me of mine keeps thinking of what she said,
A me of mine can't stop himself dreaming of her,
A me of mine was so happy cuz we were couple in that dream,
A me of mine didn't want to wake up that dream,
A me of mine felt sad, cuz he knew that would never come true,
A me of mine was angry with another me of mine that feel sad.
A me of mine feels so calm, everything has its own fate, and you can't change it no matter how much effort you make.
A me of mine feels broken, broke himself, cuz he was so worry if he gets near to her, she would be destroyed. The breaking is unavoidable, and he hided the truth inside his lies.
A me of mine is burning every single second, he wants to change this rotten world. Wanna be a sweeper, sweep away all trash around.... He's ready to throw away everything for that purpose. He decided to become a bad guy, so that it would appear a hero, fighting for sake of people.
inside a single body of lies.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The inevitable
A troublesome boy that I am,
Remember how they were so worried about the kind like me, ...
Seem the first time I feel how important I am to them
Seem the first time I feel I am so pathetic right in front of those I want to protect most
Feel like to cry ^^
Even though I am absolutely confident about my strength, I was afraid I was not able to wake up on that day.
Talking to myself,
There're so many things I've yet done, and simply cannot be stopped here, at this moment.
Mom super boss said I'd better got my hair cut, so that all the unlucky things will be casted away.
Teni, one of my best friends, kept popped up out of nowhere in my house, ... just want to be sure that I'm ok. haha. He rode my bicycle back for me from his house, brought back my stuffs. Tagged along with me to the hospital. Asked me out for dinner, prefer me to walk up instead of lying there hours after hours, ... He doesn't talk much though ^^
They are my treasure, and I used to think ... I would trade them with a chance to turn back time. And now I feel thankful that such a trade does not exist, or at least it seems that way.
Everything is alright now. Wasted one whole day for sleeping, sigh, compared to normal day with 3-4 hours, I have so many things to catch up with.
----------------------------------------------------------------
She sent me a thank you message though,
I decided to visit her house in the afternoon, when I'm pretty sure she's out for work.
Yet ... my pulse raced ... my head spun ... my voice trembled ....
Wonder what the hell was going on with me ... [sigh]
It doesn't matter anyway, since I cannot, don't wanna, bring myself believe in such thing like love when it doesn't exist. A family I used to think so warm, and happy, which I used to aim for in the future. A relationship lasted so long, their love is so pure, which everytime I trust no one, it reminds me there's still one out there for me to refer. And I can believe in a brighter scene. Now they're gone, all, broken, vaporized into thin air, left nothing but emptiness and pain.
Is money that important ?
Is it true that they are inevitable ?
Remember how they were so worried about the kind like me, ...
Seem the first time I feel how important I am to them
Seem the first time I feel I am so pathetic right in front of those I want to protect most
Feel like to cry ^^
Even though I am absolutely confident about my strength, I was afraid I was not able to wake up on that day.
Talking to myself,
There're so many things I've yet done, and simply cannot be stopped here, at this moment.
Mom super boss said I'd better got my hair cut, so that all the unlucky things will be casted away.
Teni, one of my best friends, kept popped up out of nowhere in my house, ... just want to be sure that I'm ok. haha. He rode my bicycle back for me from his house, brought back my stuffs. Tagged along with me to the hospital. Asked me out for dinner, prefer me to walk up instead of lying there hours after hours, ... He doesn't talk much though ^^
They are my treasure, and I used to think ... I would trade them with a chance to turn back time. And now I feel thankful that such a trade does not exist, or at least it seems that way.
Everything is alright now. Wasted one whole day for sleeping, sigh, compared to normal day with 3-4 hours, I have so many things to catch up with.
----------------------------------------------------------------
She sent me a thank you message though,
I decided to visit her house in the afternoon, when I'm pretty sure she's out for work.
Yet ... my pulse raced ... my head spun ... my voice trembled ....
Wonder what the hell was going on with me ... [sigh]
It doesn't matter anyway, since I cannot, don't wanna, bring myself believe in such thing like love when it doesn't exist. A family I used to think so warm, and happy, which I used to aim for in the future. A relationship lasted so long, their love is so pure, which everytime I trust no one, it reminds me there's still one out there for me to refer. And I can believe in a brighter scene. Now they're gone, all, broken, vaporized into thin air, left nothing but emptiness and pain.
Is money that important ?
Is it true that they are inevitable ?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Yellow
Yellow-Coldplay
It doesn't matter how many times ... it's just ... so niceeeeee !!!!!
Love its beating ...
Love its scene,
Love its scene,
The emptiness,
The endless horizon,
The dark blue ocean ...
There's no one else, ideal time you reflect yourself
... sing with your heart ...
... let go of your mind ...
They're all yellow !
Yellow ...
Color of the past, the memory !
Color of the old leaf leaving for a peaceful rest
Nothing can make memory perish !
... It's always beautiful ...
... Yet sometimes it's painful too.
Look up the star ...
Look how they shine for you ...
That reminds me of "Rule the world" of Take That ...
or "Strawberry Wing" of Cold play ...
It may be there thousand years ago, yesterday ...
or ...
tomorrow, or decade later ...
It doesn't matter to me though.
Because today, at this moment, something's different.
For it shines for you. Yes, because you're here, it's different.
Everything you do ...
Under those eyes,
eyes of guys in love,
things related to his lover,
anything, everything seems to be exaggerated ...
to fit his pinkish expectation ^^
It's silly. It's foolish ! And it's inevitable !
How interesting, ...
I came along, I wrote a song for you,
and everything you do ...
and it's called ... YELLOW (title of this song) !
Soooo niccceeeeee
Your skin ....
oh yeah your skin and bone ...
turn iiinnnnto something beautiful ...
maybe they mean .. your skin and soul ...
haha ! The inside, the outside ...
I love them all XDDD ...
You know I love you soooo ...
You know I love you soooo !
>
I swam across ...
I jumped across for you ...
This guy seem mentally prepare for all the obstacle lying ahead !
Suppress and conquer the fear of something that may break this moment.
Turn it into your own power,
Pour it into your flame of desire ...
The sensation in the song is not that hard and strong.
The guy quietly ... without any impatience or hesitation ... get over everything. XD
How contradicting, yet understandable ...
I drew a line, I drew a line for you ...
For many time, no matter how much you want to dash forward, you force yourself to take a step back ! Draw a line on the sand, obvious enough for everyone to see, yet easy enough to be erased... to ease her mind. Telling her that, it's there, but not for long, not for real; Gradually let wave carry it away, then draw a new line ... this time, I'm little bit nearer to you. I just don't want to make you scare ...
Yellow ...
Sunlight also carries yellow !
The eager yellow in the beginning of a new day.
The immense yellow cannot be stopped at noon.
Or the calm yellow landing gently on your shoulders ...
For you I bleed myself dry ...
You know I love you so ...
You know I love you so ...
It's true ... look how they shine for you ...
I remember the starry night I saw in Mt.Rainier and the Hot Spring city... and how hard I wish she were there, just once ... once is enough ! The hunger grows so strong that it hurts ! Thing I myself know so sure would never happen. ^^
I remember the starry night I saw in Mt.Rainier and the Hot Spring city... and how hard I wish she were there, just once ... once is enough ! The hunger grows so strong that it hurts ! Thing I myself know so sure would never happen. ^^
Such a beautiful and precious piece of memory that I have. ^^ It's yellow !
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The feeling will fade away soon, won't it ?
If your soul at this moment is a dessert, so hot and so thirsty
Joyful things are a plash of water, lasting for seconds,
Sometimes, they happen so fast that you even ask yourself whether it really exist.
...
Seem to be stuck in somewhere in this busy world,
Right next to the most crowded street,
Only a thin transparent layer, no, a barrier keeping things unseen unseen, undone undone.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If US = Me + Me then, it's nice to listen "us again the world"
Friday, September 10, 2010
Nice
Yeah, it's simply nice ^^
Walking along the corridor at late night,
A quiet corridor it is,
Darkness is weaved by thin orange layer,
From the street light outside,
Sometimes, I sit down on the carpet,
Think of nothing,
Like to be there,
Be surrounded by sound of silence,
Be alone.
Wish it could last a little bit longer,
How much longer, I don't know,
Wish I could have this kind of moment,
Again, in a near future,
Again, and Again.
My friends,
I wish they were here,
Enjoy this peaceful scene,
Together in silence.
My friends,
They are living their lives,
As I do mine.
Busy in their busy society,
Confused in their confused society,
...
I would bring them here,
In the 25th o'clock,
Just to be with me.
[A cup of sake would be nice, don't u think ^^ ]
My friends,
A person I also want to invite,
Her name, I don't know,
Her place, I don't know,
Her face, I don't know,
She's strong, that I know
Think of ... make her my friend, what do u guys think ? ^^
One, two, three, four, ... hahaha,
Keep counting how many there are, that I have,
Though ... never exceed ten ! hahaha
Maybe all of these fingers never know,
Just how much I'm proud of them,
My friends,
You'd better play heroes,
A villain that I'll play.
Make sure that you never step into this side.
I'll crush you with my own hand ! hahaha.
Undoubtedly cruel a person I myself am
.... So that we could change this rotten world ...
It doesn't matter how much money you earn,
Nor how nice you dress,
Those accessories of yours,
It's the behavior that tells
Be careful, dudes !
Because I'm your friend ! ^^
Walking along the corridor at late night,
A quiet corridor it is,
Darkness is weaved by thin orange layer,
From the street light outside,
Sometimes, I sit down on the carpet,
Think of nothing,
Like to be there,
Be surrounded by sound of silence,
Be alone.
Wish it could last a little bit longer,
How much longer, I don't know,
Wish I could have this kind of moment,
Again, in a near future,
Again, and Again.
My friends,
I wish they were here,
Enjoy this peaceful scene,
Together in silence.
My friends,
They are living their lives,
As I do mine.
Busy in their busy society,
Confused in their confused society,
...
I would bring them here,
In the 25th o'clock,
Just to be with me.
[A cup of sake would be nice, don't u think ^^ ]
My friends,
A person I also want to invite,
Her name, I don't know,
Her place, I don't know,
Her face, I don't know,
She's strong, that I know
Think of ... make her my friend, what do u guys think ? ^^
One, two, three, four, ... hahaha,
Keep counting how many there are, that I have,
Though ... never exceed ten ! hahaha
Maybe all of these fingers never know,
Just how much I'm proud of them,
My friends,
You'd better play heroes,
A villain that I'll play.
Make sure that you never step into this side.
I'll crush you with my own hand ! hahaha.
Undoubtedly cruel a person I myself am
.... So that we could change this rotten world ...
It doesn't matter how much money you earn,
Nor how nice you dress,
Those accessories of yours,
It's the behavior that tells
Be careful, dudes !
Because I'm your friend ! ^^
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Essentially Japanese Cooking & Cuisine - Hideo Dekura : Religion
"I believe there is food as long as there is life, there is life as long as there is philosophy."
"I believe that deep inside the Japanese people there is just such a connection between religion and everyday life."
When you ask a Japanese person what religion they are, they may seem a little puzzled at first, but most follow both Shintoo and Buddhist beliefs. This answer may surprise the average Westerner, who is committed to either one or no religion. In short, Shintooism is linked to celebratory, happy occasions, while Buddhism is linked to sadder occasions, such as funerals, which gives rise to their dual commitment. The Japanese have long been very spiritual people, so it's not surprising that many of their food customs are influenced by religion. If you asked a Japanese person today, however, they may not know that many of the foods they eat have their origins in religious customs.
As rice became the staple diet of Japan, a connection between the gods and the effects of nature on people's lifestyles evolved. Heaven, sky, water, fire and earth became the elements that symbolize the connection between god and man. Ancient tradition demanded that whenever there was a rich harvest of crops or a good catch of fish, food would be cooked and presented at the Shintoo shrine to express appreciation to the gods for their gifts.
The period surrounding New Year is probably the busiest time for Japanese families, when they prepare for the gods to come into their lives in the coming year. All family members get together for a big house-cleaning session, cleaning away the past year's dirt, dust and grime - symbolizing out with the old, in with the new. In the kitchen, they prepare osechi-ryori, which is food for the first three days of the New Year, They focus on foods that will keep for at least those three days. Just about all preserving techniques are used, such as drying, preserving in vinegar or adding extra amounts of soy sauce, miso paste or salt.
There are a number of reasons for all this advance preparation. The gods are being invited into the house and it is important not to disturb them with a big clatter in the kitchen. This is particularly significant with respect to the God of Fire, who is the most vengeful god. From as far back as the Heian Period, we say that we must not use fire in the kitchen during the New Year period. Today it is slightly modified to say we shouldn't work in the kitchen. Actually, the real intent of the custom is to give women a much-needed break from the demands of the kitchen for three days.
In the middle of the 6th century, Buddhism was introduced through China and Shojin-ryori (temple cuisine) was also introduced. The word Shojin means a devotion to pursue a perfect state of mind, banishing worldly thoughts and striving for limitless perfection at each stage. The preparation itself is a part of the practice of Buddhism. An effect that flowed through from the Mahayana Sect of Buddhism into our eating customs, sprang from their ban on the killing of animals and the eating of fresh meat. Shojin-ryori is an extremely simple style of cooking with many restrictions. It includes only basic, original forms of ingredients, involving many processes and much time to get to the end product. Typically, soy beans are grown, harvested, dried, soaked, steamed, crushed, steamed again, shaped, and left to stand in water to make tofu, before being used in such dishes as miso soup. Needless to say, the miso paste has undergone similar processes as well. Shojin-ryori consists of a variety of dishes but all are made in this arduous manner. Basic as they seem, the nutritional value is still there. They contain whole some vegetables and tofu makes up for the lack of animal protein.
It has been through the need to produce food that would keep a long time that many of our everyday ingredients have been developed by people within and around the temples, either because they are in isolated area or are isolated from mainstream society. Most temples play host to a considerable number of monks, novinces and general workers who partake of two such meals per day. Where would we be without tofu, miso, Shoyu(soy sauce), yuba (bean curd sheets), natto (fermented bean curd), abura-age (deep fried bean curd) and soy milk, all preoducts of temple cuisine?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daikon to abura-age no miso shiru
Daikon and Beancurd Miso Soup
Ingredients :
- 800ml dashi
- 160g daikon, peeled and julienned
- 100g carrot, peeled and julienned
- 1 abura-age (deep fried bean curd) sliced
- 80g light brown miso
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 stem spring onion, trimmed and sliced diagonally
- Shichimi (Japanese seven spices) powder, to serve
Steps :
1 . Heat dashi in a pan and add daikon, carrot and abura-age. Cook for 10 minutes over moderate heat.
2 . Combine miso and mirin, hten add to the soup. Stir gently
3 . When it has come up to the boil, remove from the heat.
4 . Pour soup into individual bowls and garnish with spring onion.
5 . Sprinkle shichimi on top.
"I believe that deep inside the Japanese people there is just such a connection between religion and everyday life."
When you ask a Japanese person what religion they are, they may seem a little puzzled at first, but most follow both Shintoo and Buddhist beliefs. This answer may surprise the average Westerner, who is committed to either one or no religion. In short, Shintooism is linked to celebratory, happy occasions, while Buddhism is linked to sadder occasions, such as funerals, which gives rise to their dual commitment. The Japanese have long been very spiritual people, so it's not surprising that many of their food customs are influenced by religion. If you asked a Japanese person today, however, they may not know that many of the foods they eat have their origins in religious customs.
As rice became the staple diet of Japan, a connection between the gods and the effects of nature on people's lifestyles evolved. Heaven, sky, water, fire and earth became the elements that symbolize the connection between god and man. Ancient tradition demanded that whenever there was a rich harvest of crops or a good catch of fish, food would be cooked and presented at the Shintoo shrine to express appreciation to the gods for their gifts.
The period surrounding New Year is probably the busiest time for Japanese families, when they prepare for the gods to come into their lives in the coming year. All family members get together for a big house-cleaning session, cleaning away the past year's dirt, dust and grime - symbolizing out with the old, in with the new. In the kitchen, they prepare osechi-ryori, which is food for the first three days of the New Year, They focus on foods that will keep for at least those three days. Just about all preserving techniques are used, such as drying, preserving in vinegar or adding extra amounts of soy sauce, miso paste or salt.
There are a number of reasons for all this advance preparation. The gods are being invited into the house and it is important not to disturb them with a big clatter in the kitchen. This is particularly significant with respect to the God of Fire, who is the most vengeful god. From as far back as the Heian Period, we say that we must not use fire in the kitchen during the New Year period. Today it is slightly modified to say we shouldn't work in the kitchen. Actually, the real intent of the custom is to give women a much-needed break from the demands of the kitchen for three days.
In the middle of the 6th century, Buddhism was introduced through China and Shojin-ryori (temple cuisine) was also introduced. The word Shojin means a devotion to pursue a perfect state of mind, banishing worldly thoughts and striving for limitless perfection at each stage. The preparation itself is a part of the practice of Buddhism. An effect that flowed through from the Mahayana Sect of Buddhism into our eating customs, sprang from their ban on the killing of animals and the eating of fresh meat. Shojin-ryori is an extremely simple style of cooking with many restrictions. It includes only basic, original forms of ingredients, involving many processes and much time to get to the end product. Typically, soy beans are grown, harvested, dried, soaked, steamed, crushed, steamed again, shaped, and left to stand in water to make tofu, before being used in such dishes as miso soup. Needless to say, the miso paste has undergone similar processes as well. Shojin-ryori consists of a variety of dishes but all are made in this arduous manner. Basic as they seem, the nutritional value is still there. They contain whole some vegetables and tofu makes up for the lack of animal protein.
It has been through the need to produce food that would keep a long time that many of our everyday ingredients have been developed by people within and around the temples, either because they are in isolated area or are isolated from mainstream society. Most temples play host to a considerable number of monks, novinces and general workers who partake of two such meals per day. Where would we be without tofu, miso, Shoyu(soy sauce), yuba (bean curd sheets), natto (fermented bean curd), abura-age (deep fried bean curd) and soy milk, all preoducts of temple cuisine?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daikon to abura-age no miso shiru
Daikon and Beancurd Miso Soup
Ingredients :
- 800ml dashi
- 160g daikon, peeled and julienned
- 100g carrot, peeled and julienned
- 1 abura-age (deep fried bean curd) sliced
- 80g light brown miso
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 stem spring onion, trimmed and sliced diagonally
- Shichimi (Japanese seven spices) powder, to serve
Steps :
1 . Heat dashi in a pan and add daikon, carrot and abura-age. Cook for 10 minutes over moderate heat.
2 . Combine miso and mirin, hten add to the soup. Stir gently
3 . When it has come up to the boil, remove from the heat.
4 . Pour soup into individual bowls and garnish with spring onion.
5 . Sprinkle shichimi on top.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Wishes and the dissatisfaction of current life.
Could I turn back time ? like back to my several saving point as I could in visual game ?
o
o
o
When would I choose ?
o
o
o
What would I do ?
o
o
o
What would I become ? Still the same "me" in 2010 ... or
o
o
o
What would I pay ? it must be an equivalent price ... could it be not ? if not ? I only have a few valuable "things" in my life, for which I could give my all. And if ... and if I traded "it", ... thinking of it is really painful.
o
o
o
Back to the question since this early morning, why do I choose to stay like this ?
o
o
o
Yeah, "it simply suits me" is an out-dated answer. I'm looking for something else. What is it ? "Not get dragged down by others" is also not surprising, or "not drag anyone down." ... Look around ! How many people out there may ever think of doing the same thing ? Suddenly realized that ... It wasn't them, it was me. The one who said goodbye. The one who was so childish, don't know how to appreciate what I had. The one who changed and tossed away the relationships... I'm the worst ! It's not like if I could turn back time, I wouldn't do so, but I would never allow myself to involve them any more !
Wonder if an arm ? a leg ? an eye ? a scar ? or a relationship ? or ... my soul ... which one will make the payment ? What a scary part of story, yet it must be there.
It's not like there's a person knowing I make this decision, so they won't be hurt. Maybe it's good if my friends had never met me.
Somebody ? witch ? fairy ? devil ? alien ? god ? ... whoever, whichever, whatever ... I don't care XDDD
Toys ? not really
Book ? not really
Modern tech-ware ? not really
Color would be dark black
Flower ? maybe
Pets ? absolutely
Sport-ware ? yeah
It must have looked simple and plain.
No matter how many time people say human are always complicated creature, I never thought so ... they're all mostly benefit driven ! Why do they get angry ? why do they get upset ? what makes them happy ? Things does, or does not happen as they want. Self-benefit is a huge and ever-hungry beast.... Some plays hero, there must be some play villain. Some "bad" exists, looking at that, they decide what's "good", and try to get rid of "bad". Ridiculous ! Totally ridiculous ! They forget the cause-effect principle, don't they ? After that, which will play "bad", outdated or "least good" from the "good", I guess. haha ! Who gives them right to decide ?
haha ! thinking of how great human think of themselves out of nowhere ! Why an alien must always have a part that human can define, legs ? eyes ? hand ? ... even fairy/god/devil ... why must they have human or look-like-human form ?
Enough of non-sense thinking ! haha ! Time to get back to project, project and project !!!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Essentially Japanese Cooking & Cuisine - Hideo Dekura : Seasonal Cuisine
Japan has four distinct seasons, each involving its own particular foods. The word shun refers to the time when any one food is in peak season and at its absolute best. At this time there is always an abundance of those foods and prices usually come down, so it is peak season for consumers in all respects. Japanese people love the changing seasons, always looking forward to the new products with the different cooking methods they bring. This can be quite a contrast to some Western countries where many foods are now available all year round and food seems to bear little relevance to the season. Symbolic of spring are bonito and takenoko (bamboo shoots), in summer it is unagi (eel) and suika (watermelon), in autumn kuri (chestnuts), matsutake(mushrooms) and other varieties of mushrooms, while in winter buri (king-fish) and hakusai (Japanese cabbage) abound.
When new season food first comes on the market it is generally in short supply and the price is always high, if not extreme. There is a saying in Japan that each time you eat new season foods you extend your life by 75 days. If you believe that and can afford it, by all means indulge yourself. Then a meal includes nagori (end of season vegetables), it is said to be enriched with the sentiment of a found farewell for those particular ingredients, knowing it will be quite a while before they come around again.
Some events in Japan are also linked to the transition between seasons as they were once defined in China, but are now more notable for the symmetry of the days on which they fall, namely the third of the third, fifth of the fifth, seventh of the seventh, and ninth of the ninth of each year. Collectively they are referred to as sekku and they relate to Shinto ideals of removing impurities, looking after people's health, happiness and safety. Each one has a connection with a particular food, a bit like pudding at Christmas or chocolate eggs at Easter, common for Westerners regardless of their commitment to the associated religious festival.
The first event of the year, momo-no-sekku (the Doll's Festival or Feast of the Dolls) is celebrated by eating such bright and colorful delights as hishi-mochi (triangular rice cakes), hina-arare (fluffy pink rice) or chirashi-zushi (sushi rice with chopped vegetables or fish, not rolled) and drinking sweet amazake (non-alcoholic sake). Families of girls must share (or endure) the delights of having their house taken over by a grand display of Hina-ningy, a set of dolls that represent the Imperial lifestyle at this time.
I love Tango-no-sekko (Boys' Day) in May, not only for the chimaki (food wrapped decoratively in bamboo leaves) or the kashiwa-mochi (red bean mochi wrapped in a Japanese oak leaf), but also for the magnificent strings of koi (carp) kites that decorate all of Japan for the festivities.
Tanabata (the Festival of the Stars) in the heat of July, represents a time when two lovers re-unite in the heavens and is a time when people write down their romantic wishes on colorful strips of paper and hand them on a bamboo branch outside the house. It is fast fading from general popularity in big cities, except in primary schools, but you may still come across these decorations in rural areas. Because it occurs in summer, the most commonly associated food are somen (cold noodles), previously cold soba and before that rice cakes.
The ninth of September is the official date for Kiku-matsuri (chrysanthemum moon), but it is celebrated any time from September to the end of November, depending on the area, with beautiful displays of chrysanthemums of every color and variety - a veritable feast for the eyes. Traditionally it was celebrated with a cup of sake with floating chrysanthemum petals. Today, the tradition is in decline and often just an excuse to get stuck into the sake, if one needs an excuse.
It seems that some festivals have lost popularity while others have gained it. Whether it relates to changing lifestyle, commercialism or something more subtle I do not know. However, I can confidently say that those festivals that are still widely celebrated have become ingrained in Japanese culture and the foods that are so closely linked to them create an interesting aspect of Japanese cuisine.
SPRING
If you ask Japanese people for a symbol of spring they will say sakura (cherry blossom). We rejoice at the coming of spring and feel nostalgia and wonder at the short life of the sakura. People start to enjoy outdoor activities as o-hanami (cherry blossom season) begins and picnics are enjoyed under the cherry blossoms all over Japan.
The first days of spring herald the arrival of so many wonderful seasonal foods including sansai (mountain vegetables) growing wild along the roadside or riverbank. Gathering and cooking these vegetables at their peak in early spring with their bitterness, individual relish and distinct flavors is a wonderful pleasure of the season. These days some sansai are cultivated and you can buy them in the supermarket to use in tempura and salads. Once yo have enjoyed sansai you will never forget the experience.
Bamboo shoots are another food heavily associated with spring. In March, bamboo shoots of the new harvest are at a premium, but only one month later it is shun (the middle of the season) and a large amount of bamboo shoots come on to the market so that prices drop and people can easily enjoy a huge variety of bamboo shoot dishes.
In the spring fields, the beautiful yellow rape flower spreads. Rape flower is a plant of the brassica napus family, which also includes cabbage, broccoli and komatsuna (mustard spinach). Rape flower is sometimes used to make edible oil and is also used as a salad dressing. Today in Japan, canola oil is made from cultivated rape flowers and edible aburana (rape leaves)are available at vegetable stands or supermarkets.
Spring Product :
- Vegetables : Rape flower, bamboo shoots, sansai.
- Fish : spring bonito, garfish.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Takenoko no shiroae
Bamboo Shoot White Tofu Salad
Ingredients
- 300g momen-dofu(hard tofu)
- 100g kintoki carrots, peeled (Japanese carrot are bitter and reddish, but in this dish it is best to use kintoki carrot which as a sweet flavor after cooking)
- 300g takenoko (pre-cooed bamboo shoot)
- 100g konnyaku potato
- 4 tablespoons dashi
- 1/2 table spoons light-color soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 4 stems nanohana (rape leaves) or asparagus, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds, ground.
Steps
1 . To extract the liquid from the tofu, wrap in muslin cloth or thick kitchen paper, place in a bowl, put a weight on top and stand for about 20 minutes in the fridge.
2 . Julienne carrot, takenoko and konnyaku, Blanch in salted water and drain.
3 . Combine sashi, soy sauce and mirin in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add vegetables and nanohana (or optional ingredients : beans, spinach(silverbeet), mushrooms, usu-age(fried thick sliced tofu), kaki (persimmon), and pears) and leave to soak for about 20 minutes.
4 . In a bowl, mash tofu with a potato masher. Stir in sugar, remaining 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce, and salt. Add sesame seeds and mix through.
5 . Strain vegetables and combine them with the tofu and any additional optional ingredients.
SUMMER
Everyone gives a sigh of relief when the hot summer arrives after suffering the inconvenience of tsuyu, the rainy season in late May and early Jun, even though summer can be rather damp and sticky too. In face, it is often so humid in the middle of summer that even when you are standing still, sweat oozes from every pore and you are likely to spend many a restless night unless you have air conditioning, which fortunately many people do.
I remember enduring the discomfort of summer heat in the days before air conditioning and the sound of mother hosing the front entrance in preparation for guests, and the deep, deep blue of the noren (traditional fabric dividers) hanging across the doorways inside, which gave us a feeling of coolness.
Even now, the spectacle of an ice-carving display of giant proportions in a fashionable alleyway in Odawara in the height of summer can have the same effect, but we also rely on the cooling effects of some of the foods we eat in summer. For instance, a pile of freshly grated daikon(white radish) on a plate suggests the iciness of a pile of soft snow and its piquant flavor refreshes as well as stimulating digestion. Sometimes a serving dish carved from a block of ice produces a wonderful cooling impart.
When I travel around Japan in summer, I usually feel like eating plain, simple food like noodles or eel. I feel it gives me energy. The roasted, wheaty flavor of a cup of cold mugi-cha(herbal-tea) is one of the best, most refreshing summer drinks, though an icy cold Japanese beer is pretty good too.
Summer product:
- Vegetables: Eggplants, Edamame (green soy beans)
- Fish: Jew-fish, Spanish mackerel
Nasu no aga oroshi ni
Fried Eggplant with Daikon
In Japan, several kinds of eggplants are used but the large eggplants common in Western countries are rarely seen. Ours are small and thin with a soft skin and delicate flavor. Eggplant can be stewed, pickled, or deep fried depending on the type. Round ones have firm texture with sweet flavor, they are good for stewing or dengaku (light deep fried). Kyoto is very famous for its kaga-nasu
Ingredients
- 4 small kaga-nasu (eggplants/aubergines)
- Salt
- 4 Okra
- 4 tablespoons peeled and grated daikon radish
- 1 red chili, chopped
- 200ml dashi
- 50ml soy sauce
- 25ml mirin
- 25 sake
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
Steps
1 . Make 5 or 6 slits lengthways along the eggplants then soak in salted water.
2 . Season okra with salt, then blanch. Drain and keep them under running water for a while to cool and keep the green color. Slice diagonally.
3 . Combine daikon and chili and set aside.
4 . In a pan, simmer dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sake. Meanwhile, drain the eggplants and wipe dry with kitchen paper. Deep fry in vegetable oil at medium heat or approximately 120*C. Drain well on kitchen paper.
5 . Place eggplant and okra in sauce and continue to simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Serve garnished with the daikon and chili.
AUTUMN
In autumn, everything tastes better. The weather becomes mild after the scorching summer and it is the season for harvesting rice and many fruits and vegetables. Matsutaki mushrooms are at their most delicate in autumn. Matsutaki have an individual aroma that captivates people's appetites and although they are quite expensive, people are eager to taste them.
In autumn, nights are becoming cooler but the days are still warm from summer. Leaves are turning gold, orange, red and brown; it is the most colorful season in the year.
Autumn product:
- Vegetables and fruits: yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit), chestnuts, black beans, apples and grapes.
- Fish: samma(pike fish), saba (mackerel)
Kuri-gohan
Chestnut Rice
Gardenia berries are a natural yellow coloring agent available from Asian groceries. They are used to color chestnuts, pickled daikon-radish, noodles and snacks.
Ingredients:
- 3 pieces dried gardenia berries
- 20 chestnuts (preferably large ones), shelled
- 2 cups short grain rice
- 1 cup mochi-gome (short grain sticky rice)
- 3 cup water
- Salt, pinch
- 1 tablespoon mirin
Steps:
1 . Crush gardenia berries and soak in water with chestnuts overnight.
2 . Rinse rice and mochi-gome and place in a pan or rice cooker. Add water, salt and mirin.
3 . Drain chestnuts, add to the rice and cook together.
4 . When cooked, mix rice lightly with a rice paddle.
Note : To remove chestnut shells, roast over high heat in a frying pan until the shell is scorched, then remove shell with a sharp knife.
WINTER
Winter is the best season for hot-pt cooking. In the Edo Era(1603 - 1867) when a basic food culture was established, a small table and a small hot-pot were provided to each person. The Meiji Era (1867 - 1912) introduced different varieties of hot-pot cooking, for example gyu-nabe (beef hot-pot), which used seasonal and local ingredients. The combination of ingredients in hot-pots are easily adjusted depending on the seasoning available and the method of eating; in Tokyo-style sukiyaki, warashita (prepared sukiyaki sauce of stock, soy sauce, mirin and sugar), is used with beef and vegetables. In the Osaka-style sukiyaki, the beef is put in the hot-pot first, sugar is added and fried then soy sauce and seasonings are added. There are also other popular hot-pot dishes called mizutaki, shabu-shabu, yu-dofu (warmed tofu) oden, yose-nabe and chanko-nabe. I describe them below.
Mitsutaki : In Fukuoka, the local mizutaki is made by boiling chicken or winter kingfish in hot water and eating it straight from the pot with a dipping sauce - either ponzu (Japanese citrus vinaigrette), or yuzu-kosho (Japanese citrus and pepper condiment). The idea is to taste true umami (deliciousness) - the Japanese fifth flavor in addition to the sweet, salty, sour and bitter flavors recognized in the West. Also added to the mizutaki are Japanese cabbage, spring onion, some mushrooms, shirataki (noodles made of konjac, a yam-like vegetable) and edible chrysanthemums. Sometimes udon (plain flour noodles), pork and beef are used. Finally, some people use the leftover stock, add rice, raw egg and soy sauce and make zosui using the stock of mizudaki or just add rice to make a hotchpotch, medley soup. It's very tasty.
Shabu-shabu : To make shabu-shabu, bring water to the boil in a hot-pot, blanch thin slices of beef a few times in water, then dip into sesame and ponzu (citrus) mixture. You can cook vegetables, tofu and kuzukiri (kuzu noodles) in the hot-pot as well. Mainly we use beef for shabu-shabu but as another option you could use pork, chicken, fugu(puffer fish), octopus, snapper or pacific or snow crab.
Yu-dofu : is simple tofu hot-pot cooking. The dipping sauce is a mixture of soy sauce, sake, mirin and stock or ponzu. The condiment is spring onions, yuzu (Japanese citrus), daikon-oroshi (grated white radish) and shaved bonito flakes.
Oden : is made with a stock of bonito flakes and kelp. Soy sauce is added later. Then konnyaku, daikon, boiled egg and other various ingredients are cooked in the stock. Depending on family choice, some people use many different ingredients. By the way, in Osaka oden is called kantou-daki.
Yose-nabe : uses a variety of vegetables, fish and shellfish. The seasoning is salt, soy sauce, sake and miso. White miso is generally used for yose-nabe. We also use grilled tofu, fried bean curd and fish cake but it can vary greatly. At the end of cooking, noodles or rice are added to the pot and finally it's all eaten together.
Chanko-nabe : is a high calorie power food, which Sumo wrestlers eat. Motsu-nabe uses the organs of cows or pigs, which are cooked in a soy sauce or miso-flavored stock. Ishikari-nabe mainly uses salmon. Kimchee-nabe is a very popular Korean style kimchee(pickled chili haku-sai) hot-pot in Japan.
Winter products :
- Vegetables and fruits : turnip, daikon, haku-sai and gobou (burdock) and citrus fruits.
- Fish: tilefish, kingfish and hokke
Mizutaki
Chicken Hot-Pot in Fukuoka Style
Mizutaki means chicken simmered on the bone in water without using any seasoning. This is a traditional method of cooking (mizu means water, and daki or taki means to cook). A donabe (earthenware pot) is an ideal pot for this dish. Instead of using chicken, you may also choose to use thinly sliced beef of pork.
Ingredients:
- 3 chicken carcasses, chopped into 3-4 pieces each
- 8 chicken wings
- 1 sheet kelp 5 cm square
- 1/4 cup sake
- 500g chicken thigh
- 1/2 cabbage, chopped
- mushrooms to taste, such as enoki, shimeji or shiitake
- 4 spring onions
- 200g momen-dofu (hard tofu)
- Ponzu - dipping sauce
+ 1/3 cup (80ml) lime or grapefruit juice
+ 100ml rice vinegar
+ 150ml soy sauce
+ 10ml dashi stock
+ Shichimi (Japanese seven spices), to taste
- Optional ingredients: French beans or chinese broccoli
Steps :
1 . To make chicken stock, put chicken bones in a large pot - cover with cold water. Bring to boil and skim off surface fat with a ladle. Simmer for 1-2 hours. Strain.
2 . Wipe the sheet of kelp and soak in 1 1/2 litres of water for 30 minutes.
3 . Put chicken wings in an earthen ware pot, pour over the kelp and the water it was soaked in. Bring it to the boil and add sake. Simmer with a lid on for half an hour, occasionally skimming off any surface fat.
4 . Add chicken thigh and sufficient chicken stock to pot, cook for a further half an hour.
5 . Leave to cool for 1 hour with a lid on.
6 . To make dipping sauce, mix all ingredients.
7 . Add vegetables and tofu to pot.
8 . Serve the pot in the centre of table with a portable gas stove if possible.
9 . Eat chicken, tofu and vegetables with dipping sauce.
Note: You can use the stock from Mizutaki to make zoni (Japanese soup with mochi rice cakes) or zosui (Japanese rice soup). To make zosui, add rice to the stock and cook. Finish with whisked egg and salt or light colored soy sauce for seasoning.
Chikuzen ni
Seasonal Vegetables and Chicken in Broth
Ingredients :
- 8 Chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 litre dashi
- 100g fresh or frozen burdock
- 1 medium carrot , peeled and cut in a zigzag along the length of the carrot
- 4 small satoimo (yam) potatoes, peeled
- 4 fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms
- 100g konnyaku jelly, sliced
- 60ml soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 120g caster sugar
Steps :
1 . Heat saucepan. Pour oil in a pan and stir fry chicken tulips until hot. Add dashi and cook for 10 minutes. Occasionally remove scum from the surface.
2 . Using a kitchen scourer, scrub burdock to remove the surface skin and chop into pieces lengthwise.
3 . Add burdock, carrot, satoimo and mushrooms into the dashi and simmer about 10 minutes covered with an otoshibuta lid (wooden lid that sits inside the pan on the top of the vegetable when simmering) or a piece of baking paper the size of the pan.
4 . Lightly stir fry konnyaku in a frying pan. Add a little dashi, then transfer back into the remaining vegetables and dashi mixture.
5 . Add soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar and cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes.
Notes : chiken wings should have the frlesh partially stripped from the bone and inverted to form a tulip shape. Konnyaku jelly is made from the starch of the konnyeku potato or devil tongue.
When new season food first comes on the market it is generally in short supply and the price is always high, if not extreme. There is a saying in Japan that each time you eat new season foods you extend your life by 75 days. If you believe that and can afford it, by all means indulge yourself. Then a meal includes nagori (end of season vegetables), it is said to be enriched with the sentiment of a found farewell for those particular ingredients, knowing it will be quite a while before they come around again.
Some events in Japan are also linked to the transition between seasons as they were once defined in China, but are now more notable for the symmetry of the days on which they fall, namely the third of the third, fifth of the fifth, seventh of the seventh, and ninth of the ninth of each year. Collectively they are referred to as sekku and they relate to Shinto ideals of removing impurities, looking after people's health, happiness and safety. Each one has a connection with a particular food, a bit like pudding at Christmas or chocolate eggs at Easter, common for Westerners regardless of their commitment to the associated religious festival.
The first event of the year, momo-no-sekku (the Doll's Festival or Feast of the Dolls) is celebrated by eating such bright and colorful delights as hishi-mochi (triangular rice cakes), hina-arare (fluffy pink rice) or chirashi-zushi (sushi rice with chopped vegetables or fish, not rolled) and drinking sweet amazake (non-alcoholic sake). Families of girls must share (or endure) the delights of having their house taken over by a grand display of Hina-ningy, a set of dolls that represent the Imperial lifestyle at this time.
I love Tango-no-sekko (Boys' Day) in May, not only for the chimaki (food wrapped decoratively in bamboo leaves) or the kashiwa-mochi (red bean mochi wrapped in a Japanese oak leaf), but also for the magnificent strings of koi (carp) kites that decorate all of Japan for the festivities.
Tanabata (the Festival of the Stars) in the heat of July, represents a time when two lovers re-unite in the heavens and is a time when people write down their romantic wishes on colorful strips of paper and hand them on a bamboo branch outside the house. It is fast fading from general popularity in big cities, except in primary schools, but you may still come across these decorations in rural areas. Because it occurs in summer, the most commonly associated food are somen (cold noodles), previously cold soba and before that rice cakes.
The ninth of September is the official date for Kiku-matsuri (chrysanthemum moon), but it is celebrated any time from September to the end of November, depending on the area, with beautiful displays of chrysanthemums of every color and variety - a veritable feast for the eyes. Traditionally it was celebrated with a cup of sake with floating chrysanthemum petals. Today, the tradition is in decline and often just an excuse to get stuck into the sake, if one needs an excuse.
It seems that some festivals have lost popularity while others have gained it. Whether it relates to changing lifestyle, commercialism or something more subtle I do not know. However, I can confidently say that those festivals that are still widely celebrated have become ingrained in Japanese culture and the foods that are so closely linked to them create an interesting aspect of Japanese cuisine.
SPRING
If you ask Japanese people for a symbol of spring they will say sakura (cherry blossom). We rejoice at the coming of spring and feel nostalgia and wonder at the short life of the sakura. People start to enjoy outdoor activities as o-hanami (cherry blossom season) begins and picnics are enjoyed under the cherry blossoms all over Japan.
The first days of spring herald the arrival of so many wonderful seasonal foods including sansai (mountain vegetables) growing wild along the roadside or riverbank. Gathering and cooking these vegetables at their peak in early spring with their bitterness, individual relish and distinct flavors is a wonderful pleasure of the season. These days some sansai are cultivated and you can buy them in the supermarket to use in tempura and salads. Once yo have enjoyed sansai you will never forget the experience.
Bamboo shoots are another food heavily associated with spring. In March, bamboo shoots of the new harvest are at a premium, but only one month later it is shun (the middle of the season) and a large amount of bamboo shoots come on to the market so that prices drop and people can easily enjoy a huge variety of bamboo shoot dishes.
In the spring fields, the beautiful yellow rape flower spreads. Rape flower is a plant of the brassica napus family, which also includes cabbage, broccoli and komatsuna (mustard spinach). Rape flower is sometimes used to make edible oil and is also used as a salad dressing. Today in Japan, canola oil is made from cultivated rape flowers and edible aburana (rape leaves)are available at vegetable stands or supermarkets.
Spring Product :
- Vegetables : Rape flower, bamboo shoots, sansai.
- Fish : spring bonito, garfish.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Takenoko no shiroae
Bamboo Shoot White Tofu Salad
Ingredients
- 300g momen-dofu(hard tofu)
- 100g kintoki carrots, peeled (Japanese carrot are bitter and reddish, but in this dish it is best to use kintoki carrot which as a sweet flavor after cooking)
- 300g takenoko (pre-cooed bamboo shoot)
- 100g konnyaku potato
- 4 tablespoons dashi
- 1/2 table spoons light-color soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 4 stems nanohana (rape leaves) or asparagus, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds, ground.
Steps
1 . To extract the liquid from the tofu, wrap in muslin cloth or thick kitchen paper, place in a bowl, put a weight on top and stand for about 20 minutes in the fridge.
2 . Julienne carrot, takenoko and konnyaku, Blanch in salted water and drain.
3 . Combine sashi, soy sauce and mirin in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add vegetables and nanohana (or optional ingredients : beans, spinach(silverbeet), mushrooms, usu-age(fried thick sliced tofu), kaki (persimmon), and pears) and leave to soak for about 20 minutes.
4 . In a bowl, mash tofu with a potato masher. Stir in sugar, remaining 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce, and salt. Add sesame seeds and mix through.
5 . Strain vegetables and combine them with the tofu and any additional optional ingredients.
SUMMER
Everyone gives a sigh of relief when the hot summer arrives after suffering the inconvenience of tsuyu, the rainy season in late May and early Jun, even though summer can be rather damp and sticky too. In face, it is often so humid in the middle of summer that even when you are standing still, sweat oozes from every pore and you are likely to spend many a restless night unless you have air conditioning, which fortunately many people do.
I remember enduring the discomfort of summer heat in the days before air conditioning and the sound of mother hosing the front entrance in preparation for guests, and the deep, deep blue of the noren (traditional fabric dividers) hanging across the doorways inside, which gave us a feeling of coolness.
Even now, the spectacle of an ice-carving display of giant proportions in a fashionable alleyway in Odawara in the height of summer can have the same effect, but we also rely on the cooling effects of some of the foods we eat in summer. For instance, a pile of freshly grated daikon(white radish) on a plate suggests the iciness of a pile of soft snow and its piquant flavor refreshes as well as stimulating digestion. Sometimes a serving dish carved from a block of ice produces a wonderful cooling impart.
When I travel around Japan in summer, I usually feel like eating plain, simple food like noodles or eel. I feel it gives me energy. The roasted, wheaty flavor of a cup of cold mugi-cha(herbal-tea) is one of the best, most refreshing summer drinks, though an icy cold Japanese beer is pretty good too.
Summer product:
- Vegetables: Eggplants, Edamame (green soy beans)
- Fish: Jew-fish, Spanish mackerel
Nasu no aga oroshi ni
Fried Eggplant with Daikon
In Japan, several kinds of eggplants are used but the large eggplants common in Western countries are rarely seen. Ours are small and thin with a soft skin and delicate flavor. Eggplant can be stewed, pickled, or deep fried depending on the type. Round ones have firm texture with sweet flavor, they are good for stewing or dengaku (light deep fried). Kyoto is very famous for its kaga-nasu
Ingredients
- 4 small kaga-nasu (eggplants/aubergines)
- Salt
- 4 Okra
- 4 tablespoons peeled and grated daikon radish
- 1 red chili, chopped
- 200ml dashi
- 50ml soy sauce
- 25ml mirin
- 25 sake
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
Steps
1 . Make 5 or 6 slits lengthways along the eggplants then soak in salted water.
2 . Season okra with salt, then blanch. Drain and keep them under running water for a while to cool and keep the green color. Slice diagonally.
3 . Combine daikon and chili and set aside.
4 . In a pan, simmer dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sake. Meanwhile, drain the eggplants and wipe dry with kitchen paper. Deep fry in vegetable oil at medium heat or approximately 120*C. Drain well on kitchen paper.
5 . Place eggplant and okra in sauce and continue to simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Serve garnished with the daikon and chili.
AUTUMN
In autumn, everything tastes better. The weather becomes mild after the scorching summer and it is the season for harvesting rice and many fruits and vegetables. Matsutaki mushrooms are at their most delicate in autumn. Matsutaki have an individual aroma that captivates people's appetites and although they are quite expensive, people are eager to taste them.
In autumn, nights are becoming cooler but the days are still warm from summer. Leaves are turning gold, orange, red and brown; it is the most colorful season in the year.
Autumn product:
- Vegetables and fruits: yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit), chestnuts, black beans, apples and grapes.
- Fish: samma(pike fish), saba (mackerel)
Kuri-gohan
Chestnut Rice
Gardenia berries are a natural yellow coloring agent available from Asian groceries. They are used to color chestnuts, pickled daikon-radish, noodles and snacks.
Ingredients:
- 3 pieces dried gardenia berries
- 20 chestnuts (preferably large ones), shelled
- 2 cups short grain rice
- 1 cup mochi-gome (short grain sticky rice)
- 3 cup water
- Salt, pinch
- 1 tablespoon mirin
Steps:
1 . Crush gardenia berries and soak in water with chestnuts overnight.
2 . Rinse rice and mochi-gome and place in a pan or rice cooker. Add water, salt and mirin.
3 . Drain chestnuts, add to the rice and cook together.
4 . When cooked, mix rice lightly with a rice paddle.
Note : To remove chestnut shells, roast over high heat in a frying pan until the shell is scorched, then remove shell with a sharp knife.
WINTER
Winter is the best season for hot-pt cooking. In the Edo Era(1603 - 1867) when a basic food culture was established, a small table and a small hot-pot were provided to each person. The Meiji Era (1867 - 1912) introduced different varieties of hot-pot cooking, for example gyu-nabe (beef hot-pot), which used seasonal and local ingredients. The combination of ingredients in hot-pots are easily adjusted depending on the seasoning available and the method of eating; in Tokyo-style sukiyaki, warashita (prepared sukiyaki sauce of stock, soy sauce, mirin and sugar), is used with beef and vegetables. In the Osaka-style sukiyaki, the beef is put in the hot-pot first, sugar is added and fried then soy sauce and seasonings are added. There are also other popular hot-pot dishes called mizutaki, shabu-shabu, yu-dofu (warmed tofu) oden, yose-nabe and chanko-nabe. I describe them below.
Mitsutaki : In Fukuoka, the local mizutaki is made by boiling chicken or winter kingfish in hot water and eating it straight from the pot with a dipping sauce - either ponzu (Japanese citrus vinaigrette), or yuzu-kosho (Japanese citrus and pepper condiment). The idea is to taste true umami (deliciousness) - the Japanese fifth flavor in addition to the sweet, salty, sour and bitter flavors recognized in the West. Also added to the mizutaki are Japanese cabbage, spring onion, some mushrooms, shirataki (noodles made of konjac, a yam-like vegetable) and edible chrysanthemums. Sometimes udon (plain flour noodles), pork and beef are used. Finally, some people use the leftover stock, add rice, raw egg and soy sauce and make zosui using the stock of mizudaki or just add rice to make a hotchpotch, medley soup. It's very tasty.
Shabu-shabu : To make shabu-shabu, bring water to the boil in a hot-pot, blanch thin slices of beef a few times in water, then dip into sesame and ponzu (citrus) mixture. You can cook vegetables, tofu and kuzukiri (kuzu noodles) in the hot-pot as well. Mainly we use beef for shabu-shabu but as another option you could use pork, chicken, fugu(puffer fish), octopus, snapper or pacific or snow crab.
Yu-dofu : is simple tofu hot-pot cooking. The dipping sauce is a mixture of soy sauce, sake, mirin and stock or ponzu. The condiment is spring onions, yuzu (Japanese citrus), daikon-oroshi (grated white radish) and shaved bonito flakes.
Oden : is made with a stock of bonito flakes and kelp. Soy sauce is added later. Then konnyaku, daikon, boiled egg and other various ingredients are cooked in the stock. Depending on family choice, some people use many different ingredients. By the way, in Osaka oden is called kantou-daki.
Yose-nabe : uses a variety of vegetables, fish and shellfish. The seasoning is salt, soy sauce, sake and miso. White miso is generally used for yose-nabe. We also use grilled tofu, fried bean curd and fish cake but it can vary greatly. At the end of cooking, noodles or rice are added to the pot and finally it's all eaten together.
Chanko-nabe : is a high calorie power food, which Sumo wrestlers eat. Motsu-nabe uses the organs of cows or pigs, which are cooked in a soy sauce or miso-flavored stock. Ishikari-nabe mainly uses salmon. Kimchee-nabe is a very popular Korean style kimchee(pickled chili haku-sai) hot-pot in Japan.
Winter products :
- Vegetables and fruits : turnip, daikon, haku-sai and gobou (burdock) and citrus fruits.
- Fish: tilefish, kingfish and hokke
Mizutaki
Chicken Hot-Pot in Fukuoka Style
Mizutaki means chicken simmered on the bone in water without using any seasoning. This is a traditional method of cooking (mizu means water, and daki or taki means to cook). A donabe (earthenware pot) is an ideal pot for this dish. Instead of using chicken, you may also choose to use thinly sliced beef of pork.
Ingredients:
- 3 chicken carcasses, chopped into 3-4 pieces each
- 8 chicken wings
- 1 sheet kelp 5 cm square
- 1/4 cup sake
- 500g chicken thigh
- 1/2 cabbage, chopped
- mushrooms to taste, such as enoki, shimeji or shiitake
- 4 spring onions
- 200g momen-dofu (hard tofu)
- Ponzu - dipping sauce
+ 1/3 cup (80ml) lime or grapefruit juice
+ 100ml rice vinegar
+ 150ml soy sauce
+ 10ml dashi stock
+ Shichimi (Japanese seven spices), to taste
- Optional ingredients: French beans or chinese broccoli
Steps :
1 . To make chicken stock, put chicken bones in a large pot - cover with cold water. Bring to boil and skim off surface fat with a ladle. Simmer for 1-2 hours. Strain.
2 . Wipe the sheet of kelp and soak in 1 1/2 litres of water for 30 minutes.
3 . Put chicken wings in an earthen ware pot, pour over the kelp and the water it was soaked in. Bring it to the boil and add sake. Simmer with a lid on for half an hour, occasionally skimming off any surface fat.
4 . Add chicken thigh and sufficient chicken stock to pot, cook for a further half an hour.
5 . Leave to cool for 1 hour with a lid on.
6 . To make dipping sauce, mix all ingredients.
7 . Add vegetables and tofu to pot.
8 . Serve the pot in the centre of table with a portable gas stove if possible.
9 . Eat chicken, tofu and vegetables with dipping sauce.
Note: You can use the stock from Mizutaki to make zoni (Japanese soup with mochi rice cakes) or zosui (Japanese rice soup). To make zosui, add rice to the stock and cook. Finish with whisked egg and salt or light colored soy sauce for seasoning.
Chikuzen ni
Seasonal Vegetables and Chicken in Broth
Ingredients :
- 8 Chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 litre dashi
- 100g fresh or frozen burdock
- 1 medium carrot , peeled and cut in a zigzag along the length of the carrot
- 4 small satoimo (yam) potatoes, peeled
- 4 fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms
- 100g konnyaku jelly, sliced
- 60ml soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 120g caster sugar
Steps :
1 . Heat saucepan. Pour oil in a pan and stir fry chicken tulips until hot. Add dashi and cook for 10 minutes. Occasionally remove scum from the surface.
2 . Using a kitchen scourer, scrub burdock to remove the surface skin and chop into pieces lengthwise.
3 . Add burdock, carrot, satoimo and mushrooms into the dashi and simmer about 10 minutes covered with an otoshibuta lid (wooden lid that sits inside the pan on the top of the vegetable when simmering) or a piece of baking paper the size of the pan.
4 . Lightly stir fry konnyaku in a frying pan. Add a little dashi, then transfer back into the remaining vegetables and dashi mixture.
5 . Add soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar and cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes.
Notes : chiken wings should have the frlesh partially stripped from the bone and inverted to form a tulip shape. Konnyaku jelly is made from the starch of the konnyeku potato or devil tongue.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
E.M.O.D
Extreme Mode Of Depression !!!
Only because I was not happy when I was supposed to [dreaming of my unrequited love]...
Remember not a long time ago, it could make my whole day a pinkish paradise ...
Why ?
Why didn't I feel happy ?
Why don't I feel hopeful ?
It doesn't happen everyday, do I know that ?
And I may not happen again, do I realize that ?
She is my ultimate goal, no ?
Perhaps it's "Good Ending" is the reason, when I was so much into it yesterday. Thought they're stupid, yet couldn't help ... Sigh ... what a scary otaku spirit !!!
Yeah ! Kurokawa is right. I always run away because I'm so afraid of getting hurt. Getting rejected is really painful, and I never want to experience it again. Right, Right ! Whatever you say, I know them all ! Simply cannot bring myself to that execution square one more time ! [A trauma ? I guess ! Sighhhh !]
And to amplify this EMOD, my ID card expires !?! And I had to spend this whole morning walking around different buildings just to know the reason why ! Yet the answer I got is "your inquiry will be processed in 3 working days." What ? 3 working days ? No way !!! Thinking of leaving my favorite working spot for 3 days ? Kind of disappointed when staff are not trained well enough to deal with such circumstance smoothly. Thinking of showing a friendly smiling face to straingers so that they would help me open the entrance door makes me sick !!!!!!!!!!!!
What's more ? I miss Mt.Rainier. Its coldness, freshness, pureness, quietness... the air, the tree, the little fox, (wonder how is she right now), some annoying birds ... And above all, I love to be alone. I miss my best friend, Mono ! Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ! Not sure if the day when I quit researching and work as a chef comes ????
Feel jealous of that stray cat ... nothing to worry at all ! And at least it got one person, me, look at it, and ask myself what it is thinking of behind those eyes ? Me ? I wonder there's a person doing the same thing to these dead-fish eyes.
Want to raise a gold fish ... At least I love to have a pet, a friend so that I can talk to ! what's else, the only thing it can do is ... give me a glance, always be there[... not like it wants to, I know !!], give me a listening ear, never talk a word [... not like it can, yet doesn't want ...just cuz I always have high expectation and respect for quiet type !!!]. I prefer having a bird, or a cat, or a rat [!!! like in Ratatouille]. But ... I myself understand that they are meant to live free .... Sigh ... This time I don't care ! the selfish level 5 me seems to win against my usual selfish level 4 !!!
Yeah ! Right now, I prefer animal, tree, plant, ... whatever from the Mother Nature ... but human. They're so complicated, complicated, and complicated !!!! No matter how many years it takes, scientists could never categorize them !
Like to screw everything up now ! Especially my new move from Shinigami sama ... Flipping table top !!!!
Only because I was not happy when I was supposed to [dreaming of my unrequited love]...
Remember not a long time ago, it could make my whole day a pinkish paradise ...
Why ?
Why didn't I feel happy ?
Why don't I feel hopeful ?
It doesn't happen everyday, do I know that ?
And I may not happen again, do I realize that ?
She is my ultimate goal, no ?
Perhaps it's "Good Ending" is the reason, when I was so much into it yesterday. Thought they're stupid, yet couldn't help ... Sigh ... what a scary otaku spirit !!!
Yeah ! Kurokawa is right. I always run away because I'm so afraid of getting hurt. Getting rejected is really painful, and I never want to experience it again. Right, Right ! Whatever you say, I know them all ! Simply cannot bring myself to that execution square one more time ! [A trauma ? I guess ! Sighhhh !]
And to amplify this EMOD, my ID card expires !?! And I had to spend this whole morning walking around different buildings just to know the reason why ! Yet the answer I got is "your inquiry will be processed in 3 working days." What ? 3 working days ? No way !!! Thinking of leaving my favorite working spot for 3 days ? Kind of disappointed when staff are not trained well enough to deal with such circumstance smoothly. Thinking of showing a friendly smiling face to straingers so that they would help me open the entrance door makes me sick !!!!!!!!!!!!
What's more ? I miss Mt.Rainier. Its coldness, freshness, pureness, quietness... the air, the tree, the little fox, (wonder how is she right now), some annoying birds ... And above all, I love to be alone. I miss my best friend, Mono ! Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ! Not sure if the day when I quit researching and work as a chef comes ????
Feel jealous of that stray cat ... nothing to worry at all ! And at least it got one person, me, look at it, and ask myself what it is thinking of behind those eyes ? Me ? I wonder there's a person doing the same thing to these dead-fish eyes.
Want to raise a gold fish ... At least I love to have a pet, a friend so that I can talk to ! what's else, the only thing it can do is ... give me a glance, always be there[... not like it wants to, I know !!], give me a listening ear, never talk a word [... not like it can, yet doesn't want ...just cuz I always have high expectation and respect for quiet type !!!]. I prefer having a bird, or a cat, or a rat [!!! like in Ratatouille]. But ... I myself understand that they are meant to live free .... Sigh ... This time I don't care ! the selfish level 5 me seems to win against my usual selfish level 4 !!!
Yeah ! Right now, I prefer animal, tree, plant, ... whatever from the Mother Nature ... but human. They're so complicated, complicated, and complicated !!!! No matter how many years it takes, scientists could never categorize them !
Like to screw everything up now ! Especially my new move from Shinigami sama ... Flipping table top !!!!
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