The endless discoveries

There is no need to go far to discover new things and in particular when it comes to food, there is always something new and curious to discover at the farmers market. You just need to look around and you’ll surely find something you haven’t seen before. This time I found negibosu 葱坊主 leek’s flower buds. You can often spot the beautiful flowers in kitchen gardens in the spring, they are amazing ornaments. But I never guessed that would be edible, and that even you would be able to buy them in the bud version at the farmers market. But it is!

So here I am with my negibosu… I thoughts immediately that tempura would be an appropriate recipe. For some reasons, tempura always work well with any green, even with strong flavors: fukinoto is a good example. But what else… and would actually negibosu be strong in flavors? So I browsed a bit the net. Nothing came out neither in French nor in English but for the fully blossomed leek flowers. It was of no help, so I turned to Japanese and bingo! Negibosu have a significant number of entries in cookpad, more than half of them being…

Tempura of course… hum… not helping much either… digging a bit more I finally found the other classic Japanese recipe to accommodate greens: miso ae. Miso ae, in my opinion, works better with creamy miso, the one I have, that I make, is more granular and won’t work as good… one recipe in the end attracted my attention: a goma ae one. So I decided to go for this one, well, my way though. (and the tempura… just in case!!)

So here’s my recipe of goma ae. Suri goma すり胡麻 is ground sesame powder. It’s very easy to make from the sesame seeds, or to buy already powdered.

Negibosu goma ae (2 servings)

A dozen of leek flower buds
1tbs of sesame seeds
1tbs of soya sauce
1tsp of brown sugar

Wash the negibosu, remove the hard part if any, and blanche for a few minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Once cool enough, cut in tiny bite size.

In a mortar, crush the sesame seeds with a pillar to obtain a paste. Add the sugar and soya sauce and stir. Add to the negibosu, stir and that’s ready!! Yes, it’s that simple and you’ll see it’s delicious!!!! Enjoy!

May 1, 2022

Never tired of bamboo shoots

The season for bamboo shoots in Chiba has started just a few weeks ago… juggling between bad weather, and cold days, we went once to search for some with our neighbors but were not lucky enough to find any. Too early for that side of the area. Probably a few wild boar were also quick enough to come before us and dig to pick their own. But it doesn’t matter, we have friends who have friends who have bamboo shoots. And so I ended up with 2 beautiful shoots. I didn’t have time to prepare them in The country, so I took them with us to Tokyo. What a mess to prepare them in my pocket kitchen! But what a reward to eat them!!! I never regret!

This year, after a classic bamboo shoots rice, back then when my parents were visiting, I decided to go with a few different and more creative recipes. I prepared two different recipes. One is a simple sautéed version. So delicious I had to do a second batch! The second is a recipe of steamed buns. Last year I made eagle fern and bamboos shoot ones, but as I am getting better at making buns, I felt it is worth sharing this one!

Both recipes assume that you have a parboiled bamboo shoot. For picking and parboiling look at my earlier post here.

Sautéed bamboo shoots

1 bamboo shoot fresh and parboiled
1tsp of cooking oil
salt and pepper as you like

Cut the bamboo shoot in 4 vertically. Slice each quarter. In a fry pan heat the oil. The add the shoots sliced. Cook until golden, flip on the other side, cook until golden. Sprinkle salt and ground pepper and serve immediately.

Steamed buns (make 8 small, perfect for 2 people as main)

150g of flour
1tsp of baking soda
1 pinch of salt
Water
1/2 bamboo shoot
100g of pork fillet (leftover are perfect)
Soya sauce
Mustard

First prepare the dough by mixing the flour, baking soda, salt and add water little by little until obtaining a smooth dough. Put under a wet cloth and let it rest at least 30min. More is better.

Cook the pork filet if not yet cooked. Simply, in a pan with pepper. Then chop finely.

Chop the bamboo shoot in coarse manner. You want chunks to remain as it will bring the contrast between the smooth dough and meat and the crunchy bamboo. However, if too coarse, filling the buns will be hell. So 3-8mm is a good target.

In a bowl mix the chopped bamboo shoot, the pork, add 1tsp of soya sauce and stir well.

Back to the dough now. Cut in 8 pieces. Make balls and roll with a rolling pin into 12-15cm diameter circle. Put a large spoon if filling in and close the dough. I don’t have a very good technique, but it works well when I first fold in two then fold in the orthogonal direction, then I add fold in each quadrant. For this specific recipe instead of cooking them folds up, I flipped them to hold the folds under. Then steam for 15min. Serve with soya sauce and mustard and enjoy!

April 22, 2022

Always the same, never the same

Since we’ve been working from home, I cook three to four meals a day (we wouldn’t miss a good tea time!) and a whole new routine of recipes slowly replaced old habits. More meals to cook = more chances to explore. I cook more quiche as we spend more time in Ohara, I also cook more steam buns and gyoza, also one dish that has been an almost weekly thing is brown rice and spicy vegetables. As much I love Japanese brown rice, it takes too much time to cook it after coming back from work and have it ready for dinner (about 2 to 3h) so I would almost never make any. Working from home as this perk that starting a recipe is really simple, squeezed between two meetings.

For some reason Thursday is the day we most often have brown rice. And one thing I really love is to have it with some seasonal vegetables and a light spicy sauce. Versions are endless. And with the spring coming and the new vegetables I prepared a very simple and ultra full of flavors version. A few chick peas remaining from the hummus I made the other day, a bit of coconut cream, and a lot of new and fresh onions that our friends gave us. Add some super ripe tomatoes and, because winter is still not completely gone, a sweet potato, you have a great base. Normally I would have added curry to the mixture, but curry powder is on my shopping list and I didn’t have time to go grocery shopping this week. And actually it was good that way. It forced me to explore other spice combination and I realize that curry is not necessary. So if you want a very mild and very tasty recipe for your new onions and your brown rice, just read below and enjoy!

New onions with spice and coconut milk

2-3 new onions
1 sweet potato (one carrot could do, nothing could do too)
1 large and ripe tomato (if you can’t find one just do without)
200ml of coconut cream or coconut milk
1 cup of chick peas, boiled and drained
1tsp of ground cardamom
1tsp of turmeric
1/2tsp of all spice
1/2tsp of ground cumin
1/2tsp of salt
ground black pepper

Remove one layer of onion skin and cut them in 8. Wash and cut the vegetables in bite size.
In a greased pan, on medium heat, put all the vegetables, and the chick peas, and cook for 10min while stirring regularly.
Add the coconut cream, the spices and stir well. Cook under cover for 5min. And that’s ready. Serve with brown rice, but I bet it is also a killer with flat breads or basmati rice.

April 15, 2022

March 26th tart

The day has come again, faster and in a busier moment than usual, my parents being with us. It’s A.’s birthday. The weather has been bad enough to be remembered, A. always says it’s usually sunny on that. Today was not, and after drizzling now it’s pouring. That gave me plenty of time for preparing A.’s birthday cake, or rather tart. He originally wanted a strawberry tart, the classic one, but after stopping at three different places I couldn’t find proper local strawberries with the correct size. So we agreed on a chocolate tart. Last year one was a big hit!

But you know me… I like to try new recipes rather than doing over and over the same things. So I made a classic dark chocolate tart using my recipe from last year, but I also improvised a new one with A’s favorite white chocolate, coconut and cardamom. And though I am not a fan of white chocolate, it was surprisingly not as rich I thought it would be and I enjoyed it a lot. So here is my recipe.

White chocolate tart (4 servings)

Flour, sugar, butter and a bit of water for the dough.
110g of white chocolate
100ml of coconut cream
2tsp of ground cardamom
1tbsp of brown caster sugar
4tbs of ground coconut
1 egg

Prepare the dough and bake it, until still soft and about to golden.

In a pan heated at low heat stir together the chocolate, coconut cream, add the sugar, the ground coconut and the cardamom. Let cool then add the egg. Stir well and pour in the baked pie crust. Bake for 10-15min at 150deg. Let cool a bit and enjoy!

March 26, 2022

Sorry for neglecting you…

For those that follow me on instagram or Facebook, you already know what I was up to, for those who don’t let me summarize why there hasn’t been a post in two weeks.

No, I have not decided to go on a two week fast. No I have not stopped cooking. Well… I have been what we call “busy”. Started a new professor position with the University of Tokyo on the first. The day Japan started accepting new visa applications. Then it’s been a race to know if my parents would get one, how, produce all the documents, run here there to gather and send everything. Then prepare their arrival, cancel, rebook etc… and finally, 2 days before the D-day they arrived in Japan.

Then now spending some time with them. Cooking for them, strolling around with them, and working too.

Yesterday I received the insignia of the French National Order of Merit (the reason why my parents could enter Japan!) and we could share this moment altogether.

And now we’re enjoying some time in the country… eating delicious local food.

So, accept my apologies if I am not trying new recipes or inventing new ones. I’ll be back soon!!

March 19, 2022

End of winter recipe

It was 13 years since I left Tokyo University for Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and started my own research lab. The beginnings were hard but the past few years I really reached a stable balance… maybe too much balance… it was time to change… I’m back at the university of Tokyo… and starting from 0 again!!! You may call me crazy but I need some challenges to feel good. So as you can imagine the transition is keeping me busy and I don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen. Even though…

I can’t help spending 10min to prepare something to eat, and improvise a little new recipe with what was in the fridge: tiny potatoes, komatsuna and eggs. The preparation is very simple, it takes just a bit of time to cook it, which is perfect, hands are free to work!!!

Komatsuna jagga 小松菜じゃが (2 servings as full course)

10 small potatoes
3-5 bundles of komatsuna
1 piece of thin aburage
20g of katsuobushi flakes
2tbs of soya sauce
1tsp of oil
2 eggs (optional)

Peel the potatoes and slice them, wash the komatsuna and cut them 2cm long. Slice thinly the aburage. In a greased (with the oil) pan put the potatoes and komatsuna and cook at high heat for 2min. Then add the aburage and cover with water, add the katsuobushi flakes, the soya sauce, and the eggs, stir well and cover. Let cook for 10min or until the potatoes are soft. You can serve as a soup or remove the cover and let the liquid evaporates before serving. Eat hot, because spring may be around the corner, evenings are still cold!!!

March 4, 2022

A day-trip to Mashiko

Days off in the middle of the week are rare. Most national holidays would be somehow close to a weekend, so we would spend them in Ohara. This year the emperor birthday was on a Wednesday and we had to be in Tokyo the day before and the day after. Everyday I see mount Fuji from the window I want to go there, so we first thought about going there. But the fear of wasting our time in traffic jam, and the lack of idea of places to visit around kind of killed the idea in the egg. Instead we were looking for a place with not only rich nature, but something more. I pulled out our old guide books and we ended up picking Mashiko as our destination for the day. Our criteria were simple: the driving time should be about 90min, it has to have great natural environment, it has to have some craft or art to see, and some historical sights, finally a possible, even short, hike with a spot to lay a blanket and picnic in the sun. Mashiko 益子 is about 130km from Tokyo, many sites recently registered as national cultural heritage, in particular some temples in the forest near hiking trails, and is famous for its potteries. Additionally the place where Shoji Hamada, who contributed to the creation of Mingei 民藝. It ticks all the boxes.

Mashiko is a small potter town. It is all well set to be a tourist attraction, but the pandemic made our visit a little paradise. Very few tourists in the main street, and even fewer people to the slightly more remote sights such as temples and shrines, and Hamada’s house. So every thing was quiet, bathing in the warm light of the cold winter sun.

Many of the pottery shops on the main street are just average but some do have a very nice collection of Mashiko yaki 益子焼. Some are more like galleries with edgy works. The indigo dye house down the corner of the street is worth the visit. On the opposite direction of the street, the big plaza with the ignominious giant tanuki (see picture above) is more so-so, but continue further and there is an amazing antique shop. But what we really felt for was Hamada’s residence, about 15min away on the other side of the hill. The walk there was charming, and the property is pure delight. It is nice to see all these kilns covered going uphill. Abd the Saimyoji temple and the Tsuna shrine.

Random pictures of Hamada’s house, Saimyoji, Tsuna shrine, the best 3 of Mashiko for me

It was really cold there but it was beautiful and quiet, and people really kind. I’m sure we’ve missed some interesting sights, but that’ll give us an excuse to visit again!!!

And as we could go back to Tokyo without packing on local products we stopped at Mashiko michi no eki 道の駅, a very nice new wooden structure, also quiet and spacious, to pack on fresh fruits and vegetables and on staples such as flour, soba, rices. They had an excellent selection very nicely presented.

We didn’t know what to expect exactly but Mashiko surely charmed us!

February 24, 2022

Hassaku – 八朔

Two weeks without a post is a grand premiere here… For the past 7 years I have been posting a few times a week and at most every 10 days when I was busy at work and on travel. So why 2 weeks this time? Well… travel is definitely not what is taking any of my time, even though we had a failed attempt to go back to France back in November, and the planning took a lot of our time, only to cancel everything 5 days prior departure because the situation was not looking too good in France then… but that’s a long time ago! I can tell you that work has been busy but nothing out of the ordinary. So what? Have I quit cooking??? For sure not! But what did I cook then? Well, first a lot of things that were delicious but definitely not photogenic. Then a lot of cruising dishes: quiches, bread and scones but I bet you don’t need another recipe of any of these…

Then we harvested all our hassaku and I went into a little plan of making several recipes…

But in the end we love the raw fruits so much, plain and simple, that apart from a little batch of marmelade, but I’m no good to teach anyone how to make it, rather I should learn myself, I made a lot of candied peels after we’ve eaten the flesh. Though we eat little sugar, I love candied fruits and citrus peels of sorts candied. At that, I think I can proudly say that I am not bad! I have learned patience and it is paying off! So here’s my recipe, but if you don’t have hasaku, it works with any other citrus fruits. I personally like the thick skin of hassaku, but lemon, orange, yuzu… they all can work perfectly too. You just need to be sure that your fruits are untreated before and after harvest, that’s why I only candy peels of fruits I am sure about.

Citrus fruits candied peel

Untreated citrus fruits of your choice
Sugar ( I use only untreated brown cane sugar)
Water
Patience
Dark chocolate (optional)

Candied peels work in any batch size. Wash and dry your fruits. Peel them being careful to be as close to the flesh as possible. Remove any possible fibers layer. Cut the size you like. I like thick ones so that they are almost a square section.

In a pan set the peels. Pour water in a measure cup. From that cup pour into the pan to cover the peels. Check how much you poured in. Add the same volume of sugar to the preparation. Bring to a boil, let on low heat for 15 min. Let cool down in the pan for two hours at least, longer is good. The peel will start to loose their opacity. Bring to a boil again, and cook at low heat for 10 min again. If the liquid is to little add just a bit of water. Let cool down again, and repeat the heating/cooling until the peels are translucent adding just a bit of water not to burn them and such that the syrup doesn’t turn into caramel. When perfectly translucent, heat a last time and move the peels from the pan to a clean surface. I use cooking paper. Let cool down. Now they are ready. You can store them or dip them in chocolate, roll them in cristal sugar (but really, they don’t need anymore sugar!)… I love them just the way they are, A. likes them coated with chocolate…

February 18, 2022

Total improvisation of a thin leek tart

Some days are just like these… you have an idea in mind and it just doesn’t get away… it sticks in your head and even though work is busy the idea keeps lingering until satisfied. This is exactly what happened with this giant bundle of leek I had sitting on the kitchen table. I pictured them nicely cooked and golden and set on a dough… but what kind of dough??? A puff pastry would have been good but then that would postpone eating the leeks… a pizza dough would be the same… a regular sable or short crust pastry would be too crispy…

That’s when I remembered about a leftover of brown rice I had. And I love brown rice dough. It gives texture and a delicious flavor. But that still wouldn’t make it soft as a pizza dough. No problem, I added a bit of baking powder, resulting in a new texture for the dough rolled 2mm thin. The rice gave a granular texture as plan, the baking powder a fluffy one as plan too. This totally improvised recipe was a total hit! And we were so curious about trying it that I didn’t even took a good shot of it! 🙁 but I surely will make some again soon, before the leeks are gone for good, because spring is just around the corner. The red plum tree is in full blossom and the other plum trees are in full bud ready to burst at anytime now!

Leek tart (4 servings)

1cup of brown rice, cooked
100g of flour
4tbsp of oil (or butter)
a bit of water
1tsp of baling powder
Salt and pepper
5 large leeks

Attention the brown rice needs to be cooked prior to starting the recipe!!!

Wash and cut in strips the leeks. In a pan grease cook then at low heat until soft and golden. If you want to make the process a bit faster add a bit of water now and then.

While the leeks are cooking, pre-heat your oven to 200deg, and in a bowl mix the flour, oil, brown rice. Add the baking powder and a bit of water. Knead until the down is homogeneous. You can water if you fill it is too stiff. Roll the dough to the shape you want about 2-3mm thick. Top with the golden leaks, and set in the oven for 15-20min. Enjoy!

February 6, 2022