Somen

My standard meal in summer is Somen!

It is fine Japanese noodle.

How to make it basicaly

http://english.evidus.com/magazine/recipe/004.html

Do you know the difference between Somen and Hiyamugi?

Both is same kind of noodle.


Actually, using flour is different.
But the biggest difference is Thickness.

It is set diameter size.
  under 1.3mm is called Somen
1.3mm≦ Hiyamugi ≦1.7mm
Over  1.7mm  is Udon

It means, thinest is called somen, and hiyamugi is thicker than somen.　 

However,

Japanese noodle standard was changed (2004),

For handmade ( "te-nobe " in Japanese) dried noodle

    over 1.7mm is set tenobe Udon,

    under 1.7mm can notice Somen or Hiyamugi.

There are no distinction on the law.

So its up to the maker.  ( machine made is no change)

I like all kinds of noodle, but somen is better:)

 I have one more topic.

 What are some colorful noodle?

You can see them in a bunch noodle.

According to the somen campany,
When you eat, please feel cool and fresh not only taste but also its visual.
Because of them, it add some colorful noodle.


We can enjoy eating somen with flowing!



 Also, its taste is plane, so you can make original dishes with idea!

This picture is from Cookpad, I often refer the recipe.

Is it so yummy, don't you think? http://cookpad.com/recipe/1196551

There many somen recipe, please see them:)

http://cookpad.com/category/247

This is my last posting!

Enjoy summer with health food :D

Korean cold noodle

I got a strange instant food from my friend recently.

This is a Korean instant noodle.

But I cannot read the Hangul alphabet!!

What's this???

I searched these shaped letter,

at least I understand.

It is called BIBIM MEN, instant spicy cold noodles.

It is like a HIYASHI CHUKA in Japanese, cold chinese noodle. 

It seemed spicy and cold.... OK! I will make it :D

Oh my God!
I cannot read the Hangul!!

Fortunately, I understand only 2 words. 

Then, I guess and image Hiyashi Chuka noodle!

When I opened the package, there are  an instant noodle and a paste soup.

In this point, there is no quite difference with Japanese instant noodles.

First, prepairing 600ml boiled water and the put noodle into the pan.

Maybe cook it for 3 minuets.

And then, drain out the water and wash it in cold water.

Oh, I don't have hints anymore...

! ! !

This is BIBIM MEN.

Have you ever eaten BIBIM BA?

So, "bibin" means "to mix"!

Second, add the sause and mix it around.

Finally,  put cut cucumbers, hams and fried eggs on the noodle.
You can choose toppings as you like!

Wow!

It looks like Hiyashi Chuka I know...

But taste is spicy after all.

The noodle is chewy and good!

If you've had enough of Japanese soy sause soup, please try this :)

and then,

Someone please tell me the Hangul :D  

SASAMI

Hello!
Are you tired? I don't like hot summer:(

Today, I recommend this food...SASAMI.

It is a breast meat of a chicken.
As you know it's a healthly meat.

Sasami has rich nutritons!
It contains a lot of niacins, pantothenic acids, vitamins B6, proteins, phosphoruss, and vitamins K.
Especially, chicken's proteins are very good!
Also,
niacins- good for preventing from arteriousclerosis (making it difficult for blood to flow)
Vitamins - good for keeping a fine skin


To compare the calorie with other meats.

rib (pork)
200g/ - 772kcal
29g/ a piece - 112kcal

sasami (chicken)
57g/  - 60kcal

What a low calorie food, don't you think?

I made a dish with sasami chicken.

maybe like Bang Bang chicken ( ban ban zi-?)

Ingredients:
sasami- (breast meat of a chicken)
cucumbers
*beansprouts
*tomatos
sesame oil
(*as you like)

Preparation:
Cut cucmbers adding a salt.
Heat sasami and  beansprouts by microwave oven.
Tear sasami while it is hot.
Toss all of them in sesame oil a little.
Serve the dish with tometos.

That's it.
It taste plain and you can feel good flaver of sesami oil.

Harusame Noodles

I like Harusame noodle.

I often eat Soup Harusame Noodle.

It can make instantly like cup noodles.

But more healthy and feel fullness.

Do you know is “harusame” made from?

It’s a mung bean starch.

 (Japanese called; 緑豆Ryokutou,

But it’s not a green bean; ingen-mane.)

Soup harusame have many kinds of flavor.

For example

-Wonton (wantan)

-Egg (kaki-tama)

-Szechuan Hot Noodles (tang-tang-men?)

And so on→http://www.acecook.co.jp/brand/souph/index.html

Especially, I recommend toridashi-tyuka soup.

Chicken base soup and crisp vegetables are good.

And just before eating, you put a pack of ginger into the cup.

The ginger makes your body hot!

There are some advantages of harusame.

l  Low calorie

l  Harusame noodles do not contain any fat or oil (from the company’s web site)

l  Having a diuretic effect

l  Good for the tired body

Harusame noodles have some effectiveness and delicious taste with low in calories.

Because of that, eater can feel of fullness and keep eating regularly.

So it was adopted a proper product for improving the metabolic syndrome!

Here is a more detail. (Japanese)

http://harusame.info/metabokaizen/

Of course, harusame noodle is better than high calorie cup ramen.

But if you eat them every meal only, you may get worse.

This is English pages of the company.

http://www.acecook.co.jp/english/harusame.html

*To Rochelle,

 I could not log in and post yesterday because of the site didn't work.

Thai Food restaurant!

Sawasdee!!

I went to the Thai food restaurant, TINUN.

It located in the su-k Kaihin makuhari 3F.
(the building in front of Kaihin-makuhari station)

You can feel original booth of Thailand:)

At first, I was confused with the open space.

I felt passing very slow time...

But I could be relaxed soonly!

Here is not Japanese restaurant,

so please enjoy this unique atmosphere!

I rdered  Fresh Spring Roll.

It tasted fresh and spicy, dipping in hot souce was so good!

This drink is a Litichi juice.

  

 

This is a Fried Rice Noodle.

( Japanese say "yaki bi-hun")

Most of Thai food are spicy and hot,

but this souce is very mild.

If you are not good at spicy dish, I recommend this.

On this plate, there are including　tofu, eggs, shrimps, beansprouts...and so on.

The left of looks powder is crushed nut.

Last one  was called Graprao.

Stir-fried Spicy Minced Chicken
      with Basil on Rice topped with Fried Egg.

The dish is familir with Japanese taste, I think.
It is like very spicy "soboro" rice.


They were so spicy but good taste.
I learned Japanese dishes are mild and used suger, but these one are adding many kinds of spices and promote our appetite.

Plese enjoy Thai Foods!

Kob Kun Ka!

SPACE Foods

Do you want to live in space?

The Soyuz spacecraft carring Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa was successfully launched at 5:12 a.m. on June 8 (Wed., Japan Standard Time) !!


I was so excited!!
and I play for all of the safety.


Today's topic is the Space Foods!

How do the Astronauts eat foods?
What kind of food can eat in space??


 NASA has about 200 to 300 kinds of space foods.
It is foreign foods, and Japanese foods are also eat.

Today, they can eat meals just like we do on Earth!!

but,

Space foods are in plastic containers.

Some of them can eat by adding water, or be heated in the oven.

A straw is used to drink liquids in sealed package.

(this picture is miso soup and hinomaru-bento)

According to JAXA,

There are Some rules of space food.
*must be safety
*must be preserved for a long time
*hygiene (cleanliness) must be high
*do not happen dangerous factor when eating


Of course, the food menus are controlled the balance nutrients and calories,
But the astronaut's favorite is also fully considered.
Because
mealtime is one of the few times for busy astronauts to relax!!

Astronaut Noguchi brought curry and rice, and ramen in his mission:)

(The expedition 4 crew and the crew of STS-110 ate curry in space)








So eating have very important means for them.

It can work to refresh and reduce the feelings of mental stress
by taking the rich variety delicious meals,
and help them to maintenance and the improvement of the performance.



If you get more interests, please watch the movie of this site!
http://www.jaxagoods.net/space_foods/space_foods.html

You can eat the Space Food at your home on the Earth!!

http://www.jaxagoods.net/

Indian curry

Last week, I went to the indian restaurant!

The name is "Sitar", in Kemigawa, chiba.

When I entered the restaurant, I was so surprized.

Because, my friend works there and wearing a beautiful uniform like sari!!

In store, there is decorated by indian goods.
You should check them inside out:)

I went there at 6:3o pm, so many people enjoyed eating.

First, I orderd the tandoori chicken!

It was juicy and spicy. I love it!!

While drinking mango juice, I was waiting for coming the curry:)

I orderd the set-menu.
*you can choice naan or rice.
*2 kinds of curry.
*with salad

This picture is Shrimp and Keema curry.

-Keema means ground meat in India-

Also my friend choice butter chicken curry and vegetable curry.

All of them is strange but good smell of spices.

I feel that indian curry is as if a spicy soup.

I learned that Japanese curry-rice is quite different!

I find the interesting garnishes.

This is chutney which is indian jam of mango.

It taste sweet and like a marmalade jam.

You can eat it with naan.

I enjoy eating naan dropped the hunting honey too.
There is also indian pickle of onion, called achar.

That is so hot like a kimchi.

There are many kinds of genuine india dish.

I was happy and enjoy good time!!

Access

*It takes 12 minutes by walking from JR Kemigawa station.

*It takes 3 minutes by walking from Keisei Kemigawa station.

(I prefer this route, you can find soon!!)

HP http://www.sitar.co.jp/

Frozen Food

Hi, everyone!
Today’s topic is in refrigerator.

I often buy frozen food!

It is very useful food for busy people.
That’s all right just putting it in the oven or microwave because frozen foods have been almost prepared and preserved already.

Do you think the user is lazy?

But, there are advantages to use Frozen food.
*Simple and easy to eat
*Cook shortly
*Various kinds, easy adding side dish
*Taste is good
*individual packing – it can take dishes one by one

These days, it is used for making bento.
Because of depression, the number of people bringing their own lunch box is increasing.

Frozen foods are your strong supporters!
If you take Frozen food for bento, you can save your time and add many kinds of side food easily.

Of course, there are some problems.
It’s Food safety.
Do you remember the news about Chinese frozen Gyoza in 2008.
It was mixed toxic substance in gyoza and appeared the victims in Japan.

You have to see the point.
*Check list or indication.
*Frozen food can keep long time but it need to preserve at -18°C or less.
*Eating up until best before date.


My favorite dishes are Kara-age (deep fried chickens), Ebi-shaomai (steamed meat dumplings with shrimp), tako-yaki (octopus fritters) and pasta!

Please tell me your mind and recommendations:)

Fake food

Do you think these dishes are able to eat?

It looks so delicious!

But...The answer is NO.

Have you ever see “fake food”?

It is a fake of meals for food sample.
You can often find them in the display cases of restaurants in Japan.

It looks very realistic!
Before enter the shop, it is helpful to imagine what you will eat.

Surprisingly, it is handmade!
The professionals shape each it by their hands.
Why?
Because the dish is different from each other, maker has to make it similar with meal served individually.


The history of food sample is not clear but it seems to be designed from Taisyo to the early Syowa period in Japan.

First, there is a real meal for display.
But, it isn’t good for sanitation.

Next, it is made of wax (used for making Candles) instead of original.
It can keep beautiful longer, and it is appetizing.
However, because of wax food is easy to melt; new materials are developed gradually such as plastic.


I get hungry only just looking!
It is like beautiful sculpture :)

Fake food industry is the one of Japanese food culture!


When I was child, it’s a dream to bring to my room and decorate.
Fortunately, nowadays, my dream came true!!

Sample of food is not always used for sales promotion at restaurant but for toy.
It become key ring, decollation and so on. They are sold as souvenir too.

Japanese toy maker, Bandai released a making kit of sample food for kids!
It is called Konapun, and magical toy power used.
If you have interest, please see this web site!

This is introduction site of Konapun, Bandai. (Japanese)
http://girls.channel.or.jp/konapun/index.html

You can see how to make it.
http://www.edgyjapan.jp/2010/04/20100415-1.html

please enjoy this movie too!

How to make Rice porridge

I have caught a cold since last Friday :'(

Unfortunately, I got a disease: Gastroenteritis.
(It is an illness of the stomach and other food passages that causes diarrhea and vomiting.)

That is Stomachache!

Because of it, I had to go without food for a day.
I could not eat and drink anything.
Just only particular water was allowed. It tasted bad like a salty sports drink.

I was so hungry!!!

So, I decided to go back my hometown.

I took a rest for a while, and next day
My grandmother cooked to me rice porridge (in Japanese: okayu)
It taste was mild and soft due to digests easily.

How to make Rice porridge

Ingredients:
Japanese rice
Water
Salt
*egg
*pickled plum
*depending on your taste

. Preparation
1. Wash Japanese rice.
2. Put water and rice in a pot.
3. Leave it for about 30 minutes to an hour.
4. Boil it on high heat.
5. Turn down the heat to low and cook for about 30 minutes.
6. Stop the heat and steam for about 10minuetes. (Put in egg)
7. Season with salt.
8. You can put various toppings such as pickled plum.
9. Serving!

Please take care to eat because it is very hot :)
And enjoy cooking with seasonings

Introduction

Hi, I am Noriko.

I have lived alone since I enterd in KUIS.
So I make meals by myself.

I like eating very much. But... I' m poor at cooking.
First I refer to recipe, finally something other is made. It's mysterious!
I want to progress skill of cooking more.

p.s. I worried about taking this class because I'm not good at waking up hurry...