Your Home for Homemade Japanese Food

How to cook "with visual instructions" "using familiar ingredients from your local grocery stores" healthy, traditional and delicious Japanese dishes!!


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Japanese Yam Salad (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

Have you ever had Japanese yam?

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It is a kind of potato that grows straight into the ground so it has a long shape. (It sometimes grows to more than 3 feet).

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In Japan, people have eaten the yam for about 3000 years. Therefore, the yam is very important to the Japanese diet.

We can eat this yam raw because it has a gelatinized starch and some of the nutrition in this type of yam are breaks under heat. The Japanese yam is rich in diastase, a digestive enzyme which helps our digestion and absorption of nutrition into the body. Also the yam is high in vitamin B1, vitamin C, calcium, potassium and mucin.

Mucin is soluble fiber and helps keep water in our cells. Therefore, it protects our mucous membranesin the stomach, and protects our body from some viruses. Some studies say the yam also prevents dry eyes because mucin is an ingredient in tears. Mucin gives the yam a great smooth, sticky texture, especially when it is grated. This is great for our body. It heals our tiredness and helps our digestion, so the yam is great for your diet when you are recovering from being sick, when you have no appetite, and so on.

(The yam has Calcium oxalate, so it can sometimes make you feel itchy on your hands or around your lips when you touch it, but you feel better as soon as you wash the itchy part with acid water (a mixture of vinegar and water). In rare case some people are allergic to the yam, so if it gives you a weird feeling inside your mouth, you have to stop eating it and call a doctor.)

Today, I introduce you to Japanese yam salad. It is very simple and easy. I always use pickled plum sauce because it is extremely healthy and is a fermented food. But you can use any dressing you want, because the yam doesn’t have strong flavor so it won’t change the taste of your favorite dressing taste!

Enjoy your new nutritious salad!!!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

4-inch length Japanese Yam

½ Cucumber

1 Pickled Plum

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
(Recommended Gluten-Free Soy Sauce)Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

2 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar (total)

2 cups Water

Here is my recipe in PDF (4 MB): Japanese Yam Salad


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Healthy Cabbage Soup (Gluten-Free)

This recipe is not traditional Japanese food. We occasionally have it as a hospital meal, school meal and so on. This is good for digestion and low fat and low calorie. Therefore, we sometimes have it as a diet meal. Also some hospitals serve this kind of dish to patients who will soon have surgery, because it reduces visceral fat before the surgery.

Cabbage in spring has a very good taste so it is traditional we have many cabbage dishes in the spring.

In this recipe, the cooking is really easy and takes less than 30 minutes. Significantly, some nutrition from cabbages can break down under heat so please cook for as short as possible after adding cabbage as per the instructions. Also, Cabbage can be eaten raw but it is hard to eat a lot of it that way. So I highly recommend this soup that cooking for less than 20 minutes after adding the cabbage and including vegetables in all soups.

Enjoy the nutritious soup!

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{Ingredients (servings 2)}

¼ Green Cabbage

1 Onion

1 Carrot

2 cups Reduced Sodium Chicken Flavor Broth

½ tsp. Salt

A pinch of Black Pepper

1 Tbsp. Gluten-Free Margarine

Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Healthy Cabbage Soup


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Healthy Cheesy Vegetables (Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

I have introduced many Japanese recipes here, and you may think we don’t use cheese very much. Cheese making started in Japan around 1930, so cheese has a short history in Japan.

When I was a child, my mother cooked dish with cheese about once a month. I loved cheese so this recipe was one of my treats!

The ingredients are all vegetables. You can cook with leftover vegetables in the refrigerator.

The dish is high in protein, beta-carotene, iron and vitamins and the texture is so tender. Therefore, it is also a good lunch or dinner for children.

Enjoy this healthy cheesy vegetable dish!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

1 Onion

1 Small Eggplant

3 cups Fresh Spinach

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

2 Tbsp. Gluten-Free Margarine

1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup shredded Cheese (any kind is okay) (total)

¼ tsp. Salt

⅛ tsp. Black Pepper

Chopped parsley and black olives (for topping to taste)

Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Cheesy Vegetables


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Homemade Spring Roll

Spring rolls are a kind of Dim sum, which is Chinese food. As you know, spring rolls are served as appetizers at Chinese restaurants, but in Japanese homemade dishes they are actually a main dish.

Unfortunately, I can’t find spring roll wrappers near my house so I made from scratch with flour and water. Please remember Spring Roll wrappers are not egg roll wrappers (actually egg rolls are not popular in Japan), or rice paper, which is a Vietnamese style roll. Forunately, cooking spring roll wrappers is easy, but if you find spring roll wrappers at the store, it is definitely a time saver.

I used chicken, green cabbage, eggplant and mushroom for the filling. You can use anything you want, such as carrot, asparagus, leaves, potato, tofu, cheese, rice noodle, beef, pork, fish, shellfish and so on. Therefore, I can choose healthy ingredients as much as I want to.

You can make your own original spring rolls!!

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{Ingredients (about 15 rolls)}

[Filling]

½ lb. Ground Chicken

½ American Eggplant

¼ Green Cabbage

4 oz. Baby Bella Mushroom (any kind is okay)

4 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar

1 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

¼ tsp. Salt

[Wrapper]

1 ½ cups plus 1 separate tsp. Flour

4 ½ cups plus 3 separate tsp. Water

1 tsp. Pure Sesame Oil

Here is my recipe in PDF (7 MB): Homemade Spring Roll


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Vegetable Mix Tempura (Vegan/Vegetarian)

“Vegetable Mix Tempura”, which is called “Kakiage” in Japanese, is a traditional Japanese recipe. We enjoy this tempura on steamed rice, on Japanese Soba noodle, on Japanese Udon noodle, or just the tempura itself.

In Japan, people always try to make the tempura with a great crunchy texture. With this recipe, you can cook crunchy tempura easily. The seasoning is only salt, the vegetables are tender and the batter is crunchy so you can really enjoy more vegetables. Also, the recipe is very simple. I just use 1 skillet, 1 bowl, a cutting board and a knife. So If you have kids who don’t like vegetables very much, you might want to try to cook this recipe!

Enjoy!!

{Ingredients (servings 4)}

1 large Onion

4 oz. Shiitake Mushrooms

1 Carrot

½ American Eggplant

½ cup Flour

5 Tbsp. Cold Ice Water

Vegetable Oil for Frying

Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Vegetable Mix Tempura


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The Liebster Award

I was nominated for the Liebster Award:-)

Many thanks to “FOOD IS LIFE!” https://karinateuma.wordpress.com for the nomination!

These are the Rules:
* Each nominee must have under 200 followers
* Thank and link to the nominating blog
* Answer their 10 questions and propose 10 new ones for your nominees
* Nominate 10 blogs and tell them that they’ve been nominated
* Write a post containing the questions
* Include these rules in the post

Here are the blogs I would like to nominate:

“Agents of Field” http://agentsoffield.com

“Black Salad” http://blacksalad.net

“Handful of Sunshine” http://handfulofsunshine.com

“American Life and Living” http://americanlifeandliving.com

“Charleston Spice Blog” https://charlestonspiceblog.wordpress.com

“A HEALTHY DOSE” http://healthy-dose.org

“Cooking and Gardening” https://itmocca.wordpress.com

“FORMEMISSSTAYSFIT” https://formermissstaysfit.wordpress.com

“EAT GREENS 365” http://eatgreens365.com

“ONETWOEAT” http://onetwoeat.com

Here are the questions that I was asked:

1. What is your favorite pastime?

Playing Japanese drums and piano.

2. If you were free as a bird and money was no object, what would you be doing right now?

Traveling all over the world!

3. What thing/s make you the most happy?

My husband and family’s smile:-)

Clear blue sky and blue ocean

Delicious and healthy food

4. What is your favorite genre of film?

Fantasy

Action

Science Fiction

5. What is/are your favorite food/s and drink/s?

Sushi and Green tea

6. Have you travelled? If so, what was your favorite country?

Yes. I love Hawaii U.S.!!!

7. What makes you feel most proud?

My career as executive at a cosmetics company.

8. If you were to be an animal, which animal would you be and why?

Tiger because it is my Oriental Zodiac.

9. Can you remember your childhood? If so, what is your favorite childhood memory?

Yes. I really appreciate that my parents had me take some enrichment lessons, such as swimming, painting, piano, the way of Japanese traditional tea, flower arrangement, calligraphy, and so on, after I came back from elementary school everyday. Those were great opportunities for me.

10. If you were to look into your future, what type of Grandma or Grandpa would you be? i.e. Young at heart, daredevil, laid back, etc

I guess I would be active and positive Grandma as usual and as my powerful Grandma!!

Here are your 10 questions!

1. What is your dream for the future?

2. Do you want to live in a different country? If so, where is it and why?

3. What kind of food do you like?

4. Have you ever traveled? If so, where have you been?

5. What is your favorite season? And Why?

6. Do you cook? If so, what is/are your best dish/es?

7. If you get 1-month-vacation, what will you do?

8. What is/are the most important thing/s for your life?

9. What makes you smile recently?

10. Do you like reading? If so, What book do you recommend?


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Fried Wheat Noodles

Fried Wheat Noodles are actually traditional cuisine on the Okinawa islands, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. My mother and father visited Okinawa for their honeymoon 45 years ago and my mother learned about this dish at that time. (Until 1972 Okinawa was part of the united states so they needed to bring their passport. It surprised me!) Okinawa is a beautiful group of islands. Blue ocean, big sky, majestic forests, pure-hearted people, calm weather…I love Okinawa very much.

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This recipe is called “Chanpuru” in Okinawa, which means frying mixture of various ingredients. In every age we are busy so traditional Okinawa people made this “Chanpuru” recipe which is quick. We can cook it with any combination of ingredients in the refrigerator, such as egg, vegetables, tofu, fish, meat and so on.

As I said, you don’t need much time for grocery shopping and cooking. Please try it when you are too busy to cook something else for dinner!!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

2 bunches (6.2 0z) Organic Somen Noodles

½ lb. Ground Chicken

½ large Onion

1 Carrot

¾ tsp. Salt (total)

½ tsp. Black Pepper (total)

3 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil (total)

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

1 tsp. Pure Sesame Oil

Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Fried Wheat Noodles


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Yummy Tofu Hamburg Steak (Gluten-Free)

In Japan, we sometimes cook hamburger steak with Tofu because we can make it healthier—lower in calories and fat. Tofu hamburger steak is mainly made from ground meat, tofu and vegetables.

Today I introduce you to a simple delicious tofu hamburger steak recipe. The ingredients are chicken, tofu and green onion. It is healthy, delicious and also the texture is amazingly soft because of the tofu’s texture. Tofu is high in quality protein so this steak has great nutrition!

You should try it!!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

A pack (14 oz) Firm Tofu

½ lb. Ground Chicken

½ large Onion

3 pieces Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

¼ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Black Pepper

1 tsp. Grated Ginger

Here is my recipe in PDF (7 MB): Chicken & Tofu Hamburg Steak


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Japanese Pan-Fried Dumpling

Japanese Pan-Fried Dumpling (Gyoza) comes from Chinese food. The recipe was slightly adjusted for Japanese tastes. It is a very popular dish in Japan. Therefore, we have a lot of restaurants for dumplings and also we cook homemade dumplings. There are many ways to cook dumplings, such as pan-fry, steam, deep-fry and boil.

Today I introduce you to pan-fried dumpling which is the most popular way to cook dumplings in Japan.

In this recipe I show you how to make a dumpling wrapper, but you can also find prepared dumpling wrappers at Asian markets and they are easy to cook with.

This time I used ground chicken for the filling but you can use pork, beef or shrimp instead of chicken. Also in regard to vegetables for the filling, you can use any vegetables you want, such as cabbage, mushroom, tofu, herbs and so on.

My mother used to cook with just chicken and green onion for the filling because she said we enjoyed the chicken taste, and we did!

Enjoy your homemade dumplings!

{Ingredients (servings 4)}

2 ½ cups Flour

200 ml plus 1 cup Water

½ tsp. plus a pinch of Salt

1 lb. Ground Chicken

½ cup chopped Green Onion

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Pure Sesame Oil

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

1 tsp. grated Ginger

1 tsp. grated Garlic

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil (for frying)

Here is my recipe in PDF (7 MB): Japanese Pan-Fried Dumpling


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Japanese Wheat Noodle (Vegan/Vegetarian)

Somen is a Japanese wheat noodle. In Japan, people traditionally eat cold Somen with cold broth in the summer. At some summer events, Somen noodles are placed in a long flume of bamboo with ice cold water. As the somen pass by, people pick them up with chopsticks and dip them in the broth. Somen has been eaten at ceremonial occasions since about 700 years ago.

This is Organic Somen Noodles (3.1 oz.) I used in this recipe.
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Today I introduce you to Japanese wheat noodle with delicious hot Dashi broth. It is very quick and easy!

Enjoy your new noodle recipe!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}
*Click BLUE TEXT to link to the product on Amazon*

A bunch of Organic Somen Noodles (3.1 oz.)

3 Cups Kelp Dashi Stock or Anchovy Dashi Stock
(Recommended Dried Kelp for Dashi stock) Dashi Dried Kelp
(Recommended Dried Anchovy for Dashi stock)Anchovy Dried Iwashi Fish

1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

½ Tbsp. Cooking Sake

½ tsp. Salt

2 Tbsp. minced Green Onion (total)

Boiled Water, for boiling dried Somen noodle

Here is my recipe in PDF (4 MB): Japanese Wheat Noodle

“Anchovy Dashi Stock” recipe in PDF: Homemade Anchovy Dashi Stock

“Kelp Dashi Stock” recipe in PDF: Kelp Dashi stock