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!!

Tag Archives: Homemade


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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


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Agedashi-Tofu (Vegan/Vegetarian)

Agedashi-Tofu, which is a typical Japanese homemade dish, is fried tofu with Dashi sauce.

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Tofu is an important ingredient in Buddhist cuisine. Japanese think this is a macribian food because tofu is high in great-quality-protein. Tofu is made from only soybean. The soybean is called “Meat of a field” because it is rich in nutrients, which are linoleum acid, lecithin, isoflavone, saonin, trypsin inhibitor and so on. And also tofu is low calorie and high in water so it is good as a diet food.

Let’s try  to eat 1/4 pack of tofu every day!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

1 pack (14 oz.) Firm Tofu

1 ½ cups Kelp Dashi Stock
(Recommended Dried Kelp for Dashi stock) Dashi Dried Kelp

2 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

4 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

½ cup Flour

Vegetable oil for frying

Here is my recipe in PDF (5 MB): Agedashi-Tofu

“Kelp Dashi stock” recipe in PDF (5 MB): Kelp Dashi stock


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Quick and Healthy! “Ginger and Cucumber Pickles” (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

This is a quick healthy cucumber pickle recipe. It is so simple that you don’t even need to use a knife.

I break a cucumber with a rolling pin and my hands. This is a traditional way. It doesn’t take time to marinate when you follow this way because irregular surfaces can absorb the sauce easily.

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Cucumber is high in potassium and water. Therefore it is effective for our health to eat cucumber.

I add ginger to the pickle sauce. Ginger is very nutritious and healthy. It helps our blood flow, helps speed up our metabolism, and blocks the oxidation process in our bodies.

Enjoy your new pickles!

{Ingredients (servings 2)}

1 Cucumber

1 tsp. grated Ginger

1 Tbsp. Pure Sesame Oil

¼ tsp. Salt

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

1 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar

Here is my recipe in PDF (4 MB): Ginger Cucumber Pickles


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Mushroom Rice (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

This is not fried rice, but steamed seasoned rice. In Japan a major part of the diet is RICE. Traditionally we eat white rice with every meal. A long time ago Japanese people ate millet.

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Today, we sometimes mix the rice with other ingredients to make Mushroom Rice, Bamboo Shoot Rice, Chestnut Rice, Greenbean Rice and so on. These are all steamed. If you have a rice cooker, it is very easy to cook!

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Mushroom is low calorie (about 18 kcal per 100 grams). Also high in fiber and high in minerals (especially potassium). I didn’t used dried mushrooms this time, but dried mushrooms are usually high in vitamin D. This dish is cooked in one pot or in a rice cooker so it preserves the nutritions and amazing flavor.

Please enjoy!

{Ingredients (Servings 3)}

2 ¼ cups Premium Rice, Medium Grain

3 oz. Oyster Mushroom

8 oz. Sliced Baby Bella Mushroom

3 pieces of Dried Kelp (5 square inches each)

700 ml Water

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

2 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

2 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

½ tsp. Salt

Here is my recipe in PDF (8MB): Mushroom Rice


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EGG-FREE Healthy Sweet Potato Treats (Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free)

This is an EGG-FREE and MILK-FREE healthy, tasty  Japanese-style sweet treat. Because of its sweet taste, Japanese use it for desert a lot. Examples are baked sweet potato, caramelized fried sweet potato, sweet potato snacks, dried sweet potato, mushed sweet potato and so on.

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Sweet potato is high in fiber, vitamin B, C, E, and potassium. The amount of vitamin C in a sweet potato is 10 times of that in an apple. And the vitamin C in sweet potato does not break easily when heated.

Sweet potatos gain their sweet taste when cooked slowly. So I don’t use the microwave to make them tender so I can get a really sweet taste in the dish.

This recipe uses a small amount of Mirin instead of egg as a brush coat on the dough before baking. So this is also a great sweet for kids!

I hope you will like it!

{Ingredients (15 small balls)}

1 Peeled Sweet Potato

3 cups Water

3 Tbsp. Sugar

2 Tbsp. Gluten-Free Margarine

3 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

Pinch of Organic Black Sesame Seeds

Here is my recipe in PDF (5MB): Japanese Sweet Potato Treats


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Simple Finger Food “Sushi Canapé” (Gluten-Free)

This “Sushi Canapé” recipe is totally original and great for a potluck. The ingredients are easy and it is a simple finger food.

The manner for making a sushi roll for this dish is not traditional. I came up with an easy way to roll which everybody can do without fail. But the taste is totally like regular sushi! You can top it with whatever you want such as smoke salmon, fish row, vegetables and so on. Once you know this recipe, you can serve Japanese sushi to your family and friends!

Enjoy your sushi roll!!

{Ingredients (15~20 canapés)}

2 pints Steamed Rice

3 beaten eggs

¼ lb. Ground Chicken

1 Avocado

¼ tsp. Wasabi Paste or Organic Wasabi Powder(combine with water to make Wasabi paste)

3~4 pieces Dried Seaweed for Sushi

50 ml Rice Vinegar

2 Tbsp. Sugar (total)

1 ¼ tsp. Salt (total)

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

1 Tbsp. Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Wine

1 Tbsp. Cooking Sake

Makisu Bamboo Sushi Mat for rolling sushi

Here is my recipe in PDF (9MB): Sushi Canape

Here is “White rice” recipe in PDF (5MB): White Rice


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Chicken Meatball Soup

 

This very flavorful soup brings you great nutrition because the ingredients are chicken, green onion, ginger, dried shiitake mushroom and kelp. This dish is high in vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin E, vitamin D, minerals, beta-carotene, allicin, calcium, protein and so on. Also it is low calorie and low fat. This dish makes you warm, gives your metabolism a boost, and helps improve your immunity so it is great to help you recover from sickness and get back a good appetite.

(Recommended Dried Kelp) Dashi Dried Kelp
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I highly recommend eating kelp occasionally. Recently, it is easy to get dried kelp at many grocery stores and at most Asian markets in the US. Japanese use kelp for Dashi stock and side dish like pickles. Dashi stock is used as seasoning in Japanese dishes. We use several kinds of Dashi stock such as dried anchovy, dried bonito, dried shiitake, dried kelp and so on. The kelp Dashi stock is great to compliment exquisite tasting ingredients. Kelp helps maintain your body’s alkaline. Also kelp has a good amount of fucoidan and iodine which are essential nutrients (in moderation) for humans.

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

½ lb. Ground Chicken

1 Egg

2 Tbsp. minced Green Onion

½ tsp. grated Ginger

1 tsp. plus ½ separate Tbsp. Soy Sauce

½ tsp. plus ½ separate tsp. Salt

1 ½ Tbsp. plus ½ separate Tbsp. Cooking Sake

1 ½ Tbsp. Flour

1 carrot

3 pieces Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

2 cups Kelp Dashi Stock
(Recommended Dried Kelp for Dashi stock) Dashi Dried Kelp

1 cup Water (leftover from soaking Shiitake)

Here is my recipe in PDF (6MB): Chicken Meatball Soup

Here is “Kelp Dashi Stock” recipe in PDF (5MB): Kelp Dashi stock