Best scallop dish ever

If you have scallops, how do you cook them?

I personally believe, this is the best way.
Just simply cook them and eat them with soy sauce.

So yummy!! So easy !! So healthy!!
In Japan, quite often seen in BBQ, but you can cook it at home, too.

Put scallops on the pan and cook them with medium heat.

Pour little bit of Sake, then wait until it cooks.

Put soy sauce on cooked scallops.

Another option is, put soy sauce on scallops, and keep cooking them on the pan.
If you like, you can add a little bit of butter. (Butter and soy sauce works well)

I’m sure that you cannot wait to eat them now. Smells so good!!
Not only the smells, it is fantastic taste!

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Osekihan !! Japanese celebration rice !!

Have you eaten Osekihan?
Osekihan, meaning, red rice. In Japan, osekihan is served for celebration .
Birthday, school graduation, wedding….

You can also get it from most of convenience stores in Japan. They are about 100 yen.
Osekihan is actually filling ♪　I love it.

Only 2 ingredients.

Glutinous rice (Sweet rice?) 360cc
I got it from Asian grocery store in the city. (Russel Street, Melbourne)

Red beans. 40g
You can get organic red beans from Terra Madre. (Northcote, Melbourne)

First, cook the red beans.
Bring it to boil then make it low heat then keep cooking about 15 min.

Cool it down.

Keep the boiled water.
It needs when you cook rice to make rice nicely natural red.

Wash the rice and soak in the water for 10 min.

Before cooking the glutinous rice, put it in a strainer to let the water drain off.

Add red beans boiled water

Then start cooking wit medium heat, bring it to boil.

When it boils, make the heat low and add boiled red beans into pot.

Put the lid, then cook it for 10 min.

After 10 min, take pots off a fire, leave it for another 10 min. Steaming time.

Now open~~~!!! Nice smell !!

Mix it softly.

Serve with salt and sesame seeds.
Yummmmmm.

It’s good for party dish.

Or you can make Onigiri.
Good for picnic as well !!

Osekihan become hard if you put it into fridge.
It’s better to leave it at room temperature.

Grilled Salmon ~ Awesome Koji benefit !! ~

Typical Japanese breakfast set !! Rice, Miso soup and grilled salmon.

This salmon is amazing! It is not just a grilled salmon.
It have to be marinated with Koji !!! (Ama-Koji or Shio-Koji)
The flavor will changed dramatically.

I cannot go back to normal salmon any more.

Why?
Koji is amazingly full of enzymes. It is often said “Koji is a mine of enzymes”.
One of the main enzyme in Koji is called “PROTEASE“.
This enzyme works for protein in food, such as salmon.
It makes food soft (one process of digestion).
The protein which was broke into small pieces converts to amino acid, which is Umami.

To shorten, Koji makes protein softer and yummier.

But! The Koji has to be raw, not the one with heat sterilisation,
because heat sterilisation will kill protease function of breaking down protein into small pieces.
Most of the Ama-Koji and Shio-Koji from shop in package are sold after heat treatment.
Therefore, you need to make your own one at home so that you can get all benefit from Koji.
(Here is how to make your Ama-Koji and Shio-Koji)

So if you have salmon at home, maybe try to marinate your salmon with row active Koji once.
Preparation is nothing compare to how yummy the salmon will be.

At first, put the salt on the salmon and leave for a while.
Get rid of water/liquid from salmon. Wipe well.

Then place your salmon on the kitchen paper. Covered your salmon with it.
Put your Ama-Koji or Shio-Koji onto it.

Then wrap it.

Leave for over night at least in the fridge. Even 1 or 2 days.
You can even keep in freezer if you prepared a lot.

Just grill the marinated salmon !!
You will find the difference already when you are grilling. Smell beautiful.
But be careful, it will be burnt easily.

Simmered Pumpkin ~Delightful home dish~

Just 20 min for mum’s taste.
Japanese typical home dish, simmered pumpkin. It’s soft and sweet.
Try my easy (lazy?) way 😛

Remove the pumpkin seeds and cut the pumpkin into bite-size.
(If you like, you can bevel the edges of the pumpkin, it helps to remain the shape while simmering.
it looks nicer, but! I prefer to cook in shorter time –> so I don’t.)

Place the pumpkin with the skin side down in the pot.

Pour enough water into the pot.

Seasonings are just these.
Easy!
2 table spoons of soy sauce.
2 table spoons of Mirin
2 table spoons of honey (or sugar)

Soy sauce

Mirin

Honey

Then, bring it to boil.

Once it boiled, cover with a drop-lid and simmer over a low heat.
If you don’t have drop-lid, you can use aluminium foil in stead.

This is my favorite drop-lid with pig face on it ↓
Steam can go through from his nose.

Put back the lid again and keep simmer for about 10 min.

Check if it is cooked. Mmm, it looks bit more to cook.

Now it looks good.

You can eat now, but try to leave this for 30 to hour.
Taste become better !!

It is always mum’s taste!

Miso beans

If you get nice fresh beans, what will you make?

I often make sesame seeds beans (Goma-ae), but today, I cooked without it. Just beans marinaded with Miso.
(Because….I used sesame seeds for another dishes. ;-p)

It is very simple but yummy. Looks like this ↓↓

I will show you how to make this. Don’t surprise even it is too easy….
First, boil the beans.

Put aside until it cools down naturally.

While waiting for beans cool down, let’s make miso marinade sause. Prepare, Miso and Mirin
(You can use Honey or suger, instead of Mirin)

Mix well. I use traditional “Suri Bachi”. It is an earthenware mortar, often used for grinding sesame seeds.
(Reference for people in Melbourne!! I found “Suri Bachi” at Clifton Hill kitchen-wear shop near the post office :-p )

My favorite Mirin : Mikawa Mirin

Now cut the beans into mouth size.

Put then into the marinated miso bowl.

Mix them!!

That’s all!! Easy, isn’t it?

Enjoy♪♪

This Miso beans can be often found in Japanese breakfast !!