Date-Maki, it’s another new year’s dish

Date-Maki (伊達巻き）, rolled omelette mixed with fish paste.
The fish paste called “Hanpen”.

If you want to buy Hanpen from shop, it is frozen, but it looks like above.
In melbourne, you can find it at Japanese grocery stores and some Asian grocery stores.
(You can also make Hanpen by yourself. It is made with cod fish, taro, white egg, sugar and Mirin)
I would like to introduce how to make Hanpen later in this blog.

Well, back to Date-Maki.
These are the ingredients.

Hanpen (60g x 2)
Egg 3 or 4
Sugar 3 table spoons
Mirin 2 table spoons
Soysauce Just a little bit

In the mixer, put Hanpen and eggs.
Then add sugar.

Then add Mirin as well.

At last, just a few drops of soy sauce.

Mix them well.

Until it become smooth.

Here are the tools you need. Square shaped pan is recommended, but not essential.
You can try with round shaped pan. I tried few times with round shaped pan.

Bamboo mat. Sushi mat is ok, too. I use Sushi mat.

If your pan need oil, spread the oil thinly.
Heat the pan. Once oil is heated, then put the pan on the wet cold towel.
We only want oil is heated, but not the pan.

Pour the mixture

All of them.

Make sure the heat is very small.

Put the lid if you have.
I don’t have lid for this pan, so made an aluminium foil lid.

At first, inside is like this.

But gradually it rises.

When it rises like this, ready to turn it over.

Turn it over and cook it for just few seconds.

Place it on the bamboo mat.
Brown side down. Not burnt side up.

Now, start rolling it.

Use rubber band to hold the rolled Date-maki.

Place as it is until it cools down and holds the rolled shape.

Once it shaped, take the bamboo mat out.

Outside is nicely brown, because you put brown side down when you put it on the mat.

Slice and enjoy!!

Date-maki in the New year’s dish (おせち料理）
If you would like to read my previous blog post about new year’s dish,
please click here.

Wishing you a happy new year!

Hello, a happy new year!
Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu (明けましておめでとうございます）
This is the phrase we say in new years days.

For Japanese, new year days (started from new year’s eve) are very special.
Visiting family and relatives, old & new friends, having peaceful mellow time together with people.
When spending time together with them, new year foods are essential !!

At the end of the year, people start preparing new year’s foods.
It takes normally few days. Most of them can be kept long days
so that people don’t have to be worry about food during new year days with lots of visitors.

The new year days dish called Osechi Ryori (おせち料理).

Because people are busy these days, some people pre-order Osechi Roryi from shops,
but my family always make it by our own. I like family taste.

These are the foods I made in Melbourne, Australia with limited ingredients, limited budget and limited plates and cups.
I realised how plates and cups are important to decorate Japanese foods. I need to get some!
It is far from proper Japanese Osechi, but still this is something you can fell Japanese new year’s taste.
Most of the dish have meaning. Normally the meaning is to wish for good luck, health and prosperity of descendants and so on.

Black one in a bowl on top – Sweet black beans (Kuromame 黒豆）
Pink one in the bowl on top – Red turnip pickles (赤かぶの漬物）
Yellowish rolling thing, right – a rolled omelet mixed with fish paste (Datemaki 伊達巻き）
Orange and white thing, middle – red & white salad (Kouhaku namasu 紅白なます）
Tubes left – a tube‐shaped fish paste cake with cucumber and cheese (ちくわ）＊this is not a new year celebration food, I just added because I like it :-p

Pink thing in the middle – Fresh tuna with daikon garnish (maguro no sasimi マグロの刺身）
It is marinaded with Shio koji !! ==>>try it, it become yummier!
Striped brown & Orange thing, top right – Dried squid, carrot and seaweed marinated with spicy soysauce
(Matsumae-zuke　松前漬け）
Orange thing in a bowl – Mashed sweet potatoes with sweetened chestnuts (kuri kinton 栗きんとん）
＊I used wrong sweet potato and it become very orange, normally, it looks more yellowish.

This is called Nishime. Traditional Japanese stewed meal with root vegetables and konnyaku etc.
The cooking technique of taking time to simmer the contents so as to leave no broth left is called ‘nishimeru,’ and dishes so cooked are collectively called ‘nishime.’

One more… you can’t ignore this, Ozo-ni.
This is one of the very interesting food to me.
Depend on the area, there are so many different variation.
We quite often ask people “Tell me about your Ozoni. What kind of soup? what is the shape of rice cake (mochi)? do you grill them? What do you put in ??”
My dream is to visit all different area and ask for Ozoni. I want to try all different Ozoni!!

Well, my ozoni is combination from Fukushima and Gunma where my parents come from.
Soup – clear soup, konbu and bonito dashi with daikon and carrot and green leaves.
Rice cake (Mochi) – Square, grilled
Topping – chopped sweet soy chicken
Japanese herb called Mitsuba
Sliced Yuzu citrus

While you are eating these celebration foods (we call it Osechi Ryori) in Kotatsu,
post man will deliver new year cards (nengajo 年賀状）to your family.
I love this moment!

I will introduce how to make some of these celebration foods later!!
Hope you are having wonderful new year days!! Best wishes from Melbourne.