Author: Administrator@Tokyo

Homestyle Chinese Cuisine ‘jeeten’ | 吉田風中国家庭料理店

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Located in a tranquil posh residential area at the outskirts of Shibuya, Yoyogi-Uehara, you will find this humble atmosphered Homestyle Chinese Cuisine ‘jeeten’, owned and operated by a the chef Yoshida himself. With a counter bar seating and just few tables, at first glance may appear to be a cafe style restaurant but the Chinese cuisine is unbelievably exquisite. Secretly admired by the locals, Yoshida special style of Chinese cooking is not the traditional oily Chinese but light, healthy, with lot of vegetables. The menu offers both a 3 different type of course menu but also a la carte is offered for individual dishes. We ordered the A menu, our eyes always bigger than our stomach but to also to enjoy the seasonal recommendations by the Chef. 閑静な高級住宅地が残る「代々木上原」。昨晩は「吉田風中国家庭料理店」のjeetenで友人夫妻と夕食会。野菜中心の文字通り中華家庭料理。野菜と取り入れたメニューが多く、なぜか胃にもたれないあっさりとした料理法はシェフの秘伝の技。うま味調味料と中華出しは取らずに水と「腕、技」で旨味を出していらしい。カフェスタイルのインテリアですが落ち着いた雰囲気、家庭料理に刺激をいただいた一晩でした。お店で料理本を購入し、、日々のお料理に活用していこうかと思います。 Here is what the course looked like…. 昨晩、注文したのではシェフのおすすめのAコースメニュー。 Appetizer, Jelly fish with cucumbers. くらげの冷菜　 Bean Sprout Roll – Pencil layered rows of bean sprouts wrapped with (I believe) fried tofu skin with a slightly sweet hoisin sauce. もやしの揚げ物は食感がとても不思議。もやしを綺麗に並べ、薄いお揚げで包んだ一品。 Shrimp Rice Rolls – Steamed Rice Paper enwraps a …

Apple favorites…TARTE　TATIN　|タルト・タタン

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Not quite the season for apples, but apple desserts are my favorites as with my daughter. We were having a family gathering to celebrate our youngest grandson’s 2nd year old birthday, July 3rd; which I was envisioning a “TARTE TATIN” birthday cake. I thought about it and thought twice….the visual look, the color of “TARTE TATIN” may just be too grim for yet a boy celebrating his second birthday. Humm…..the cake was already in the refrigerator for the following day. 2歳の孫、S君の誕生日会のケーキ。家族全員、フルーツ好き。特にアップル系が大好きな娘のことを思い、よし！タルトタタンがいいわ！と力を入れて前日に作り始めました。しかし、制作途中、どうしてもビジュアル的に出来上がりが地味？と悩みながら、タルトタタンは既に出来上がり冷蔵庫で次の日を待つ事態になっていました。S君の誕生フォトアルバムには地味〜なケーキが一生残されるか、、と思い行きや、、これはあかんわ。結局ケーキは二つ。S君専用の誕生日ケーキも出来上がりました。 Since ‘apples’ are off-season, I have used a small imported apple from New Zealand called ‘JAZZ’ which I see often at markets in Tokyo. The price is probably half of our domestic apples and since I required at least 10 medium size apples, I ended up using 18 JAZZ apples which did the job perfectly. 紅玉が美味しいけど、、時期外れのリンゴは高い。都内では一つ150円近くもするので大量にリンゴを使いたい私としては試しにニュージーランド輸入のJAZZリンゴを使用してみました。小ぶりなリンゴなので紅玉の倍の量は必要です。半信半疑でしたがとても美味しいタルトタタンが出来上がりました。 また、このタルトタタンは今まで作ったもので一番簡単でした。リンゴを剥いて→キャラメルでsauté→リンゴをキャラメルソースで煮る→パイ生地を被せて30分焼成→一晩冷蔵庫で寝かせるというシンプルなプロセスです。失敗がないレシピなので是非リンゴlovers 試してみてください。レシピは⬇️ The process is quite simple – saute first and then stew the apples in caramel sugar and pop it in the oven with a pastry dough covering the apples. I would assume this recipe may be …

Authentic Japanese Cucumbers ｜神田四葉・相模半白きゅうり

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As far as my memory goes, this year’s rainy season in Tokyo seem to go back to a norm cycle of raining since the start, early June to the present day. It has been wet, raining, drizzling, mizzle, downpour, cats and dog…name it, it has been raining a lot and still no signs of end proclamation yet from the weather bureau. So this is our view from our kitchen, most everyday. Rather grim looking, not much sunlight. 今年の東京は「ザ・梅雨」というほど長雨が続いています。梅雨宣言がされた6月の初旬から今日までここ数年でほぼ連日雨が降っています。我が家のキッチンから見える朝の風景は雨、雨、雨。通勤の方々や学生さん、びしょびしょ、びしょびしょとお疲れさまでございます。 This weekend, our family friend, who takes cares of a piece of farm land outside Tokyo has brought to us, an unusual cucumber which I personally have never seen. Cucumbers in Europe and/or the United States tend to be large in size, but Japanese cucumbers as like our nationality are dainty and small. Apparently these cucumbers are as large as ones encountered in Ireland and Los Angeles, to know it is called “Kanda Suyo Long Cucumber” and “Sagami Hanjiro Cucumber”. さて、週末に我が家の友人で埼玉の方に畑を管理している人から珍しい胡瓜をいただきました。神田四葉胡瓜 （かんだすうようきゅうり）、相模半白胡瓜 （さがみはんじろきゅうり）というそうでどちらも私には馴染みのない胡瓜でした。神田四葉胡瓜 は細長く、30cmほどの長さと存在感は外国の胡瓜を伺わせます。相模半白胡瓜はお尻のほうが黄色くなっていて、半分くらいが白いきゅうりです。どちらもイボイボがかなりゴジラ風でサラダには堪え難い力強さを感じました。 しかし、調べると「神田四葉胡瓜」は中国山東省から日本人に知られる｡なんとなく硬い感じを受けますが、歯切れ良い食感と「やわらかさ」がある品種。 「相模半白胡瓜 」江戸以前に渡来した華南系｡ どちらも一晩考えて食材として使用してみました。 “Kanda Suyo Long Cucumber“, it’s origin seems to from China’s …

Frying Pan baked Focaccia｜フライパンで焼くフォカッチャ

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Following my “Frying Pan baked English Muffin recipe“, this is a simple bread recipe using a similar method, frying pan to bake Foccacia. The focaccia can be adjusted (slightly) to the size of the frying pan and it can be a fun recipe for parties and outdoor events. Frying Pan Baked Foccacia Recipe 【Ingredients】Makes 1 large focaccia Bread Flour・・・・・・・300g Sugar ・・・・・・・・・1 Tbs Salt ・・・・・・・・・・3/4 Tsp Dry Yeast ・・・・・・・・1 Tsp Warm Water ・・・・・・・200ml Olive Oil ・・・・・・・・2 Tbs < MIX > Mix all the ingredients (except the olive oil) in a large bowl and mix until smooth. While mixing together with both you hands and weight, add the butter after 2~3 minutes of mixing. In total, mix for about 10 to 15 minutes occasionally smashing the dough into the bowl to stimulate the surface. When the dough feels like a earlobe texture, smooth and elastic, the it is ready for the next step.  < PRIMARY FERMENTATION > Lightly oil a container with a lid and ferment for approx. an hour at a normal temperature (28 ° C …

Citrus wrapped Roast Pork ｜美生柑 豚ロースト

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‘Citrus grandis‘, a milder citrus fruit in between an orange and a grapefruit. This recipe made by a friend from Facebook looks awfully delicious, it is. She specializes in Italian cooking, often travels to local Italian (Toscana) towns to learn the (real) Italian cooking amongst local communities and friends. Nice, simple recipe. INGREDIENTS Pork shoulder (block) Citrus Grandis or an orange as a replacement Panchetta Salt, garlic and meat herbs of your choice (I used rosemary and Italian mixed herbs) Some white wine and olive oil Leave the pork shoulder at room temperature, cut an approximate 1 cm slit across the meat. Sprinkle salt, pepper, chopped garlic, and some meat herb. Cut the citrus in 8 pieces (or about 1 cm in thickness) and place it in between the meat. Tie the meat with a twine. Place the meat into a hot pot, sprinkle wine and olive oil and cover with foil. Roast for approx. 30 minutes @ 230 C 豚ロースのブロックに切り込みいれて、晩柑（美生柑）とパンチェッタをはさみ、紐で縛って香草とニンニクを適当に挟んだものです。オリーブオイルかけて230度のオーブンで白ワインと共に蒸し焼きにしました。

Moroccan String Beans Tempura|モロッコいんげんの天ぷら

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This is a recipe which I tried from a Japanese distinguished magazine called ‘Kateigaho’. ‘Kateigaho’ is a magazine which introduces Japanese culture to the world from an authentic yet modern Japanese perspective, high-quality contents of beautiful visual contents. The recipe is by a Japanese Italian chef, a ‘fritto’ batter, the batter with the additives of paprika powder, making the tempura slightly orange, quite easy to handle and would come in handy for any type of vegetables which you may want to fry, tempura. I used the ‘Moroccan String Beans’ but any other vegetables such as the green beans family can be of a replacement, or even eggplant, zucchini, onions, etc. etc. [Servings for two] Moroccan String Beans  Flour Deep Fried Oil Orange (for garnish) Beignet (English fritter) [Flour 50 g / Baking powder 1g / Paprika powder 1.6 g / Salt 1 g] Olive Oil 16 g Egg White (1 egg white) 24g approx. Remove the streaks and clean up the Moroccan string beans. Make the Beignet dough, by blending all the dry ingredients in …

Dried flower roses and rose oil | 薔薇のドライフラワーとローズオイル

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While having a rose garden at home, caring and gardening the roses can be rewarding but also relentless. Once the roses commence it’s bloom, the garden is well looked after by my husband, while my daily chores (as an assistant) is cleaning and sweeping. As the flowers fade to the end of life, the petal feather down, especially during the rain, moist and wind. To save the flowers for a little while longer, the flowerpots are often rushed for cover protection from the rain. Dead flowers take away the vista of the rose garden. The treasure of having a rose garden is of course, the everyday beauty of blossoms, a picturesqueness at times seems endless. However, every organic life has its limits, as we do. To preserve the beauteousness the house turns into a shelter for ‘dry roses’. 見事な薔薇園になった今年。主人は10年近く薔薇を大切に植えていますがやっとコツがわかった！と自負。自負ができるほど今年は素晴らしく咲いた年を言えると思います。 「咲かせるのは男の仕事」・「綺麗にするのは女の仕事」という分担で春の一ヶ月間はほぼ毎朝お庭の掃除に明け暮れる日々が続きました。花は雨、風を嫌います。綺麗は花は旬をすぎると朽ちていきます。花びらが散ります。それを片付けます。そんな繰り返しかな？（笑） 花の時期を見ながら「ドライフラワー」作りもしてみました。３分咲きのもの、５分咲きのもの、７分咲きのもの。いろいろと試してみると多々の形状に残っていくものです。色も残るお花と黒くなっていく花と色々とあり、発見を楽しんでいきます。 Another challenge, tried this year is making ‘rose oils’. With such numerous DIY projects and information from the internet, a bucket full of collected petals were soaked in jojoba oil, first kept over a …

“Roses” to brighten the rainy days |今年の薔薇、ローズカーデン

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Past spring, our rose garden (to be precise, my husband’s rose garden) was of heavenly beauty. My husband has been growing roses nearly over a decade but this year seemed to be of utmost beauty. This is a post is a gallery of our garden roses, to brighten the rainy season, commenced last week. Enjoy! 梅雨が始まり、太陽がすっかりと隠れてしまいました。この雨の季節、気持ちが落ち込み気味になる方は多いのではないでしょうか？　ましてや、この季節がさると暑い、暑い、日本の夏が訪れます。 今年の春、我が家の庭な「バラ園」と言っても過言ではないほどの薔薇に包まれました。長年、多くの薔薇をそだてきた主人のお庭ですが見事でとても綺麗な薔薇の数々をお楽しみください。雨で少しでも気分が晴れることをお祈りして。

Bamboo cooking galore 2|筍料理の備忘録 II

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Oops…spring seemed to have zapped and summer is on the way. Before I take a blink, ‘bamboo’ will be so outdated so here is my second post a continuation of bamboo cooking. BAMBOO RICE : Most popular and common menu using bamboo is the ‘Bamboo Rice’, quite simple to make! The bamboo is cut into small mouth size pieces, a pinch of salt, cooked together with rice in a rice cooker. Leftover rice can be made into a ‘onigiri (rice balls)’, to go or as a lunch pack. Tempura : Wild spring vegetables which we call, ‘sansai’, together with fresh bamboo are spring delicacies. Tempura is a common way of cooking the wild vegetable to extract ‘aku’ (bitterness and harshness). Extracting ‘aku’ is often heard in Japanese cooking, ‘aku’ sometimes being a boiling froth but interprets as the bitterness in the vegetable ingredient. Bamboos can be integrated in various way. The Chinese common menu, ‘pepper steak with bamboo and green peppers’, ‘bamboos stir-fried with doubanjiang (hot sauce) is another; but the Japanese washoku foods tend …

Bamboo cooking galore|筍料理の備忘録 I

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Just after the cherry blossoms, at the end of March, the bamboo shoots start sprouting in April; first along the southern part of Japan, slowly trailing north chasing the signs of summer. I must be honest and admit… I am a bamboo fanatic, not just zest but more in close lines to be called ‘an addict’. The blog which will follow in a couple of series will be about ‘bamboo (shoot) cooking’ which I, personally would like to preserve in my own cooking and blog records, as to also refresh my memory come very vague and fuzzy come next season, one year from now. Fresh bamboo shoots are in season from April to May in Japan. For viewers who have not prepared fresh bamboo, the most common method of when preparing fresh bamboo is : Washed and peel the coarse outer skin In a large pan, boil for approximately 40~50 minutes adding ‘nuka’ – rice bran to remove the bitterness in the vegetable Let it simmer down to cool Next day….peel the outer skin and …