Vegetarian Buttermilk Panna Cotta

My wife was planning on serving “buttermilk panna cotta” for dessert the night we were having a Hanami celebration with our friends. Then she realized one of the guests was vegetarian so she could not use “gelatin” to make the panna cotta as she usually does. She remembered that in the past we had gotten agar-agar powder to use instead of gelatin for just such a situation. Luckily I was able to locate it quickly in the pantry. She then remembered, that the last time she used it the desert she made was a failure because it did not jell. So she went on the web to see how to use agar as a substitute for gelatin. She discovered that the agar failed the last time because she just treated it like it was gelatin.  From her web search, she discovered that agar is quite different. The quantity of agar can not be directly substituted for gelatin on a one-to-one basis; 1 teaspoon is agar powder typically replaces 1 tablespoon of gelatin. In general agar makes the panna cotta firmer with less melt-in-the-mouth feel than geletin so less agar must be used to make it creamier.  In addition, agar must be completely dissolved, rather than just “bloomed” in cold liquid before heating. Most importantly, it must be heated for considerably more time than gelatin to become activated. My wife found several recipes/instructions on the web and the resulting panna cotta was a complete success. If you were not told you could not tell the difference between the panna cotta made with agar and the one she usually makes with gelatin.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups light (or heavy) cream
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 + 1/8 tsp agar (it has to be completely dissolved in cold liquid)
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
1 tbsp vanilla extract 
A pinch of salt

Directions:
Hydrate the agar: In a medium saucepan, whisk the agar powder into the cold cream and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to soften. Heat and Activate: Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once it simmers, continue to boil gently for 1-2 minutes to ensure the agar is fully activated. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool slightly (to avoid curdling), then whisk in the vanilla and buttermilk.

This panna cotta was quite a success. There was a bit of a learning curve involved but it was worth it because vegetarian panna cotta is now a viable option for future vegetarian desserts. 

Mango Crumb Bars マンゴークラムバー

We regularly eat home-made yogurt with fruit as a part of breakfast. Among the fruit we use, our favorite is mango. Quality mango can be  “hit or miss” sometimes. Generally we buy unripe mangoes and let them ripen on the counter. When they are ripe enough we process them by peeling the skin, removing the fruit from the stone (this can be a bit tricky) and cutting the pieces into small cubes. We place these in a sealable container and add a small amount of orange liquor (triple sec). This makes the mango last much longer.  Among the different types of mango, we like green Florida mangos the best but we also like champagne mangos. Recently, we already had two processed regular mangos in the fridge but then,  because they were on sale at Whole Foods, we got 4 champagne mangos that were basically ripe and ready to be processed. As a result we had an excess of processed mango. We had more than we could possibly consume in morning yogurt before they went bad. So, my wife started looking for fresh mango recipes to use the excess supply. She found this recipe for  “mango crumb bars”.  Although the mango flavor is subtle, this is a very good snack/desert. I’ll ask my wife to continue as usual.

Ingredients: 
2 1/2 cups ripe mangoes (small chunks) 2-3 mangoes
3-5 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tbsp corn starch
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut mangoes into small chunks. In a bowl, combine mango chunks, sugar (use more if mango is not ripened) and corn starch. Mix well and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut cold (important: make sure it is cold!) unsalted butter into chunks and add to flour mixture. Using a food processor, pulse until small crumbs are formed. In a separate bowl mix the brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Then add the egg mixture into the buttery dry mixture. Mix well - mixture should be slightly crumbly.
Add 2/3 of the crumbly mixture to the bottom of a 8" x 8" baking pan lined with parchment paper. Press the mixture onto the pan to form a layer of crumb pastry. Add the mango mixture, and spread it out evenly. Then sprinkle the top with the rest of the crumbles. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Then lift parchment paper and bring pastry out of the pan. Let it cool for another 15-20 minutes.

This is a very nice desert. It is not too sweet and the crunchy crumbs add a nice texture. The mango is subtle but definitely there. It adds a fresh fruity tasting moist layer to complement the surrounding crumbs. 

“Atsu-age “ Fried Tofu 厚揚げ

I have posted about “atsu-age 厚揚げ” or “nama-age 生揚げ” (fried tofu) several times before. While atsu-age is a form of fried tofu, it is different from the more popular “puffed fried tofu” or abura-age 油揚げ (which literally means “fried in oil”). Abura-age is made with a thin piece of tofu that becomes completely hollow inside when fried. On the other hand Atsu-age is made with a thick piece of tofu so only the surface gets fried; it still has a solid center of uncooked tofu.

I also emphasized that the quality of the atsu-age is the most important component of the dish. We used to get really good atsu-age from our Japanese grocery store but we have not seen it for some time. “House”, a Japanese company, makes decent tofu in California. Their atsu-age is ok but I came across another brand I found on the Weee web site. It is made by a Chinese company (Chung Shing Tofu) in Massachusetts.  I saw a review that said the atsu-age by this company was very close to Japanese style. So I took a chance and ordered it. Japanese atsu-age is usually  rectangular or square but this one was triangular in shape. To test the quality, I simply toasted it in the toaster oven and served it with the usual condiments consisting of grated daikon, ginger and finely chopped scallion (picture #1). We added soy sauce just before eating.  I really have to agree with the Weee reviewer, this comes very close to the atsu-age I grew up with.

This picture shows how this atsu-age is packaged (picture #2). It was labelled in Chinese “油豆腐”, in English “Fried Soybean Curd”, in Japanese Roman letters “Atsu-age” and in Vietnamese "đậu hũ chiên”.
(All bases covered). This was pleasant surprise.

Just for comparison, this picture was one of the atsu-age made by the Japanese company called Sagami-ya 相模屋. I originally posted this picture in 2020.  We have not seen this atsu-age since then.

This was a pleasant surprise. I am glad I found this product which is also easy to get from Weee.

Baked Spaghetti (angle hair) Cup with meatballs オーブン焼きスパゲッティカップ

My wife saw the original recipe for this dish on the Washington Post website but she made substantial changes. She really was sold on the idea of making pasta cups and stuffing them with something. We usually do not keep spaghetti on hand but we do keep angel hair pasta in the pantry. I had just made pork meatballs with ricotta cheese as well as some marinara sauce to use on pizza. So my wife came up with the idea of taking the angel hair pasta we had, tossing it with the marinara sauce I just made and using it to make “spaghetti” cups. Then since we already had the meat balls, using them to stuff the spaghetti cups and topping them with cheese. (In the original recipe, the pasta cups are made with spaghetti are stuffed with ground turkey and broccoli). In any case, her idea worked well.  We were expecting the pasta cups to be crispy outside but it did not happen and they tasted like regular pasta with marinara sauce. This was basically pasta with meatballs in marinara sauce in compact basket form.  I served this with chicken wing simmered in black vinegar (I happened to make this dish for other reasons) and small green salad with cucumber and Campari tomato. I ask my wife to continue.

Ingredients:
6 ounces cooked angle hair pasta 
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, (or to taste)
12 meat balls cut in half (if cooking in mini muffin tins that make 24 small muffins or 24 if using whole meatballs). 
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) grated parmesan cheese (or more to taste)
various cheeses to top the pasta cups (we used smoked gouda and sharp cheddar 
Salt to taste

Directions:
Cook the angle hair pasta according to package instructions. After it is drained toss it with the homemade marinara sauce. Add the egg and toss until the egg is incorporated. Add the grated parmesan cheese and toss until fully mixed with the pasta. 

When ready to make the spaghetti cups, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Put the paper liners in the small bite muffin tin. Distribute the pasta into the wells of the muffin tin, creating a divot in the center of each to hold the meatball (#1). Distribute the meatballs among the spaghetti cups (it’s okay if it comes above the top of the wells) (#2). Cover the meatballs with the gouda/cheddar cheeses (#3). Bake until nicely browned, 20 to 30 minutes (#4). Let cool for 5 minutes then serve. 

These make very nice bite-sized appetizers. They taste very savory and satisfying. This was a great variation on the theme of spaghetti and meatballs.

Hanami 2026 #2 and #3 花見2026、二回目、三回目

This year, two of our cherry trees (shown in the picture) kept their blossoms for several days, which gave us an opportunity to have multiple “Hanami 花見” cherry blossom gazing celebrations. The weather was a bit too cold to stay outside in the evening but we had a some time during the day to sit under the cherry trees. In the evening, we moved inside but still had a great view of the cherry blossoms. We served several small hanami dishes in the red and gold “jubako 重箱” (stackable boxes) which we have. These boxes were was just the right size and an elegant way to serve the small hanami feasts. 

The picture below shows the various dishes we served in the jubako. In picture #1, the dish in the upper left is a small “chirashi-sushi* ちらし寿司” scattered sushi with “ikura いくら” salmon roe, “uni ウニ” (not fresh uni but “Uni shuto うにの酒盗 from Maruhide 丸秀 which is the next best thing to fresh uni), and slices of avocado and cucumber.

*Since I had hydrated dried shiitake mushrooms left over from making vegetarian broth and “Kanpyo 干瓢” gourd peel from making salmon kelp rolls, I cooked and seasoned them with sugar and soy sauce (sweet and salty “ama-kara 甘辛” ). I chopped them up and mixed it into the sushi rice (this is the classic way of preparing rice for  “chirashi-zushi ちらし寿司” scattered sushi).

The upper right is simmered mackerel in miso sauce 鯖の味噌煮 with small pieces of two kinds of dashi-maki omelettes だし巻き卵, left-over from the first hanami. The left lower is Russian marinated salmon サーモンのロシア漬け topped with ikura. Finally the lower right is an assortment of what I made mostly for the first hanami, all vegetalian including mock tofu 擬制豆腐, persimmon in tofu dressing 柿のしら和え, braised burdock 金平牛蒡, nappa and cucumber asa-zuke 白菜とキュウリの浅漬け,
and marinated qual eggs うずらの味玉.

The next day, I served similar items including scattered sushi. A notable addition were the fire-fly squid ホタルイカ we got from Regalis foods. We ate half of the quantity of squid soon after we received them. For the other half,  I re-boiled, then removed the tough rock-like eyes and beaks and froze them. I thought they would be a perfect addition to the hanami feast. After thawing them, I briefly sautéed them in butter and seasoned them with a small amount of soy sauce. I also added karashi-sumiso 辛子酢味噌 miso and vinegar dressing with Japanese hot mustard (picture #2).

This has been our cherished once-a-year event. The only problem is that when the blooms are over, we have to wait a whole year before we can enjoy them again. As an aside, the Easter (and late blooming Christmas) amaryllis are also adding to the show.