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.  

Hanami 2026 花見2026

Since the past winter was brutally cold, it was estimated that the cherry trees in the Washington area would not bloom until early April; much later than usual.  But somebody forgot to inform the cherry trees of the proposed schedule. After just a few warm days the cherry trees in our backyard snapped to attention and before we knew it, they were in spectacular full bloom. And when did this occur? At the end of March; the time they usually put on their performance. With the cherry trees in full bloom it was time for us to snap to attention and seriously celebrate the coming of spring. As we may have mentioned before we have 3 cherry trees in our back yard. They are of different ages and different vintages. They generally bloom in sequence, one after the other, with the one we called the smallest (which is now the tallest) so named because I rescued it as a small twig, going first. Next is the newest member of the “family” which we planted in 2018 to replace the cherry tree we planted soon after we moved into the house but was destroyed by a large branch that flew off the neighbors pine tree during a Nor'Easter in 2018. Last to bloom is the oldest cherry tree (the Grand Dame) which was well established in our backyard when we moved in. (We would like to think it may be around 70 years old). This year all three were blooming in succession but almost simultaneously.  So, celebration was mandatory. We invited our friends over and had our Hanami 花見. One of our guests is a vegetarian. We made a special “sashimi” plate of assorted vegetarian appetizers for them to enjoy while we had a plate of actual sashimi. The vegetarian plate shown in the picture was an assortment of  dishes we have previously posted.

1. Persimmon  and green beans dressed in tofu dressing 柿とインゲンの白和, 2. Japanese omelet with dried “aonori” sea weed 青のり入りのだし巻き, 3. roasted red pepper sauce omelet 赤パプリカソースのだし巻き, 4.  pan-fried oyster mushroom 平茸の洋風ソテー, 5. mock tofu 擬制豆腐, 6. braised crunchy cauliflower モンパルナスのカリフラワー炒め, 7. Braised baby artichokes 8. marinated quail eggs うずらの味玉, 9.eggplant caviar ナスのキャビア. I was very careful to make sure I did not use any classic Japanese “dashi” broth which contains bonito flakes and other fish derived flavors. Instead, I used a broth made from kelp and dried shiitake mushrooms.

After this, we had assorted nigiri-sushi, rolls (vegetarian sushi and rolls for our vegetarian friend). Although it was rainy when we had our friends over, our main cherry tree was in full bloom shown in this picture.

In addition, our Easter amaryllis (and even some tardy Christmas ones) were also in full bloom.

What’s not to like about this after the harsh winter we had? Although this lasts only a short time we should still be able to have several more hanami.

Japanese Fluffy “Soufflé” Pancake (version 2) 日本風フカフカパンケーキ

When we made Japanese fluffy pancakes for the first time they turned out pretty well. But when we tried to make them again, we learned that the success of the first batch was just beginner’s luck. Subsequent attempts were not particularly successful. (They were not very fluffy. They were basically just your run-of-the-mill usual pancakes). So we went on a fact finding; YouTube search for fluffy pancake recipes and came up with this version. The major changes include how the egg white is whipped and how the pancake batter is cooked. Vinegar and corn starch are added to the whipped egg whites to make them more stable. The batter is essentially cooked in two layers with the second layer added after the first layer has cooked a bit and firmed up.  In addition several drops of water are added to the pan so the pancake is steamed a bit while it cooks. 

Ingredients
3 eggs separated. (2 yolks, are used in the batter. 3 egg whites are used in the meringue)
1 tbs. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 tbs. (30 g) flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

for the meringue
The 3 egg whites from the 3 separated eggs listed above
1 tsp. vinegar or (1 tsp lemon juice or 1/4 +1/8 tsp creme de tartare)
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
2 tsp. corn starch

Directions:

Mix the egg yolks, milk, vanilla, flour and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside. Make the meringue by whipping the egg whites in a stand mixer. When they start to expand add the vinegar and continue whipping. Then add the sugar in 3 batches. When fully whipped fold in the corn starch. The meringue should look like #1. Quickly mix some of the meringue into the milk mixture (#2). Once all blended slowly fold in the remaining meringue (#3). 

Preheat a non-stick frying pan with a high rim on low flame. Add the neutral oil and spread thin using a paper towel. Using a medium ice-cream scoop, add the first layer of batter (#4). Add several drops of water between the each pancakes and put on the lid. After 3 minutes, add more batter on the top (#5). Again add drops of water, put on the lid and cook for 6-8 minutes then carefully flip over (#6). Add several more drops of water, put the lid back on and cook another 5 minutes.

 

These pancakes were certainly better than the previous less-than-successful batches we made. The addition of the vinegar and cornstarch made the meringue much thicker. The cooking method using two layers and several drops of water increased the thickness of the pancake. 

Sweet potato gnocchi さつまいものニョキ

Recently, we cooked a large pork roast and some Japanese sweet potatoes on the Weber grill. My wife made her version of mashed sweet potatoes with butter, soy sauce and any juice accumulated on the plate in which the roast was resting. We enjoyed the slices of roasted pork and mashed sweet potatoes for dinner. Then my wife made gnocchi from the leftover mashed sweet potatoes.

Ingredients:
16 oz. of mashed potatoes (3 cups)
4 oz. of AP flour (3/4 cup)
1 egg
1 tsp. salt

Directions:
Press the mashed potatoes through a sieve to remove any residual lumps (#1). Add the flour and gently mix with a fork. Add the egg and salt and again gently mix with a fork until everything comes together into a dough (#2). Gently roll into 1/2 inch diameter logs (#3). Cut the rolled logs into individual pieces of the desired size (#4). The pieces can be rolled on the back of a fork to make ridges to better hold the sauce but that doesn’t work out so well for us so our gnocchi pieces generally don't have any ridges.

Fill the dutch oven with water. Add 1 Tbs. Salt and several bay leaves. Bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat and add the gnocchi to the water. Gently heat them just below the boil for a few minutes until the gnocchi float to the surface (#5). Remove them from the water and put into whatever sauce you are using. Or for later use put them in a bowl and coat with olive oil to prevent them from sticking together (#6).

This was a good gnocchi. You can really taste the sweet potato. My wife fried up all of them and we froze what was left over from the dinner we ate the day she made them. In this state they are very easy to toaster oven as a side dish for dinner. Toaster-ovened they were as good as when they were just fried.

Shrimp and Grits with Poached Egg 温玉のせ海老とグリィツ

Dishes made with grits used to be a breakfast staple for us. These included such things as shrimp and grits and grits with poached egg. One day recently, my wife mentioned, “we have not had grits for a long time.” So, we got a package of “instant” grits. We used them for a sort-of-combination lunch dish of shrimp and grits with home pasteurized poached eggs. When I got ready to take a “serving” picture, however, I noticed everything was sort of white (except maybe for some light pink from the shrimp). To brighten things up I snarfed some baby arugula and tomato from the salad I had made as a side dish. This was a really gentle but satisfying lunch.

Ingredients: (2 servings)
1/2 cups grits
2 cups liquid (either milk or water, we used the liquid the shrimp were poached in.)
2-3 pats of unsalted butter
6 large shrimp (we used shell-on frozen shrimp)
2 pasteurized eggs

Directions:
Thaw the shrimp in cold 2% salted water for 30 minutes. Drain out the shrimp but keep the salted water. Add the salted water to a pan. When it boils, turn down the heat and add the shrimp. Let them gently poach for 2-3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan and peel off the shell. Add the shell back into the poaching liquid and gently boil for a few minutes. Strain out the shells and set aside the poaching liquid. Slice the shrimp in half length wise.

Cook the grits for 5 minutes using the poaching liquid, stirring occasionally. When the grits have thickened turn off the flame and add the butter. Taste and if needed add more salt.

Top the cooked grits with the shrimp and the poached egg in the center.