Shelled ginko nuts 殻付き銀杏

Because of Covid, it is not possible to go to a restaurant for a “sit down” meal so, instead, we are doing “take-out” sashimi and sushi from Tako Grill regularly. Since Mr. Segawa’s restaurant is essentially closed for  sit down customers, he expanded his business into groceries by adding frozen and refrigerated cabinets stocked with many Japanese grocery items. Every time I go there, I get some of  these in addition to the take-out. One such time, Mr. Segawa was kind enough to include some matsutake soup that he made. It was really good. Besides all the lovely ingredients such as matsutake  松茸,  chicken,  "edamame"  it also included "ginnan" ginko nuts. We love ginko nuts! Having them in the soup reminded us that we used to get canned  boiled "gin-nan" 銀杏 ginko nuts. For some reason they have totally disappeared and we have not had ginko nuts for quite some time. I asked Mr. Segawa, if we could buy ginko nuts as groceries from him. He was good enough to provide some with the shells on (see below). We were delighted but, to be honest, I have never dealt with ginko nuts in the shell.

So I quickly searched on-line and found three ways to prepare them: 1. Place the ginko nuts in a paper envelope and microwave it until the shell cracks. 2. Dry roast them in a frying pan until the shell cracks, 3. Crack the shell remove the nuts and gently boil for few minutes making sure the nuts are submerged all the time and then remove the brown inner skin while hot. I tried the 2nd method on some of the nuts, i.e. dry roasting them in a frying pan.  The shells did not crack (although one did "explode"—quite impressive). I cracked open the remaining un-cracked nuts but they were over cooked, dry, with burned spots and taste. So, I decided to try the third method.

I cracked the shells using the kitchen scissors which has a nut cracking device near the handles. It was not too difficult but I had to be careful not to damage the nuts inside. Some of the brown inner skin came off when the shell was remove but, for many, the brown skin remained (picture below).

I then placed the nuts in salted gently boiling water. They stayed submerged without much intervention.

After few minutes, I drained the nuts and using a sheet of paper towel, removed the inner brown skin.

This was a success. Here I used them to top cold chawanmushi 茶碗蒸し along with edamame 枝豆 and ikura.

 We really enjoyed this. Definitely the taste of autumn.

Two premium types of Japanese rice from "The rice factory" 北海道ななつぼしと富山県コシヒカリ

When COVID pandemic started, we tried to buy a bag of rice at our Japanese grocery store and realized all  15 Lb. bags of the rice we usually use were sold out. The only rice left was a 5 pound bag of very expensive imported Japanese "Koshihikari" コシヒカリ rice from Niigata 新潟県. Since we did not have any choice, we bought it. But when we cooked the rice, we realized it was much better rice than our usual California Koshihikari rice "Kagayaki" かがやき which is grown on dry field (so called "Okabo" 陸稲) rather than paddy. Later  15 Lb. bags of Kagayaki rice were again available but we decided to finish up the expensive rice first. After we finished it, I was curious about what other kinds of Japanese rice may be available. So I started looking on the internet and came across a store in New York called "The rice factory". This store imports unpolished rice from Japan and as the orders come in they polish the rice to the customer's specifications (brown, 50%, 75% and white rice). Since the 2020 new crop rice is about to come in (according to the site, they start selling new-crop in January 2021), many of the varieties they advertise were out of stock. I ended up getting "Hokkaido Nanatsu-boshi" 北海道ななつぼし(meaning 7 stars) (Hokkaido for obvious reasons, also see addendum below) and "Toyama Koshihikari" 富山県コシヒカリ.

This site also includes rice charts akin to the sake charts at Tippsy sake. I wanted "Hokkaido Yume Pirika" which was out of stock. "Nanatsuboshi" according to this chart is in the bit "tough" or "firm" category and not as sticky as other rice. "Kosjihikari" on the other hand is more sticky and soft.

So, we decided to do some rice tasting. I wheeled out our "Kamado-san" かまどさん earthen ware rice cooker and cooked the "nanatsuboshi" first.

It is quite shiny and the rice kernels were separate; not sticking together too much. The texture is exactly a the chart indicated. We did not dislike it but we prefer rice that is a bit softer. We did discover however, that when we re-heated this rice (microwave), it came out much better than our usual California rice. We also found it made excellent risotto. We used it to make Shiitake mushroom risotto from the leftover cooked rice and it was really good. Since the rice kernels kept their consistency, it added a good (not quite al-dente) texture.

Few days later, we tried the "koshihikari". 

We enjoyed Koshihikari with salmon belly , salt broth soaked sugar snap, skinned and sliced Campari tomato with Yuzu mayonnaise and cucumber and wakame dressed is sumiso as a shime one evening. It was softer and stickier than the previous Hokkaido rice; definitely better but less than our expectation. 

I think, when the new crop becomes available we should try "Yume Pirika" ("Yume" means "dream" in Japanese and "pirika" is "beautiful" in Ainu, the original native language of  Hokkaido.

Addendum: One more interesting fact about Hokkaido rice is that when I was growing up, because of the harsh cold, Hokkaido was not the optimum place to grow rice. As a result the rice that was produced was very low quality. But, in recent years, because of the new cultivars and, maybe, because of global warming, Hokkaido rice is now being hailed as one of the best in Japan such as "Yume Pirika". At least one small benefit from global warming ?

Grilled yellowtail filet ハマチの塩焼き

Choosing among the whole fresh fish available from HMart Korean grocery store, we tried "yellowtail" this time. The Japanese name may be "hamachi" ハマチ  but the Japanese name changes as this fish grows. If the fish is over 80 cm, it is called "Buri" ブリ which appears to be the uniform nomenclature throughout Japan.  The younger, smaller yellowtail, however, has many different names depending on the locale. The one we got may have qualified as a small "hamachi". Of course, the best way to enjoy hamachi is as sashimi, but this one was not fresh enough for that. So, after I cleaned the fish I made what is known in Japanese as sannmai-oroshi 三枚おろし  or “three layers” which consist of two filets and a central layer of bone with bits of meat still attached between the bones. I cut one of the filets into serving size, salted it and let it stand in the refrigerator for several hours. I blotted the surface with paper towel, re-salted and cooked it. It would have been best grilled over a charcoal fire but I simply cooked it in a frying pan with a small amount of olive oil. I served it with salted vegetables 浅漬け (Cucumber, nappa cabbage, thick rectangles of daikon), myoga in sweet vinegar 冥加の甘酢漬け and blanched broccoli. I found that we had a chopstick rest shaped like myoga so in keeping with the theme included it for the chopsticks on the tray. This dish was quite good with cold sake.

When we received the fish, it was about 30cm in length and came gutted with tail and fins cut off but the head was still on. After I prepared the fish, we had two half heads (cut in half along the spine,) two collars and two filets.

I cut the two filets into small serving size. I cooked one of the filets as shown here. I marinated the other filet in sake lee ハマチの酒粕味噌漬け. I simmered the heads as "Kabuto-ni" 兜煮, and the collars or "Kama" カマ were frozen for later. I also scraped off all the meat from the bone and also removed the meat from skin of the tail portions and used it to make a yellowtail burger ハマチバーガー (all the subjects of future posts). So every part of the fish, except the bones and fins was used— nothing was waste. In so doing I hope we did justice to what this lovely fish had to offer.

Banana carrot muffin バナナニンジンマフィン

 This is another muffin my wife made. We thought it was a bit unusual since it uses grated fresh carrot and banana. My wife got this recipe from her sister. It came from “Wild about muffins” by Angel Clubb.  Although we do not know the published date, this book appears old. After just a quick search on the internet, however, it appears that there are quite a few muffin recipes using bananas and carrots. So, apparently, although we have not heard of it before,  this is not such an unusual combination.

Some recipes add nuts but my wife added raisins as per the recipe she used.

Ingredients: (Makes 12 muffins)

Dry ingredients

1 1/2 cup (210g) AP flour

1/2 cup (85g) sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

One pinch of ground cloves

1 cup (125g) grated carrot

Wet ingredients

2 eggs

1 Tbs. molasses (this plus the white sugar results in brown sugar)

1/2 cup(125ml) oil

1/2 cup (125) buttermilk

1/2 cup (125ml) mashed banana

1 tsp vanilla

Other ingredients 

1/4 cup (40g) raisins (optional)

nuts (optional)

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients and add the carrots stirring until they are coated with the flour. This helps keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin. Mix the wet ingredients together and combine them with the dry ingredients. Add the raisins and mix until they are incorporated. Using a large scoop put the batter in a well greased muffin tin. Cook in a 400 degree oven until a skewer comes out clean about 18 to 20 minutes.

These muffins were quite good. They were very moist with a mild nutmeg banana flavor. The raisins are a nice addition. They are a nice addition to any breakfast. Next time we might add some nuts.

Chocolate vanilla panna cotta チョコレート、バニラ パンナコッタ

As I mentioned before, my wife grew up with desserts as the end to a dinner. It was a kind of parental bribe, "eat all your dinner or you won't get dessert." So for a little kid the dessert was almost the goal of the meal. As I also mentioned I did not grow up with desserts so if my wife wants one usually she has to make it. (I, however, am not the least bit averse to helping her eat any dessert she may come up with) She makes a buttermilk panna cotta that we really like. With this success and after cruising several recipes on the internet, she was inspired to try a variation. She came up with this two layer, chocolate and vanilla panna cotta. She served it in a small double walled espresso glass. This makes a nice dainty dessert that is perfect for us. The recipe, however, can be scaled up for larger servings. 

Ingredients:
1 tsp. gelatin
3 Tbs. water
3/4 cup 4% milk
3/4 cup cream
1/4 cup sugar

for flavoring:
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbs. cocoa powder

Directions:
Bloom the gelatin in the water and set it aside for a few minutes. Add the milk, cream and sugar to a sauce pan and heat gently until the sugar melts (don't boil). Take a ladle of the warm milk mixture and add to the gelatin mixture until the gelatin is completely melted into the milk. Add the melted gelatin into the rest of the milk mixture. Divide the milk mixture in half. Add the vanilla to one of the halves. Pour into a glass container that has been tipped on its side. See picture below.

Put into the refrigerator until it becomes firm. Meanwhile put the cocoa powder in a small bowl. Scoop in some of the milk mixture and stir to form a paste. Add back into the milk mixture. Stir to fully incorporate. When the vanilla mixture become firm add the chocolate mixture on top. Put back into the refrigerator until everything becomes firm.

This is a lovely little dessert. The texture is very creamy and smooth with a nice chocolate flavor contrasted with the vanilla. Just a few sweet bites to round out any dinner.