Lemon Crumb Bar レモンクラムバー

One day, my wife announced she was going to make this lemon cream bar from a recipe she saw on line. She had purchased a similar item from Whole Food and thought she would try making a similar one herself. In any case, the end product was a nice crunchy, sweet candy bar like cookie thing. We did not taste any strong lemon flavor despite using the juice and zest of one lemon as called for in the recipe.

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt (1/2 tsp in dry ingredients, 1/4 tsp in the sweetened condensed milk). 
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled or quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 or 2 lemons
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8x10-inch baking pan with 2 sheets of parchment paper, positioning them perpendicular to each other and making sure they are long enough to hang over all four sides by at least 1 inch to form a sling. Toast the oats in the toaster oven until brown and fragrant. Set aside until cooled. Cut 1 stick unsalted butter into 8 pieces and melt. Add the vanilla to the melted butter. Add 3/4 cup packed brown sugar in the butter and stir to melt the sugar. Put 1 cup AP flour and the 1 1/4 toasted oats in a bowl. Add 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a flexible spatula until no dry spots remain. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture for topping.

Transfer the remaining crumble mixture into the baking pan. Pat into an even layer. Bake until fragrant and lightly browned, 12 to 14 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the lemon filling. Finely grate the zest of  1 or 2 lemons (about 2 tablespoons) into the bowl. Juice the zested lemons until you have 1/2 cup, then add to the bowl. Add 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and whisk until smooth.

Pour the filling over the hot crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumble mixture evenly over the filling. Return the baking pan to the oven and bake until the edges are lightly browned and set, 22 to 24 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. If the filling is softer than desired, refrigerate for 30 minutes once completely cooled to firm up. Grasping the excess parchment paper, lift the slab out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into 12 pieces.

This is nice, sweet and crunchy almost like a cookie. The toasted oats gave it a nutty aftertaste. The evaporated milk became slightly solid and added a pleasant creamy texture and taste. We didn’t notice much lemon flavor, however. This definitely satisfies the sweet tooth.

Tokyo Kyobashi Areas Izakayas (part 3) 東京の居酒屋 東京駅八重洲京橋付近 パート3

5. Sake Ryoma 酒龍馬

東京都中央区京橋2丁目7−15鈴木ビル

Suzuki-bldg.
Kyobashi 2-7-15
Chuo-Ku, Tokyo

For reservation 03-3564-1171, Credit card: Accepted, Probably no smoking

This place was not as expected from my information gathering. The female owner has a vast collection of rare and cult class sake. We made our reservation one day ahead. This is a small place with only counter seating which may accommodate 8-10 people. There is a small table in the front but it appeared to be used only as a place for customers to sit and wait for counter space to open up. When we got there 4 people (apparently all regulars) were already seated on either side of our seats. They appeared to be deep into their own conversations. Then we were presented with a tray full of small dishes (12 as shown in the picture). We thought we were supposed take one or two as “Otoshi” but “No”, all of them were ours. To our surprise the tray was the full meal already organized and presented for our enjoyment. (No ordering from a menu necessary). Luckily all the dishes were quire good and it was not any trouble “cleaning the plate”.

They also have many cult sakes including many varieties of “Ju-yondai 十四代” and “Ji-Kon 而今” alike. We had two kinds of “Juyondai” sake. At this point, the initial stiffness had worn off and we were interacting with the young staff. Then the mama (owner) started talking to the customers who sat to the right of us introducing various rare sakes to them. She poured them a glass which they tasted then all of sudden, the guy in a suit sitting sat next to me excitedly started talking to me about how good the sake was and offering us a taste of the rare sake they were having. It was exceptionally good. Then as if all communication barriers came down at once the two men sitting on the other side of us joined in the conversation. All four, 2 seated to the left and 2 to the right of us started talking to us and each other.  Apparently they knew each other and all were sake connoisseurs. The group to our right were actually certified sake sommelier and started offering us tastes of various rare sakes, which the group to the left countered with tastes of the rare sakes they liked best. It was almost like they were in competition with each other in their sake offerings. So when they learned we liked sake too and would not be turning down any other their offers we found ourselves drinking all these rare sakes amidst fairly animated conversation. They even gave me their business cards. In any case, at the end, we are not sure how checks were handled but ours was high (as compared to other izakayas we visited) thus far but not unreasonable considering all the cult sake we drank.  It appears the bill for most of the rare sake we tasted went to these regulars. Although we did not ask for it, the receipt (a formal one which can be used to get reimbursement for business expenses) was included suggesting they thought we were there on business and like many of their customers needed the receipt to have the expense of the meal reimbursed.  

6. Kyo-Sushi 京寿司

東京都京橋2丁目2−1 エドグランド1F

Edogrand 1F
Kyobashi 2-2-1, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

For reservation 03-3281-5575, Credit card accepted, probably non-smoking

I wanted to go to at least one sushi bar. I was envisioning asking a sushi chef to serve us series of small dishes including sashimi (otsumami おつまみ) and finish with a few sushi. I managed to make the reservation for this sushi place one day before. This is a small sushi bar and the reviews are mostly about the reasonably priced lunch they offer; “Kaisen-Don 海鮮丼” various sashimi on rice in a bowl. In any case, most of the time we were there we were the only customers. A middle aged woman came in and had a omakase nigiri sushi. After she left, the chef told us she was an actress based in Osaka who stopped by every time she was in Tokyo. Although the sashimi and sushi were decent, the selection lacked variety (the only white meat fish was hamachi).

“Renkon” Lotus Root in sweet vinegar 酢れんこん

We received fresh “renkon” lotus root from Weee. Since it was quite a large amount of renkon, as usual I cleaned, washed, dried the surface, and wrapped each segment in paper towel and vacuum packed it. This treatment makes renkon last for a longer time in the refrigerator.  Although I made quite a variety of renkon dishes, I have not posted this rather basic renkon dish called “su-renkon 酢蓮根”. Actually more elegant version called “hana-renkon 花レンコン” or “hanawa-renkon 花輪レンコン” is always included in Sushi Taro osechi box. In this rendition, I did not bother to make a decorative cut and also added seasoned strips of kelp called “shio-konbu 塩昆布” which added flavor/umami but colored the renkon a bit. I served it with salt-broth soaked snap peas スナップ豌豆の塩浸し”.

Sweet vinegar 甘酢
There are many variations. The basic is rice vinegar, sugar and salt but this combination can be made milder by adding broth or water. The recipe shown below is the current sweet vinegar recipe we like. Not too strong but not too watery.

Ingredients:
For sweet vinegar
75 ml rice vinegar
75 ml water
20 gram sugar
1/4 tsp salt

2 inch segment of fresh renkon, 2 inch, peeled, sliced in 1/5 inch (3mm) thick, immediately soak in cold water (I sliced it a bit thickly for a nice crunch).
1 dried japanese red  pepper, seeds removed, cut into small rounds, optional
1/2 tsp Japanese salted kelp strips (shio konbu 塩昆布), optional

Directions:
Boil the renkon 3-4 minutes (you want to leave some crunch), drain, salt lighly while hot, set aside
In a bowl, add the renkon, red pepper and salt kelp and add the sweet vinegar so that all is just covered.
Marindate 2-3 days in the refregerator.

It came out really nice. The renkon is crunchy and fresh tasting but not too harsh. I removed the visible red pepper flakes especially for my wife but it was not spicy at all.

Tokyo Kyobashi Areas Izakayas (part 2) 東京の居酒屋 東京駅八重洲京橋付近 パート2

3. Tsukiji Jikan Kyoubashi Branch 築地十干京橋店

Tokyo Square Garden BF1
Kyobashi 3-1-1
Chuo-Ku, Tokyo

For reservation 03-6260-6936,  Credit card accepted, Non-smoking

Although details are a bit unclear, it appears that there are two branches; one in Kyobashi and the other in Meguro. This izakaya might be run by the same entity which has a dried sea food store called “Hoshimon-ya Tsukiji Jikan 干しもんや築地十干”. It is a retail store for dried sea food but it was reported to transform to standing izakaya in the evening. In any case, I read that this place offers fresh sashimi, sushi, meat dishes, and oden. It was walking distance from our hotel. I found the building, in which this izakaya is located, called “Tokyo Square Garden 東京スクエアガーデン” easily enough. I somehow missed that this place is on the basement floor. On the front side, several restaurants were visible in the first (ground) floor but not the one we were looking for. It took some effort but we finally found it. You have to go into the building and take an escalator to BF1. By now we had learned the secret of  “you must make a reservation” to get a seat. Accordingly we had made a reservation but it was on the same day we were going to eat. As a result, seats were available but only at the counter. Once we got there, a middle aged waitress greeted us (very motherly person). The seats at the counter were extremely high stools. She immediately, worried that the tall stools at the counter may not be suitable especially for my wife. But there was a small shelf under the counter on which we could rest our feet so we were OK with that. She recommended a couple of sakes and as she served, she placed sake bottle in front of us for me to take a pic.

Her sake recommendation was quite good. From the counter, we could see the open kitchen. Several young cooks and two much older guys; one preparing sushi and the other mostly cooking meat items. We started with sashimi. Despite the “Tsukiji” name which emphasized the access to good fish, the sashimi was average. We had a few more items including lamb cooked in a skillet. We had some sushi as a shime dish. The sushi was ok but my wife thought the rice was not well seasoned/vinegared. Overall a good evening experience with a motherly waitress taking care of us. Next time, we should make a reservation a day or more before we would like to go and ask for low table seating (they have high tables with high stools as well).

4. Sakana-no-Mekiki 魚の目利き東京駅八重洲口店

東京都中央区日本橋3丁目2−16マスヤビル7F

Masuya-bldg 7F, Nihonbashi 3-2-16
Chuo-Ku, Tokyo

For reservation: 050-5486-4394, credit card accepted, only heated-tobacco allowed*

*We learned that “kanetsu-shiki tabako or heated-tobacco 加熱式タバコ” is a type of “vaping” popular in Japan. By heating (but not burning) tobacco leaves instead of using liquid tobacco extracts as is done with vaping, nicotine containing vapor can be inhaled. This type of “smoking” was permitted in this isakaya and when we were there, we did not detect any “cigaret” or other type of tobacco smoke.

The name of this Izakaya means “connoisseur of fish”. The owner must have a close tie to the fishing port called “Misaki 三浦”  on the Izu peninsula 伊豆半島, Kanagawa 神奈川 near Tokyo.  Fresh fish from Misaki was emphasized on their web site. This appears to be a one-store establishment (i.e. this is not part of a chain but also it is not a mom-pop-run izakaya either). It is on the 7th floor of a small building but it has an elevator.

This was one of the most enjoyable izakaya we tried. We made a reservation. Our table was separated by hanging semi-opaque fabric barrier which made it somewhat private. They have a number of interesting dishes but as usual, we started with  assorted sashimi and sake. The sashimi was quite good. “Tai” perch had a bit sinewy part but it was confined to the part under the skin. Better than the “Tai” we have had else where (it appears this year’s “Tai” perch is chewy/sinewy). We also had “Tuna shuto with cheese マグロ酒盗チーズ” which was unusual and good. Another one which is a bit usual was“al ajillo” of small shrimp and small bait fish. The baguette came with this could be better, though. Another interesting dish was “iburi-gakko kurimu chizu いぶりがっこクリームチーズ” (I made a similar dish getting idea from this dish which is a subject of another post).

We had more sake and couple of other dishes. All quite good. 

Cream Cheese with Pickled Daikon クリームチーズ 沢庵入り

While we were in Japan, we had cream cheese with  “iburi-gakko いぶりがっこ” at one of izakayas we visited. “ Iburi-gakko” is a local food peculiar to the northern part of the main land Japan (Tohoku region 東北地方).  It is made by hanging daikon radish over the hearth (old farm houses had open fire hearths) which dried and also smoked the daikon. It was then cured (not with vinegar but with salt and rice bran mixture). This produced “iburi-gakko”. It is crunchy with a slightly salty and smoky flavors.  The combination of cream cheese and iburi-gakko was really great. Although we did not have “iburi-gakko”, I made a similar dish using the pickled daikon I made.  I served it with cucumber and nappa cabbage “asazuke” (picture #1).

This was a part of small “otsumami おつまみ”  dishes (picture #2). From left to right, baby artichoke hearts and olives dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, renkon in sweet vinegar or “Subasu 酢蓮” (subject described in a separate post) with salt-broth soaked snap peas スナップ豌豆の塩びたし and cream cheese with pickled daikon. These are just nice small dishes that go with cold sake in the evening.

Ingredients:
1/3 block of cream cheese, warmed up to room temperature
1 inch home made picked daikon, cut into small dice

Directions:
In a bowl, add the daikon and cream cheese and mix.
On the plastic wrap, make a log about 1 inch in diameter, roll and wrap it tightly (picture #3)
Refregerator at least one hour before slicing

Although, it lacks the smoky flavor of “iburi-gakko”, the salty and sweet crunchy daikon, really worked with the cream cheese. I will be making this again for sure.

Tokyo Kyobashi Areas Izakayas (part 1) 東京の居酒屋 東京駅八重洲京橋付近 パート1

We have not posted for sometime. That is partly because we were in Japan for several weeks. In any case, we are back. Mostly for our own benefits, I am listing the izakayas we visited while we were in Japan. This is not an endorsement or criticism of the places. Just our impression/description for the reference next time we go to Japan. I choose izakayas based mostly on their location, and review, menu, and pictures available on line. 

Just some observations on the current izakaya situation in Japan compared to our previous experiences on our previous visits the last in 2017 (8 years ago). In the past getting a table at an izakaya was a relatively low key affair. You would find an izakaya where you wanted to eat. You would then in stick your head in the door ask if there was room (which there usually was) then entered to be seated. No reservation required. Once seated that spot was yours for the duration. There was no specification of allotted time, or the number of dishes or drinks you had to order in that specified time. Things are quite different now. It seems that Japan has been inundated with foreign tourists especially from China. The izakaya have been flooded with foreign customers and seating is limited. We saw many people turned away or told there would be a long wait before they could be served. In addition there are now a number of other restrictions including a maximum allotted time to use the table and required numbers of orders of food and drink.  After some lack of success in appropriating a seating at izakaya we had selected we found the secret was to make a reservation even if it was only several hours before you wanted to eat. Once we discovered this secret we had much more success but it required us to plan more in advance. Things were not as spontaneous as before. Another difference we noticed is that many Izakayas in this area (many office workers) are into serving lunch and sometimes lunch is more emphasized than evening Izakaya. As a result, many of reviews on line are about lunch.

Tokyo Yaesu Kyobashi area 東京 八重洲, 京橋付近

1. Uokichi Sakaba Tokyo Branch 魚吉酒場東京店

東京都中央区京橋1丁目4−13 初音ビル 1F

Hatsune Bdg 1F
Kyobashi 1-4-13 Chuo-Ku, Tokyo

For reservation 050-5594-1328
Credit card accepted, Smoking allowed

This is a classic chain Izakaya. We went there because it was close to our hotel. We did not make any reservation and went there around 6 pm. We were told that we could have a table until 7:30 pm. The inside appeared to be newly renovated and very bright. The staff is all young and most of the customers are also young. The Sake selection was OK but not extensive. The food menu was also very classic for a chain izkaya. We had a sashimi assortment and several other dishes including fried food. Nothing extraordinary but not bad and the service was average. The reason we had to vacate by 7:30 became apparent as a group of people with cameras started gathering in front of the store. Apparently a YouTuber was making “contents” starting at 7:30.

2. Ichinokura Kyobashi-ten 一ノ倉京橋店

東京都中央区京橋1丁目4−13
Kyobashi 1-4-13
Chuo-Ku, Tokyo

For reservation 03-3517-1570

Credit card accepted

Non-smoking with smoking area 

We visited this Izakaya 8 years ago. We came here because it was next door to Uokichi and, for nostalgic reason, we decide to try it again. This was slightly more upscale than “Uokichi”. The entrance is at ground level, but you had to go down one floor. We had not made a reservation. Again, we were told we could have a table until 7 pm since the only available table had a reservation starting at 7:30 pm which left us about 1 hour. So we were ushered to a semi private room/booth. The server tried to be as efficient as possible. I asked for a sake recommendation first. He recommended one sake so we said “yes” but he came back and said “sorry we are out”. As compared to 8 years ago, the sake selection was not as extensive. Our first order was assorted sashimi which came in a shallow bowl covered with a dry ice induced fog, which entirely obliterated the view of sashimi (see below). Although nothing could be seen because of the fog the server pointed into it “identifying” the unseeable fish varieties that were supposedly there and explaining what kind of sashimi we got.

The sashimi was ok except for Tai perch which was so chewy my wife could not eat it. So she chewed for  a while and spitted it out and hid it under the garnish of “Otoshi”. That did not escape the keen eyed server’s notice. He asked “Oh, she cannot eat raw fish?” I answered “Yes she can but this was too chewy even for me” which shut him up. (This chewy Tai repeated in other izakaya we visited except for one in Kyoto called ‘Irodori” (more details later).) In any case, we were less impressed with our experience at this izakaya than we were 8 years prior and made an early retreat.

Carrot Salad Muffin 人参サラダ入りマフィン

My wife made this muffin to finish the left-over carrot salad which she made for a company dinner we had some days ago. She remembered that she made carrot muffins from shredded carrots before. So she used the same recipe and substituted the carrot salad for the shredded carrots called for in the recipe. Although the original carrot salad had many spices including cumin, cayenne pepper, and ginger, they mellowed in the muffins. The muffins came out quite moist and had a great flavor due to the muted tastes of the spices.  The crumb topping also worked well.

Carrot salad: (We posted it in 2012. We are listing the recipe again in a standard format. The recipe is based on the spiced carrot salad recipe found in the "500 appetizers" cookbook.)
Ingredients: (for carrot salad)
2 cups of shredded carrots (in the food processor), cook in the micro wave for 30 seconds, stir and cook about another 30 seconds until the carrots get a bit tender but still have crunch).
1 cup raisin 
1/2 tsp. ground ginger, 
1 tsp. cumin, 
1/2 tsp ground coriander, 
1/2 tsp paprika, 
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 
Candied ginger, finely chopped,  to taste, 
4 tsp. sushi vinegar plus juice of 2 limes
3 Tbs. olive oil, 
2 tsp. chopped mint.

Directions:

Mix all the spices together with the liquid ingredients and poured the dressing over the carrots and raisins. I let it sit for several hours for the flavors to marry (as a matter-of-fact the salad gets better every day).

Muffin: (we used the recipe from carrot bread muffin which was posted 
Ingredients: (for muffin)
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp. sour cream
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrot salad

Crumb topping: (This is the crumb topping used for other muffins)
Ingredients: (for crumb topping)
1/2 cup (60g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1/4 tsp. of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°.
to make the crumbs combine the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.
Add the butter, and mix with your fingers until the mixture forms crumbs.

To make the batter for the muffin in a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. In another large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients; melted butter, brown sugar, egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Stir the carrots, into the liquid ingredients until thoroughly blended. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter. Divide the batter among the muffin tins. Spread the crumbs on the top of the muffins. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

These were very good muffins, dense in texture and moist. The muted taste of all the spices added depth of flavor. The crumbs on top came out with an almost cookie texture and crunch while they added a pleasant burst of sweetness. These were actually much better than we expected.