Happy New Year!!!!!!!

2013

Have a lovely New Year's day.

Hope your year will be fantastic.

I'll post cuisines and cultures etc. as many as I can.

Lots of love!!!!!

Masuyo,

 from Bristol, UK

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This picture is my garden covering the snow. 

My daughter is coming back tonight for Christmas.

But my son still in Japan,,, Fukushima's mountain side. Already everything is white!!

We are going to my brother-in-low's family Christmas dinner this year.

We had the lovely Christmas dinner at our home last year. A huge BBQ turkey!!!

Where we going to next year??? Maybe our friend's home?

Have a nice time!!!!! 

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Christmas is around the corner, isn't it? 
Are you ready for the big day? We're going to my brother-in-low's family Christmas dinner this year. We had one last year and I cooed a huge turkey for 12 people. 
This year it'll be 10 people all together. I don't need to do the cooking this year!!

Not sure yet at the moment, but I'm thinking making a starter. It'll be definitely Japanese food,,,, a kind of sushi "Chirashi-zushi" (Upside down, squashed sushi)
So, I'm going to show you how to make it.

Chirashi-zushi, which is very entertaining at your dinner party as a starter or a main dish.

What do you need are;

Chirashi-zushi

- Vinegary rice --- you can buy a bottle of sushi-vinegar in a supermarket.

- cooked shrimps

- shredded egg sheet, 1 egg yolk and 1 whole egg, mixed with 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp corn or potate starch. Cook like a crape. If you don't bother to cook it, just use a couple of boiled eggs and break them into pieces.

- sliced and shredded cucumber

- peas and sweet corns

Options;

- Ikura, a small jar of salmon eggs. You can find it  at Waitrose, if you 're lucky.

- Carrot and Shiitake mushrooms, simmering in 1 C water with 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp each sake and sugar and 1 tbsp mirin (if you have) for 15 minutes or until both well cooked.

You can use other ingredients, such as sliced ham or shredded cooked chicken some colourful vegetables.

As you see the picture, decorated beautifully. Use your imagination!

This picture is a set of "Temaki-zushi", but you can use those ingredients for your Chirashi-zushi, if you like.

Vinegary beetroots, tamayagoyaki egg, gari ginger, avocado, tuna mayonnaise and natto.

I'll give you some more recipes next issue! 

For other type of sushi "Temaki-zushi, nigiriz-zushi etc, go into Your Sushi web site.

http://www.yoursushi.co.uk/

You can learn more sushi Your Sushi School, if you live in the UK.

Have a nice Merry Christmas!!!      Masuyo. xxxxx

I introduced the Japanese Curry last time, usually it's called Curry Rice (pronounced as Caley-lice in Japanese) .「カレーライス」
This dish is a very popular dish for children. Some Japanese mothers cooks curry a couple times a week.  Most kids' birthday party of main menu are Jap. curry!
So easy to cook. 








I'm going to show how to cook Jap. curry.
What do you need;

A half pack of Japanese curry paste (4 to 6 saving). 
Pork, chicken or beef. I prefer not to use the lamb. Japanese don't eat lamb much as here in the UK. 
500g meat would be enough for a family of 4.
Boiled ggs are ideal, if your son or daughter don't like the meat.
1 onion, roughly sliced. 
2, 3 potatoes, cut in cube  ------- size doesn't mutter.
1 carrot, cut in cube

Other vegetables as spinach etc, can be added, if you like.

If your children are so fussy about vegetables, can be shredded then add in the end of the cooking.
Water as it's said on the packet. But I prefer to use the water a little less than the instruction. 

Shall I cook?


- Heat the oil in a deep pan and fry the onion then the meat. And add the potatoes and carrot. Fly until their surfaces absorb the oil. 
- Add the water to the pan, bring to the boil over high heat. Or use the low heat for the tender meat. Keep your eyes on the pan first 10 minutes!
Then reduce the heat and simmer until the meat was tender.
Do not boil too much, otherwise the meet will get hard. 
I prefer to use the low to medium heat through the cooking. 

- The meat got tender, off the pan from the heat and put the curry paste in to the pan and stair very gently and well. The paste should be resolve completely.
-Put the pan back on the stove, the heat should be low. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
You can add the soft vegetable like spinach at this point. 
- Salt and pepper if you wish to add.

That's it!!!  No hassle, though.
Your children would love it. Itadaki mass いただきます！！！