Japanese Rice

The sushi lunch pack is now quite common, isn't it? 
I think most of the people experienced having a pack of sushi once their life time?  Do or did you like it? If you're a real sushi or Japanese food lover, I don't think you do try another one again. I had a some packs myself before, they were just OK. But I don't think they're not Japanese food. Actually the sushi packs from Waitrose are the best I had ever eaten.

Firstly, the packs are kept in the open fridge, we never put the cooked rice in the fridge. It's getting so dry. Dry cooked rice, NO WAY! You can freeze the cooked rice in a air tight container or freezer bag, though.
Secondly, the quality of the rice (because kept in the fridge for a long time?). And the toppings or the fillings are far from Japanese ingredients sometime, however, I don't mind using any ingredients for sushi. You can use anything, if you wish. That's not the problem at all.

「Ordinary Japanese rice, or uruchimai (粳米), is the type most commonly grown, and is the staple foodstuff of the Japanese diet. It consists of short translucent grains. When cooked it has a somewhat sticky texture such that it can easily be picked up and eaten with chopsticks. Outside of Japan it is sometimes labeled as sushi rice, as this is one of its common uses. It is also used to produce sake.」

from Wikipedia

So, the rice is very important part of the Japanese cuisine. You cannot replace another type of the rice. You have to use only Japonica rice. But if you cannot find a proper one, you can buy a Korean or Italian risotto rice. Do NOT use a pudding rice for the Japanese meal!

 Japonica (short) rice and long grain rice - Wiki

How to cook the proper Japanese rice?

I usually cook my rice in the small pan (pic).

2 cups each time for the 2 night meal. Enough for 3 people. (My husband, daughter and me)

If you could buy the real Japanese rice from Japanese store. The rice imported from Japan, is very very expensive. Over £ 35.00 per 10Kg!!   1 cup of rice = 1 to 1.1 cup of water. No salt please. I usually buy a 10Kg of Italian made rice in a Chinese shop in Bristol at £ 18.00 -ish. I don't like the Californian rice, because they use too much pesticide in America, don't they?   1 cup of rice = 1.1 to 1.2 cup of water.

If you like soft rice, add a bit more water.

Rice the rice quite well before you cook. (See picture, the water is quite clear, isn't it?))

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the water absorbed.

Turn the switch off and give it a good light stir. Then leave the pan on the hob at least for 10 minutes. Steaming the rice is very important. Otherwise, your cooked rice is still hard inside.

If you have a Rice cooker, no problem at all, you just need to mesure the water properly or as you wish, basically it is the same as the cooking in a pan. 

My other blogs in the Japanese language, 

英国歳時記 and 英国通信 and マスヨのキッチン

Long time no see you!

How are you everybody? Hope all you are alright!!

Sorry for I haven't uploaded this blog for ages. My Macbook have finaly dead! Using my husband's Window 7 machine doesn't give me a proper work, unfortunately. Maybe I can't managed the machine well? Too slow as well!!!!!

So I bought an iPad mini and also got an iPhone 5C from Virgin Media recently. Those gadgets aren't newest and the cutting edge models, but still work well. I'll buy a Macbook Air some day. I need a proper machine!!!!!!! Actually and luckily my daughter has a Macbook so I can use hers very occationally. (She's back from London.)

You hear so many time the word "UMAMI(うまみ or 旨味)" nowadays, though, you don't cook much. As pleasant savory taste, one of the five basck tastes as sweet, sour, bitter, salty. Umami is conbined the word "umai(うまい) delicious" and mi(味)taste.

Japanese couisine "Washoku(和食)" as you know now, the stock-making(Dashi だし取り)is very very important part of the cooking. It's quite a time-consuming work so not many Japanese people do this nowadays. There're many instant Dashi-stocks in Japan.

If you do proper way, yes, it't quite complecated, but I give you a tip that more easy way to make dashi-stock. This is suit for all people including vegans.

Konbu and dried Shiitake ms

just soak over night

That's it! No hastle at all. 

After soaked, you can cook them with your ingredient as usual. It would work parfectly using only Konbu or Shiitake. 

Those dried stuff can be buy in an oriental super store. If you're lucky to live near London, go to a Japanese food shop. Expensive, but the quality is really good.

If you live near Bristol, I can help you to buy Japanese goods. 

New year, 2014!!!

This is the first up date for this year!!

Have you read this article as below, that was on the newspaper in the very beginning of this year.

Japanese cuisine gets UNESCO heritage status / Telegraph

Japan will become only the second nation after France to have its national cuisine designated heritage status.

The decision to protect Japan's traditional cuisine, known as "washoku", was made against a backdrop of rising concerns that fast food and western dishes are increasingly eclipsing the nation's culinary heritage. With its emphasis on harmony and the passing of the seasons, the art of washoku has been compared to writing haiku poems and normally consists of separate bowls of white rice, miso soup and pickles alongside main dishes. Other characteristics that have traditionally defined washoku include minimal meat, plenty of seafood and often the use of a fish stock base known as dash. Its new status was confirmed exactly 1,000 days after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered the on-going Fukushima nuclear crisis, shattering global confidence in the safety of the nation's previously respected food industry.

This news is so fantastic for me as a Japanese person. My cooking career is more than 20 years since I started to cook the meals for my family using the special ingredients suited my daughter. She had a allergy to the daily products, cheese, milk etc., but luckily not to the soya products. No additive products neither, of course!! I cooked every meals from scratch.

My cooking techniques had been developed spontaneously.      

I had a a chance to open my Japanese food shop when we lived in Luxembourg. My daughter was just born! So I could learn how to run the Japanese food shop. Very good experience, wasn't it? Actually my parents run a small convenience shop in a small village in Japan. Some times I helped them. It helped me to establish my base career. In both the management and cooking field.

After we came back to England, I didn't have a chance to do the same sort of business. Instead, I gain the diplomas of the therapies. It sound like totally the different area, but for me, it's nothing different at all. Therapy would help to make the high quality life and Japanese food is one of the healthiest foods in the world. 

Last year, I helped to establish a Japanese restaurant in Bristol. I had worked for the owner, mainly to offer some ideas of the menu, culture club and many more. 

There're, I think, five or six Japanese restaurants in Bristol area, but none of then are not a standard at all, unfortunately. The restaurant that I helped is better than others.

So I really want to have a very nice proper Japanese restaurant here, not only here but anywhere, if anybody need me to advice to establish the cafe or restaurant or even in the home cooking, Just call me loudly. I would come to you! E-mail me or Skype me!!!

My business card is here!