Green Tea 日本茶、緑茶

You can find sushi packs in the chilled corner in the most of supermarket nowadays. Sushi is very popular food in the western counties, isn't it? I rather not to ague about the quality of the sushi here. You know what I mean, if you are a true sushi lover or had an experience of sushi in Japan!! 

Anyway, another boom recently is the green tea 緑茶. Most of tea traders sell green teas. Everybody now knows about a Matcha tea 抹茶, a strong powdered Japanese green tea usually for the tea ceremony 茶道 in Japan. Sometimes Matcha teas are used for baking, depending on the quality.

Green tea is a type of tea that is made from "Camellia sinensis" leaves that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation and process used to make oolong and black tea. Green tea originated in China, but its production has spread to many countries in Asia. The green teas are mainly Chinese tea here in the UK. There're some differences between the Japanese green teas and the Chinese green teas. 
While Chinese green tea was originally steamed, as it still is in Japan, after the early Ming Dynasty it has typically been processed by being pan-fired in a dry wok. 
Most of the Chinese green tea is half oxidized/fermented.  Black tea is fully oxidized/fermented.   

Kuki-cha 茎茶 top right - stems and leaves of the tea plants.
Sen-chi 煎茶 bottom left - leaf teas 
- usually, if you're saying "tea" is this tea, sen-cha, in Japan.
There're many different types of the tea in Japan.

Tea brewing set and tea leaves.

Japan shares some history with China for centuries.

Tea is one of them. Tea seeds brought to Japan from China first time by the buddhist monks, Saicho and Kukai, in the beginning 9th century. Emperor Saga introduced the practice of drinking tea to the imperial family but a buddhist monk Eisai advocated that all people drinking tea for the health benefits. Japan's oldest and most expensive high quality teas are from Uji area in Kyoto prefecture.

  
I don't think that not many people know how to consume the Japanese green tea 日本茶 traditionally or properly here. Of course, as long as you enjoy it, that doesn't matter how to do it. 
However, I suggest that you try the traditional way in the first time tasting the tea, then you can choose your way to drink. Because the Japanese green tea is very very sensitive taste, depending on the quality and how to storing and brewing. 



I will introduce the Japanese green tea to you here. Step by step.

Red Kidney Bean Ama-Natto 甘納豆

I made Ama-natto of butter beans and chic peas last year. This time I'll show you the another recipe. 

This Ama-natto（甘納豆）made by Red Kidney Beans.
There're many variety of Ama-natto as I made before. 
Soy beans, butter beans, chic peas etc, any beans and peas you can use for Ama-natto. I prefer using quite big beans. Dry or tined,,, doesn't mutter.
Sometimes you can use the vegetables like sweet potatoes and pumpkins. 
Oh, chestnuts are so good.

This recipe;
250g Red Kidney Beans
250g sugar (can be used less sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
and
some granulated sugar (option)

Soak the dry beans overnight.

Boil the beans in low heat very gently, maybe for over 1 hour, until the beans are softened. I want to keep the shape the beans so don't stir too much.
Through out some water (See picture left).
Put the same or less quantity of sugar into the this pan.
Leave the beans in the sugary water overnight or one day.

After another soaking,
Drain the beans. Maybe leaving in the colander or sieve for hours would be good idea.
Spread the beans evenly on the tray and place the tray in the oven at 70℃ and leave it until the beans are a little dry. But not too dry. The beans will be hard to eat. You don'y need to use the oven, just dry them at the room temperature. 

Coat the beans with the granulated sugar. 
If you don't like it, you don't need to add any sugar. It's option. But the letter Ama（甘） means sweet so a lot sugar is normal.

The Ama-natto can be frozen for a quite long time.

Happy New Year 2017

Thank you so much for reading my blog always.


I'm passionated in cooking. The Japanese cuisine（Washoku, 和食）, including sushi is my destiny. I really would like to introduce the washoku to you more and more this year.


Now I added the Japanese sweets called Wagashi（和菓子）to my repertoire.
Wagashi is not yet popular in this country like sushi, at the moment. But if you had experience of these sweets, oh, you'd love them so much. Not like sushi, you can't buy the wagashi, easily, unless you live in London or a big city. But they are very very expensive as you know. Actually you can buy some oriental version of sweets in a oriental shop in a small city, but I don't think they are the same.

Matcha tea and Ichigo-daifuku and nama-yastuhashi
お抹茶、苺大福と生八つ橋

Dorayaki

どら焼き

My ambition is that I wish to teach how to make the proper, authentic Washoku to the local people (professional chefs and cooks included). I really want everybody to know what is the proper Washoku (because the word means is not only the Japanese cuisine but also the Japanese culture, etc.) I always say that if you called a sushi chef yourself, you have to understand the culture as well.
So if you are interested in Washoku cuisine and culture, do not hesitate to contact me. I already have some sushi making classes in Bristol area. There will be some wagashi making classes as well this year soon.

Food in Japan

Nowadays, sushi is so popular here in the UK, maybe in the world. You can buy a cold (not recommended, slightly worm is the better) sushi packs in the supermarket. It's ok to having a different verity of sushi in a way. I wouldn't buy any of them in the supermarket.
See my sushi, I don't need to buy a sushi pack, do I?
If you want to have my sushi for your supper or party. I'll make them for you, but if you lived in Bristol/Bath area.





Anyway, when I'm been in Japan, I really excited to go to the supermarket or the basement of a department store (デパ地下). You can see so many different food in there. Especially, sushi and sashimi or sea food, hot or cold, are so cool.

There're many Sushi take away shops in the town. It's just like the Fish and Chips shop here in the UK.
If you've got a chance to go to Japan, I definitely recommend to go to the sushi take away shop and the food corners of a super or department store.


More pictures of Japan. Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo.

Anko 餡子 Sweet Azuki bean Paste

 Sweet Azuki bean paste（餡子/あん/あんこ）
This sweet bean paste is used for the traditional Japanese sweets like Dora-yaki, Daifuku-mochi etc.
You can buy a ready made paste in a Japanese food store in London. Available in a tin as well.
You also can buy a dried Azuki (Aduki or Adzuki) beans packet in a big supermarket. Or a tin beans, would be good idea, if you're a bit lazy or have no time.
Soaked the beans over night or just straight from the tin.
Use a quite large pan and the water and beans together, bring to the boil and reduce the heart medium - low, simmer for 1 hour or a bit more perhaps.  Drain the beans and squeeze the excess liquid as possible as you can.  Back the beans and the sugar (the same amount of the beans or less or more as you wish) into the pan and gently simmer until the liquid has almost gone (see pic. on the top, I prefer a bit more drier). Stirring constantly, especially near to the end. I use the dark brown sugar. Taste is so gooooood. But do not burn the pastes during the cooking.

Anko-pies（あん入りパイ）
This time I used the puff pastry.

Anko cup cakes（あんこのカップケーキ）
Put the anko paste inside the cup cakes.

I'll make some Anko version mince pies  for Christmas this year. Sounds yammy, doesn't it?



If you tried one of my recipes or made another Anko version, let me know, how was it? Made them easy or difficult? Because the sweet making is not popular things to do in Japan like the sushi making. Because you can buy the ready made sweets and sushi in everywhere in Japan. You don't need to make them yourself. So the Japanese people don't make those complicated food. Unless they love the baking or making sushi. Actually it is very very skilled job indeed. It would take a long time to master the techniques.




 

Traditional Japanese Sweets - Wagashi 和菓子

I just realised that how I didn't eat much and know about Wasashi 和菓子 , the traditional Japanese sweets, when I lived in Japan.
Actually I didn't like those, especially Anko, sweet azuki bean paste. Because they were too sweet to me. I prefer more salty stuff. 
However, after I started making Wagashi sweets by myself, I rearised that they are sooooo delirious. I think that those commercial sweets in the shop use too much chemical to keep them a long life and enhancing the strong taste and colour. 

The real hand-made sweets are really naturally gentle and deeply nice original taste of the ingredients.
They go so well with the green tea. But you can have them with any drink.




Ama-natto ライ豆の甘納豆 
Butter beans coated with sugar.

I made some Ama-natto with chick peas and red kidney beans the other day.
So literally, you can make the Ama-natto with any peas and beans, even some nuts hard vegetables. 
インゲン豆とひよこ豆の甘納豆

They are amazingly taste good.








When you buy a pack of Ama-natto in the Japanese or oriental shop, it might be too sweet for you. 

Easy making of Ama-natto, even from the tin beans/peas.
Just boil the beans/peas with the same quantity sugar. Add or reduce the sugar as you like.
Leave them with sugared water until cool or over night, if you had a time.
The dry the beans/peas for one day or two and coating with 1 table spoon of sugar. The caster sugar will make them good looking. 
Or you can eat Ama-natto without drying and no sugar. Do as you wish!!!

Japan Trip

I've been to Japan last month. It was only ten day staying.

I stayed in a capsule hotel in Asakusa.
It was cheap around £ 20.
It was OK then, for only one night.

Waso, Asakusa Hotel 和草ホテル

3-7-2 Asakusa,  Taito,  Tokyo,  111-0032,  JP

+81338728897 or Hotel.com

A capsule hotel in Japan, used to for only men, but this hotel have some booths for the ladies. There's a shared bath and showers. But no inside-shop.
It's quite close to Ueno and Tokyo Sky Tree (pic. left).

After I checked out the hotel, I went off to the Kappabashi Dogu Gai (street where selling the kitchen utensils for professionals). Unluckily many shops were closed. It was Sunday!! However, I managed to buy some utensils for my Washoku cuisine anyway. And it's very fortunate that I encountered the summer festival in the town. Really interesting. So here are some pictures,

The rainy season has finished so now it's really hot in Japan.