Gaijin Gourmet

Food to Try at HYPER JAPAN: Dorayaki

Administrator — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:42:20 +0000

Eat-Japan presents HYPER JAPAN is a brand new event being held in London on October 1st through 3rd this year. Check out the site here. It’s going to feature a brilliant food court with loads of authentic, delicious and freshly made Japanese food - and we’ll be introducing what’s coming up here.

Dorayaki is a traditional Japanese confection with a delicious mix of Japanese and Western flavours. But dorayaki is no ordinary treat: there is a story behind its birth. Once, there was warrior monk called Benkei, who had been injured. He was helped by a family, so as a thank you he used his dora, or gong, to fry a pancake and wrapped anko inside (why was he carrying a gong, you ask? Think little prayer gong rather than massive-beginning-of-movie gong). Anko is a sweet azuki (red bean) paste favoured in many Japanese confectionaries, and not to be confused with ankou (with a long vowel) which, trust me, you don’t want in your pancake. At least not looking like this.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), dorayaki was made from a single pancake wrapped around anko, but in 1914 Usagiya in Tokyo invented what we now know and love as dorayaki, sandwiching anko between two pieces of pancakes.

Nowadays, it is called ‘Mikasa’ in Kansai area and it is famous as the favourite food of Doraemon, the popular Japanese manga character. There are many types of Dorayaki with different ingredients inside. At HYPER JAPAN you can enjoy the delicious variety on offer from Wagashi: Matcha Mascarpone, made with powdered matcha green tea from Sasaki Green Tea, that proved such a hit at last year’s Eat-Japan Sushi Awards, Kuri (Red Bean with Chestnut Pieces), Custard, Matcha Custard, Red Bean (Azuki) and Cream Cheese Anko. These sweet,but not too sweet, fluffy, beany pancakes are wonderfully moreish and delicious at any time of the day – team up with your friends to try a bite of each flavour!

Photo from Wagashi Ltd.: Red Bean with Chestnut Dorayaki

Soy Sauce “cures” the menopause??

Administrator — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:05:55 +0000

Ahh, the life of women. Periods, childbirth and then…the menopause. But if you’re a fan of Japanese food, you could already have been making it all a little bit easier on yourself. The Journal of Nutrition has reported that a group of women taking soy supplements for three months showed less prominent menopausal symptoms, apparently because soy contains a natural compound which scientifists believe functions to reduce osetrogen production - where oestrogen is the hormone predominantly through to contributed to menopausal problems.

More details here.

Saying You’re Sorry

Administrator — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 05:35:44 +0000

It can be hard in any language. But luckily, Japan has an easy-to-memorise, structured bowing system to make it a bit easier…

Sushi Sign Fail

Administrator — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:10:09 +0000

It’s about as fail as you can get…

Hara hetta Cup Noodle!

Administrator — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 05:31:49 +0000

Mmmm. Jay Kay. Mmmmm. Cup Noodle. Hara hetta means “I’m hungry”. Itsutsu taberareru means “I could eat five”. That’s disgusting, Jay Kay. Back to your vintage cars.

Amazing Mario!

Administrator — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:42:49 +0000

Earthquake Sets Japan Back to 2147

Administrator — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 15:20:31 +0000

Japan finds itself in crisis, with our society and culture temporarily reverting to a pre-cyberunification era,” said Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, communicating non-telekinetically for the first time in his nearly 150 years of post-cryogenic life. “Though many citizens have been limited to algorithm-based emotion detection, neutron baths, speed limits below the speed of light, and other barbaric inconveniences for over a week now, I promise we will pull through.”

Read the rest here.

Hybrid Recipes 4

Administrator — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:11:11 +0000

After our failed attempt to mix liquid wiener, the team moved back to Hybrid Recipes for a safer option.

Recipe: Yoghurt 20g, Soft (silken) tofu 10g

Professor Toko’s comments:

Professor Toko’s score: 7/8

Our comments: “Mmmmm, oishii!!”, “I think it’s a bit sour from the yoghurt”, “Probably be really nice with fruit”

Our score: 6 and a third/8

Hybrid Recipes 3

Administrator — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:10:26 +0000

Recipe: Coke ???ml, Coffee ???ml

One member of the testing team had enthusiastically suggested the addition of a coke/coffee combo to our experimental afternoon - a recipe not featured in Professor Toko’s book. Unfortunately, no amount of research uncovered the actual recipe - and it won’t be spoiling it now to tell you that the supposed taste was - wiener. Undeterred, however, we decided to experiment by adding a little coke at a time to coffee powder. Here are the results, with our running commentary:

One level teaspoon of strong, fine coffee powder added to large wine glass. Coke added to following volumes:

+30ml “Disgusting”

+50ml “Almost, but far too bitter”, “It’s a bit like a stock cube”

+75ml “I don’t know what wiener tastes like, but if I did I’d guess this was pretty close”, “Mmmm, beefy”

+110ml “Like bitter chocolate”, “That’s never going to taste anything like wiener”, “almost Marmitey” *Qualifier: this person likes Marmite

Hybrid Recipes 2

Administrator — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:21:21 +0000

Recipe: 100ml full fat milk, 10g takuan

Professor Toko’s comments:“Now, it doesn’t sound like it will work. But it does! The secret is to warm the milk, slice up the takuan, add to the milk and wait for ten minutes. Too soon, you’re basically drinking warm milk. Too late (30 mins plus) and you’re basically drinking pickle milk”.

Professor Toko’s score: 8/8

Our comments: “Maybe it would be better if you pureed the takuan?”

Our scores: 7/8 (7/8, 7/8, 7/8)

The taste…Corn soup. Specifically, Campbell’s Corn Soup. According to the Prof, the levels of sweetness, umami, depth of flavour, bitterness, saltiness…they’re all virtually identical. Amazing. Who would have thought? (Really, who?). This, sadly, won’t do at all for your batsu gamu penalty - it’s far too tasty.