PuiNigiri

What do you suppose can be done with: Rice, filler, and plastic wrap?

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These are the major ingredients for a tidy little snack recipe I got from Chef Pui.

Have you heard of onigiri or omusubi? Essentially, packed balls of rice.

First, lay out the plastic wrap. Sprinkle some sea salt and water onto the wrap. Then deploy the rice~! Sushi rice is preferred, I think, but I ended up using the typical variety of steamed rice. Whatever is appropriately sticky and “pack-able” I suppose.

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Drop in some filler. I used the classic salmon grill in this case. Ume or Pickled plum is also an excellent choice. Whatever you like with rice is probably a safe bet. Just make sure it’s something that won’t compromise the integrity of the packed rice.

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Roll it up

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Pack it

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Pack it

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Flatten down to a reasonable bite depth:

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Then shape as you please. The triangle is the typical form. The peaks offer up some convenient bite points. Try in the round, if that’s your fancy. Perhaps even a toroid?

Mold it

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Mold it

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Mold it

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You can keep it wrapped for that “on the go” action.
Otherwise, this can be unwrapped effortlessly to get it ready to serve.
You can have it straight away or wrap it up in some roasted seaweed.

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Didn’t want to wait on this one.

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Grilled Musubi Optional Ideas:

1) straight grill
Just grill over fire in a wire grill.

2) glazed grill
You can glaze it up first with some soy, mirin, and sesame oil.

3) egg grill
Have them partake in a shallow soak in an egg scramble bath before applying the fire.

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Time to Shabu^2

An excellent variant on the classic hot pot. Instead of throwing all the meat in and letting it cook for long, the meat is “swished” until the pink is gone.

The main components are the thinly sliced meat, side plate, the dipping sauces, and, of course, the cooking apparatus.

The meat: Here is some beef, nicely marbled.
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The pot: Traditional broth (dashi) of simply water with a piece of kelp.
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The Kombu (昆布): The kelp is added for some flavor.
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The veggie plate: The side plate can contain such items as veggies, tofu, mushrooms, noodles, etc.
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Shabu Shabu tends to have at least two dipping sauces for your freshly cooked items, the sesame sauce and the citrus-soy sauce.

The goma sauce:
The sesame sauce
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I like to use this one for my veggies~!
The ponzu (ポン酢):
The citrus-soy sauce
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I like to mix in the condiments and dip pretty much anything.

There are also condiments that can be mixed into the dipping sauces. The combination creates different experiences in terms of bite and texture.

The garlic: Grated.
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The daikon: Grated.
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The green onion: Chopped.
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The dipping sauce mix:
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It’s time to start~!

Ready to Shabu~!
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Swish away the pink:
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Cooked and ready:
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Just dip and enjoy~!

Some Shabu Implements:

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Tongs:20130329-203353.jpg Ladle:20130329-203403.jpg Skimmer:20130329-203442.jpg

What is the skimmer for? It’s not for collecting pieces of food you are intending to eat. Let me explain: After swishing enough meat, all lot of the oils and meat bits will have collected at the surface.

See all that the meat sweat off?20130329-203459.jpg Just scoop.20130329-203520.jpg Discard in the canister.20130329-203600.jpg The water helps to rinse it off.20130329-203633.jpg

If you are a fan of soup, this part should be of interest.
You should receive a bowl near the end of the meal with some soup base.
Transfer all the uneaten bits from the hot pot to this bowl along with some the now-meaty broth.
Add some rice if there is any left and enjoy~!

Final soup base:
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The broth from the pot:
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Mix with all the remaining cooked items:
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Summer and the fourth

It’s that season again. The beetles have arrived. In my distant fourth of July recollection, there are those nights abuzz not only with sparks born of carbon and exotic metals, but with the beating wings of little rusty orange beetles. Part of the experience of walking down to see the fireworks was to observe the flight of all these Coleoptera. It was a sign of summer, in general. Like falling crimson and copper leaves herald the autumn, the ascending elytra emphasized that spring had long ended. They were certainly abundant when it came time for their annual visit. Opening the door was an invitation immediately accepted as they’d rush in to explore less saturated air space. They never blocked out the light of the moon, but you certainly wouldn’t go very far without seeing a few.

There’s been a noticeable decline in their population these more recent years. It’s a common theme I tend to revisit. Why are less and less creatures flying around? I imagine that it’s a combination of things. Habitat loss, less food, artificially skewed environment. It makes me wonder about all the footprints we leave. More development means there is less wild ecosystem and less critters ready to wander off to adventure.

In any case, I do appreciate those times when we do get visits. Be it Dragonflies, butterflies, ladybirds, birds (and the bees), it’s nice to see all the signs of life.

~K

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Hello world!

Hello,

It appears as this will be my first post.  I’m modifying the existing “first post” of the WordPress system.  So Hello, World~!

“Hello world!” is such a familiar test output.  It’s a fun little string to show your program has some life in it.  However, in this context, I suppose it’s appropriate to me in a different manner than to whoever setup the default post.  In this case, I’m not making the program call out to the world, but it counts more as direct attempt from myself.

In any case, the intent of this blog is just some basic personal web logging.  Hopefully, I can visit some areas of personal interest.  Who knows?  Perhaps it may catch the interest of the chance visitor.

My initial approach will be to stream out some content just to get warmed up.  Maybe I’ll get an idea of how I want to organize later.

Default text:

Welcome to WordPress.com! This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.

Happy blogging!

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