Mickey and Minnie onigiri (rice balls)

Found a great onigiri idea on one of my favorite Japanese bento blogs!
You need crab meat to make clothes of Mickey and Minnie.
It's really easy!
You can find the pictures of each direction at http://ameblo.jp/kaerenmama/entry-10873988142.html.

Kyotofu's Chocolate Souffle Cupcakes

4/23 was my boss's 40th birthday, so I decided to make 40 cupcakes for his birthday party. I was browsing recipes online for something new to try, when I came across this Kyotofu's chocolate souffle cupcake.
It won New York Magazine's best cupcake award in 2007:"Imperceptibly enriched with soy milk, tofu, and just enough miso to give it a slight, delectable tang."

Kyotofu is a Japanese dessert bar in NY.
New York Magazine say;"with its focus on the flavors of Japan and the gracefully subtle incorporation of soy into eleven out of the fifteen items on its short menu, Kyotofu is making its own distinctive mark on an increasingly crowded postprandial market."
Zagat says Kyotofu is one of the best Japanese restaurants in the US.


Here is the recipe courtesy of New York Magazine;
Ingredients
2 cups dark chocolate (preferably Valrhona pellets, 64 percent)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon white miso
3 eggs
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup Japanese bread flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona)
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup silken tofu
1/4 cup soy milk, unsweetened (preferably Vitasoy)


Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
(1) Melt chocolate, butter, and miso in double boiler over low heat, stirring occasionally. When only small lumps remain, remove from heat and stir until completely smooth. Whip eggs until they reach “ribbon stage,” then pour chocolate mixture into mixing bowl with the eggs, varying the mixing speed to incorporate chocolate.
(2) Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, mixing together with hands or a whisk. Fold the dry ingredients into the chocolate, mixing until fully incorporated. Add tofu and soy milk slowly, mixing until fully incorporated.
(3) Scoop batter almost to the top of 24 wax-lined mini–panettone cups arranged on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating tray halfway through, until center springs back when touched. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
(Published 2009)

Sushi Cake!

Made a sushi cake for my friend's birthday party.

8inch sushi cake

3cup sushi rice
*5tbs vinegar
*4tbs agave (You can use sugar instead)
*1tbs salt
*1.2inch ish Dried Kombu(edible kelp) optional

Prepare sushi vinegar. Mix all the * ingredients well and let it cool in a fridge over night.
Add the sushi vinegar to hot steamed rice and mix well.

Cover the mold with plastic wrap.
Fill the mold with the half amount of sushi rice. Place plastic wrap on and press the rice.
Spread the avocado salad and put another half of sushi rice over the avocado and press the rice using plastic wrap.
Remove plastic wrap and unmold. ( the bottom-side up)
Garnish the cake.


★recommended ingredients for garnish
salmon sashimi (Roll up 2 slices of the sashimi together to make a salmon rose)
crab meat
tomatoes
egg
shrimp
avocado
okura

I used avocado and crab meat mixed with my favorite creamy tofu savory sauce from the vegetarian restaurant in Hermosa Beach, The Spot.
The recipe is here:http://www.food.com/recipe/creamy-tofu-savory-sauce-277729

Love this sauce! So good with brown rice and steamed vegetables.

Also, I put some pickled onions under the salmon roses, like Salmon carpaccio.
The pickles recipe is here:http://taste-of-japan.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-favorite-pickles.html

Pad Tahi Soba

Used soba instead of rice noodles for pad thai.
Thai sauce + Japanese noodles=Yummy!

Soy MIlk Ramen made with pasta noodles

★How to make ramen noodles from pasta noodles★
Just add 1 table spoon of baking soda and 1 table spoon of salt to boiled water(about 1L for four ounces dry pasta). Use whole wheat pasta to make it healthy.
The baking soda increases the alkalinity of the noodle, making it moist and pliable.

★Soy Milk Ramen Broth★→tastes like tonkotsu(pork bone broth) ramen!
200ml soy milk
50ml water
1tsp vegetable stock
2tsp soy sauce
salt & pepper
1tbs sesame oil
green onions
Your favorite toppings

Put soy milk, water, soy sauce and the stock into a pot and bring to a boil.
Add salt and pepper if desired.
Stir-fry green onions with sesame oil for the topping.

Strawberry Chocolate Tofu Daifuku

Happy girls's day!!!!
3/3 is a girl's day in Japan.
Find out more in this article.

To celebrate the day, I made strawberry daifuku with tofu and cashew chocolate.
All you need is tofu and potato starch to make mochi. No need to buy mochi flour! Easier and healthier. Potato starch is a very useful ingredient, giving a springy,chewy and glutinous texture like mochi.



For the tofu mochi
1pack silken tofu
1cup potato starch
1/4cup sugar
1tbs(ish) potato starch for dusting

For the filling
strawberries
cashew chocolate creme (recipe below)

1.Add tofu, sugar and potato starch to a blender and blend until smooth.
2.Microwave for about 2 mins. Remove from the microwave and stir. Place back in the microwave for about 1-2 mins. If it looks still raw, heat a little bit more.
3. Coat a cutting board with potato starch.
4. Cut the dough into 4-5 pieces.
5. Roll out a piece of the dough on the cutting board with wet hands.(it's hot so be careful!)
6. wrap the filling and press the edges together.
7. Dust with potato starch.




Cashew chocolate
1cup whole raw cashews
cold water
1tbs cocoa powder
1tbs sugar
1tbs honey

Rinse the cashews very well.
Add cold water to cover them.
Refrigerate for more than 10 hours.
Drain the cashews and place them in a blender with other ingredients and blend until smooth.

Japanese Caprese Salad

Put a new spin on a traditional caprese!
Try this Japanese caprese salad, substituting tofu for mozzarella and shiso leaves for basil.
I LOVE the smell and flavor of shiso. So exotic.

For the salad
1pack tofu
1/2tsp salt
2-3 tomatoes
10ish shiso leaves

The most important thing it to drain tofu very well.
1.Sprinkle salt on tofu.
2.Wrap the tofu with a few paper towel.
3.Press with something heavy for more than 3 hours.
*I always use the pickles pressure to drain tofu. Very easy and works very well.
Cut the drained tofu and add between tomato and shiso leaves.


For the shoyu dressing
1tbs shoyu
1/2tbs sesame oil
1tbs vinegar
1/2tbs sugar

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients.

Goat Cheese Pancake

Happy National Pancake Day!
I found out yesterday that 3/1 is known as National Pancake Day.
So I'm introducing my favorite goat cheese pancake.
Just put goat cheese scrambles on the top of the pancake.Yummy!