Fresh bread - is there anything better?

It was my friend Ai’s birthday (お誕生日 – o-tanjoubi) today. I had an early morning start cos I didn’t have any money for a present, so baked some bread instead! Then headed over to Ai’s for a slap-up pancake breakfast – all quite spontaneous, but ended up making some yummy banana pancakes (American style fat ones with bananas mushed into the batter!) and splurging out on chocolate sauce and raspberry compote.

Then it was off for a spot of sansai collecting around Niseko Higashiyama. Hokkaido is well known for its wild vegetables and the Japanese love to spend sunny days gathering them.

Yatta!

On the way, Shiori abruptly veered off the road and headed down a dusty track before stopping in front of a beautiful cherry tree in the middle of a field. We were a little too early so it wasn’t in full bloom yet, but perfectly placed with Mt Yotei providing a bit of background balance. Spring throughout Japan is sakura season, where everyone celebrates the fleeting nature of cherry blossoms and the analogy with life… by getting horrendously drunk at hanami (花見 – flower viewing) parties. Just another example of how Japanese culture isn’t always as Zen as people would have you believe

Udo

We moved on to Niseko Village itself, which is one of the 3 main ski areas here in the winter. Last time I saw it, there was a good 3m of snow covering everything, so the verdant, agricultural landscape was quite a surprise. Shiori led us off into what turned out to be the golf course and we were soon ferreting around in the sassa grass (a type of bamboo). I had no idea what I was looking for but kept pointing at things that looked like they might be tasty – we mostly found takenoko (bamboo shoots), but also taranome (an asparagus like thing on a spiky plant – great as tempura) and udo (bitter tasting, wasn’t that keen on it – not to be confused with udon noodles. Now that would be great sansai!).

Back at Ai’s place, I discovered just how much effort it takes to prepare bamboo shoots. First we trimmed it, then boiled it and finally peeled back the fibrous layers to uncover the light green and yellow shoots (it no longer surprises me that pandas are nearly extinct). Well worth it though as they were delightfully tender and tasty with a trace of bitterness. Quite a contrast to the chewy, yellow stuff that I’m used to finding in tins! Delicious alongside taranome tempura and yakiniku (meat and veg communally fried on a teppan - hotplate) with a nice bottle of wine and the company of friends – おいしいそう！！！

Takenoko - Pick them...

...boil them...

...peel them...

...ready to eat!

.

Me in Raku, grinning like an idiot

It’s my day off tomorrow and a few of the other NISS guys were heading into Kutchan for dinner, but I thought it would end up being quite expensive and kinda wanted to break away on my own for a bit, so I grabbed a map and wandered into Hirafu to see what was going on.
My aim was to find a cheap izakaya (Japanese pub, what we would think of as a sushi bar) with a local flavour and as little Australian as possible.
My first call was Mina Mina, a cosy little place with a wood fireplace – but sadly no seats. After a fumbled Japanese exchange, I bowed out (literally) and wandered off down the road. Next stop was Jam Cafe, not an izakaya, but somewhere that was supposed to be quite good and cheap. I hestitated at the door, then abandoned it as it felt too touristy and bar-like.
Trundling down the snowy road, my jeans getting wetter and wetter, I almost walked past the enormous sign saying Izakaya Raku. Nervously sliding the door open (after a failed attempt on the wrong side!), I greet the staff and try to ask if I can eat something. My japanese fails me and I end up just saying “eat” and pointing at myself like a dislocated Tarzan. It works, and I’m soon sitting at the bar by the chef.
Exploring the menu (in Japanese, but fortunately with pictures), I bravely try to ask what the special is (kore wa nan desuka) and get a long-winded response that is succintly boiled down to “salmon pickles”. Unable to decide if this is salmon sashimi with pickles or some sort of weird japanese pickled salmon, I bottle it and order maguro sashimi (raw tuna), edamame (boiled soy beans), miso shiro (white miso soup), gohan (rice) and nihon shu (japanese sake). The waiter seems to understand and passes my order to the kitchen as I breathe a sigh of relief and take a look around.
The place is pretty much empty, in contrast to the packed mainstream venues. 3 japanese girls sit in the corner chatting and giggling quietly. There’s a bar round the small galley kitchen and several other tables. 4 staff (that look more like samurai than chefs) are busy preparing food. Short banners hang all around with various menu items scrawled in japanese. Some cool chilled out Japanese funk/soul beats. The counter is a light pine and the floor a dark wood of some sort, it feels very natural and warm.
My food arrives and I politely say itadakimasu (a standard phrase that japanese say before they eat). I plonk wasabi into a dish and pour shoyou (soy sauce) over it, before deciding that I should tip it all on my rice. I give the hot rice a mix and eagerly shovel some into my mouth with chopsticks. About a millisecond later, my sinuses are burning as I underestimate the strength of the wasabi. I fight back the tears and only just manage to refrain from exploding rice across the counter and my laptop. Fortunately the pain subsides and I manage to enjoy the rest of my meal, nibbling each different taste neatly and sighing contentedly after each bite.
Taking a look at the menu, it looks like the whole meal will cost me around 1500 yen (about a tenner) – not the cheapest, but a heck of a lot cheaper than other restaurants and a damn sight nicer. Rather pleased with myself, I toddle off back to Unitas, a little wobbly from the sake, but filled with sashimi and a sense of achievement.
EDIT: And on the way back, I missed my bus, but got a hitch from Lina and Cleo from Niseko Gourmet – nice!

Boxing Day Udon

The perennial question of what to do with all the left over meat from Christmas Day. In my family, it tends to get turned into a turkey curry or turkey muay (sort of Teochew rice porridge, also known as congee). But this year, I thought I’d try something different. Given that I’m heading off to Japan soon, I’ve been learning how to make my favourite Japanese foods, one of which is udon (fat, wheat noodles). Udon, like most noodles, are quite versatile, chuck ‘em in soups, stir-fry them, put them in salads or the Japanese like to have them cold with a dressing. You don’t have to make your noodles from scratch, you can buy them from most asian stores and a few English supermarkets, but I’m on a quest to learn how to make grain based staples, so I made my own – more on that another time.

Noodles

• 250g flour
• 150ml water
• 1 tsp of salt

1. Dissolve the salt in the water. Sift the flour into a big bowl and slowly stir the salt water in.
2. As the dough comes together, start using your fingers to roll it in the remaining loose flour and squeeze it. Once it’s picked up all the flour and is a consistent lump, knead it for a few minutes on a floured surface until it feels elastic.
3. Flatten it slightly and let it rest for a few hours in some clingfilm – this lets the gluten do something or other and makes it more elastic. I like to sandwich it between a large piece of folded clingfilm. Go make your soup. Chop chop.
4. Bring a big pot of water to the boil while you roll your noodles out.
5. Once the dough has rested, it’s time to roll it out – the fun part. Now because the dough will be quite firm, the traditional Japanese way of rolling it out is to tread on it! The warmth of your feet and your weight make life a lot easier. I keep it between a piece of folded clingfilm (give it lots of room!) and put it in a clean plastic bag, drop it on the floor and start walking!
6. Once you’ve got it quite spread out (and before it squeezes out all over your feet and the floor!), unwrap it and lay it out on a floured surface. Dust a bit of flour on it and roll it out so that it’s even and about 5mm thick (or however thick you want your noodles).
7. Flour the dough well so it doesn’t stick to itself and fold the top 1/3 towards you and the bottom 1/3 away from you so it gives you 3 layers. Using a sharp knife, through the layers thinly (or as fat as you want your noodles). I usually go for about 3-5mms.
8. Separate your noodles carefully and lob them into the boiling water for a few minutes to cook. Once they’re cooked, drain them and rinse them in cold water to stop them sticking – magic!

Soup

• 1/2 onion or some shallots
• 1 chilli (optional)
• 1-2 cloves of garlic (optional)
• Chicken stock
• Soy sauce
• Sesame oil

This is quite a generic soup recipe, it changes everytime I make it, but this time I wanted a bit of a kick, so put chilli in. If you’re in a rush, or not keen on strong flavours, then you can just use chicken stock (but that’s boring!!).

To serve

• Udon noodles
• Soup base
• Leftover meat
• Pak choi or other leafy veg (spinach, lettuce, choi sum, etc)
• Garnishings e.g. spring onions, bawang goreng (crispy fried shallots – yum), coriander, dash of sesame oil

1. Bring the soup to the boil, add noodles and veg. I like a bit of bite to my veg, so I don’t cook it for long.
2. Cut up the meat and add it to the soup to heat up (you don’t want to cook it so that it’s chewy).
3. Serve it into bowls and add some garnish. Enjoy!