Japanese Food is Art

Happy New Year 2012

kojikisan — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:03:54 +0000

Kaiseki dinner for New Year Celebration

Christmas Cake

kojikisan — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:51:12 +0000

Christmas in Japan is celebrated differently to those of Christian countries because there is no religious undertone to the festivities; it’s all about enjoying the traditions associated with the holiday. Since it’s not a national holiday, the young still go to school and it’s a regular working day, but salarymen will stop by a bakery to buy a Christmas cake for his family. This cake is quite different from its European counterparts. Instead of the rich fruitcake topped icing or marzipan, it is simply a spongecake decorated with whipped cream, strawberries, and various seasonal fruits.
MERRY CHRISTMAS

Wagashi

kojikisan — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:50:03 +0000

Wagashi is a traditional Japanese confectionery which is often served with tea, especially the types made of mochi, azuki bean paste, and fruits.

Wagashi is typically made from natural based, mainly plant, ingredients. The names used for wagashi commonly fit a formula a natural beauty and a word from ancient literature they are thus often written with hyōgaiji kanji that are not commonly used or known, and are glossed with furigana.

Generally, confectioneries that were introduced from the West after the Meiji Restoration are not considered wagashi. Most sorts of Okinawan confectionery and those originating in Europe or China that use ingredients alien to traditional Japanese cuisine, kasutera, are only rarely called wagashi.

Source Wikipedia

Sakura Mochi

kojikisan — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:39:41 +0000

An old-time Japanese favorite! Pickled cherry leaf wrapped around the cake. Some people don’t eat the leaves but it is supposed to bring out the sweetness of the bean paste inside and transfer the cherry scent to the cake.

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice, not to be confused with gluten, pounded into paste and molded into shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time. Mochi is also a prominent snack in Hawaii, South Korea, Taiwan.

Souce Wikipedia

Higashi

kojikisan — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:48:12 +0000

Higashi, dry confectionery, is a type of wagashi, which is dry and contains very little moisture, and thus keeps relatively longer than other kinds of wagashi. This word can be said as the antonym of namagashi, and the definition can include rakugan, konpeito, senbei, arare, and so on

Narrower definition of higashi is ones made generally with one or more kinds of sugar, particular sorts of flour, and some other additives, while there are some made solely of sugars.

The flour used in higashi is usually made of rice, which has many different varieties of its own. Flours made of other ingredients, like azuki, soybean or green pea and starches are often used too.

Daifuku

kojikisan — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 02:52:46 +0000

Daifukumochi, or Daifuku means great luck, is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans. Daifuku comes in many varieties. The most common is white-, pale green-, or pale pink-colored mochi filled with anko. These come in two sizes, one approximately the diameter of a half-dollar coin, the other palm-sized. Some versions contain whole pieces of fruit, mixtures of fruit and anko, or crushed melon paste. Nearly all daifuku are covered in a fine layer of corn or potato starch to keep them from sticking to each other, or to the fingers. Some are covered with confectioner’s sugar or cocoa powder.Though mochitsuki is the traditional method of making mochi and daifuku, they can also be cooked in the microwave.

Aomikan

kojikisan — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 22:43:42 +0000

Aomikan is a green tangerine that are available in Japan from around the end of August though September. There are simply tangerines that have been harvested a few weeks early. They are tart and tangy.

Wasabi

kojikisan — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:25:33 +0000

Wasabi is Japanese horseradish. It is most famous in form of a green paste used as condiment for Sashimi and Suschi. However, wasabi is also used for many other Japanese dishes.

The wasabi plant Wasabia japonica also incorrectly equated to Eutrema japonica, a member of the cruciferous family, is native to Japan and is traditionally found growing in or by cold mountain streams. The earliest cultivation of wasabi in Japan dates back to the 10th century. The grated ‘rhizome’ or above-ground root-like stem of this plant has a fiery hot flavor that quickly dissipates in the mouth, leaving a lingering sweet taste, with no burning sensation.

Namagashi

kojikisan — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 19:13:46 +0000

Is a type of Wagashi, often used in Japanese Tea Ceremonies

Natsumikan

kojikisan — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 19:11:23 +0000

Natsumikan is a bitter Japanese citrus fruit in season during the summer months. Several wagashi confection stores in Kyoto are quite famous for their chilled natsumikan jellies, in which the jelly is usually inside the hollowed out whole natsumikan fruit peel. They are a bit expensive but are quite a dramatic presentation so are often given as gifts.