日本語のレシピは　ビーガン、ベジタリアン情報満載の　Hachidory から　ご覧下さい。

October is the month of harvest of rice in Japan.

The diet of Japanese people changed drastically after the world warⅡby the influence of US.  

It became common to eat bread, meat and dairy daily since then, though it used to be rare for Japanese people to eat those foods before.  

The diet was westernized in short period by the government policy. 

 

Yet the rice still exists as a pillar of our diet.

I think one feels something missing if hshe finishes the day without eating rice at all.   

Japanese people are generally very particular about the quality of rice.  When you go to the normal supermarkets, what you can find in the rice section are usually only Japanese short grain rice.  But there are lots of varieties under different brands, which may make you wonder what the differences are.   

They are often categorized by the seeds and the prefecture where they were grown.   Each prefecture or region has different climate, different water, different humidity, different soil, different air, and all of those affect the growth, the taste and the texture of the rice grains.

I was born and raised in Akita where the rice quality is considered excellent.   However I still remember the moment that I first tasted the rice of Niigata prefecture at a small inn in ski resort, it was sooo good.  It tasted much better than the rice I had been eating.

Since then I sticked to Niigata rice whenever I purchased.

When I moved to Singapore, Japanese rice was not available there, so I had to go for either American short grain rice or Australian medium grain rice.   Their textures and tastes were very different for me.
I needed to find the methods to cook them to the satisfactory texture somehow, and eventually I found they can turn out to the similar texture as Japanese rice when I used the pressure cooker to cook.

 

The time passed, and after learning Macrobiotics, I stick to the philosophy to lead a life the way the nature intended which is to eat locally and seasonally.  Though I’m in the situation where I can buy Niigata rice easily, I eat the rice raised where I live.
I now know how to cook this local rice to its maximum level, which is also most suitable texture for me.
I came to think it is not only the kinds of seeds and the places of production which determine the quality of rice but the methods of preparation greatly affect the outcome. 

(In my online class in October, I am sharing the ultimate method of cooking brown rice.  Check the website if you are interested in learning how to cook the brown rice in the clay pot.　)

 

I just had my first shinmai rice（literally means new rice), yesterday.

Shinmai is a delicacy, and it is such an exciting moment to open the lid of pot after cooking.

“Beautiful !”  It looked much shinier than the one that I was eating until the day before.

I made lots of onigiri to enjoy this shinmai.

I think onigiri is the best rice dish to appreciate the umami of rice.

(Some of you might think why I made onigiri with polished white rice, but not with the brown rice. 

I eat brown rice together with miso soup for breakfast everyday but I want different types of rice for other meals, and I also simply want to enjoy shinmai with polished rice for lighter texture. )

 

Onigiri recipe was introduced already some time ago.  So visit this page if you want to learn how to make it.

 

This month recipe is again mock chicken dish to collaborate with Hachidory to promote the campaign to be compassionate to chickens.

(Visit my previous post for another vegan mock chicken dish, “Torisoboro”)

I am using the abalone mushroom to get the similar texture of shredded chicken.   It is salad with cucumber and sesame-based dressing.  Some of you may be familiar with the name of Chinese chicken dish, Bangbang Ji 棒棒鶏. 

The cucumber season is going to finish soon in Japan, so try it before the natural open field crops are out of your sight.

 

Bang Bang Ji 棒棒鶏/

Vegan Shredded Chicken and Cucumber Salad 

Ingredients

l  1 pack or 150g abalone mushroom

l  1 Tbsp Sake/Japanese rice wine or other types of wine

l  1 tsp salt 

For dressing 

l  2 Tbsp sesame paste or tahini

l  1 Tbsp sesame seeds – toast and grind, put aside little portion for topping.

l  2 tsp white miso – if not available, any kinds of miso

l  2 tsp soy sauce

l  1 Tbsp vinegar

l  1 tsp sweetener such as beet sugar, maple syrup, barley malt

l  1 Tbsp water

l  Chili powder or tobanjan 豆板醤 – optional or desired amt.

 

Procedure 

1.      Combine all the ingredients for dressing in a bowl.

2.      Cut off the head part as this part does not have the fibers running vertically through the body. (but never discard, you can use this part for other cooking.)

3.      Tear the mushroom with your fingers along the fiber.

4.      Add sake and salt, mix and steam for 5 min, and then cool down.

5.      Cut the cucumber to thin julienne.

6.      In a serving bowl, lay cucumber and abalone mushroom in this order, and top with sesame dressing and sesame seeds. (The one on top in this photo is red capsicum paste that I had in my fridge, if you also have something red, you can garnish it, but it is not necessary.)

Notes

How to slice the cucumber julienne.

 

Happy cooking!