Ginkgo nuts from up North, sunny Bay of Plenty! I enjoyed the taste, and intrduced one of the recipe in my winter cooking classes. It seems to be often used for Japanese and Asian dishes, but this soft texture and complex flavour is good for Western taste as well. By adding ginkgo nuts, a casual soup or rice becomes a dish with a special winter feeling.
Ginkgo nuts can be purchased through here ： www.ginkgo.nz
********************************************************************************** There are ways of "cooking with unshelled" and "cooking after remove the shell and inner skin". Microwave is a handy way as the unshelled cooking method.
殻付きのまま加熱まで一気にするなら電子レンジが簡単。
After making a crack into the shell by spanner, I put 15～20 nuts in recycled envelope with holding the edge to seal, then heated it with microwave. I stopped it when I heard popping sound couple of times which was 40 sec. Removed the shell and skin. It can be eaten straight away, or can be used as a topping/decoration of dish. 15～20個くらいを紙の封筒に入れて口を3回くらい折りたたんで、電子レンジで加熱。 30秒くらいでポンッポンッ！と大きな破裂音が聞こえ始めたので40秒あたりでストップ。 1分だと加熱しすぎで中身も破裂している可能性があるので注意。 （ニュージーランドの一般的な電子レンジ使用） 予めスパナで殻にヒビを入れておくと、破裂音が多少和らぐかも。 加熱後、殻を剥いて（塩ふって）そのまま食べられます。 料理の仕上げに散らすなら、これがお手軽な方法ですね。
Finishing touch of creamy soup of leek and mushroom. The nuts fits deliciously adding unique texture and flavor.
モーニング・スープの浮き身に。 クリーム系の味にもよく馴染みます。
Traditional side dish "Shira-ae" (salad dressed with mashed tofu). We cooked it in the cooking classes using ginkgo nuts and vegetables. Gentle taste mixed with aroma from sesame seeds, and pleasant crunchy texture of ingredients. So healthy!
Cheese fondue style with Camembert. I scattered cooked ginkgo nuts and toasted walnuts on cheese of sliced half thickness, then melted the cheese in MW with low power. Black pepper may be good to sprinkle on top.
When we cook raw nuts together with others, we peel the skin first. Try to soak the nuts in water for a while, to become broken the shell easily. And soak the inside part again, to become peeled the skin off easily. 生のまま調理に使う場合は、殻ごとしばらく浸水させてスパナなどで殻を割り、剥きます。中身をまた浸水。 薄皮もしばらく水につけると剥きやすくなります。
I cooked the nuts with brown rice, adding Kombu-kelp and a little amount of salt. Drizzle some Ex-V.olive oil after it was cooked, to add aroma and flavor. Feeling so peaceful!
Or, cook the nuts with being unshelled in a frying pan for a few minutes. Just applying salt while peeling a burning hot shell and skin, it is the most simple way, and it's still delicious, though there are various way to enjoy the feature.
But be careful not to over-eat at a time. Moderate consumption is advised (adults eat no more than 10 per day, and children no more than 5 per day) for maximum benefit of ginkgo which have been used as health supplements.
It reminds me of the memory that my dad roasted the nuts in cold season in Japan. There are nutritive value and medicinal properties, and it was also nourishment in my heart when I cooked those while thinking my childhood.
Thank you Graham and Mavis and the team of the orchard for producing the ginkgo nuts in New Zealand.
One of traditional Japanese sweet, Yokan. I made it with kumara (sweet potato) paste instead of azuki bean paste. The cut end is beautiful by having put dried fruits and walnut in.
Cook the kumara, make it paste, add sugar, and mix well.
クマラ餡は一度に大量に作って冷凍保存して ますが、そのうちの400gを使います。
Combine 8g of "Kanten" (powdered agar agar) and 500ml of water. To dissolve the powder completely, mix well by whisk while it is boiled, and continue for 4～5 min on boiling. (Important part!) Add kumara paste (400g), mix well, add sugar and maple syrup to adjust the sweetness.
I prepared dried fig, dried apricot, and walnut as the contents. Sprinkle a little rum and hot water over the dried fruits if it's needed to soften. (as for the hard apricot particularly) Crack and remove the husk of walnut. **This preparations of dried fruits & nuts should be done before the agar-work which I wrote up there. (sorry, the order is reversed)
Pour the one-third of kumara-kanten mixture in a container or cake tin (I used 23x8cm tin), place the half of dried fruits in and put some walnut in the gaps. Spread another one-third of mixture on it. Place the remaining fruits and walnut there. Then top the remaining mixture, flatten the surface.
(23x8cm の型を使いました）
TIP: The Kanten (agar) works well and the mixture becomes to be set (harden) soon at the room temperature. So the layer-work should be done quickly. You can keep the pan of mixture on very low heat beside you during this work.
～～ Cover with wrap and cool in the fridge for a half day or overnight ～～
I got Yuzu (Japanese citron) this winter again, from Tanja who was a local chocolate maker. She purchased Yuzu from North island to produce "Yuzu chocolate" which was so popular among the local people as the sensational flavor.
Fragrance from Yuzu, beautiful... This time I gave up the "Yuzu-yu" (the bath in which those are put and set afloat), which is one of pleasure of Japanese winter custom though. Then I made sugared peels and marmalade.
YUZU MARMALADE: After remove the peels and keep the peels in water, I used all the left parts for marmalade making. Squeezing the juice, chopping all remaining white parts finely, putting seeds in a tea-bag, then I simmered all together with sugar and water. It got all the extract from Yuzu, nothing to throw away! 皮の浸水中に、マーマレード作り： 絞った中身、ジュースとして採れるよりも、ワタ・種など の部分が多いですが、これも使わない手はないです。 白いワタの部分は刻んで（黄色い皮の端っこも追加） ジュースと共に砂糖で煮ます。 種はペクチンが豊富ですからお茶用の紙パックに入れて、この鍋に投入、一緒に煮出して最後搾りきる！ これで柚子のエキスを残らず摂取。
Yuzu marmalade, completed!
あっという間にマーマレード完成。 瓶詰め。
SUGARED PEELS: Parboil the peels twice to remove the excess bitterness. Add 30% of sugar for the weight of the peels, then heat up gently.
To vaporize the moisture a bit more, I put them in oven for 15min with lowest temperature 75 degrees (with fan), then coated with sugar. Nice texture and delicious with bitterness when chewing it!
Seasonal food, ginkgo nuts. Those reminds me one of a particular winter season. I remember that my dad cooked it often on the stove top at the beginning of winter when I was child. Because I haven't seen the trees of ginkgo around me, I thought it isn't in New Zealand.
But, it is! I was introduced gingko nuts cultivated in New Zealand, through a Japanese who lived in the North. The orchard is in Tauranga! I got 5 packets of 200g from them.
A little snack, pricking those on toothpick. Try with a pinch of rock salt.
楊枝に刺してロックソルトを一振り、 一口おつまみ。
Or, nice one of Tempura! Dip Tempura batter and deep fry it.
そのまま衣つけて、天ぷらにも。
Fondue of the Camembert cheese Scatter roasted walnut and cooked ginkgo- nuts on the cheese (of thickness half), and a little warm it up in MW. Sprinkle cracked black pepper and enjoy!
After taking outer shell off, deep fry it. The inner skin comes off soon in the hot oil, and beautiful jade green appears. I cooked coated (with cornflour) Tofu pieces in the oil, too.
Serve the deep fried tofu, Dashi-broth sause with grated daikon, and scatter ginkgos on top. A winter feast of Agedashi Tofu with Mizore-an sauce "Mizore"... Does the sauce look like winter sleet?
冬のごちそう、揚げだし豆腐のみぞれ餡、 だしをたっぷり吸った大根おろしも銀杏も 季節感たっぷり。
Though it's familiar in Japan, ginkgo isn't known very much here. "It's a chance to introduce new ingredient at my cooking classes." We used it as a topping of Shumai in the dumpling classes, and was a good topic. It is said that eating some is effective in prevention of dementia. I know that ginkgo is known as a medicine in China. (Just be careful not to overeating!)
This has a unique texture (soft and a little chewy) with complex flavour. It was written in their product introduction that "camembert of nuts" in the sentence. That's right, really.
If ginkgos are not used soon, it is said that those can be stored in freezer just after the outer shell was removed. I try to store those in oil in jars. Then I can take some of them out to cook anytime.
The season came again! When I see a bud gradually opens, I'm excited to do something. The flower viewing, of course, cooking with use of the blossom-pickles, decorating sweets with the petals. Is it a mind of Japanese?
Ideas occurring to me, I made some. In every mouthful, they seem to be telling me about the arrive of spring. （The following dishes were cooked by using the pickles and preserving petals which I made last season.)
SHIRA-AE of SAKURA (blossom pickles) and DAIKON-radish: It's pretty in color contrast between pink of Sakura and pure white of Tofu & Daikon. It would be ausome if it's possible to get some seasonal wild herbs, as a garnish.
SAKURA STEAM of HOKI: On New Zealand Kombu (kelp), Hoki wraped Sakura-rice was steamed gently. Finished with dashi-based clear sauce. Top with Wasabi and blossom pickles.
TEMPURA OF CHICKEN TENDERLOIN: It was rolled with the Nori-sheet. The delicate flavor was great dipped with blossom salt which was grinded. So nice fragrance.
FRESH CHEESECAKE WITH PETALS: Bright color of preserved petals in lemon syrup which decorate the white cheesecake beautifully. For a further tastiness, I continue the manufacture with changing the ratio.
I want to serve the course dinner with full of this seasonal taste to my guests! And...if we can share enjoying the taste with the view of cherry blossoms lighted up at night once I got a Japanese-style room in the garden side in the future... How wonderful! Soaking in to the dreaminess....
I cooked the nuts with brown rice,
One of traditional Japanese sweet, 
Cook the kumara, make it paste, add sugar, 
I prepared dried fig, dried apricot, and walnut 
Let's cut it!
Fragrance from Yuzu, beautiful...
Parboil the peels twice to remove the excess 
To vaporize the moisture a bit more, I put them 
It was a great hit!
Yuzu peel which has a beautiful aroma 
But, it is! I was introduced gingko nuts 
A little snack, 
After taking outer shell off, deep fry it.
