I got a guest, from Auckland, who had been a friend for over 16 years since we lived in Arrowtown. I prepared my favorite dishes for this drink lover tonight.
SHIO-KARA on baked potato: Sake lover's dish of Shio-kara, accompanied with Ex.V.Olive oil on baked potato. Do you know about SHIO-KARA? The popular one is made from squid meat & the viscera which were salted and fermented. The flavor is similar to anchovies, with a different texture though. 塩辛・ベイクド・ポテト： オーブンでホクホクにベイクしたジャガイモに、 オリーブオイルをひと匙、 その上にイカの塩辛ひと匙! これ、とっても美味しいんです。 オリーブオイルで塩辛もイタリアンな雰囲気。 白ワインにも合いますよ～ 是非お試しを！
Camembert cheese soup: On hearty winter soup of Chinese cabbage and bacon with Kombu & Consomee broth, meltted Camembert cheese were so nice ! カマンベールチーズのスープ： 本日は白菜とベーコンを昆布とコンソメのミックスだしで煮込んだ具だくさんのスープ。 仕上げに、切っておいたカマンベール・チーズをのせて、蓋をして2～3分蒸らしたら できあがり。 トロリとした熱々のところを盛り付けます。
Main dish: KAKUNI pork belly & rice: This popular Japanese dish fits comfortably with rice.
Would you like to have a dessert ?? They loved dried fish of FUGU, instead of Lime sorbet which I had prepared. Yes, I knew that they liked to keep drinking with something not sweet.
～GYOZA sessions at Japanese cooking class this month～ I'm teaching it with focus on how to make the wee parcels pretty, also how to cook them juicy with crispy outside.
For the most important ingredient of specialized "GYOZA pastries", it's hard to find them out at local shop unfortunately, but there are frozen packets of "Wonton pastries" instead. They are similar but the shapes are square (not round)! Then I have decided to use them with cutting to round shape in order to make proper GYOZA shape.
It may look hard to make them 3-D shape with pleats, but it's easy actually and fun to make lots and lots once we get tips. Anyway, I let people do practices with circle papers first. Let's enjoy ORIGAMI Gyoza !!!
*********************************************************************************** As Renon (my daughter) came back home for school holiday for this 2 weeks, I asked her to help me at the class. It would be a great chance for her to learn about cooking, also learn about communicating with people. Moreover Gyoza was her most favorite food as well as Ramen!
She enjoyed to make many parcels, with folding simply into half from the original square shape first. まずは四角い皮をそのまま三角に折るという、シンプルな餃子。 おもしろがって次から 次へと包んでいます。
At the next stage, I cut the pastries to circle and tried to let her make proper shape with making pleats...but she did just folding into half like half moon! 続いて、皮を丸く抜いて、立体餃子に挑戦。（ちょうど良い大きさの丸型、ありました！） ・・・と思ったら、ひだを寄せず半月型に折ってる。 「これじゃあ練習にならないよ～・・・」 と言いたかったんだけど、1回目はこれで良いことにしよう！
After steam cooking, drops of Sesame oil makes them crispy at the last part. How was the taste? Great! Crispy texture and juicy!! スティーム後にゴマ油たらして・・・そろそろ焼き上がり。 お皿に盛り付け・・・さて、今日の焼き具合は？ 半月餃子、外側カリッと中はジューシーに仕上がって、まずまずの出来！
～ The class on 21st July ～ We enjoyed making Gyoza parcels, with talking, laughing... Look, they did beautifully!! (We did nearly 100-pcs altogether!!)
Serving the cooked Gyoza to the plates. 焼き上がりをお皿に取り分け
Tasting Time: 試食タイム： One more person was added in the middle. Did you take nice photos, Bernie? アレ？真ん中に飛入り参加の人が・・・。 Bernie、FaceBook用に撮影中。
Everyone chose "my chopsticks" from bunch of them with all the different design. I will keep them here for their next sessions. (have to remember which one is which.) 今月から「マイ・箸」を導入。各自お好きなお箸を選んでいただいて、その生徒さん専用の 箸にします。どれが誰のお箸か、覚えておかないと・・・（取り合えず写真を撮っておこう。。）
Welldone, everybody. Enjoy making Gyoza at your home, too!! And thank you Renon for helping us. 皆さん、お疲れ様でした。 家でも是非作ってくださいね～ レノンも、お手伝いご苦労様!
**************************************************************************************** What do you think about the left over parts after circle-cut of pastries? Yes, I will use them of course. Wondering how it is to deep-fry them to make crispy toppings for salad. Will try it tomorrow!
I came back home last week. Here is already winter, feeling so cold with the season changed from hot & humid summer in Japan! 長いこと留守にしました。 先週ワナカに帰ってまいりました。 キーンと冷えた空気で、日本で開いた毛穴がキュッと閉じる感じ！ **************************************************************************************** One of my impressive events in Japan was.... got a title of SAKE NAVIGATOR. After tasting of various SAKE in each local area for the weeks, the attendance to this authorized SAKE lecture was so effective for me!!
Adding to learning about rice, water, climate, and the Sake production process, I felt an admirable acient people's human power (spirits) to keep producing of "SAKE" with only their sharp sense and experiences before discovering of microbiology. (I think it's same as Wine production in other countries as well). Oh, I proud of my country's precious art of "SAKE" as a KOKUSHU (= Japanese representative liquor)!
SAKE & CHEESE MATCHING: We had interesting experiences that 5 different type of SAKE & 3 different type of Cheese matching in this course. How do you think? I had believed mis-matching, but it wasn't... Amazing! Tutor (Ms.Okoshi) recommended of Blue cheese and Sparkling Nama (fresh type) Sake matching. Well...would like to try them soon, of course!
Unfortunately, I had a big mistake that I forgot to take a battery for my camera!!! Baggar me!!! So that no pictures for this important day!!! No pictures for the special matching of Sake & Cheese!!!
Then, I will show other pictures of SAKE which I enjoyed at each local area during this trip. なので、各地で味わった美味しい日本酒を、ここでご紹介します。 *************************************************************************************** At my home town (Saitama Pref.): With my parents, sister & brother in low, my Samurai-husband & me at Japanese resutarurant: まずは、私と夫の帰国を歓迎してくれた埼玉の両親と妹夫婦とともに、和食レストランへ。 Local Sake "Naozane" & Shiokara (tradisonal squid dish),
followed by Iwashi (fresh sardine) entree, and the Nigiri-sushi. このときシーズンだった鰯(イワシ）の前菜 と鰯の握りすし
*************************************************************************************** At Samurai-husband's home town (Furukawa, Miyagi Pref.): With his cousins: 夫の故郷（宮城県）では、いとこ達が 歓迎してくれました。
2-types of local Sake (nnn?...forgot the names!) & "HOYA" (a kind of shellfish) which is known as an ocean pineapple.
*************************************************************************************** At Shonai (Yamagata Pref.): Husband's mother and sister family invited us to "Onsen (hot springs)" with hotel which was at ocean front, so luxurious!
Thank you very much, our family! 良い思い出をありがとうございました。
*************************************************************************************** At Murakami (Niigata Pref.): Husband's old friends invited us to great restaurant and got a heartful hospitality. Murakami, there was one of large rice field area, and had many Sake breweries, therefore I was so happy to taste the local Sake at this district.
Local Sake: Nama (Fresh-type) "Shiun Taiyomori" & Dai-Ginjo "Shime-Haritsuru"
産声をあげたばかりの本生新酒 紫雲ブランドの『大洋盛』 と 大吟醸『〆張鶴』
with various fresh seafoods from this district: 数々の新鮮な魚介と・・・
This dish! これまたスゴイ料理が！ 目の後ろが一番美味しいんだそうです。 ホントに美味しかった！
Surprized! Entertainment of FUKUWA-JUTSU
そして、こんなサプライズ余興も！ 腹話術!!! 初めて生で見ました！ 夫の先輩さま、すごい術をお持ちです。 今度、ＮＺでやってみませんか? もちろん英語でですよ。 NZ人、驚きますよ～。 で、とっても喜んでくれると思います! *************************************************************************************** After returned to Saitama: We enjoyed another hot springs with our friends "Maruyama family".
夫のいとこからの贈り物、地元古川の地酒『一ノ蔵』は、埼玉に戻ってから、 友人宅（丸山家）で味わいました。 まずは、丸山家行きつけの所沢温泉「湯楽の里」からスタート。 "ゆ" means hot bath: Bath for Gentlemen(Left) & Bath for Ladies(Right)
いろんなお風呂を満喫し、ビールと焼肉を楽しみ（せっかくお風呂入ったのに焼肉の 匂いが・・・との心配は御無用、そこは気にしない！）、お宅に戻ってからお楽しみの 日本酒タイム。 After dinner of Beer & Yaki-niku, we tasted Sake "Ichi-no-kura" It's fresh (Nama) type, but strong! Having a chaser beside me...
*************************************************************************************** After getting great experiences and knowledges, I made up my mind, in my returning flight, that I'm pleased to introduce this Japanese culture of "Sake" to New Zealand people.
SHIO-KARA on baked potato:
One of my impressive events in Japan was....
引き続き、日本酒の話題ですが。。。
After dinner of Beer & Yaki-niku,