tonight dinner

I ate simmered daikon(Japanese radish) and buri(a fish). It went together with sake of course. after dinner, I bite a stick of dango(kusa dango).

simmered sardines

Iwashi(sardines) is popular fish in Japan. and people like to simmer this kind of fishes as a nimono. I simmered them with water, sake, mirin, and umeboshi. and added a teaspoon of soy-sauce, because, umeboshi has enough saltiness. It goes together with rice. They are small and the bone are weak, so that you can eat whole. Of course, You should clean the inside and chopped the head. I think it can be nice as a marinated dish.

daily sake

Sawaya Matsumoto Junmai, You can buy a bottle(700ml) at about 1000yen. I recommend to drink as atsukan(warmed sake). I drunk some with simmered Daikon(Japanese radish) and Hakusai(Chinese cabbage). I added add thickness with Katakuriko flour(starch).

les graviers

I've opened a Loire red wine yesterday, Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, Les Graviers 1998. The vigneron is Yannick Amirault. the variety was Cabernet Franc. I've tasted some of his wines earlier, and I felt it's a strong wine, but after 9,10 years, It seems come to soften and smoothly. It seems that I prefer aged wine in Yannick's wines. I drunk it with a nimono(simmered chicken, taro potato, and sweet potato with soy-sauce based), olive, and cheese. I sometimes feel aged or light red wine can go together with soy-sauce based dishes.

hana-omoi

hana-omoi is the rice developed in Aomori pref and some sake breweries. It's said that they has struggled to develop this rice for 15years. They aimed to make the same quality as Yamada-nishiki which is said the best rice for making sake. I tasted it with a dish, simmered with Hakusai(Chinese cabbage), Tougan(Japanese(Chinese?) winter melon), tiny dried shrimps, Ganmodoki(a fried tofu dumpling vegetables), some Chinese soup stock cube and mirin. Tougan isn't sweet fruit like usual melon. People eat it as a vegetable.

hiyaoroshi part 2

Tonight sake is a hiyaoroshi again, "Mutsu-hassen", brewed by the Hachinohe brewery. It says that it's located in Aomori. This hiyaoroshi taste sweeter than the last hiyaoroshi I've drunk. and pure rice taste, and smells fruity like melon. Melon flavor is one of popular descriptions about Sake. It's little sweeter than usual, I think. The color was little yellow like white wine. The meal was a pasta and a nimino tonight. the pasta sauce was made with Clams, broccolis, shirasu(boiled tiny fish), and butter. It was nice pasta. and The nimono was simmered with Shirataki, Daikon-oroshi, Atsuage(is fried thick Tofu. it's popular.), and carrot. the taste was basically soy-sauce and Katsu-dashi.

kiriboshi daikon

Kiriboshi daikon is one of popular Japanese dried vegetables. It's a dried shredded daikon radish. People soak it with water for 10 or 20min, and usually use it as simmered dish(Nimono) or salad(sunomono). This product is produced in cold winter. I cooked sunomono with it tonight. I mixed it with carrot, and cut kombu(edible kelp cut tangle). and I boiled down the water that kiriboshi daikon soaked. it become sweeter, because, this daikon includes sweetness. You know, Champagne is added some sugar to go second fermentation. that sugar is made from ond of Daikon. Didn't you know that? I've been told this by champagne winery. Anyway, the liquid became sweeter. and I added su(Japanese vinegar), mirin, nam pla, and Szechuan hot bean paste in the liquid. and I made sure that this sauce tastes okay, and I dressed with it.

I also cooked simmered livers and gizzard with soy-sauce, sake, mirin, and water. and I added little balsamic vinegar.



Tonight drink was Belgian beer, Leff Brune Bruin. Yeah, I knew I loved this beer!

flying fish

I simmered flying fish as a nimono(Japanese simmered). It's based with sake, water, mirin, umeboshi, ginger and little soy-sauce. I added flammulina veluptipes(enoki mushroom in Japanese). flying fish wasn't fragile meat. I will bring it as a lunch. Umeboshi is pickled plums. and it's one of Japanese traditional foods, popular. people eat it with rice or use for cooking. some people add into Ochazuke.

takenokoimo part2

I cooked nikujaga(one of simmered dishes) with takenokoimo, chicken, and shishitou tonight. the seasoning were soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, ginger, and shichimi pepper.

takenokoimo

takenokoimo(the picture on the left) means bamboo shoot satoimo, actually one of satoimo(taro root). people call that because t looks like bamboo shoot. it's also called Kyo-imo. one of my mother's friend gave us it today. It's the first time to see it. I've cut it and cooked it as a nimono(shimmered dish) with soy sauce, mirin, sake, and little sugar. it's the left one on the picture of our dinner. and I cooked a stir-fry. there left the half yet. I'm thinking how to cook it.