Joushinko, why hast thou forsaken me?

Once I decided that I wanted to make mitarashi dango, of course I went to look for recipes.  I can't make a food item if I don't know what I need or how to make it.  So, after looking at several recipes I noticed the two ingredients I would need to buy that wouldn't be as easy to come by; joushinko (or joshinko or johshinko) and shiratamako.  Both joushinko and shiratamako are a type of rice flour, joushinko being a Japanese rice flour made from milled, short grain rice.  Shiratamako is a Japanese rice flour made from glutinous rice flour and starch.  Both are needed to make the perfect earlobe texture.  All joushinko will make dango that is chewy and doughy while all shiratamako will make a dango that is sticky, neither of which we want.  

Joushinko

Shiratamako

So, in looking for the right flour I found shiratamako easily.  However, joushinko is giving me major trouble.  I can find all the Thai rice flour and Bob's Red Mill rice flour that I could ever want, but I can't find joushinko for sale online.  I may just use the Thai rice flour since it is indeed non-glutinous, or I'll see if I can find a Japanese market somewhere and browse their selection.  If not, I may also try a recipe I saw that used tofu and shiratamako.  Maybe I'll try both.  Either way, I want to end up with a treat that is abso-foodie-licious.

Food and Science Foodventure - The Decision

"I want to make mochi for my project.  Yeah, write about that." -The prompt for this post

One of my favorite Japanese sweets is mochi.  Not the mochi used as a topping for frozen yogurt (not that I don't love it) or the ever popular mochi ice cream, but the fluffy round sweet rice cake filled with deliciously smooth red bean paste (or sesame paste or taro or strawberries) also known as daifuku.  Or even the freshly pounded mochi they serve at Shinshun Matsuri that is topped with shredded nori and chunky red bean paste and some other stuff I don't know the name of.

The boxed good stuff

The fresh good stuff

But, after some more contemplation I've realized that there is another Japanese treat that I quite enjoy that I can't get as easily year round.  Not only can I not find it as easily as boxed mochi, but in the past I have attempted to create this yet to be said treat and failed twice in the most epic of ways.  

What I would like to attempt to make a third time (third time's the charm) is mitarashi dango (みたらし団子, pronounced: me-ta-rah-she dah-n-go).

Mmm....mitarashi dango...

Hanami dango

 If you've never had mitarashi dango, you are missing out my friend.  It's similar to mochi in that it's also made from rice or rice flour but with some differences.  Dango is a generic term for unfilled dumplings.  This type, in particular, is served on a bamboo skewer.  So, unlike mochi, there are no fillings.  All the tasty stuff gets put on top unless it's mixed in to add color for Hanami.

Dango by themselves don't have a strong favour so they are easy to top.  They go well with red bean paste, but my favorite topping is the glaze.  It is a sweet and savory sauce typically made with sugar, soy sauce, and starch.

I may have to try a couple different recipes before I can get this right (I hope I don't, that would be awful), but I love it so much that I've got to try.  It won't nearly be as good as the ones I got from the little sweets shop around the corner from my apartment in Japan or the prepackaged ones, but, hey, I'm just an untrained American attempting to create wagashi.  Nobody's perfect.

It may be a challenge, but I'm hoping it will turn out abso-foodie-licious.

Food and Science - Changes to Come

It's been a while since I've done anything with this blog (not that I've completely ignored it, not in the slightest...), but now it has a purpose again!  Currently I am taking a class called Food and Science.  It's pretty cool.  We learn about the science of food then we make food during lab time.  So it's pretty much the best class ever.  Anyway, for this class there is a food project that we must do as an assignment.  This food project focuses on a recipe we're interested in making which we must choose, then collect the ingredients, then make the food, all while documenting our journey via blog.  This is where this comes in!

I know that the title of this post suggests changes, but there will be no big changes other than Abso-Foodie-Licious will become only slightly more academic in the sense that I'll be using it for school.  And so, starting with my next post, Abso-Foodie-Licious will become my Food and Science Food Project blog.  So I have written, so it shall be.

I hope you enjoy this new temporary journey, and I hope you remember to remain abso-foodie-licious!

Cantaloupe Bread

In the midst of Hurricane Sandy, lovingly known as Frankenstorm, I did what any other good foodie does:  I looked in the kitchen for something to eat or cook before the power went out.  Upon the counter I spied a cantaloupe, overripe for the eating.  "I don't want to just sit and eat a whole cantaloupe by myself though," thought I as I stared at the melon as it stared back at me.  "But what can I do with it?"  So, I did what any other foodie does when placed with the problem of "what do I do with this food object":  I went to the internet to the handy dandy AllRecipes.com.  There I found this handy recipe for Cantaloupe Bread.  I was skeptical at first, but after reading through other people's reviews I decided to give it a try.  After making a few adjustments based off of other comments and to vegan-ize it and, here is the recipe I came up with:

Vegan Cantaloupe Bread

 

Dry Ingredients

3 c all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Wet Ingredients

1/2 c + 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

3/4 c sugar

2 Tbps honey

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 + 1/2 c pureed fresh cantelope

Optional Ingredients

1/2 c raisins tossed in flour

1/2 c pecans

What else you'll need

2 loaf pans or as many muffin tins as this will fill

Cooking spray or grease

A rubber spatula

A couple of bowls

Measuring spoons and cups

An oven

 

Directions

1.)  Preheat the oven to 325F and grease and flour your pans or line with muffin papers.

2.)  Whisk together all of your wet ingredients

3.)  Sift together all of your dry ingredients.

4.)  Combine your wet and dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until combined.

5.)  Fold in the raisins and pecans if you used them.  I used raisins because I love them so much.

6.)  Pour the batter into your prepared pans and pop in the oven for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

7.)  Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes before removing.

8.)  Wait for the bread to completely cool before serving.

9.)  Enjoy!

If you have any leftover puree, you can freeze it and save for later or add some ice cubes and  make a smoothie out of it!  

Stay safe during Sandy/Frankenstorm and remain abso-foodie-licious!

My Natto Experience

In less than a week I will be leaving this country to spend 50 days in Japan learning Japanese and about Japanese culture.  For my last week in America before I leave, I have decided to throw a week of mini celebrations coupled with the copious amounts of pre-Japan studying I've procrastinated on, and no celebration is complete without food.  So, yesterday when I went to Jungle Jim's International Market I picked up some Japanese food items that I knew I would enjoy and some I had not tried before, most notably natto.

Cinnamon Rolls (Like a BOSS!)

Today I made vegan cinnamon rolls using a recipe I found in Vegan Baking Classics by Kelly Rudnicki.  I bout this book sometime last year and I've tried some of the other recipes in it like the Blueberry Buckle, the Classic Chocolate Birthday Cake and the Emerald Isle Coffee Cake, among other delicious things.  But, I've been craving cinnamon rolls, so they had to be made.

Fail/Japan

So, I've been doing all sorts of cool food things yet I haven't been recording anything.  I know.  I'm a bad food blogger.  But, I have plans to change that.  This summer I'll be hopefully/most likely going to Japan to learn Japanese.  While I'm there I plan on recording all the new and exciting food I'll be eating here on Abso-Foodie-Licious while recording my other adventures on my other blog, Adventures of the Rising Sun (link in the sidebar).  Until then, I hope to get the ball rolling again while I'm still in the States.  I look forward to continuing this food-venture with you guys.  Stay abso-foodie-licious.