Ramen and Ichiban Boshi

Don't we all love Ramen guys? The juicy pork slices, boiled eyes and beautifully flavoured soup with fine textured thin noodle..mm..yum!!!

Now here is a little bit of history about Ramen...

Noodles originated from China over 4000 years ago and reached the Japanese culture much later on. In fact, we had to wait up to 19th century, in the Meiji period, for ramen to become widely known in Japan. After the Second World War came an intense food shortage in Japan, a turning point in the history of noodles. Ramen were perfect and greatly helped Japan, they were cheap and a great source of needed calories. A bit later, in 1958, Momofuku Ando, founder and chairman of Nissin Foods, invented the instant noodles, which are a lot closer to what we eat today. Named the greatest “made in Japan” invention of the 20th century, in front of the karaoke and headphone stereos, in a Japanese poll made by the The Fuji Research Institute Corporation, instant ramen became a Japanese cultural icon.

Although there are different types of ramen in almost every single Japanese restuarants in Sydney, I would really recommend Ichiban Boshi to go for delicious ramens and udons! The delicious Tokyo ramen is a great choice for value, a big bowl of flavour  for just $8.50!

Let's go for a Bento !!

So, any plans for the weekend? A BBQ? A picnic? Lame! Let's make ourselves Bento! Still don't know what it is? Well check this post!

Bento (弁当 or べんとう?) is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware. Although bento is readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋, bentō-ya), train stations, and department stores, it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend time and energy for their spouse, child, or themselves producing a carefully prepared lunch box.

Bento can be very elaborately arranged in a style called kyaraben. Contests are often held where bento arrangers compete for the most aesthetically pleasing arrangements. Kyaraben is typically decorated to look like people, animals, or characters and items such as flowers and plants.

There are so mant types of bento!

Shōkadō bentō (松花堂弁当) is a traditional black-lacquered Japanese bento box. It inspired IBM's (later sold to Lenovo) ThinkPad design.

Chūka bentō (中華弁当) are filled with Chinese food. While Chinese do have cold plates, it is more for appetizers or midnight "snack". The food that is associated with chuka bento was invented in Japan.

Kamameshi bentō (釜飯弁当) are sold at train stations in the Nagano prefecture. It is cooked and served in a clay pot. The pot is a souvenir item.

Makunouchi bentō (幕の内弁当) is a classic style of bento with rice, a pickled ume fruit (umeboshi), a slice of broiled salmon, a rolled egg, etc.

Noriben (海苔弁) is the simplest bento, with nori dipped in soy sauce covering cooked rice.

Sake bentō (鮭弁当) is a simple bento with a slice of broiled salmon (鮭, sake) as the main dish.

Shidashi bentō (仕出し弁当) is made in a restaurant and delivered during lunch. This bento is often eaten at a gathering like a funeral or a party. It is usually packed with traditional Japanese foods like tempura, rice and pickled vegetables. A shidashi bento packed with European-style food is also available.

Sushizume (鮨詰め) literally means "packed sushi", and is a bento filled with sushi.

Tori bento (鳥弁当) consists of pieces of chicken cooked in sauce served over rice. It is a popular bento in Gunma prefecture.

Hinomaru bento (日の丸弁当) is the name for a bento consisting of plain white rice with an umeboshi in the centre. The name was taken from the Hinomaru, the Japanese flag, which has a white background with a red circle in the centre. Pure Hinomaru bento only consists of rice and umeboshi to flavor rice without any other side dishes. The metal bento boxes, once popular in Japan, were often corroded by the acid of umeboshi, eventually making a hole in the middle of the lid.

OK, now I'm hungry again, gonna make a bento now! See you soon!

Make your own sushi!

Hi it's Wesley again!

Since we talked so much about the history, different types of sushi, wht don't we learn to make our own sushi? Yeah? Like this idea? Let's get started!!

So, in order to make a fine japanese sushi roll (or nigiri) you don't need to go through 5 years of fish cutting studies in Japan, neither you need anyone telling you that your first time ever sushi looks more like a sea cucumber in a rush hour out of the water. What you do need is some good will, and of course a good guide to help you through those rough times.

How to make sushi maki

1. "The rough side of the nori"

Feel the nori sheet from both sides and you will find one side to be a bit smooth and the other a little rough. The nori should lay on the rolling mat with the rough side facing upwards.

2."Getting busy with rice"
Get your hands wet, and make about a handful of rice to a ball of rice. It's important to keep your hands wet while working with sushi rice because it is sticky. When you work with the nori though, you should keep them as dry as you can. Keeping a bowl of water and a dry towel in your rolling zone is pretty necessary.

3. "The spread"

Gently put the rice ball in the middle of the nori sheet, and start spreading it equally on the nori, creating a layer of rice covering almost the entire sheet except the upper margin of about 2cm that should be kept uncovered. Later on, that margins are going to be needed empty of rice in order to close to sushi roll properly.

4."Can you fill this?"
Now it's time to place a slice of fish (preferably no more than one) on the edge of the nori, along with 1-3 pre-cut slices of vegetables (carrot, cucumber, green onion, asparagus, and so on.. allow yourself to get wild on this matter)..

5."Commence the rolling sequence"

Using the closer edge of the rolling mat, close on the filling with the nori making a rectangular shaped hill and tighten it from above.

6."continue the rolling sequence"

Move forward, continue rolling in the rectangular hill steps, keeping it tight with every move until you reach the end of the nori. Put pressure on the roll from all three sides at all time, especially on stops to allow it to roll tightly.

7."And....cut!"
Use a wet, sharp knife to cut the roll in to little sushi units. 6-8 units per roll - that's your call.

8."That's it"
Enjoy your japanese sushi roll.

Here's another useful clip for you guys!

Meiji Japanese Cafe!

By the strong recommendation of his working restaurant from our interviewee, Tony Wei, I did a research on this Meiji Japanese Cafe.

From others’ reviews, I found that Meiji Japanese Café is a lovely little Japanese Restaurant with delicious food and entertaining environment. There, you can experience the authentic Japanese culture and will be enchanted and delighted at the miso, wasabi peas and colourful tsukemono. As Tony mentioned in the interview, their “Kamameshi” is indeed the most popular and highly recommended. It is a traditional Japanese dish where rice is placed in an iron pot, covered with various meats and vegetables, and then steamed in a soup stock. Tony said their meats and vegetables are made in a special machine with secret recipe. While they also have more standard Japanese fare (bento, sushi, sashimi etc) you'd be crazy to walk out of this shop without trying the kamameshi. Quoting from others, “Meiji is a fantastic little Japanese shop, small and with an emphasis on traditional décor but light and airy. Friendly atmosphere, with service fast, courteous and efficient, and as with many of Melbourne's Japanese restaurants, the staff have a mysterious habit of speaking to each other in Cantonese.” Omg, I just can’t wait to visit Meiji Japanese Café!!!!!!





105 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000


Phone (03) 9662 2899

Interview with a experienced Chef specializing in Japanese cuisine

Tony, a qualified western-style food chef yet working in a typical Japanese restaurant for years. From the interview, Tony introduced a branch of knowledge of Japanese food relating to the Japanese culture.

As he said, there are three popular types of Japanese knive which are used in differet ways. They are usuba, the deba and the yanagiba. Essentially, Usuba is used for cutting vegetables while deba and yanagiba are both used for fish. The Japanese knives are not designed to cut, but make food tatier. For example, if the Japanese steel knife has spots of rusts and you keep using them, the steel taste is transferred to the food, while ceramic and stainless steel prevent that.

He also explained what a "kappo" restaurant is.
"The word Kappo is shortened form of katsu shu ho ju. It means “cut first, then simmer”, stressing the belief that the beauty of cooking starts from cutting. When people say Kappo restaurant, it means the place where a chef cuts or cooks food in front of you. For example, if you order sashimi, a chef will cut the slices from a prepared fillet in front of you. If you order tempura, they will deep-fry the food in front of you. A Kappo restaurant often has an open kitchen, and it is enjoyable to watch what the chef is doing. There may be some tables in a Kappo restaurant, but you would like to seat yourself at the counter to watch how your food is prepared. There’s the difference from a Kaiseki or Ryotei restaurant. A Kaiseki ryotei takes a great deal of care with their service, highly trained waiters and waitresses, in a beautiful tatami mat room with a zen-like garden. Their food is elaborate for special occasions. "

He believes that understanding people and culture leads others to understand cuisine even more deeply. When I asked him how Western cuisine is different to Japanese cuisine, he told me that Japanese food has been regarded as the healthiest food in the world as the basic Japanese dishes are made of cruciferous vegetables and seafood. You have to pay much more attention on practicing your cutting skills.

By the end, he recommended us some special dishes of Meiji Japanese Cafe, where he is currently working at. Despite those traditional Jap- dishes such as sashimi, sushi, tempera and soup noodles, their KAMAMESHI is the most popular dish. It is Japanese traditional pot rice, cooked with meats, vegetables in a special machine with secret recipe. We can only have KAMAMESHI in their café in Australia.

I'm looking forward to have a taste of that KAMAMESHI, who wanna go to Melbourne with me?

What is your favorite type of sushi?

Hey! Do you know how many kind of sushi are there? Which is your favorite type? Well, if you still not sure, keep reading this post!

The common ingredient across all the different kinds of sushi is sushi rice. The variety in sushi arises from the different fillings and toppings, condiments, and the way these ingredients are put together. The same ingredients may be assembled in a traditional or a contemporary way, creating a very different final result. In spelling sushi its first letter s is replaced with z when a prefix is attached, as in nigirizushi, due to consonant mutation called rendaku in Japanese.

Nigirizushi


Nigirizushi (握り寿司, lit. hand-formed sushi) consists of an oblong mound of sushi rice that is pressed between the palms of the hands, usually with a bit of wasabi, and a topping draped over it. Toppings are typically fish such as salmon, tuna or other seafood. Certain toppings are typically bound to the rice with a thin strip of nori, most commonly tako (octopus), unagi (freshwater eel), anago (sea eel), ika (squid), and tamago (sweet egg). When ordered separately, nigiri is generally served in pairs. A sushi set may contain only one piece of each topping.

Gunkanmaki (軍艦巻, lit. warship roll) is a special type of nigirizushi: an oval, hand-formed clump of sushi rice that has a strip of "nori" wrapped around its perimeter to form a vessel that is filled with some soft, loose or fine-chopped ingredient that requires the confinement of nori such as roe, natto, oysters, sea urchin, corn with mayonnaise, and quail eggs.Gunkan-maki was invented at the Ginza Kyubey restaurant in 1931; its invention significantly expanded the repertoire of soft toppings used in sushi.

Temarizushi (手まり寿司, lit. ball sushi) is a ball-shaped sushi made by pressing rice and fish into a ball-shaped form by hand using a plastic wrap. They are quite easy to make and thus a good starting point for beginners.

Makizushi or Makimono

Inari-zushiMakizushi (巻寿司, lit. rolled sushi) or makimono (巻物, lit. variety of rolls) is cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a bamboo mat, called a makisu (巻簾). Makizushi is generally wrapped in nori, but can occasionally be found wrapped in a thin omelette, soy paper, cucumber, or parsley. Makizushi is usually cut into six or eight pieces, which constitutes a single roll order. Below are some common types of makizushi, but many other kinds exist.

Also, there are Futomaki (太巻, lit. thick, large or fat rolls, a large cylindrical piece, with nori on the outside) Hosomaki (細巻, lit. thin rolls, a small cylindrical piece, with the nori on the outside) Temaki (手巻, lit. hand rolls, a large cone-shaped piece of nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end) and Uramaki (裏巻, lit. inside-out rolls, a medium-sized cylindrical piece, with two or more fillings).

Others

Oshizushi (押し寿司, lit. pressed sushi), is a pressed sushi from the Kansai Region, a favourite and specialty of Osaka. Inari-zushi (稲荷寿司, stuffed sushi) is a pouch of fried tofu filled with usually just sushi rice. Sukeroku (助六, name of a man in Edo period) is the combination set of inarizushi and makizushi, which is served as a single-portion takeout style sushi-pack. Nama-chirashi, or chirashizushi with raw ingredientsChirashizushi (ちらし寿司, lit. scattered sushi) is a bowl of sushi rice with other ingredients mixed in (also refers to barazushi). Narezushi (熟れ寿司, lit. matured sushi) is a traditional form of fermented sushi. Skinned and gutted fish are stuffed with salt, placed in a wooden barrel, doused with salt again, then weighed down with a heavy tsukemonoishi (pickling stone). As days pass, water seeps out and is removed. After six months this funazushi can be eaten, remaining edible for another six months or more.

The History of SUSHI !!

Hi there! Long time no blog! Today I was thinking having sushi for my lunch, and this idea just popped up in my head, where does sushi come from? Who made the first sushi ever? Well, then I did some resaerch on the internet, and hope these information I shared can help everyone know a little bit more about the history of sushi.

Sushi (寿司, 鮨, or 鮓) is vinegar rice, topped with other ingredients, such as fish. Sliced raw fish alone is called sashimi, as distinct from sushi. Sushi served rolled inside or around dried and pressed layer sheets of seaweed (or nori) is makizushi (巻き). Toppings stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu is inarizushi. Toppings served scattered over a bowl of sushi rice is called chirashi-zushi (ちらし).

The original type of sushi, classified today as nare-sushi, first developed somewhere in Southeast Asia, disseminating to Japan. Fish was salted and wrapped in fermented rice, a traditional lacto-fermented rice dish. Nare-sushi was made of this gutted fish stored in fermented rice for preservation. Nare-sushi was stored for fermentation for a few months then removed. The fermented rice was discarded and fish was the only part consumed. This early sushi became a great source of protein.

The Japanese preferred to eat the fish with the rice, called seisei-sushi. During the Muromachi period seisei-sushi was the most popular type of sushi. Seisei-sushi was partly raw fish wrapped in rice, consumed fresh, before it lost its flavor. This new way of consuming fish was no longer a form of preservation but rather a new dish in Japanese cuisine.

During the Edo era (the early modern period, 1603 to 1868 in Japan), a third type of sushi was introduced, haya-sushi. Haya-sushi was assembled so that both rice and fish could be consumed at the same time, and the dish became unique to the Japanese culture. It was the first time that rice was not being used for fermentation. Rice was now mixed with vinegar. Fish, vegetables and dried preserved foods would be added. This type of sushi is still very popular today. Each region utilizes local flavors to produce a variety of sushi that has been passed down for many generations.

When Tokyo was still being called Edo, at the beginning of the 19th century, mobile food stalls became the dominant food service. During this period nigiri-sushi was introduced. Nigiri-sushi is the most common type of sushi in the modern sushi restaurants. It is an oblong mound of rice with a slice of fish draped over it. After the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923, nigiri-sushi chefs lost their jobs and spread throughout Japan and popularised the dish throughout the country.

Today the sushi dish is internationally known as "sushi" (nigirizushi; Kantō variety) is a fast food invented by Hanaya Yohei (華屋与兵衛; 1799 - 1858) at the end of Edo period in today's Tokyo (Edo). People in Tokyo were living in haste even a hundred years ago. The nigirizushi invented by Hanaya was not fermented and could be eaten using the fingers or chopsticks. It was an early form of fast food that could be eaten at a road side or in the theater.

OK! Time to have sushi now!

The Beauty of Japanese Hot Pot

The Japanese have long believed that sharing a meal from a single pot forges closer relationships. Japan's beloved comfort food, hot pots, are a well-balanced and naturally nutritious bounty of vegetables, tofu, chicken, seafood, or meat, all infused with lip-smacking Japanese flavors. So gather your friends and family round the dinner table for these easy, economical, homey dishes that require minimal fuss and no special equipment — just a good appetite ^^

This is what the New York Times says about Japanese hot pots, "Steaming bowls sustain body and soul in the cold months. Your grandmother probably knew how to fill this need and the Japanese certainly do..."

There are many different types of Japanese hot pots including shabu shabu, nabe and sukiyaki which includes different soup base and meat or seafood. Most hot pot would include thinly sliced beef or fish, and they are just delicious when you swish it in soup gently for a few second and dip them in sauce! Ofcause, the essential element of the Japanese hot pots are the fresh and healthy vegetables. Chinese cabbage, tofu and different types of mushrooms are a must as they are tasty and bring more flavours to the soup base.

In Sydney, there are a lot of restaurants which has the Japanese hot pot on their menu. However, i would really recommend Nakashima on the Rocks, to those who wants the traditional style of the great taste.

Kura 藏

I actually visit this restaurant regularly and again and again I have been very satisfied with my choice.

I can't really describe it, but the most I can say about the food is that it's good. It doesn't and never really ever goes beyond that. I mean to say that at the end of the day it's just ramen. It doesn't have a distinctive flavour like pho or a unique characteristic like ramyun, in the end it's just noodle soup. The soup never quite makes you drool and the noodles are good but the texture doesn't exactly excite me, the meat is tender and the tempura can never be called special.
Yet the fusion of these average ingredients will create the most magical experience. Something so simple will amaze you. Ultimately though, it's just ramen it's extremely satisfying. I'd recommend the Ultimate as it's got a little bit of everything.
I've also had the seared salmon sushi. Very nice. Smokey, as it's intended, combined with the light tanginess of the lemon it creates a wonderful taste in you mouth. It is quite cheaper than it's competitors but unlike the ramen, though slightly, I've had better. The chicken don, as shown in the picture is one of my favourite dish in Kura, the nicely cooked egg and tendor chicken covers the rice which is soaked slightly in teriyaki sauce.
If I think about Kura, it's always the warm memory of the small corner restaurant, bringing shelter on a rainy day. I feel welcomed in it's small room filled with people happily devouring their meals. If you're ever eating here, stop for a moment, take a breath and look around, there won't be a displeased person in sight.

Here is the map to help you find Kura easily.

Remember to tell us what you think about Kura and recommend other nice dishes there, as we are always in search for new yummy dishs!

Izakaya Kasumi

My friends have raved about this place and I finally got to try it for dinner on Saturday night. Luckily we booked as it was busy but the food came out really quickly. Basically all our dishes came out at once which is good if you're really hungry, but not good if you want to relax and catch up with friends.
Still the service was very friendly and the higlight dishes were the okonomiyaki, chicken karage, sushi and sashimi platter. Love the sunken boothes and I'll definitely be back!!

Japanese women don't get old or fat!?!?

I was surfing the net about few weeks ago and just happen to come across this really interesting book called "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen", written by Naomi Moriyama, a girl who grew up in Tokyo, Japan. When I first read the title, I laughed. It seemed like a quite obvious attempt to cash in on the success of "French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating For Pleasure". So, i decided to get the book to read.
The diet and weight loss points made in this book could be summed up in a few bullet points:

Don't overeat - observe the hara hachibunme rule (eat until you are 80% full)
Eat a lot of fresh vegetables.
Eat a wide variety of foods.
Eat more whole grains - eat brown rice rather than polished white rice.
Eat fruit for dessert, or small portions if you must have cake etc.


Obviously, it is not necessary to eat Japanese food to accomplish these goals. But I do agree with the point made in this book that traditional Japanese food is inherently healthy. According to the book, traditional Japanese food centers around rice (gohan, which is also a synonym for a meal), with small portions of okazu, savory things that go well with the plain rice. A typical Japanese dinner would have, besides the rice, 1 small bowl of soup (miso or clear), 1 protein dish such as grilled fish, and 2 or 3 other mostly vegetable-based side dishes. A popular dietary guide in Japan that has been around for decades is to try to eat 30 kinds of food items a day for nutrional well-roundedness. This may sound impossible, but in Japanese cooking it's not that out of reach.

Interview with nutritionist, Edward Yuwono

In order to prove the many benefits of the Japanese diet, I have decided to conduct an interview with a nutritionist I knew. Please go to our playlist to listen to the full version of the interview on G-cast. Edward Yuwono is a qualified nutritionist who is currently employed by Nature's Own, a well known vitamins and supplement company. He deals with customers daily to informing customers about the company's products and helping them with choosing the most appropriate supplements to take as well as aiding them with their daily dietary routines. 
Mr Yuwono's views in this interview can be summed up in these points:

• He rates the quality of the average Australian diet as only a 4/10 as he recognised an increasing amount of consumers face their problems due to an increase in energy intake, along with an increase in sedentary lifestyle. This is because consumers are fed ready available energy at a low cost price, as we know the takeaway and junk foods, which are high in saturated fat and high carbohydrate levels, and rarely include the amount of nutrition and vegetable intake we need. 
• Health issues in Australia in relation to unhealthy diets and eating habits includes short, medium, and long term problems such as obesity, diabetes, liver problems, osteoarthritis, reproductive problems and cancer formations. 
• There have been enormous amounts of articles and commotion about how the Japanese diet is a prime example of a healthy, nutritional diet. The Japanese diet has been known for centuries as maybe one of the healthiest diet in the world due to its high levels of nutrients and antioxidants. The life expectancy of Japanese people is known as the highest in the world, and obesity has only recently become an issue with the infiltration of western fast foods. 
• The Japanese consume about five times the amount of cruciferous vegetables as the average westerner in their daily meals, the Japanese diet is fish based which helps to reduce heart disease, lower cholesterol, and improve brain function. The Japanese eats a lot of tofu in their meals, which is a good source of protein and is packed with nutrients necessary for good health. One other essential part of the Japanese diet would be green tea which has been linked with a reduced risk of cancer in both men and women. Green tea consumption is linked with a reduced risk of stroke and heart disease.
• Most Japanese dishes are cooked in little or no fat and salt, which are the main causes for all health related diseases. 
• “eating with your eyes”. This is where consumers eat slower as they are attracted to the food that they eat. Japanese food is always nicely presented so that people eat slower, which makes them feel full faster.

Now, even the professional has proved how healthy the Japanese diet is, not to mention he is also a big fan of Japanese food himself, what are you guys waiting for? Let's eat the "Japanese way"!!