recipe

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Here's how to cook rice quickly and easily using a regular old non-stick frying pan. It's so easy and foolproof you won't believe it!

Filed under:  basics japanese rice how-to washoku

Sweet azuki beans

(Update posted January 2011:) I've updated this recipe for classic tsubu-an or "chunky" style sweet azuki bean paste, originally posted back in June 2006, once again. In March 2010 I added instructions for making it with a pressure cooker - the way I've been making tsubu-an for the last couple of years. Since this was originally posted, I've received a number of comments from people who had trouble with their beans getting soft enough. After some experimentation, I've found that if the beans are fresh you can just add the sugar while cooking without much trouble, but if the beans are a bit old - which is the case more often than not unfortunately - you may run into problems. So, in this latest edit, I've revised the instructions so that people having problems with the (possibly old) beans getting soft enough, will have more success.

A lot of Japanese sweets are based on beans that are cooked with a ton of sugar to a paste-like consistency. Red azuki (adzuki) beans are the most popular kind of beans to use in sweets, and sweet azuki bean paste is called an (餡) or azuki-an (小豆あん).

I've updated this recipe for classic tsubu-an or "chunky" style sweet azuki bean paste, originally posted back in 2006, with instructions for making it with a pressure cooker.

Filed under:  dessert japanese legumes vegan wagashi beans

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My latest Japan Times article and recipe are about sakekasu, the lees left over after sake is pressed. Plus: a bonus recipe for amazake, aka "Japanese eggnog".

Filed under:  drink japanese washoku in the media writing elsewhere sake japan times

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How to make fresh mochi, or pounded rice, at home, with ease, and without a mochi making machine.

Filed under:  japanese rice new year holidays washoku mochi

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A recipe for a very simple yet delicious cake, suitable for the holidays or any time of the year.

Filed under:  dessert sweet cake holidays

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Step-by-step instructions for making very thin shavings or doing the sasagaki cut on fibrous root vegetables like the burdock root or gobo.

Filed under:  basics japanese vegetables ingredients fall washoku knife skills burdock

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This is a traditional satoimo or taro root recipe, where some of the root is used in the nutty sweet-savory sauce. It's a very 'fall' dish.

Filed under:  japanese vegetables fall vegetarian washoku

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Here's a rather unusual (to Western tastes anyway) way to enjoy cold soba noodles - with slimy grated nagaimo root.

Filed under:  japanese offbeat noodles soba japan washoku tororo nagaimo slimy

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A simple side dish or salad to serve as part of a Japanese meal, or on its own. Plus, take a look at a couple of real Japanese home meals!

Filed under:  japanese lighter fish japan seafood low-carb

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So you love fried rice, but don't have a wok, or even a gas range? Here's how to make great fried rice with a frying pan, even if it's on an electric hotplate. (Note: this is not a low carb dish.)

Filed under:  japanese rice chinese favorites chuuka

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