Japan !!!

JAPAN

Japan has been one of the more entertaining countries we have covered this far, as well as one of the most challenging! From the decadent Sesame Tofu garnished in green onions, to the very sumptuous Vegetable and Tofu Nori rolls; everything turned out delicious and was definitely a treat to eat. If you want a challenge, as well as a great time, then this is the cuisine for you!

                   Sesame Tofu with Green Onion

The Sesame Tofu turned out spectacular! We coupled it with some of the rice from the Nori rolls, which worked well with the sesame flavour of the Tofu. It was the perfect counterpart to this mouth-watering feast. The best part about it is the simplicity- it requires very little time and resource to prepare such a great dish. Go ahead and try it out yourself!

Ingredients

1 package extra-firm tofu

2 ¼ cup green onions

2 tbsp soy sauce of your choice

1 tbsp rice vinegar

¼ cup water

1 tablespoon (toasted/untoasted) sesame oil

2 tsp maple syrup

2 cups rice of your choice

Directions

1. Preheat then oven to 375°F. Slice the Tofu into small rectangular slices, and slice them again length wise, leaving the tofu in smaller rectangular pieces. 

2. Prepare the rice of your choice according to the directions of the package. 

3. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, sesame oil and maple syrup into a casserole dish or on a baking sheet and mix the ingredients well. Add the tofu slices to the mixture and be sure to coat both sides of the individual slices well. Give the tofu cutlets 10-20 to marinade in the mixture before baking.

4. Add the 2 cups of green onions to the dish, and bake for 20 minutes. Serve atop your choice of rice. Alternatively, garnish with the remained of the chopped green onions.

Vegetable and Tofu Nori rolls

This was a bit of a challenge at first, but you (much like us) will more than likely get the hang of the rolling process after a few tries. Don't forget your sushi rolling mat! Our variation of the recipe incorporated some of the sesame tofu, as well as some shredded cucumber, carrot, and avocado. This recipe turned out to be quite enjoyable!

Ingredients

3 cups sushi rice(must be sushi rice, no other rice will work)

Nori(dried seaweed found in most grocery stores)

1 cup shredded cucumber

1 cup shredded carrot

1-2 avocados sliced thin

any other ingredient you would like to try in your sushi!

Directions

1. Place nori on the sushi mat, rough side facing up

2. Spread sushi rice over nori leaving the top 1cm bare (keep a glass of warm water near by for your hands because the rice is very sticky)

3. Place all the filling ingredients in a line near the bottom of the nori sheet

4.Hold the sushi mat and begin to roll, as you roll press the sushi together

5. Continue to roll until you have made the roll of sushi

6. Slice very carefully and slowly with a sharp knife to make the individual pieces. You can slice 4-6 times depending on how big you want them.

Ichigo Daifuku

Such a treat! The texture of this delicacy was quite characteristic of some of the Japanese treats we've encountered so far; however, the slight chewy/gumminess was something almost unique to this delicious dessert. The flavour is to die for , you might just see yourself craving this amazing desert days after you made it! It will take a little while to master the wrapping process involved, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite entertaining to prepare!

Ingredients

1 cup  rice flour
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup water For filling
1/2 cup premade anko (sweet red bean paste)
6 strawberries (or fruit of choice, cut into strawberry sized pieces)

Directions

1. Put rice flour, sugar and water in a microwave safe bowl, microwave for 2 minutes or until the dough rises

2. Cut up fruit or cut the green tops off of the strawberries and coat with pre-made red bean paste

3. Wrap the dough around the bean paste and fruit . Careful! The dough is really sticky, have flour or water nearby to limit the dough from sticking to everything. 

4. Once wrapped, they are ready to enjoy!