Name: Coffee Kohakuto
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 50ml espresso coffee; 50ml water; 1.3g agar agar; 100g white sugar

January 23, 2020

Coffee Kohakuto

Prep Time

30 minutes

Total Time

30 minutes

Ingredients

50ml espresso coffee
50ml water
1.3g agar agar
100g white sugar

Instructions

1. Have a container ready (high temperature proof) and coat with oil lightly, using a paper towel.
2. In a small cooking pot, add water and agar powder. Melt the powder over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Heat and stir until the agar powder melts completely. It usually takes about 1 to 2 mins.
3. Add the sugar. Melt the sugar, stirring constantly to prevent burning with a spatula. It will be very foamy and bubbly. Keep on stirring for about 2 to 3 min.
4. Remove from the heat and immediately pour the espresso. Mix well.
5. Transfer into a prepared container through the sieve.
6. Chill in the fridge until it has set. It should be firm enough to cut.
7. Remove from the fridge and cut into small pieces, using the knife or even with your hand (about 2 to 3 cm dices) and place them on a baking sheet. You can also coat the pieces with sugar to make them sweeter.
8. Let the candies sit there for 2 to 3 days (it may even take up to 5 days, as it depends on so many factors : climate, season,...). Eventually their surface should dry out completely. The candies will be crystallized with a jewelry finish. They are crunchy outside, but inside texture is like jelly.
9. You can keep your “kohakutou” in an airtight container for about 2 weeks.

January 14, 2020

Katsudon bento – fried pork cutlet lunch box

Katsudon bento - fried pork cutlet lunch box

Serving Size

5 to 6 people

Prep Time

40 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour

Total Time

1 hour, 40 minutes

Katsudon bento - fried pork cutlet lunch box

Ingredients

For the steamed rice :

4 or 5 rice cooker cups uncooked Japanese rice - wash and drain
4 or 5 rice cooker cups water
900g boneless pork loin - cut into about 1 to 1.5cm slices
salt and pepper (for seasoning)
some flour (for dusting)
2 eggs - mix with 30ml milk
some panko / breadcrumbs (as much as needed)
1/2 cabbage - cut into julienne - wash and drain well
tonkatsu sauce
mayonnaise (optional)

Instructions

1. Add water and washed rice into a rice cooker. Cook according to the rice cooker instructions. Keep warm. Just before serving, divide the rice into serving bowls.
2. Season the pork with salt and pepper and dust with flour lightly.
3. In a small bowl, mix egg and milk together. Dip the pork into the egg mixture, coat it well. Then coat with panko/breadcrumbs evenly.
4. Pour enough oil in a wok or a large saucepan. Heat on medium-high until hot : Stick in a bamboo chopstick, if bubbles appear, it's hot enough.
5. Place the pork gently in the hot oil and cook both sides, turning occasionally, until nicely and evenly golden.
6. Cut the tonkatsu into pieces. Serve steamed rice in a large rice bowl, sprinkle cabbage onver the rice. Place "tonkatsu" pieces onto it. Pour "tonkatsu sauce" over the pork!
Serve hot!

January 10, 2020

Soft buns with Panasonic Bread Maker

Serving Size

8 buns

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours

Total Time

2 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients

240g bread flour (or 235g/T65 + 5g gluten flour)
35g unsalted butter
120g milk
25g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
5g dry yeast

Instructions

1. In a heat-safe bowl, add milk and butter. Microwave for 20~30 sec, or until the butter is completely melted. Add bread flour, gluten flour, sugar, salt, egg and milk mixture in the pan of your bread machine. Add yeast in your machine's yeast compartment. Select dough cycle and press start as per manufacturer's instructions.
2. When the dough cycle is complete, remove it from the machine and place on a floured surface.
3. Punch the dough down and divide it in 8 pieces. Cover it with a dry cloth. Let it rest for about 15min.
4. Shape each piece into a round ball then flatten them. Arrange on lined baking trays. Cover and let rise for 40~60min in a warm place or until the dough has doubled in volume.
5. Bake in a preheated 180℃ oven for about 10min. Remove from the oven and let it cool down on a wire rack.
6. Brush some butter lightly over the freshly baked buns if you like.

January 9, 2020

Bacon Epi Bread with home bakery

Serving Size

4 epi bread

Prep Time

2 hours

Cook Time

15 minutes

Total Time

2 hours, 15 minutes

Ingredients

250g bread flour (T65)
5g salt
3g sugar
170g water
2g dry yeast (SAF)
4 tsp mayonnaise
200g bacon

Instructions

1. Measure carefully, placing all ingredients (flour, salt, sugar and water) in your home bakery machine. The dry yeast probably needs to be placed in a dedicated compartement. Select Dough/Manual cycle and press start.
2. When the dough cycle is complete, remove and place it on a floured surface. Punch the dough down and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Cover it with a dry cloth. Take bench time for 15 to 20min.
3. On the floured surface, roll out a piece to a 18~20cm long oval shape with a rolling pin. Then spread the bacon (50g each) on the dough.
4. Fold the dough onto itself length-wise : the right-most side onto itself and the left-most side onto itself. Both meeting along the centerline. Roll over the dough to flatten it lightly.
5. Fold the dough length-wise once more closing it onto itself form both sides again. Only this time, we are shaping it into a log (instead of aiming for flat). Pinch it with your fingers a little along the centerline to 'stitch' it together. Make all 4 logs in this way.
6. Place the dough logs side by side but not too close on a lightly floured cloth, seam side down to rest. Lift up the cloth between baguettes into a pleat to help the dough hold its shape. Let it rise for about 40min in a warm place or until it about doubles in size (the volume increase actually depends on the temperature).
7. Pre-heat the oven to 230℃.
8. Once the logs have risen, gently transfer them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (seam side down).
9. Flour the dough logs lightly and start cutting them : Using a pair of clean kitchen scissors, make deep cuts in the dough at a 45 degree angle. At each cut, slide-push the dough alternatively to the left and then to the right.
10 Bake for 15~20min until the crust is browned.

January 6, 2020

Roast Beef in the oven

Oven Roast Beef

Persons

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour

Wait Time

1 hour

Total Time

1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients

1kg top round roast beef
3 garlic cloves - grated
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp olive oil
dash of pepper

For the sauce

1 tbsp olive oil
2 to 3 garlic cloves - grated
1 shallot - finely chopped
20g unsalted butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 to 1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp mirin

Instructions

1. Coat the block beef with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic and let sit for about 30 min.
2. On a frypan, grill the beef (only its surface) on all sides until well browned.
3. Preheat your oven to 110℃ degrees.
4. Place the roast beef onto a baking dish. I usually put aluminium foil on the baking dish. Bake for 50min or more. (Depend on how your beef is big.)
NOTE : Insert your meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, if it shows 60 to 63℃ degree, then the meat is ready!
5. Wrap the roast up tightly in the foil and let it rest outside the oven at room temperature. While it is resting, it will continue to cook.
6. In the meantime, making the sauce In the same frying-pan (just remove any burnt garlic bits) fry the garlic until fragrant. Add shallot and cook until browned. Then add butter. Once the butter is melted, add all the other sauce ingredients (soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, sugar and mirin). Bring it to a boil and add olive oil (1 tbsp). Then transfer to your serving plate. Almost ready!
6. Using a sharp knife, slice the roast beef into thin slices (as per your taste) and serve with the sauce!

January 5, 2020

Homemade “teuchi” Egg Noodles

Homemade "teuchi" Egg Noodles

Persons

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour, 30 minutes

Total Time

2 hours

Ingredients

250g bread flour (T65)
50g plain flour/cake flour (T45)
129g water
1 egg yolk
7g salt
5g baking soda

Instructions

1. Hand whisk together bread flour and plain flour in your stand mixer bowl. Fit it with the dough hook.
2. In a small cup, add salt and baking soda. Mix well until dissolved, then add egg yolk. Mix well.
3. Slowly drizzle in water, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, mix at the lowest speed until the dough comes together into a shaggy dough.
4. Transfer the dough out to a floured surface and knead by hand. Shape it into a rough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for about 1 hour.
5. Divide into 3 pieces on the work surface. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Do not worry if the dough is not smooth at this stage.
6. Fit the Pasta Roller onto the KitchenAid mixer. Set it to position 1 (thickest). Flatten by hand one dough piece into a rough rectangle about 1.5 cm thick. Process at speed 1 and slowly feed one piece of dough through the Roller. Feed it through again at the thickest setting 1 several times until the dough is silky and smooth. You may fold it in half before running it through. It takes me about 10 times or more usually. In the beginning the dough will be ragged. As you continue, after more runs, it will get silky and smooth alright.
7. Once the dough is smooth, turn dial to the next setting 2 and run dough through once or twice. Repeat (once or twice) at each following position until you reach setting 5 or 6.
8. Repeat with the rest of dough balls.
9. Now attach the Spaghetti Cutter and run dough through to cut. Dust generously the noodles with katakuriko/potato starch to coat and gently shape into serving sized bundles. Place on the prepared plate. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
10. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for 1~2 days. Well, you can skip this step if you want to use them on the same day.
11. Start boiling a large pot of water. Boil the noodles for 2~3min until you get the texture you like. Serve with hot soup!

Coffee Kohakuto

Ingredients

Instructions

Katsudon bento - fried pork cutlet lunch box

Ingredients

For the steamed rice :

Instructions

Soft buns with Panasonic Bread Maker

Ingredients

Instructions

Bacon Epi Bread with home bakery

Ingredients

Instructions

Oven Roast Beef

Ingredients

For the sauce

Instructions

Homemade "teuchi" Egg Noodles

Ingredients

Instructions

TIP: You can also freeze the noodle bundles to use them later.