Making Mochi

I have to put my hands up and admit I’m not a big fan of mochi (rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded), but it is a mainstay of Japanese cuisine and served in soup (ozoni) is a traditional aspect of New Year…

So without entering into the mochitsuki ceremony how did we make mochi? (Well, when I say “we”, I mean Mrs Cook Japan and the 10 friends and countless children who had a great time making and eating it at our house.)
First up, mochigome (special glutinous rice for making mochi) was left to soak then wrapped in muslin and steamed in the Cook Japan rice cooker…
        
…and this is where the brilliant idea came into play…use a breadmaker!!!
Traditionally the rice is steamed then put into a huge mortar where it is a pounded to make a paste, whereas their plan was to put the rice into a breadmaker using the “dough” function and keep 20+ collective fingers crossed on the results….
…and what great results they were!  About 30-minutes in the breadmaker produced a wonderfully sticky paste that could be easily moulded then devoured…
           
And what a feast it turned into, never before have I seen so much mochi in one place.  Eaten with adzuki (red beans), natto (fermented soya beans), daikon oroshi (grated radish), kinako (soybean flour), and of course as ozoni, everyone had a whale of a time.
    
So if you’ve got a breadmaker to hand, start steaming your rice and start making mochi!

For more information visit: www.cookjapan.co.uk

RICE COOKERS are BACK IN STOCK

There is nothing more disappointing than realising that the rice on the stove is burnt or worse still has turned into a gooey mess.  For so many people, the task of making rice is one fraught with difficulty and despairing hope…

…but help is at hand with a Rice Cooker from Cook Japan – http://www.cookjapan.co.uk 

With a rice cooker it doesn’t have to be this way…in Japan, and elsewhere across Asia, a simple-to-use hi-tech computer controlled rice cooker is a sight in every kitchen, ensuring perfect rice at the push of a button every time…

…and not only can they cook perfect rice, but rice cookers from the Cook Japan shop can also be used as a slow-cooker or steamer, to make porridge, congee, soup, and also to braise. This makes it a great multi-purpose rice cooker so there’s really no limit to what you can make. In fact, Cook Japan rice cookers have the functionality and fuzzy logic technology you would expect to find in a Japanese rice cooker:



So does it do anything else?

Well, not only do Cook Japan rice cookers make great rice, with their range of other cooking functions and programmes, a 24-hour timer, and automatically switching to “keep warm” when the cooking cycle is finished, there is no limit to what you can cook. Some of our most recent dishes have included:

For more recipes and to see some of the culinary fun we have with our rice cooker read the rest of the blog or visit: http://www.cookjapan.co.uk/article/rice_cooker_recipes

Oh and with Christmas coming, you can even make mulled wine in your rice cooker!


“So, how does it work then?” I hear you ask, well…

…by using computer controlled technology, commonly referred to as fuzzy logic, the rice cooker is able to make adjustments to both temperature and cooking time to cook perfect rice, for example if the rice is too hot and heating too quickly the heating element will be turned down slightly to balance this.  With fuzzy logic the cooking process is improved in 3 key ways:

1. The temperature sensor control is more accurate and can therefore allow for fine adjustments to the cooking temperature
2. The heat distribution and conduction around the entire bowl produces more evenly cooked food
3. The computer can instantly strengthen or weaken the heat ensuring a controlled cooking process

For more information about rice cookers and how to use them, please visit www.cookjapan.co.uk
Thanks, now, I’m off to make some rice…

Basmati Rice with Mung Beans (topped with fried onions and hummus)

Today, felt like a healthier more simple day after a bit of excess over the weekend – a bowl of miso soup did feature!

This was a recipe my sister very kindly passed on, she even bought us the Moong Dal/mung beans to go with it…



This is so easy to make, washed basmati rice is mixed with the mung beans (split green beans) and put in the Cook Japan rice cooker.  All you then have to do is press “Start” and wait for it to finish cooking – talk about simple and my word is it tasty.



Rather than cooking my normal “x” number of cups, this was made with 2/3 cup of rice and 1/3 cup of mung beans as the ratio to which water was added.  While the rice cooker was working its magic, I leisurely fried some onions and grabbed the remaining hummus from the fridge.

Hey presto, the rice is cooked, the onions go on top and hummus makes a great accompaniment…



…the rice cooker is sitting there on “keep warm”, think i’ll pop back to the kitchen and have a bit more!
For more information visit: www.cookjapan.co.uk

Unagi-don (grilled eel) for lunch

Had to some left over rice in my trusty Cook Japan rice cooker and thanks to my giri-no-haha (mother-in-law) back in Osaka one last packet of unagi (grilled eel) with sauce – perfect for making one of my favourite dishes…Unagi donburi.

In Japan the hottest day of the year is known as Ushi-no-hi, if you eat unagi on that day it will strengthen your body so you don’t get ill as the year starts to get colder.  Unfortunately, here in England its already cold, but any day is a good day for unagi donburi…


 
 

Cooking perfect rice in a rice cooker…

Here’s a simple easy to follow run down on how to cook rice in a rice cooker.  Following these easy steps (or using the more detail guidance at www.cookjapan.co.uk) should ensure that you can make perfect rice everytime.
Happy eating…

For more information visit: www.cookjapan.co.uk