When it gets cold, we all like to munch on comfort foods in the warmth of our cozy abodes. Many comforting foods happen to be cooked in one pot, making them easy and delicious. One simple Japanese comfort food is oden. Oden is a popular winter Japanese hot pot stew, with regional ingredients varying across the country. A hot pot is defined as a dish in which foods (veggies, meats, etc.) are boiled in a simmering broth.

Most ingredients for oden tend to be vegetable, seafood or tofu products, although anything can be used. I made this simple oden variation with ingredients I love:

Oden

• 1 daikon, peeled and cut into chunks
• 6 chikuwa, cut in halves
• 3 soft boiled eggs, peeled
• 1 block konnyaku, cut in half, then cut into 16 triangles
• 2 blocks satsuma age, cut into 8 triangles
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 large potatoes, cut into chunks
• 10 squares atsuage, cut in halves
• 14 tsukune
• 2/3 cup sake
• 10 cups dashi
• 1/3 cup soy
• 1/4 cup mirin
• scant amount spicy mustard

1. In a large pot, mix sake, dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. Add all the ingredients to the broth, except the spicy mustard. Bring all to a boil then cover and simmer on low for an hour.

2. Remove from heat and spoon ingredients equally into bowls. Serve with hot mustard on the side.

Makes 8 Servings

That was easy, but the oden tasted great! Some other traditional options for a hearty oden are:

• tako
• abura age
• shirataki
• ganmodoki
• gobomaki
• hanpen
• fuku-bukuro ni
• konbumaki

This Japanese 7-11 page has some excellent photos of national and regional oden ingredients. The site language is Japanese but the pictures translate the names into a language we all know: Yummm!

Difficulty: Easy | Time: 1 hour 20 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Moderate to Difficult

It’s not much of a secret that I love Japanese sweets, aka wagashi. In my free time, I go on the .jp and search out new wagashi to research and try. I spend hours pouring over websites and trying my hand at translating katakana.

The only thing that really gets me through the massive amounts of translating and finagling is the Japanese’s love of pictures. Thanks to many illustrative photos and videos, I’ve been able to cobble together the rudimentary beginnings of a wagashi cookbook. One of the first recipes I tried off the .jp was kimishigure.

Kimishigure is made from egg yolks (kimi), bean paste (shiro koshi an and aka koshi an) rice flour (joshinko), water (mizu) and sugar (johakuto). Simple, right? This particular wagashi is a bit tricky since it must crack open when it steams, otherwise, it just isn’t kimishigure.

Adding too much water or too much sugar will hamper the cracks from developing, resulting in uncracked kimishigure. I learned this fact the hard way. My first try of kimishigure ended not so well, as it was not cracked and was overcooked. However, the wagashi were still tasty and pretty, just not as tasty and pretty as they could have been.

Here’s a simple recipe for this elegant and tasty wagashi I found and tailored:

Kimishigure

• 1 2/3 cups shiro koshi an
• 1 cup plus 2 1/2 Tbls. aka koshi an
• 1/4 cup joshinko (non-glutinous rice flour)
• 2 egg yolks, beaten and divided into 3/4 and 1/4 portions
• food coloring, optional
• sarashian (anko powder), optional

1. Wrap the shiro koshi an in plastic wrap and microwave on high for four minutes. Or, heat over medium heat until piping hot and bubbly, making sure not to over dry or burn the an.

2. In the hot shiro an, mix in 3/4 of the egg yolks and blend well. Scoop hot shiro an and yolk mix onto a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and spread it around. Cover with a clean, damp cotton cloth to prevent drying and let cool 20 minutes.

3. After the shiro an is cooled, add the joshinko and remaining yolk. Mix well. Add the food coloring at this time if you’re using it, keeping in mind natural, light colors work best with wagashi. Traditionally, the kimishigure is not colored, but is simply rolled around in the sarashian for added effect. But go nuts. Own that kimishigure!

4. Evenly divide the anko and roll it into 15 balls. Set aside. Evenly divide the kimishigure dough and roll it into 15 balls.

5. In a clean palm, flatten the kimishigure dough into an even round. Place a ball of anko in the round and carefully wrap the anko with the round. Make sure the dough is of an even thickness around the anko center to ensure proper cracking. I shaped mine into ovals and rounds, but you can choose a more traditional route and simply make round balls.

6. Coat each ball with sarashian, if using, patting the powder lightly but firmly into the dough.

7. Line a steamer tray with a damp cotton cloth and place the kimishigure on the cloth approximately 3/4″ apart. Steam them on high for 7-10 minutes or till they crack. Do not steam them longer than 12 minutes as they’ll get tough.

Makes 15

The flavor for kimishigure is reminiscent of fortune cookies and rice pudding and is absolutely delish. The egg yolks are the only added fat in this dessert and you can control the amount of sugar of the kimishigure either in the anko (if you make your own) or in the dough, making kimishigure a healthy dessert alternative.

You can be very creative when making kimishigure or you can take the traditional route and make classic kimishigure without all the frills. If you’re daunted by the thought of “beans as dessert”, use a piece of milk or dark chocolate in the middle instead of anko and coat the outside with cocoa for a kimishigure truffle. Believe it or not, however, the flavor of the beans from the shiro an is undetectable in kimishigure and most wagashi. I’ve found lima beans make the best shiro an for kimishigure since they taste more buttery than beany.

Give this traditional wagashi a whirl in your kitchen and let me know how yours turn out!

Difficulty:Moderate | Time:50 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Moderate

New Year’s is a major holiday in Japan and has been for centuries. Shogatsu, as the Japanese New Year’s is known, retains many traditions from former times which are still alive today and a fixture in modern New Year’s happenings. These traditions can be small, intimate ceremonies practiced with the family or in private. For three days the Japanese celebrate the New Year and enjoy traditional New Year’s foods, osechi ryori, aka osechi, which have been prepared or purchased before the festivities.

Some of the foods eaten include nimono (simmered vegetables), kazunoko (herring roe), kurikinton (mashed chestnuts and sweet potatoes), datemaki (sweetened omelet roll), kamaboko (fish cake) and konnyaku (gelatinous yam cake). But the one dish which is famous as New Year’s food is ozoni.

The morning of the first day of New Year’s, people will drink sake and eat ozoni, the traditional soup of New Year’s. This soup has many variations and no one can agree on any one ozoni recipe as the “official” ozoni recipe. However, no matter what’s added, subtracted or left out of an ozoni recipe, the one thing which makes ozoni, ozoni, is mochi.

Mochi is another celebrated New Year’s food and is even featured as a New Year’s decoration, the kagami mochi. Pieces of toasted mochi cake are added to ozoni as part of a hearty meal.

I decided to make ozoni this year and have listed what I used in my own rendition of this traditional soup. I’ve listed ingredient variations so you can personalize ozoni for your own New Year’s celebrations.

Rae’s Ozoni

Variant Ingredients

• cabbage
• crab
• chicken breast
• chicken stock
• maitake
• miso
• mitsuba
• mizuna
• spinach

In the West, who would ever believe that anything as common as beans could ever become anything more than kick-ass burritos and tasty tail-gate chili? Beans have gotten a bad rap through the years as being poor man’s food and the “musical fruit”. Derisive songs have been sung mocking the bloating attributes of these tiny powerhouses. But in Japan, this lowly legume has transcended its humble beginnings to become one of the most widely used ingredients in desserts; Anko.

Anko is a building block in Japanese desserts, wagashi. Without anko, there wouldn’t be the profusion and variety of wagashi which exist today. Anko is made from red azuki beans which have been carefully boiled down to a chunky jam and is then sweetened. This whole bean variety of anko is known as tsubu or tsubushi-an.

Tsubu-an is used as filling in wagashi, a dessert topping, and as a sweet soup, zenzai. White beans are also used in creating anko. Shiro an is white anko, and is usually made from either lima or navy beans.

Anko also comes in different textures, one of which is koshi-an. Koshi an is a refined, smooth bean paste. Koshi-an is made from either azuki or white beans, which have been pulped and then strained to a satiny texture. Sugar syrup is then added to sweeten the paste. White beans are most commonly turned into koshi an rather than into tsubu an.

To create delicate, beautiful wagashi known as nerikiri, a mochi mixture, gyuhi, is added to shiro koshi-an. The end result is a paste similar to marzipan and can be tinted and molded into just about any shape.

Today’s edition is all about anko and we’ll be making a batch of each anko variety: Tsubushi-an and Shiro Koshi-an. Let’s get started transforming these shriveled beans into something worthy of an emperor!

Part 1 of 3:

Part 2 of 3:

Part 3 of 3:

Shiro Koshi-an

Note: Azuki or green mung beans may also be used in koshi-an.

Tsubu-an

Note: White beans may also be used in tsubu-an.

November kicks off the Eating Season with the biggest food-related holiday of the year: Thanksgiving. In honor of that belly busting, buckle-loosening, girth-widening day, I thought we could talk food, Japanese food that is.

Unlike many popular Western foods, traditional Japanese foods are low in fat, high in vegetable content, and sans dairy. This coupled with portion control means that eating traditional Japanese foods the way they were originally prepared and eaten, can help you be fit and healthy.

But forget all that health mumbo-jumbo, Japanese food is delicious! I’ve developed an addiction to and obsession with wagashi which I indulge about once a week. Sushi and tempura are my fave eat-out Japanese foods and if I had the cash, I’d be eating sushi once a week too. At home I love to prepare all manner of noodle dishes and sweets. If I had to peg down one of my favorite foods, I’d say wagashi and that’s as concise as I could get.

Is there some snack, dessert, or meal that makes you drool? Are you addicted to a certain Japanese food and get shifty-eyed and twitchy when you haven’t had your fix in a while? What’s your favorite Japanese food?

Harvest moons are one of the many wonderful fall occurrences which highlight the beauty of the season. The bright full moon, tinted a dusky yellow, seems to be closer, fuller, and more splendid in the autumn months than at any other time. Mystery seems to hang in the air when there’s a harvest moon, and the nights seem that much richer because of it.

The moon shines down as brightly in fall in Japan as it does here in the US, and neither nationalities are immune to the allure of this seasonal wonder. The Japanese would make an evening of gazing at the autumn moon during jugoya, literally 15th night. It is said that the moon on this night is the brightest and most beautiful of the season. There’s even a term for this lunar admiration- tsukimi: “moon viewing”.

This autumnal dish is gets its name, tsukimi, (tsuki, “moon”, mi, “viewing”) from the resemblance it bears to the moon on an autumn night. The egg represents the moon floating in elegant “clouds” of udon noodles.

Tsukimi Udon

I liked tsukimi udon because it’s:

• very easy to make
• healthy but tasty
• elegant

Tsukimi udon is a simple dish but it’s also an elegant one. If the moon’s not handy one night when you’re feeling the need for a little lunar love, make tsukimi udon and enjoy your autumn evening in style!

Difficulty: Very Easy | Time: 20 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Easy

*If mirin is unavailable, use sake or white wine with half a tablespoon of sugar.

Thanks to sushi bars, Americans are becoming more familiar with a few Japanese cuisine options and foodstuffs. But there’s more to Japanese food than sushi, tempura and miso, so very much more. Yet, even with sushi as a primer, Japanese food still emits an aura of simplicity and elegance; which simultaneously fascinates and terrifies many would be cooks interested in recreating the meals in their own homes.

If you’re a foodie, like me, and you’re interested in Japanese cuisine as either a hobby or a way of life, you’ve probably already done your homework on the ingredients and appliances used in traditional Japanese cooking. And if you don’t have access to authentic Japanese ingredients, you’ve probably learned which Western substitutes work best with a traditional recipe.

If you’re still gun-shy in regards to Japanese food; no worries, it’ll all become second nature in time. For now, test how much you think, or don’t think, you know with The Anime Blog’s Quiz for fan’s of Japanese cuisine!

(Answers and foodie lore are given below the quiz. The quiz is off site but come back to rate your score and see how you did!!! No peeking until you’re done!)

Rate your score!

• 100-90%= Sugoi!! You can cook with me any day itamae dono!
• 89-80%= Yatta! Feels good to know your goma from your gari, ne?
• 79-60%= Genki. If you can tell the difference between anko and kinako, that’s none too shabby.
• 59-40%= Ma-ma. Uh-oh, maybe you should cook Japanese more often.
• Below 40%= Baka! Before you can become a Japanese foodie master, you must learn that a world of food exists outside Pocky and Pretz.

1.) True. Washoku, as denoted by the prefix wa-, is used in reference to more traditional ways of Japanese cooking, such as cooking oden and sukiyaki.

2.) False. Although goma is Japanese for sesame, the mame (bean) in front of it turns the phrase into a popularized term for “seal” which was coined for cutesy seal characters created by San-X. Mamegoma Honobono Nikki is a game for the Nintendo DS featuring adorable baby seals. Kawaii!

3.) True. Shiro miso (white miso) is less salty, more mild, and sweeter than red or yellow miso. It’s used as a filling in some wagashi including hanabiramochi.

4.) False. Shabu shabu is a one-pot meat entree made at the table in a pot of boiling broth. Very thinly sliced meat is dunked in the broth and stirred back and forth with chopsticks till it’s barely colored. This back and forth creates a “swish swish” sound which translates into “shabu shabu”.

5.) True. Not much land for grazing in Japan and why bother when there’s plenty of fish to harvest which don’t need to be fed or cared for? During Japan’s early years, it was a faux pas to eat the meat of four-legged animals, due in part to Buddhism. Meat eating only became en vogue during the Meiji Restoration.

6.) False. While Osaka is famous for many tasty goodies (takoyaki and okonomiyaki to name a couple) , kuro sato, aka, black sugar isn’t on the list. Okinawa has the honor of being known for black sugar. Many kurosato ame (black sugar candies) producers make sure Okinawa is prominently displayed on the candy’s packaging as a key selling point. What makes Okinawan black sugar so famous, I wonder?

7.) True. Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is made in layers: ingredients, batter, ingredients, batter, etc. All the ingredients for the okonokiyaki are added to the batter for Kansai-style. Most people will argue over how to correctly make okonomiyaki, just like many people argue over to correctly make pizza (St. Louis style “pizza”, is NOT pizza, FYI).

8.) False. While both gari and beni shoga are types of pickled ginger, they differ in taste and creation. Gari is sweet and tart and is made with a sweetened vinegar solution. Beni shoga is salty and sour and is made with ume-su (a vinegar made from plums).

9.) True. Castella cakes, cheesecake (chizukeki) and doughnuts (do-natsu), all were originally created overseas and have been given a new twist as lighter, less sweet Japanese variations, aka yogashi.

10.) False. Close but no wagashi. While most Japanese sweets are made with mochi flour (-ko), ohagi and botamochi are made using mochi goma (whole glutinous rice).

11.) False. Kabocha is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, which also includes in its ranks, pumpkins and gourds. Kabocha is also known to the world as “Japanese pumpkin”, not Japanese potato.

12.) True. In the Yubari region, melons, similar to honeydew and cantaloupe, are precisely cultivated and can sell for over $100, depending on their quality. Watermelons also fetch upwards to $25, for an average melon. Unlike Americans who groan at the thought of receiving a fruit gift basket, Japanese consider high quality fruit to be an excellent gift idea. $100 for a melon, or $100 for some Godiva? I guess it depends on where you’re from…

13.) True. Tsubushi-an is a chunky, whole bean variety of anko (sweetened adzuki bean paste) and koshi-an is a smooth, refined, sweetened bean paste. Both are used in making wagashi.

14.) False. A suribachi is one part of the Japanese mortar and pestle. The mortar (suribachi) is made from ceramic and has fine ridges on the inside. The pestle, called a surikogi, is made from wood. Suribachi and surikogi are used to grind sesame seeds and to make pastes. Making dashi no moto (seaweed and bonito broth) does not require the use of a mortar and pestle.

15.) False. Thank the Portuguese for tempura. The Portuguese originally brought over fried foods to Japan in the 1600’s. The Japanese term “tempura” is derived from Quator Tempora, “the four times”, which were days the Portuguese missionaries abstained from eating meat. During these fasting days, the Portuguese would eat fried seafood and vegetables instead of other meats. The Japanese adopted this practice of frying foods, and tempura became popular in the 1700’s as a snack food.

16.) True. Daifuku- Japanese sweet cakes made from pounded glutinous rice and traditionally filled with sweet bean paste- are made with all manner of fillings these days. Melon daifuku is a combination of all things good: Gooey rice and sweet melon.

17.) False. Matcha is actually quite pricey compared to other teas. It’s a powdered green tea traditionally used in the chanoyu, (Japanese tea ceremony) but is also used to color and flavor mochi, noodles and ice cream.

18.) True. Marron is French for chestnut and the Japanese have adopted the word into their food term repertoire. Kuri, is the Japanese word for chestnut, however.

19.) True. Kanten, aka, agar agar, is used in a variety of sweets but is also is part of a modern diet fad in Japan. Since kanten has zero calories and is high in fiber, many Japanese eat it as a weight loss food. People who’ve been on the kanten diet claim it’s helped them lose pesky pounds they weren’t able to prior to the diet.

20.) False. Satsumaimo, sweet potatoes, are in season during the fall months, not the summer months.

21.) False. Although yatsuhashi is a type of miyagegashi (souvenir sweet), it’s place of origin is Kyoto, not Nagano. Yatsuhashi is a wagashi made either baked and formed into shingles, or is uncooked and formed into triangles and filled with bean paste. Both variations of yatsuhashi are flavored with cinnamon, or sometimes ginger.

22.) True. Soba noodles must have at least 30% of their bulk composed of buckwheat flour to be considered soba.

23.) True. Abura age, fried tofu pouches, are much coveted by mischievous kitsune (fox spirits).

24.) False. Hijiki, wakame and kombu are all seaweed used in Japanese cooking. Wakame is most commonly used in miso soup and kombu is integral to dashi, which in turn is integral to many Japanese meals.

25.) True. Mushi means “steam”. Sake mushi and chawan mushi are both examples of steamed dishes.

26.) False. Shoyu is “soy sauce” and the Japanese use soy sauce in just about everything. Japanese use soy sauce in a similar manner Westerners use salt: to cook and to season foods with.

27.) True. Much like Western healthy eating concepts which state to eat multiple colors of food to stay fit, the Japanese believe that eating much in the same manner at every meal will ensure good health. “Black” foods also encompass foods which are brown or purple.

28.) True. Udon are popular noodles used in a variety of dishes. They’re fairly hefty and very filling.

29.) False. Kinako is roasted whole soy bean flour. It has a nutty flavor similar to peanut powder but is sweeter than peanut powder. Kinako is a popular wagashi ingredient.

30.) False. The Japanese practice “hara hachi bu“: eating until you are 80% full, not 60%.

Fall is that time of year when the weather cools down, the leaves turn vibrant colors, and stores try to come up with inventive ways to market pumpkin in all its glory.

So far this year I’ve only seen pumpkin cappuccino, pumpkin coffee creamer (this stuff is not good), pumpkin bark, the obligatory pumpkin pie and pumpkin muffins, and a few other unremarkable pumpkin flavored offerings. Boring and underwhelming. What gives this year?

Once again I must trek to the kitchen to appease my inner pumpkin demon who howls for this seasonal treat to be delivered in a fresh, new way.

Well, silence Pumpkin Demon! I call forth my culinary powers to create Pumpkin Chichi Dango!

Chichi dango is a soft mochi treat traditionally made with coconut milk and baked to a gooey consistency in the oven. I substituted pumpkin and evaporated milk for the coconut milk to make a pumpkin pie flavored dango. It’s easier to make than pumpkin daifuku and has a slightly different consistency than other mochi based wagashi. It’s also a gluten free way to enjoy a seasonal dessert without a lot of the fat!

ingredients

• 1 16 ounce box of mochiko
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 tsp. each of cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. each ginger and allspice
• 1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 2/3 cups evaporated milk
• 1 1/4 cups water
• orange food coloring, optional
• Additional boiling water for water bath

directions

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13″ baking pan.
2.) Sift together mochiko, baking powder, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. Set aside.
3.) Process together brown sugar, vanilla, pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, water and food coloring (if using) on high in a food processor or blender for 15 seconds. Stop and scrape sides. Blend additional 15 seconds. *Note- Processing in this manner helps break down the fiber in the pumpkin and gives the puree a smoother texture.
4.) Blend pumpkin mixture with mochiko mixture by hand till completely combined.
5.) Pour mochiko/ pumpkin mixture into pre-greased pan. Very tightly cover pan with aluminum foil, making sure there are no gaps to let air in.
6.) Place pan in another pan (I used a cookie sheet which had steep sides). Place doubled pans in oven and add boiling water till roasting pan or cookie sheet is full.
7.) Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Cool chichi dango completely.
8.) To cut: Either cut directly in pan with a plastic knife or flip dango onto a potato starch dusted cutting surface and cut with plastic knife. Lightly dust each piece of chichi dango with potato starch. Store in an airtight container in fridge up to eight days (freeze after eight days).

*Note: After about three- four days in the fridge, the dango will harden up slightly; thats normal. Microwave the dango for about five-eight seconds to soften it up, or broil it a few seconds in the oven to toast it.

Pumpkin chichi dango is easier to make than other mochi desserts and tastes just like pumpkin pie. On a side not, it’s interesting that this stuff is called “chichi” (type in chichi). After making and tasting this dessert, which definition of chichi do you think is most applicable? (I’m going with the one at the bottom, first word.)

I liked pumpkin chichi dango because:

• It tasted like pumpkin pie but felt only slightly guilt-inducing
• It was easy to make
• It has great texture.

My only complaint about pumpkin chichi dango is:

• It may be difficult to get a hold of the mochiko for some people.

Make pumpkin chichi dango this fall season and enjoy this new Japanese twist on pumpkin pie!

Difficulty: Easy | Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Easy- Moderate