HAPPY NEW YEAR, though belated!!

Got a deadline of my PhD thesis correction on 31st January. So I needed to stay away from my blog. I shall powerfully post other dishes, including Christmas Leftover series after I submit it!!

In Japan, family gather up along with a festive cuisine called 'Osechi' on New Year's Day (1st January). Likewise Christmas in Europe, New Year's Day is very important for family in Japan. I tried some of them.

• Datemaki (right top): sweet omelette with fish paste 
• Kuri-Kinton (right bottom): sweet mushed potato with chestnut
• Namaru (left bottom): pickled radish and carrot with sesame seeds
• and salmon sashimi with ikura marinated with soy sauce and sake. 

 I also made Ebi-shinjo (right), a steamed shrimp paste with enoki mushroom.

Though not osechi, the main dish was roast lamb from Ginger Pig served with mashed parsnip with lemon sauce.

Ozoni, soup dish with shimmered veggies is essential for the Japanese New Year's Day. The contents is varied to region to region. This is my mom's style of Tokyo (?).

Datemaki

Ingredients:

• 5 Large eggs 
• 4 tablespoons of sugar
• 2.5 tablespoons of mirin
• 120g of red-snapper or sea bass or hanpen (japanese fish cake) (this time, I used  60g of hanpen and 60g of sea bass)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• Vegetable oil (for baking)

*I referred the recipe of Yoko Arimoto, a Japanese cookery teacher

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients in a mixer for 1 min

2. Heat up a large frying pan or a shallow pan over medium temperature. Grease the bottom and side with vegetable oil. Pour the datemaki batter into the pan then close it with a lid

3. Cook it for 25 mins over minimum temperature. Pierce the middle part of datemaki with a toothpick. If nothing comes with the pick when it is taken out, it's the sign that datemaki is ready 

4. Place datemaki immediately over a scroll. Cut the two opposite sides parallelling to the sides of the scroll. Place cut pieces in the front side 

5. Roll up datemaki from the front to the end tightly

6. Bind dakemaki with rubber bands and rest it at least over night. The process 4.-6. should be done while the datemaki is warm

7. Slice datemaki to serve with soy sauce and wasabi. It lasts 4-5 days in the fridge.

Total cost: 4-5 pounds. Depends on the price of fish and other ingredients
Time to prepare: 40 mins

Thank you for reading my blog!!

Best wishes for 2013!!