Hello everyone,

I hope u have tried and enjoyed our feb issue recipes.
The month of March is my birthday month soo
I am gonna give you a few of my favourites from Japan.
This is what I am going to be having on my birthday,

The night before we are having

ENTREE

Tempura
- deep fried seafood and vegetables in a light batter
Tempura is deep fried vegetable or seafood,
which is commonly eaten in Japan.
If you know some tips,
it's not so hard to make delicious tempura at home.
All ingredients can be found easily at your local grocery stores.
Actually, you can make tempura with almost anything.
My favourites for tempura are
kumara (sweetpotato)pumpkin and carrots
Seafood favourites
are king prawns fish n squid

Sashimi
- Sashimi is thinly sliced, raw seafood.
Many different kinds of fish (and other types of seafood)
are served raw in the Japanese cuisine.
Of course, the fish has to be as fresh as possible.
Sashimi can be eaten just as sashimi or as nigiri zushi,
in which case the sashimi piece is put on top of a small ball of sushi rice.
I personally use snapper, tuna and johndory

Sushi
-In Japanese cuisine,
sushi indicates dishes that use sushi rice,
which is seasoned with a sweet vinegar mixture.
Although you can make sushi without using any fish/rawfish,
many kinds of fish and different vegetables n beef chicken pork even
are used in sushi dishes.

MAIN

Tonkatsu
- breaded deep-fried pork.
Ton means pork in Japanese.
If you use chicken for this dish,
it's called chicken-katsu.
You can also use beef
and make beef-katsu.

Chicken tatsuta
-Deep fried chicken
Tatsuta indicates a way of cooking,
which is a type of deep frying.
After marinating meat/fish,
Sprinkle with Japanese katakuri-ko
(dogtooth violet starch or ordinary cornflour)
before frying.
Chicken tatsuta is called tori no tatsuta-age.
Tori indicates chicken and age means deep frying in Japanese.
Tatsuta-age dishes are often cooked with pork or mackerel as well.

Tonkatsu sauce
Tonkatsu sauce can be purchased at supermarkets or online stores.
If it's not available,
mix any steak sauce or Worcester sauce with some ketchup.
Also, lemon and karashi(Japanese mustard) usually accompany tonkatsu.

Shredded cabbage
It's important to soak cabbage slices
in cold water or put in fridge a couple of hours.
Then, drain well before serving.

Rice is plentiful through out the meal.

DESSERT
Rare cheese cake
- japanese style cheese cake
Non-baked cheesecakes are called "rare cheese cake" in Japan.
These types of cold cheesecakes are served with fresh fruits or fruit sauces.
You don't have to use oven to make a rare cheesecake.

Fresh Fruit
A plater of fresh fruit in season

RECIPES

TEMPURA
Ingredients
-1/4 of a Pumpkin,
1 kumara,
2 carrots
12 king prawns deveined with heads taken off
2 fillets of fish of choice
Prepare the ingredients.
(Cut into 1/4 to 3/4 inch in thickness.
Make tempura batter.
Ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup ice water
1 cup all purpose flour
Preparation:
Beat an egg in a bowl.
Add ice water in the bowl.
*Be sure to use very cold water.
Add flour in the bowl and mix lightly.
*Do not overmix the batter.
Heat vegetable oil
in a deep pan to 340-350F degree.
Lightly dip ingredients in the batter
and immediately fry them until brown.
It takes longer to fry vegetables than to fry seafood.
Drain tempura on a rack.
Serve right away with
Tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce) or salt.
Tempura is best served hot.

DIPPING SAUCE
Ingredients:
1/4cup sake
1/4cup mirin(sweetened sake)
1/4cup soy sauce
11/2 cup water
15g flaked dried bonito
If mirin is not available, you can use sugar instead.
Preparation
1.In a saucepan combine:sake, mirin, soy sauce and water.
2.Bring to boiling: stir until all ingredients mixed well.
3.When it starts to boil, add flaked dried bonito,
wait 2 or 3 seconds, then turn off the grill.
4.Leave it 2 or 3 minutes and then filter it.
Serve warm with Momiji-oroshi(grated white radish)
or grated ginger or both, if you wish.

SASHIMI
Ingredients
-Raw fish
Kikoman soya sauce
Wasabi (green mustard)
Prepare the fish
Make sure the fish u purchase are fresh
We usually use snapper,tuna and salmon
Clean the fish well then fillet the fish and skin.
Make sure u take all bones off the fish
Starting from the tail end slice thin slices of fish on an angle
As u get to the wider end of the fish I usually just cut the fish in half lengthwise
that makes the slices smaller and soo u can make the slices thicker
Place the slices onto a plate or platter and server with soya sauce n wasabi.

SUSHI RICE
Ingredients
3 cups Japanese-style rice
3 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Preparation
After washing the rice well, cook it by pan or rice cooker.
See how to cook Japanese rice under steamed rice
Prepare sushi vinegar (sushi-zu) by mixing rice vinegar,
sugar and salt in a small pan.
Put the pan on low heat and cook until the sugar dissolves.
Cool the vinegar mixture.
Spread the cooked hot rice into a large plate
(if you have it, use a wooden bowl called sushi-oke) by spatula.
Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and fold
the rice by shamoji very quickly.
*Be careful not to smash the rice.
To cool and remove the moisture of the rice well,
use a fan as you mix sushi rice.
This will give sushi rice a shiny look.
It's best to use it right away.
As the taste of sushi depends on how well the rice is cooked,
it's important to make the rice properly.
People become regulars to a sushi bar
because the taste of sushi rice is suitable to them.
Tips I have picked up for Making Sushi Rice
Add vinegar mixture to the rice when the rice is still hot.
Cool the rice quickly using a fan so that it will look shiny.
Use a spatula to mix the rice, using a cut and fold motion
so that you don't smash the rice grains.
Now that you have made your rice you can start on makin sushi
Different types of sushi
There are many different types of sushi.
My favourites are :
Nigiri - Small balls of sushi rice with fish, etc. on top.
Norimaki - Sushi rice and seafood, etc.
rolled in dried seaweed sheets.
There are countless varieties of sushi rollsdiffering in ingredients and thickness.
Sushi rolls prepared "inside out" are very popular outside of Japan,
Temakizushi - (literally: hand rolls) are cones made
of nori seaweed and filled with sushi rice, seafood and vegetables

TONKATSU
INGREDIENTS:
4 pork loin chop with bone out
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4-1/2 cup flour
1-2 eggs
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for frying
PREPARATION:
Cut the edge of pork chops in several places.
I usually pound the pork lightly
usin the serated end of a meat cleaver
IT gives the pork a patterned look
and makes it not tuff when cooked
Sprinkle salt and pepper on the pork.
Coat pork lightly with flour
Dip the pork in beaten egg.
Coat pork well with panko bread crumbs.
Fry the pork in 320F oil for a few min.
Turn over the pork chops and fry a few more min.
Take out the pork and put them on a paper towel to drain the oil.
Cut each tonkatsu into small pieces.
**Serve shredded cabbage and tonkatsu sauce with tonkatsu

CHICKEN TATSUTA
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. chicken thigh (deboned) 3 tbsps soy sauce
2 tbsps sake
3 tbsps mirin
2 tsps fresh ginger juice
1/3 cup corn starch/flour/Japanese katakuriko starch
vegetable oil for frying
PREPARATION:
Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces.
Peel ginger and grate it,
then squeeze it to take some juice.
Mix saysauce, mirin, sake, and ginger juice in a bowl.
Marinate chicken pieces in the sauce for 30min - an hr.
Take out chicken from the sauce and pat lightly with paper towels.
Preheat oil in 330 F in a deep pan.
Lightly dust chicken with flour/corn starch and fry them.
When chicken pieces are cooked well, remove from the pan and drain.
Serve with japanese cucumber and daikon sunomono
and tsukemono (japanese pickles)
*Be careful not to fry in high temperature, since soy sauce tends to burn easily.

STEAMED RICE JAPANESE STYLE
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups Japanese-style rice/medium shortgrain rice
2 1/4 cups water
PREPARATION:
Put the rice in a bowl and wash it with cold water.
Repeat washing until the water becomes clear.
Drain the rice in a colander and set aside.
Place the rice in a pan or rice cooker and add water.
The amount of water used is just a little more than the amount of rice.
Let the rice soak in the water at least 30 min One hour is ideal.
*If you are cooking the rice in a pan,
cover the pan with a lid and bring to a boil with hight heat.
Turn the heat down very low and cook about 15-20 min.
until the water is almost gone.
Remove the pan from the heat and let it steam for 10-15 min.
Using a fork fluff the rice before serving.
*If you are using an electric rice cooker,
you don't have to worry about adjusting the heat.
You still need to let the cooked rice steam
before you open the lid and fluff before serving

RARE CHEESECAKE
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup and 2 tbsps plain yogurt
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsps lemon juice
1 tbsp powder gelatine
1/4 cup water
For Crust:
1 cup crushed graham crackers
3 tbsps butter & 1 tbsp sugar
I use griffins round wine biscuitss
PREPARATION:
Mix powder gelatine and water in a small cup and set aside.
Combine crushed graham crackers, melted butter, and sugar in a bowl.
Press the crumbs into the bottom of a round cake pan (8 inch).
Stir cream cheese in a bowl until soften.
Put water and gelatine mixture into microwave and heat for a min.
Add yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, and gelatine into softened cream cheese and mix well.
Pour the filling into the crust and spread evenly.
Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnite.
Serve with your favorite fruit or jam.

FRESH FRUIT PLATTER
Ingredients
1 pawpaw (papaya)
1 punnet strawberries
1 bunch green seedless grapes
1 bunch red seedless grapes
watermelon
Preparation
Peel n cut in half scoup out seeds of the pawpaw
cut lengthwise into slices arrange on platter
wash strawberries arrange whole on platter
was grapes n arrange on platter
cut the watermelon in half crosswise then half again
cut into slices n arrrange on platter
You can use any fruit u want.
DIP FOR FRESH FRUIT
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sour cream
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2-1 tsp. almond flavoring (to taste)
Mix above together. Refrigerate.
(Wonderful on strawberries, pineapple, apples and any other fresh fruit.)
Hot Fudge Chocolate Topping can be used with this too.
The fruit is great dipped in the cream cheese dip, then the chocolate.

BREAKFAST

The recipes below is what I will be having for my birthday breakfast
and is my absolute favourite kind of breakfast
In my family we have a tradition that on your birtday
You can choose any type of breakfast you want and in
the evening we have a family dinner
I choose japanese and prefer the tonkatsu cooked the day before
soo my birthday dinner is always the night before my birthday
On my birthday I have katsudon and bacon for breakfast
I hope you will try this n enjoy it as much as I do
Everything will be served at once soo I will be having:

KATSUDON
Katsudon is Japanese pork cutlet (tonkatsu) rice bowl.
INGREDIENTS:
4 cup steamed Japanese rice
4 pieces tonkatsu
1 onion
2 cups dashi soup stock
5 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
4 eggs
PREPARATION:
Cut tonkatsu pork into strips crosswise keepin shape of tonkatsu
then cut down the middle lengthwise and slice onion.
If u like me and do your tonkatsu in small pieces
then just add the tonkatsu pieces as is
Put dashi soup stock in a pan on medium heat.
Add soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in the pan.
Put tonkatsu pieces in the pan and simmer on low heat for a few min.
Add onion to the pan and simmer a few more min.
Beat eggs in a bowl.
Bring the soup to a boil, then pour the eggs over tonkatsu and onion
Turn the heat down to low and put on a lid.
After one min, turn off the heat.
Put steamed rice in a deep bowl,
then place the simmered tonkatsu on top of the rice.

MISO SOUP WITH TOFU
The most popular soup in Japanese cuisine is miso soup.
Most typical Japanese-style meals include a cup of miso soup.
Miso soup is seasoned by miso, soy bean paste.
Making miso soup is the basic of Japanese cooking.
INGREDIENTS:
3 1/3 cups dashi soup stock
1/2 tofu
3-4 tbsps miso paste
1/4 cup chopped green onion
PREPARATION:
Put dashi soup stock in a pan and bring to a boil.
Cut tofu into small cubes and add them to the soup.
Scoop out some soup stock from the pan and dissolve miso in it.
Return the soup in the pan. Stop the heat and add chopped green onion.
Remember not to boil the soup after you put miso in.

Below are some recipes for japanese pickles which are served at meal times
Japanese pickles are called tsukemono.
TSUKEMONO
[soo-keh-MOH-noh] The general name for Japanese-style pickled vegetables,
which are served with practically every Japanese meal, breakfast included.
There are numerous pickling techniques and
a wide variety of vegetables that are pickled.
HAKUSAI TSUKEMONO
Hakusai is a type of cabbage rich in pottassium n calcium
INGREDIENTS:
2 heads Hakusai/Chinese cabbage
3% (of the weight of cabbage) salt
PREPARATION:
Wash hakusai or Chinese cabbage.
Cut the cabbage into 6 pieces lengthwise.
Sprinkle salt over Chinese cabbage.
Put salt at the bottom of a barrel.
Pack Chinese cabbage in the barrel and sprinkle salt.
Place another layer of Chinese cabbage and sprinkle salt.
Repeat the process.
Put a lid and place a weight on top of the lid.
Pickles should be ready to eat in two days.

GARI - PICKLED GINGER

Pickled ginger is called gari in Japanese.
Pickled ginger is served with sushi.
Try to eat pieces of pickled ginger between different kinds of sushi.
It helps to clean your mouth and enhance the flavors.
INGREDIENTS:
2 large ginger roots
1 cup rice wine vinegar
5-7 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
PREPARATION:
Peel the ginger root.
Cut the ginger into medium-sized pieces and salt it.
Leave the ginger in a bowl for 30 min. Put the ginger into a jar.
Mix rice vinegar and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil.
Pour the hot mixture of vinegar and sugar on the ginger.
Cool, then cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator.
In a week, the ginger change its color to light pink.
Slice thinly to serve.
The pickled ginger lasts about a month in the fridge.
TAKUAN TSUKEMONO

Takuan is a popular and traditional pickle in Japan.
It is made from daikon radish.
In addition to being served alongside
other types of tsukemono in traditional Japanese cuisine,
takuan is also enjoyed at the end of meals because
it is thought to aid digestion.
The finished takuan is usually yellowish,
although most mass-produced takuan rely
on food coloring for this effect. INGREDIENTS:
dried daikon radish
15% (of the weight of daikon) nuka (rice bran)
6% (of the weight of daikon) salt
PREPARATION:
To make dried daikon, hang daikon outside for 2 weeks.
Mix nuka with salt.
Put nuka mixture at the bottom of a barrel.
Place daikon on the nuka. Cover the daikon with nuka.
Place another layer of daikon.
Cover the daikon with nuka again.
Repeat the process one or two more times.
Put a lid and place a weight on top of the lid.
Pickles should be ready to eat in a month.

DAIKON RADISH
NAMASU TSUKEMONO

Namasu is one of Japanese New Year's food
and is daikon radish pickles
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound daikon radish
1/4 pound carrot
1 cup dashi soup stock
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp sake
PREPARATION:
Cut the carrot and radish into thin slices.
Put a pinch of salt over the slices and leave for 20 min.
Rinse the slices and drain well.
Put vinegar, soup stock, sugar, and sake in a pan and bring to boil.
Mix the daikon and carrot slices and vinegar mixture.
Cool it before serving.
NUKAZUKE TSUKEMONO
Nukazuke is Japanese pickle,
which vegetables are pickled in nuka (rice bran.)
Almost any edible vegetable may be pickled through this technique,
though traditional varieties include
eggplant, Japanese radish (daikon), cabbage, and cucumber.
They are often eaten at the end of a meal
and are said to aid in digestion. The lactobacillus in nukazuke pickles
may be a beneficial supplement to the intestinal flora.
They are also high in vitamin B1 .
INGREDIENTS:
2 lb nuka (rice bran)
1/4 lb salt
2 1/2 cup water
*suitable vegetables: eggplant, cucumber, cabbage, radish, and more.
PREPARATION:
Mix nuka, salt, and water in a large bowl and stir well.
Put the nuka mixture in a earthenware pot with a lid.
Add some vegetable peels in the nuka mixture and leave for two days.
Remove vegetable peels.
Stir the nuka once a day and wait a week to be ready.
This nuka mixture should last long time for making pickles.
Add nuka and salt as needed.
Nuka mixture must be stired by hands everyday.
In summer, it's best to keep it in the fridge.
Rub some salt in your favorite vegetables
and bury in the nuka mixture for a day.
Remove vegetables and wash out nuka before serving.

PLATE OF TSUKEMONO

**I have made tsukemono from scratch before and its is very simple and easy.
For convenience the shop bought tsukemono is ideal
Any type of tsukemono can be bought at any asian food store.

**Dashi soup stock can be bought in asian food stores or
you can make your own.
There are a variety of dashi soup stock.
They are used daily in japanese households
If you cant find dashi soup stock or is too lazy to maake your own,
I personally use soup conssome or chicken stock but
it isnt as good as when you use dashi.
Below is a popular soup stock in japanese homes and is best for miso soup.

NIBOSHI DASHI
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 oz dried sardines
3 1/3 cup water
PREPARATION:
Gut niboshi and remove the head.
Put niboshi in water in a pan and soak for 30 minutes to one hour.
Put the pan on low heat and bring to a boil.
Let it boil for a couple minutes, then stop the heat.
Strain the broth.
*This dashi is often used for miso soup.

JAPANESE ETTIQUETTE

If you eat Japanese food at home,it's not necessary to know Japanese customs and etiquette,
but if you eat it at a Japanese persons home,
you should know how to behave without offending your host.

Prior to eating, the phrase "ita da ki masu" may be used, meaning -
"I humbly receive." "May I begin?" "It looks/smells wonderful; I am beginning."

Do not stick your chopsticks upright into your food,
especially in your rice bowl as this is the way of offering rice to the dead.

Do not grab your chopsticks in the palm of your hand as you would grab a stick.
This is how a sword is handled.

If there isn't a spoon or large serving chopsticks,
you may use the clean top ends of your chopsticks.
These ends never go into your mouth once
you have decided to use the other ends to eat with.

It is Japanese custom to make some slurping noises
while eating foods such as noodles in soup.
It is a sign of appreciation to your host or the cook.
Soups are also slurped which makes it easier to eat hot foods.

It is proper to lift small bowls of rice or soup to your mouth in order to eat.
Once at your mouth, you may use your chopsticks to get solid things inside your mouth
such as rice or the seaweed in miso soup.

Never blow your nose at the table.

After eating, the phrase "go chiso sama deshita" may be used, meaning -
"Thank you", "It was a treat or a special meal", "Thank you for cooking - for paying)".

In closing, remember that Japanese meals are prepared in a very tradional way,
and the presentation of the food is as important as the preparation.

Ita da ki masu!

In closin I would like to thank:
dusty_version3
for makin me look further afield for the pics on the page
badd_attitude
For providing me with music,
For editing my page,
Helpin me with The Japanese Ettiquette
Without their help my cooking corner this month wouldnt look as pretty