02.13.10
Posted in Culture, Japan, Japanese sweets at 4:13 pm by jflairhomestyles
It’s cold, snowy, rainy…. Whatever the winter weather may be in your area, the cold air makes you want to cuddle up in a blanket at home, right? If you can get one thing to complete the coziness, what would it be? For me, it’s Oshiruko! It’s a typical Japanese dessert for winter and it’s sweet azuki (red bean) soup with mochi (rice cake). I know it sounds weird, but it’s very good! I made it again this year, and it brought back some memories from my sweet home, Japan. For mochi, you can either use regular mochi or shiratama-dango. (see “Mochie Feast” from last year’s article for mochi.) Shiratama-dango is a small mochi ball and made out of rice flour – shiratama-ko. I like Shiratama for my Oshiruko experience and here is how I make it.
(You’ll notice when reading below that I don’t provide a recipe with the exact portion of each ingredient. That’s because I’ve never followed recipes so I don’t have them…. I think experimenting with ingredients and flavors are the fun part of cooking. You may get disappointed with a first try like I always have, but I think you’ll improve your sense of curiosity that way. )
Shiratama Dango
It’s very easy to make shiratama dango. The rice flour you need to make this dango is not fine powdery flour. It’s rougher and larger texture and usually in a small 150g bag. A Japanese grocery store should have them.
Just put about a half bag (5-7 servings) of the flour into a bowl and pour water a little by little until you get a “play dough” consistency. The dough cannot be too sticky to your hands like mochi texture. If it gets like this, just add more flour to it. Once you make the dough, make a small 3/4″ ball. Press the middle with your finger to make a “belly” and make it a little flatter.
Put the dango balls into boiled water (medium heat). Once they start to float on the top, they’re ready to get scoped up. You can then eat them with anko, kinako (roasted soy bean powder and sugar mixture from “Mochi Feast”), ice cream or whatever you like.
Oshiruko Soup Base
Cook azuki beans like any other beans until they’re tender – soaking in water overnight helps to cook faster. The only additional step is to drain the water after it’s boiled to remove the bitter taste, and replace with fresh water. Don’t worry about how much water you need right now. The beans will soak up most of the water as you cook and you’ll end up adding more later.
Once the beans are done, add sugar to your liking and a little bit of salt. These are the only ingredients, so play around with your sugar until you get what you want. You cook for an hour or longer at low heat after adding the sugar so that all the water on the top gets dark and azuki color. Some people like more beans and others like more soup. If you like more of the soup part, add water and adjust your sugar. As I like seeing and tasting beans, beans occupy about 2/3 or more of my oshiruko portion.
And finally serve the oshiruko in a small bowl and add shiratamko. A cup of green tea will make your Japanese dessert experience complete!
So, what’s your comforting dessert??
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03.26.09
Posted in Culture, Japan, New Products, Trend, noren at 5:17 pm by jflairhomestyles
Noren have been around in Japan for a long time. They’re made out of fabric and were initially used as signage for stores. When a store is open, Noren is placed up in front of the store and taken away when it’s closed. They come in various sizes, colors and designs. They are usually short and narrow, and hang over your head. You tend to lower your head or put your hand up to keep it away from your face when you enter a store.
Nowadays, people use long Noren inside of their house usually between rooms. By hanging between door frames, you can hide your kitchen or bedroom from your guests. Or a beautifully designed Noren can be used to accent your hallway. At some restaurants, they use Noren as wall art to accent a bare wall or for use on the pathway to the restroom area. Modern Noren come in various fabric textures, but are usually hemp for interior use. Of course, cotton is used as an inexpensive alternative, but the hemp Noren gives you a more soothing and relaxing atmosphere and an authentic look because of the texture.
Here at J Flair, we have selected Hemp Norens that are popular in Japan. We hope you’ll enjoy our collection!
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01.13.09
Posted in Japan, New Products, Tea at 9:04 pm by jflairhomestyles
Holiday is finally over and what is your next big thing to look forward to? Your body must be tired from traveling or entertaining your guests during the holiday. Now it’s time to indulge yourself! The outside is still cold and you want to warm up with a cup of tea, but no cute cups for your delicious tea bags you got for Christmas? Well, we have something for you!
This Heart Shape Tea Cup and Saucer is nothing like you have seen before. It’s light and has delicate designs. When you pour tea, the heart shape becomes clear. You can just stare at the designs from the top and enjoy the smell of of Earl Grey (or your favorite drink). You can also enjoy the natural fragrance in the steam coming out of the tea cup.
I promise that you will rush into a kitchen once you see this beautiful Heart Shaped Tea Cup. My favorite time to sip a cup of tea is late afternoon. My stomach seems to know the schedule and it would crave for something warm around 3-4pm. Yes, we are all busy, but we need to take good care of ourselves before we take care of others. It’s also a perfect gift for Valentine’s Day!
Speaking of which, my little tea cup is calling my name….
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01.04.09
Posted in Culture, Greetings, Japan, New Products at 9:01 pm by jflairhomestyles
Happy New Year, everyone!
Hope you had wonderful holidays with your friends and family. We sure did! We ate a lot of good food with our friends, but missed Osechi (New Year’s special meal) for the Japanese New Year (Oshogatsu). Oshogatsu is my favorite event in Japan, but I’ve not been able to celebrate it in Japan for years. I’ll look forward to the time when I can in the future…
Yes, putting all of the Christmas decorations away can be sad, but what about replacing them with something unique this year? We recommend Red Beko to put near the entry or in the living room. 2009 is the year of the cow and it’s a perfect way to acknowledge and celebrate this year. You can also place a Kokeshi doll in a bookshelf or on an end table. It gives a unique accent. You can place those decorative items on a Silk Tea Mat to make it stand out more. It will look very elegant for sure!
Other small decorative items to dress up your rooms are Yamada Heiando Collections . Jewelry boxes or even paper weights can be used as decorations around your home. Put all of your Christmas cards you received from your friends and family in an Akikusa Letter Box and put it on a coffee table. You can share them with your guests for great conversation topics.
Did you take a lot of pictures during holidays? Show them off in Japanese fabric picture frames. Because the fabric is so pretty, it will draw everyone’s attention! You can place a gold leaf mouse pad (made from real gold) on a plate stand and it can be used as beautiful gold art.
Enjoy!
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12.18.08
Posted in Culture, Japan, holidays at 3:40 pm by jflairhomestyles
The holiday season starts from the Thanksgiving day and the whole country gets decorated with beautiful Christmas decorations in the U.S.
In Japan, we didn’t traditionally celebrate Christmas. It was introduced about 450 years ago, but the concept didn’t really flourish until 1900 when one of Japanese grocery stores used it for a commercialized purpose. Not many people in Japan may know about the meaning of Christmas or how it started, and we spend Christmas as more like a giving gifts time.
Christmas is more important for a couple than a family in Japan. I don’t know why, but for some reason, it’s a HUGE deal to spend time with someone special on Christmas eve if you’re not married. Many restaurants are packed with couples for romantic meals on Christmas Eve.
As a child, I remember getting excited about a Christmas western dinner on Christmas Eve. A typical Christmas meal in Japan consisted of chickens and a white strawberry short cake. The recipe of a whole chicken was passed on from my mom’s American friends, and that has become our traditional Christmas dish in my family. Considering a typical Japanese meal is rice, miso soup, and fish, this western feast was something to look forward to for a year at least in my family.
Christmas is my favorite event in the U.S. The decorations, songs, and spirits make everyone happy. I still cook chicken for Christmas in my home in N.C to cherish my memories of my dearest family in Japan.
This year, I’ll get to share that special day and meals with some of Japanese friends who are away from their families in Japan.
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