12月 December in Kanbayashi

We are experiencing  dantou 暖冬 (だんとう), a mild winter, the consequence of el nino elsewhere in the pacific region. The narcissi are blooming, kids are playing outside in t-shirts; it should be snowing by now. While we  appreciate the mild temperature it doesn’t feel quite right, especially when putting out New Year decorations.

 

 

 

Overnight Turnip Pickles

The turnips in Japan are crisp and sweet and come in a creamy white or brilliant magenta pink. The latter make beautiful, colourful pickles that brighten up a winter meal. I like to add the stalks for a little contrast in texture and colour.

Ingredients

• 1 turnip, preferably with stalks attached
• 1/2 tsp salt
• yuzu or lemon zest (optional)

Method

• Wash the turnip and peel if necessary. Wash the stalks week of any grit or dirt.
• Cut the turnip in half, then into quarters.
• Thinly slice into crescents.
• Finely chop the stalks.
• Place in a bowl and add the salt.
• Gently rub the salt into the turnip.
• Leave overnight in the fridge (I have also left this for as little as half an hour).
• Drain most of the liquid but do not squeeze dry, you want the pickles to be moist.
• Add shavings of yuzu or lemon zest.

Keeps for several days in the fridge.

 

Christmas Yule Log

A very rich chocolate roll cake

Ingredients

For the chocolate sponge:

• 4 large eggs (or 5 medium)
• 100g sugar
• 65g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 30g cocoa powder

For the chocolate ganache topping:

• 200ml cream
• 225g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
• Knob of butter

For the cream filling:

• 100ml cream
• 2-3 drops vanilla (optional)
• 10g icing sugar (optional)

Makes 2 small or one large log.

Method

• Heat oven to 190C.

To make the chocolate ganache:

• Break or cut up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl with the butter.
• Heat the cream till it starts to boil and then pour over the chocolate and mix until all the chocolate has melted.
• Leave to cool in the fridge for 1 hour.

To make the chocolate sponge:

• Butter and line the base and sides of a Swiss roll tin with baking parchment.
• Separate the eggs into two large mixing bowls.
• Add the sugar and 2 tbsp water to the egg yolks.
• Whisk the sugar and yolks together 
• Sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa, and then fold in lightly.
• Using a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until they are stiff, then fold into the cake mixture in 3 batches.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, and carefully spread to the edges.
• Bake for 10-12 mins, or until the cake feels firm to the touch.
• Put a large sheet of baking parchment on a chopping board.
• Turn the cake out and cover with a sheet of baking parchment, while still warm roll loosely then leave to cool.

To make the cream filling:

• Whip the cream (and vanilla and icing sugar if using) in a bowl until stiff.

To assemble the roll cake: 

• Carefully unroll the cake, and peel off the paper but leave one sheet underneath.
• Spread the cream filling over the top.
• Roll up the cake again using the paper to help you.
• Cover the cake with the chocolate ganache.
• Use a fork to create a bark effect.
• Transfer to a serving plate. Just before serving dust with a little icing sugar to look like snow.

Put a spring of holly on top – thanks to one of the participants for bringing  some on the day. I haven’t seen holly in Japan…

Simmered Daikon with Miso and Sesame

Slow cooking daikon radish renders it tender and slightly sweet. It lends itself well to strong flavours to complement its subtle taste. My favourite is sweet white miso and sesame.

Ingredients 

• 1 daikon radish
• Sweet white miso
• 2-3 tsp sesame seeds        

Method

• Peel the daikon and cut into 2cm thick slices
• Lightly score the surface with a criss-cross pattern; this helps the daikon cook quicker
• Put in a pan with plenty of water and cook until soft
• Place a piece for each person in a small bowl, spread a thin layer of miso on top (or leave in a round as in the photo)
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds

 

冬至 A Japanese Winter Solstice

One of the lovely things of living in Japan is experiencing the many seasonal traditions throughout the year. Until this year I hadn’t heard of the customs surrounding the winter solstice or toji. 

From tomorrow the days become longer, so the sun is said to be reborn on this day. While the evenings become lighter the weather in Japan gets colder from now on so the practices associated with the solstice are to warm up the body and take care of our health. 

It’s common to eat simmered kabocha, Japanese pumpkin, and toji-gayu or winter solstice rice porridge. Pumpkins are supposed to ward off colds; they are a good source of beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, which is not surprising given their bright orange colour. The brown rice porridge is slow cooked with red adzuki beans and garnished simply with gomashio, salt and sesame.  

After our pumpkin and rice, we had a long soak in a yuzu-yu. Yuzu, small citrus fruit, are added to a hot bath to release their aromatic oils. I`ve never seen yuzu back home, and they are one of my favourite Japanese ingredients. The taste and aroma is a cross between a lemon, grapefruit and mandarin and they are mainly used as a condiment. Yuzu are also heavenly in the bath.  

The Japanese believe that yuzu has a warming effect on the body and helps improve blood circulation, relieve skin conditions and eliminate toxins. It is said that if you take a yuzu bath on the solstice you won’t catch a cold all winter. We’ll have to see about that one. 

Finally we settled down with our children to read some stories together by candlelight, not a Japanese custom as far as I know but a special end to a peaceful, restorative evening.