Sourdough Ann pan - あんぱん -

It's time for another Japanese bread, people!

Being away from home-home I do miss Japanese style breads, after all these slightly sweet small buns are what I grew up with...

So, today, it's Ann Pan! These sweet buns filled with sweet azuki bean paste have already appeared on my blog a few times before. It's, without a doubt, one of my favourite Japanese bread.

Recipe for Sourdough Ann Pan or Ann Pan with dried yeast.

I put as much Annko as possible inside, possibly I got a bit too excited. Some of the buns got erupted, but I  still like the way they look anyway. ;)

I also made a XL Ann Pan with leftover dough.

(Not the sweet dough but simple white one...).

It's difficult to see from the photo but it was bigger than my palm. ;D

If there is any Japanese bread that you have heard of, seen, or eaten before and want to know a recipe of it, let me know about it! I'll try it out in the WOS kitchen and share the recipe with you. :)

Happy New Year! -2014-

Happy New Year, every one! Wishing you all an awesome year ahead!

Are you a sort of person who makes New Year's resolutions? I don't really do a massive 'to do list' but there are some new thing that I want to try as well as things that I am determined to improve this year! And one of them is to learn a traditional Japanese confectionery called "和菓子 (Wagashi)", which is a very delicate and pretty looking sweet, and most importantly it's delicious and I love it!

So, I made my first attempt on making Wagashi for New Year's treats. I made mini "鏡餅 (Kagami mochi)" which is one of the traditional Japanese New Year's decorations.

I probably didn't do this in a traditional way but I was quite pleased with my first Wagashi attempt;) It looked super cute;D

I also made some flowers. The inside is white so it's 'Red and White' which is a colour combination used for celebrations in Japan. Good choice for New Year, I thought...

I put my New Year's treats in おせち(Osechi), which is a traditional Japanese New Year's food. Usually you don't have any desserts in Osechi but I couldn't help it...

In one of the boxes there are my wagashi flowers, super light green tea cakes and rum soaked sweet chestnuts... They all went down so well.

2014 is going to be more breads and cake in the WOS kitchen, and I will be sharing more recipes too!

カステラ - Castella

I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted here! It's not I haven't been baking. In fact, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen... but I just don't get much chance to sit down and write nowadays... ;(

Anyway, this is one of my recent hit cakes called 'かすてら(Castella)'. It's a very simple Japanese cake which originally came to Japan from Portugal in 16th century. (History is not my strongest subject so don't ask me anymore please...)

It's a sort of very light sponge cake but I would say it's more like a cross between cake and loaf.

This time I used brown sugar instead of white, then added stem ginger and a bit of rum to give the popular Japanese cake a 'Yumi twist'. ;D

It worked... It was divine...
It filled my Japanese food craving hole in my stomach...

The method of making Castella is pretty similar to a classic sponge cake (cf. my Basic Swiss Roll). However, there are a few important things that make you bake an authentic tasting and looking Castella. For example, you need strong flour not plain, and you bake in a lower temperature for a longer time than a usual cake....
Anyway, all those tips are going to be illustrated on BON APPETIT soon, so just bare with me! ;D

For now, they are the ingredients:

Strong flour 100g

Dark brown sugar 100g

Egg 4

Honey 3tbsp

Stem ginger 30-50g

Rum or water 1 tbsp

Melon Pan with banana yeast - 自家製酵母メロンパン

I've made melon pan so many times both at work and home that I've lost count of it, and eaten even more since I was a little kid. I love melon pan and perfecting my own melon pan is something that I've been trying for a long time.

And finally, I think that day has come! I made melon pan a few days ago, and it was the best melon pan I've ever made! What made me even more proud was that I used my own banana yeast. Baking classic Japanese breads with my own starter is another challenge that I've set myself. So, I'm very happy that not only did these melon pans taste one of the best ever but also came from my yeast (Thanks to my trusted guy, Mr Banana Yeast!)

I feel I'm one step closer to my dream... ;D

Two of my top tasters fighting for one...

Lana loves melon pan too. She decided she wasn't going to share with Andy and had her own one!

Japanese Curry Bread

Last weekend I made these very Japanesey bread buns, Curry bread (we call it カレーパン, Karē Pan.) As it's quite obvious from the name, it's bread with curry sauce inside. It's normally deep fried like a doughnut but I baked mine to make it healthier.

Not only did I put the curry in the middle but also I infused the bread with the sauce in order to get the curry flavour with every mouthful. I used Medium Hot curry sauce and covered the buns with homemade breadcrumbs (by the way, the word 'Panko Breadcrumbs' always makes me chuckle because it's basically saying breadcrumbs breadcrumbs...).

They filled the Japanese hole in my stomach very well. I baked some with mild kids curry for Lana's lunch;) She seemed to like it. :D

Matcha danish pastry with Rum raisin

I love adding a bit of Japan into my breads and pastries. As I was making the pastry dough, I thought why not add a bit of green tea in it... so here we have Matcha Danish pastry!

It worked nicely. The flavour of green tea was there but not overpowering, and it went well with rum raisins.

I tried to reduce as much butter as I could to make it healthier, which worked pretty ok as a Danish pastry. I've made some croissants with the same dough that haven't been baked yet. We'll see how they will come out! I'll share the recipe soon. ;)

Matcha and sweet beans bread

Green tea and sweet beans...This is my ultimate Japanese bread! Some people might already know but I LOVE green tea, and that's definitely a taste of home for me.

I added green tea powder into a soft Japanese style bread dough. Even a small amount of green tea powder is enough to make the dough beautiful green and you will immediately start to smell the distinctive flavour.

I also kneaded in sweet kidney beans to make it proper Japanesey. :)

I finished baking bread just in time for breakfast, and it was simply awesome... The sweet beans were spread nicely and blended with the aromatic green tea flavour so perfectly.

Nothing can beat freshly baked breads and a taste of home...

Ingredients:

Strong flour 245g

Matcha powder 5g

Yeast 3g

Salt 3g

Egg 1 + Milk =200g

Butter 30g

---

Kidney beans 1tin

Brown sugar 50g

---

Egg for glaze

1. Place the beans and sugar in a sauce pan, cover with water, and cook until the water has reduced and become sticky. Cool it aside.

2. Put all the ingredients except butter and cooked beans in the standing mixer, and knead for a few minutes.

3. Add butter and beans. Keep kneading for 10 minutes.

4. Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with cling film and rest it until it has doubled in size.

5. Punch the dough to let the air out. Divide into 10 pieces and make them into balls. Cover with cling film and rest for 10 minutes.

6. Gently reshape the balls into the shape you like and place on a baking tray. Rest until they have doubled in size.

7. Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Egg wash the bread and bake for 15 minutes.

Hinamatsuri. 雛祭り- 2013

Today is Hinamatsuri in Japan which is a day for girls, and this year it meant extra special to me because it's my daughter's first Hinamatsuri. :D

I made these Hinamatsuri dolls for Lana to wish that she becomes a beautiful young lady and has a lot of happiness in her life.

And of course, some Japanese sweets to go with the occasion. I made my take on Ichigo Daifuku. Instead of putting Azuki I put matcha cream in side and put a strawberry on the top (which is much easier than trying to put it in the middle). It's kind of a mix of Japanese and Western. (Oh! that's just like Lana!)

Lana is too young to have the mochi so that is going in mama's belly but she will have the strawberry. ;)

ぜんざい (Zenzai)

When I woke up this morning I found the garden covered with snow! Now I know why it's been so cold... the winter has definitely arrived.

To warm me up I made a Japanese dessert called 'ぜんざい (Zenzai)', which is a sweet soup made with azuki beans. My mum would make it in a cold winter day and I would have a big bowl or two of it with mochi... Humm, feeling a bit nostalgic...

I added a couple of chestnuts that I cooked and soaked in sugar and whisky. It warmed me up nicely and tasted simply amazing:)

源氏パイもどき… (Genji Pie)

There is a snack called 源氏パイ (Genji Pie) in Japan, which is a sweet heart shaped small pie. So..., I made an attempt to create something similar to that with my left over puff pastry. (Have you seen my ultimate apple pie?)

I made long strips of pastry (approximately 1cm x 20cm), sprinkled brown sugar on them, and then rolled each short end so that they meet in the middle.

The pies became a bit thicker than the original 源氏パイ, but they were nicely crisp and tasted quite like it. Not bad... :D

Why not try them next time you have some puff pastry left? ;)

Melon pan

Any Japanese or anyone who is into Japan must know メロンパン(melon pan, which means melon bread). For me Melon Pan is something I've liked since I was a kid and tried so many of them from different shops.

So..., for those who are thinking "what is Melon Pan?'. Although Melon Pan has the word 'melon', it doesn't necessarily means the bread has melon in it, nor even melon flavoured. The reason why it's called 'Melon Pan' is because it looks like a melon. (No? Ok, it does in my eyes anyway...) Usually a sweet bun is topped with biscuit and the biscuit has lines to make the bread look like melon.

In Japan you get all sorts of melon pans such as green tea melon pan, one with custard cream inside..., I've had earl grey flavoured one, mango flavoured one, strawberry, caramel, chocolate..., the list goes on and on....

I'm sure everyone has the one they like. I like the one with crunchy biscuit on top of a nice soft bun. And of course, a freshly baked melon pan is simply too good to resist. :D

黒あん・白あん (Black bean paste, butter bean paste)

As I said on the previous Sesame pudding post, I'm going to share how to make black bean paste (黒あん, Kuro-an).

So..., it's pretty much the same as Azuki but this time I used freshly grated palm sugar.

Ingredients

Dried black beans 250g

Palm sugar (grated) 150g

Salt pinch

Water

1. Soak the beans overnight.

2. Put the beans in a large pot with enough water to cover the beans. Bring it to boil.

3. When the water is boiled, pour the water away and replace with fresh water. Bring it boil again.

4. Turn the heat down. Add sugar and salt. Simmer until the beans are soft.

5. Mash them in the way you like. 

I also made butter bean paste which is called 白あん (Shiro-An). All you need to do is to change the black beans to butter beans and you'll have a nice white bean paste. ;D

Those bean pastes can be used in cakes, puddings, biscuits... but also nice as is... So, I made little Kuro-An balls and Shiro-An balls for my after dinner treat. Yum yum yum;D

ごまプリン (Sesame pudding)

Since Andy is away, I decided to have another Japanese treat for myself. This time, Sesame pudding;)

This Japanese style pudding is super easy to make. In fact it's the same process as the green tea pudding I made the other day but with different ingredients.

I added a couple of table spoon of sesame paste instead of green tea powder and replaced soy milk to water (if you want the pudding to be richer, then using soy milk is perfectly fine). To make the pudding even more Japanesey, I put some black bean paste (I'll post how to make it soon. For now, here is a similar one...Azuki) and dates syrup on top.

....!....!!...!!! This was good! Really good! This is the kind of dessert I could easily have every day. Aah, I'm lucky that I have one more left in the fridge for tomorrow... aah, what a pudding...

Green tea pudding

I haven't had Japanese stuff for a little while and seeing my mum adding a photo of Japanese food on Facebook made me miss a taste of home...

So..., I searched cupboards and found green tea powder that my mum got for me from Japan. Great! Since I have THIS demanding baby in my arms, I decided to make green tea pudding in a super easy way.

Not only is this pudding easy to make but also it doesn't have mike or eggs, so it's good for those who have dietary issues with them. And of course, it's yummy. ;D

The smooth pudding and rich green tea flavour was just what I needed to satisfy my Japanese food craving...

You can use normal milk instead of soy milk if you prefer...;

Green tea powder 1tbsp

Sugar 1tbsp

Soy milk 200g

Corn flour 1 1/2 tbsp

1. Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan and mix well.

2. Cook over a low heat until the mixture thickens.

3. Pour the mixture into a cup. Let it set in the fridge.

お食い初め (Okuizome)

Today we had Lana's 100 days party called "お食い初め (Okuizome)" which is a Japanese tradition where we prepared a special "first meal" for Lana to wish her food in abundance and in the hope that she will never go hungry for the rest of her life.

Usually there is a grilled whole fish on the menu but I couldn't get one so I baked a "fake fish"for her... Fish-shaped brioche. Well, I did cook those Japanese dishes but I'm a baker after all... I couldn't help baking something for my girl! :D

Obviously, being only 100 days old Lana can't eat them yet... so we had them for her. Yum yum yum... ラナ、ごちそうさま。

わらび餅もどき (Fake Warabi mochi)

Yesterday it was a nice hot summer's day in London and I had a sudden craving for this Japanese summer dessert called "わらび餅 (warabi mochi). It's made from starch and a bit like jelly but more wobbly....

To make warabi mochi you need warabi mochi powder but of course I can't find it easily here in England. But that didn't stop me from fulfilling my want for Japanese food...

So, I made "わらび餅もどき (fake warabi mochi)" with gelatin. I simply set sweetened water with gelatin and ate it with kinako and date syrup (normally it's eaten with brown sugar syrup). Hummm, it didn't have the texture of Warabi mochi but certainly had the taste! I liked it.

I'll tweak the recipe to get the texture right but for now it filled my Japanese food hole. ;D

きなこカップケーキ (Kinako cupcake)

きなこ(kinako, soy powder) is one of my favourite food since I was a little kid. I used to sprinkle sweetened kinako on my rice which is for me an ultimate comfort food...

Yesterday I fancied a comforting Japanese sweet so decided to make some cupcakes with kinako. I mixed kinako in my very easy basic cupcake recipe and used dark brown sugar for a rich taste.

It took me only less than 30 minutes to make this cupcakes which is really handy when you have a little baby. These cupcakes are fairy healthy too that is another good thing when you're watching your diet. (I kind of am... because of breast feeding...)

The cupcakes tasted very "homely" which was just what I was looking for... I loved them, but Andy said "it's not for me..." because he doesn't really like kinako... Ok well, if you like kinako, then that's for you...:)

If you like your cupcake sweet then add more sugar (you can add up to 100g or so...)

Ingredients:

Flour 70g

Kinako 30g

Baking powder 1 tsp

Dark brown sugar 50g

Egg 2

Butter 100g

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Melt butter.

2. Beat eggs and sugar together until it's light and fluffy.

3. Mix in melted butter into2.

4. Sift flour, kinako, baking powder into 3.

5. Pour the mixture into cupcake tins and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Miso cake (味噌ケーキ)

So..., I bet that most of the people will think "What?! Miso in a cake?" Believe it or no, it works! This traditional Japanese ingredients commonly used for "Misoshiru (みそ汁, miso soup) gives a depth of flavour to the cake. (Oh, that sounded like Master Chef judges...)

Although it's a little hard to find a good quality miso paste in England, Asian food shops or large supermarkets will have quite a few choices. 

This time I used "Mugi miso (barley miso) that has good bits of barley in the paste and tastes salty but a little sweet from the barley at the same time. Combined with dark brown sugar and browned butter, the cake smelt nice and rich even before I put them in the oven. 

...By the way, I always think it's a good sign when the cake mixture smells good when I'm tasting a recipe;)

Ok...so..., the verdict is... "simply good". Initially you can't taste the miso but you'll notice a subtle unique flavour and real richness. I liked it even better on the following day when the cake was well rested and more moist.

If you like a bit of "Japan" in sweets, why not try adding some savory Japanese ingredients in your cake;D

Ingredients:

Flour 100g

Dark brown sugar 100g

Egg 2

Butter 100g

Miso paste 2 tbsp

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Brown butter.

2. Combine flour and sugar in a bowl and mix well.

3. Beat eggs and mix into 2.

4. Add miso paste to 3.

5. Fold in browned butter into 4.

6. Pour the mixture into a cake tin. Bake in the preheated oven (180ºc) for 20 minutes.

三色だんご？Sanshoku Dango?

There have been really warm days and flowers are blossoming everywhere in London, which makes me smile and want to "hop hop hop". :D I think we can now officially say... "goodbye Winter and welcome back Spring!"

So so so... today, I made a Japanese dessert called "三色だんご (Sanshoku Dango, seen my other post?) that has very Spring feeling to it... Huh? well ok, I said "Sanshoku Dango", but those who know what Sanshoku Dango looks like might think "What! that's not it!" Yeah ok... I admit the shape of those Dango aren't nice even balls... But that's "my style". Let's call it "Deconstructed Sanshoku Dango".

The truth is I made the dango a little softer than it should have been, so the ball-shape didn't hold well when I cooked them.

Anyway, it all comes down to taste, and... It did tasted just like authentic Sanhoku Dango! (believe me! I'm Japanese after all!) This Japanese dessert certainly satisfied my Japanese food cravings. ;D

こどもの日 (Children's day)

Today is こどもの日 (Kodomo no hi, Children's day) in Japan, and the last day of three days national holiday.
Around this day, we see lots of 鯉のぼり (Koinobori), colourful carp-shaped flags raised across Japan. Especially, by the river side you'll see a lots of them lined up and beautifully flying in the sky. That's one of my favourite spring view in Japan.

Unfortunately, I can't easily see the Koinobori in England (in fact, I've never seen one;(...) so..., I made it happen with colourful pancakes! Maybe they aren't as elegant as those flags but at least, they're edible... and cute, and of course, I can feel a bit of Japan...:D