Leave Your Teeth at the Door

A trip to the Tsukiji Fish Market is one that must be on ever visitors' itinerary to Tokyo. Apparently 2246 tonnes of fish are sold in this market daily and it's an experience you won't soon forget. I wasn't able to make it to the auction area which is open to the public between 5am-6.15am, however at 7am the action is still frenetic. Unbelievably there were 1 or 2 women there in high heels and skirts, although I wouldn't recommend this due to the uneven ground and amount of water that's sprayed around. Keep your wits about you and travel light are my suggestions as fast vehicles navigate the narrow passageways in all directions, while pedestrians browse the offerings from the seemingly endless shopfronts.
I'm not sure if this is true, but someone told me that there is a language that they speak which is not recognisable to even the Japanese! Apparently this is to communicate with each other with regard to prices etc. Anything and everything seafood related is sold, while fishmongers quite rightfully take their job seriously at times using long samurai like swords to through fish with clinical ease.
The early morning surveying the vast amounts of potential food was just a cruel tease to an empty stomach, and it wasn't long before my stomach was yearning for some sustenance.
Entering a relatively large sushi shop, customers -as usual- are greeted enthusiastically, and I selected a set consisting of Tuna, Salmon, Scallop, Albacore, Prawn, Egg, Crab, Amber Jack and Tuna Hand Rolls. The team of chefs were willing to take pictures and take part in some friendly banter, as hungry customers had their orders fulfilled right before their eyes. The consistency and freshness almost meant that I didn't need to chew. Honestly! Having had sushi at other times in Tokyo, I can safely say that was the best I've had.

They'll Let Any Riff Raff In

It's with sadness that I'm writing this post from Melbourne. Tokyo was an experience like no other; the people, culture, history and city won't soon be forgotten and as I review the 100's of pictures there's probably around 10 food related posts buried in there. Like "Mercy" which was played with siblings, I'm happy to relent on the posts if they become too repetitive.

One of the deals widely available in Tokyo are set lunch packages. Places where you wouldn't normally set a foot in due to the price suddenly appear on the radar and it's a fantastic idea to increasing patronage in a highly competitive market. Yes, it was still more than what you would pay on the busy streets, but it's certainly a different experience and a side to Tokyo you wouldn't normally be able to experience at regular prices. More often than not you will able to choose from a variety of set menus at varying prices.

The Fish Bank is located in the same ward as the famous Tokyo Fish Market, and perched on the 41st floor, I wasn't able to secure a window seat, however with 6 courses coming to 2,749 yen, ($34Aud) food more than occupied my senses. (Other set menu options start at $16Aud) Before stepping in, I put a top over my t-shirt, not because it was required, but I figured that any restaurant that has table cloths shouldn't be subject to a collar-less patron.

First up was a fresh oyster, all the way from Tasmania I was informed. When I mentioned my home was merely a stones throw away, this brought out a chuckle from the waiter. With chili sauce to add as needed, it was certainly fresher than the consumer who travelled just as far.
Next 2 were a tomato filled with couscous with a spread of octopus and fish (I can't remember for the life of me) with fresh asparagus and baby carrots.
For the final 2 courses before dessert, the dishes entailed a penne with a beef ragout sauce and a beef rissole on eggplant accompanied with tomato topped with a poached egg and a piece of seared fish on a bed of mashed potatoes. The former was certainly the standout of these offerings.
For dessert, green tea and strawberry icecream impeccably presented on top of some equivalently flavoured macaroons rounded out the meal perfectly.

Boysenberry granita

Sitting here with a martini glass full of boysenberry granita thinking about how much more I'd enjoy it, if I could share it and if only that wonderful sunshine which peeked out yesterday (and inspired me to make it in the first place) was still around... Oh well.


The berries (frozen) we picked up a few weeks ago on the way back from the tulip festival along with various 'bulbs' which I promptly planted and now wait for them to bloom. Anyhoot, this here granita is decidedly evil in it's ease of preparation.

Blend about 500g (about 2 punnets or 2 cans with syrup) boysenberries
Add 1/4-1/3c sugar to 1/4c hot water and stir until dissolved. If needed put over stove and heat until dissolved. (add more or less sugar to taste, if you think it might be too sweet, add a squeeze or two of lemon juice- it helps to balance the sweetness without diluting the flavour!)
Add to fruit blend and pulse for a few seconds.
Pour into shallow plastic tray with lid. Cover and put into freezer.
Every 30min open lid and with a fork break apart the crystals which form.
When it sets ~3-4hours later, scrape with a spoon into quenelle and serve. It will melt quickly so don't wait.. dig in!

or if you can't wait...

Monty Scones

This is a Monty family recipe and, like all Monty recipes, it's super easy and a real crowd pleaser. I hope they don't mind if I share this recipe with you.

They only take about half an hour from sifting the flour to delicious mouthfuls: we've been making them as after work treats. This recipe would be perfect if you have unexpected guests drop by too.

oh. so. good.

We added a couple of handfuls of sultanas in the last batch we made, but the recipe below is for your plain regular scones.

Enjoy!

Monty's Scones

2 cups self-raising flour
2 tablespoons icing sugar
pinch of salt

1 egg yolk (we didn't bother to separate the yolk from white), lightly whisked, in 1 cup then topped up with milk


1. Preheat oven at 200degC.

2. Combine dry ingredients. Sift twice.

3. Make well in dry ingredients, add the 1C egg/milk mixture. Gently combine.

4. Turn onto floured surface. The mixture will be quite sticky. Knead for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture comes together.

5. Flatten with palm to 2cm thickness. Cut out 5cm circles with cookie cutter. Place on floured tray, with sides touching.

6. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.

7. Makes about 10. Eat with jam and cream of course!

Breakfast of Champions or Not

Champion? Definitely not. What do you do for breakfast in Tokyo? A bowl of cereal? A slice of toast? A muffin? It might go a long way to demostrating why I haven't seen any overweight people in this city, but the abundance of noodle houses open from the crack of dawn more than willing to supply a hungry city with servings of hot dishes quickly seem to be the staple for many busy Japanese folk. There are a few Starbucks and golden arches around, however small noodle houses just about every 10 metres are the equivalent of those corporate giants in Tokyo. Often buried away in a basement or in a "blink and you'll miss" alleyway keen chefs await orders from the bleery eyed public.

My first venture into one of these was a bit of a shamble. Walking up the counter where there was no list of items to order, and flumixed as to what to do, I was embarrassingly on my way back out the establishment, when a timely customer walked directly to the corner to make an order. Yes, like a lot of things throughout Tokyo, the ordering is handled by a vending machine. Sometimes pictures accompany the selection and other times not. On this occaision, I was lucky enough to randomly select one that catered for ignorant folk like myself.

Upon selecting your dish a receipt is printed which you take up to the front of the counter. There, the chef greets you, and in a matter of seconds (no joke) you meal is served. Large vats of boiling soup and a quick heating of noodles and simple additions make it a no-fuss affair. No waiting for bread to toast or cheese to melt, your hot meal is ready and away to go. A hot, healthy, quick way to start the day. At less than $5aud I could eat this all day long.

On this occasion, it was noodles with seaweed a few spring onions and I was set until lunch. (I still haven't got the slurping going!)
Before you know it, lunchtime rolls around and the difficult decision needs to be made again of a place to choose. This time it was at the basement of a large office building. Again like everything else in Tokyo service is immpecable. Regardless of whether its a $5 dish or $25 dish, everyone is friendly and more than willing to help. I don't think they possess a bad bone in their bodies. Spicy pork with a side dish of rice, chicken soup, chilled vegies and an egg mixture. With all this eating its a wonder that I'm able to see any of the city...

Tokyo Tastes

I'm currently resting up in my hotel in Tokyo after after 2 straight days of walking around. So I thought it would be a good time to post some food adventures here. I'm planning on documenting what I've eaten on this trip, but I've got to apologise in advance for not knowing the names of the dishes! Here, pointing and nodding is the best way to get around I've found.

Day 2
Having not eaten for a day or so (Jetstar with their no frills airfares and spending most of the night looking for my hotel), I wandered through the narrow alleyways of Ginza and walked into a small little eatery (Actually on second thoughts every eatery is small). Rice, chicken and a egg, I've found this in Melbourne, but a fine feast for an empty stomach in Tokyo coupled with excellent service (It's immaculate where-ever you go. Friendly, prompt and helpful without being intrusive)

Having had my fill, I'd walked around the main street of Ginza, where I noticed a large line. Curious, I ventured closer and noticed a rotating cake. Yes, Melbourne has the rotating chunks of meat for drunk patrons wanting a souvlaki, and Tokyo has this. The shop was called Nenrinya and with surgical precision, the pastry or effectively cakes are taken from the skewers and cleaned out and cut into small sections. I have no idea how they managed to place the mix on the skewer in the first place and allow it to cook, but it's effectively a big cake. The centre is moist with a number of layers and the exterior crisp and sweet from icing. Who could go passed chocolate? Although pricey at $8 or so dollars, 1 slice (4 high peaks, index finger wide) certainly felt like more than one serve (greedily consumed)

To round out the day I ventured close to the hotel where a bench surrounding the kitchen (think of a bar, but instead of beer, a kitchen and food replaces the beer taps and fridges!) Pointing to the menu once again, a delicious serving of udon noodles was served.
Tasty mushrooms, beef, carrots, parsnips, some sort of potato and square jelly cubes made up the contents and it certainly hit the spot after a full day of walking. At 1150 yen or around $13 its reasonably priced and it is a treat watching your meal take shape right before your eyes. Although I haven't quite gotten the hang of slurping noodles as is the tradition here, I have the idea that they are foodies. I doubt you can walk 10 metres without encountering a small restaurant (or vending machine for that matter). Some more adventures today, but this traveller needs some rest to get some energy to do some walking to justify all the eating!

Hummingbird Bakery Hazelnut and Chocolate Cupcakes

So I'm supposed to be making the figures for my thesis this weekend but poor Toshi chucked a spazz and crashed Photoshop :( I decided to give the machine a break, and since I ruv Pooey, I decided to do what she wanted and make more Hummingbird products for her to eat. Even though she lives on the other side of the planet. Kekeke.

I decided to make the hazelnut cupcakes because none of the shops in my local shopping centre sold stem ginger in syrup.

So this is what the cake looks like in the book.

I also figured this would be a test run because I have my doubts about their methods. Namely, am I not supposed to cream butter and sugar together as the base for cakes? I decided to follow their directions as closely as possible. What I've put here is the one printed in the book with my changes in purple, just in case anyone wants to try it themselves.

Cupcake - makes 12
100g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
140g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter at room temp (I lazily combined the butter/salt thing by using low-salt butter)
120ml (1/2 cup is close enough) whole milk
1 egg
Nutella
hazelnuts (to decorate)

• Pre-heat the oven to 170C/325F
• Put the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. (I did this even though the baker in me was revolting at it. I did however start the mixing by hand with a wooden spoon to break up the butter into smaller chunks before using the mixer.)
• Slowly pour the milk into the mixture, beating until all the ingredients are well mixed. Add the egg and beat well, scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side with a spatula
• Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes. Cakes are ready when a skewer comes out clean. Cool slightly in tray, before turning out onto a wire rack.

Cooling on the rack

• When the cupcakes are cold, hollow out a small section in the centre of each and fill each one with a dollop of nutella. I used about 1/2 tsp of Nutella depending on how large I made the holes. It varied :P

Holey cupcakes
Filled cupcakes

Frosting mixture
250g icing sugar, sifted
80g unsalted butter at room temp (again, I cheated with the low salt)
25ml whole milk
80g (2 tbs) Nutella

• Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium/slow until everything is well mixed (Again, I started by hand with a wooden spoon to breat the butter and mix it in before using the mixer.)
• Turn to mixer to slower speed and slowly pour int he milk. Whenthe milk is completely incorporated, turn to higher speed and beat until frosting is light and fluffy (approx 5 mins).
  
• Stir in the nutella by hand until evenly mixed into the frosting. Spoon on top and finish with hazelnuts to garnish.
  

The finished products.

Firstly, I don't think this mixture makes 12 cupcakes. Unless I overfilled my first batch of 6 (entirely possible but you can judge for yourself from the ones in the pics), I think it makes closer to 10 because the second batch of 6 weren't that full. Anyway, to try and emulate the pic in the book, I cut one open and shared it with Spuey.
I think Spuey liked it and he said even though it didn't dribble out like the one in the picture, he could sure taste the Nutella in the cupcake. I therefore think this recipe passed, and I may make it again when Pooey gets back or if anyone requests*!

*Donations would aid the fulfilling of any requests :P

Foodie TV shows: Food party Appe-teazer & Hors Doerves

This is one of my newly discovered favourite cooking (?) shows. It ties in everything I believe is vital in preparing wonderful meals... food, creativity, presentation, and... a good dose of wackiness!

It's got me thinking to try and present a series of posts on the shows I was exposed to as an impressionable young thing which may explain this current food obsession. Let's see...

Arnott's Chewy Caramel Tim Tams

I have a sweet tooth which is almost painful. Seriously, it's a good thing I enjoy exercise otherwise I'd be far more deliciously round than I am now. Although I do love them, it is for the best that Tim Tams are not one of my favourite biscuits, probably due to the overload of chocolate without contrasting flavour. I have previously described Tim Tams to non-Aussie friends as *two chocolate biscuits, separated by a layer of chocolate cream, covered in milk chocolate!*

To try and tempt me back to buying them, the evil people in charge of Tim Tams decided to branch out into new flavours like kahlua and white chocolate. I was unconvinced, and they failed to bring back into the fold. They even tried mint crush! I adored them (mmm, mint and chocolate combination!) but the exorbitant price to biscuit ratio stopped me from investing heavily. Time passed and I didn't think much more about it.

Well imagine my horror and delight when I discovered Tim Tams (and a number of other Arnotts biscuits) are currently on sale right now at my local supermarket, and it was much to my delight and horror that I saw flavours I hadn't seen before! Sale or no sale, I decided to be disciplined and limit myself to just one flavour. I chose *Chewy Caramel*.

Oooh yeah!

Even though I counselled myself not to be fooled by the artistic interpretation of what it should be like, I bit into the biscuit, seeking the gooey gooey caramel. I was hurt to not find it!

I was about to feel bitterly, bitterly disappointed until I delved further into the sweetness and found the small reservoir of caramel about halfway in!!

Towards the end, I did find strings of caramel forming where my voracious teeth tore it apart.

So what's the assessment? After having eaten another two in short order, I think I could love these very easily. BUT I also think that if I keep biting into the end that has *less* caramel than the other, I would be hurt over and over again. I figure I have until the end of the packet to decide if I should take a joyous running jump into love or turn my back on the possibility and walk away from potential hurt. Decisions, decisions *sigh*.

Pickled sardines (Sardines Escabeche)

I went to the Belco markets on the weekend with the aim of picking up some miscellaneous seafood mix to make a linguini marinara when I spied some butterflied sardine fillets at the fish shop and thought 'Oho i'll have some of those!'. But then what? I initially had lofty ambitions of pickling and/or salting them to get a sort of boquerones type result, but then i got lazy and thought that there had to be a better (easier) way. The internet yielded some very interesting results that inspired me to try and this was I got. The result was so delicious that I had to run to the proverbial hills and tell all and sundry about the greatness that is Sardines Escabeche. The recipe can be found here and to be honest while I don't know how authentic this version of the semi-cooked pickle (which is essentially what an escabeche is) is, it tastes so damn fine that you'll now be looking at the humble tin of tuna or sardines with mild or intermediate disinterest. I added pieces of the sardines into a green salad tossed with sliced radishes and fennel (ahh spring!!) to a great effect.