It has grown on me!

Friday, June 21, 2019

Green Oil - The Best Pain Reliever I've Ever Found!

Have you ever used green oil? Yesterday, I used it for my first time and was very impressed with how great it is!

Yesterday, I accidentally burned my fingers. After cooking vegetable soup, I tried to move the very hot soup to containers from the pot, and I accidentally spilled my soup on my fingers! It was very hot and my fingers hurt! It was the first degree burn, so I plunged my hand in cool water for minutes. You know it might happen once in a while when you cook. I thought that it would take 6 hours or so for burn pain to go away. However, this time, I applied this green oil on the burned area, and my pain was completely relived in an hour! It worked amazingly! I wished that I'd known this one sooner!

Green Oil Topical Analgesic

      My husband had purchased this green oil a little while ago because his Asian coworker had recommended this affordable magical oil to him. I heard that it is very famous and popular oil in Taiwan and China. From now on, this oil is our must-have home remedy for burn and so on. :)

      These are my entries you might like.
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Tuesday, June 11, 2019

How to Make Easy Japanese Potato Salad

Have you ever tried Japanese potato salad (ポテトサラダ, ポテサラ)? As I mentioned in my previous entry, Most Popular Japanese Foods (Top 41 - 50), Japanese potato salad is one of the most popular Japanese foods. It's usually served as side dishes, and it is also used for sandwiches. Regular Japanese potato salad contains mashed potatoes, cucumbers, onions, ham and Japanese mayonnaise.

Where can you find Japanese potato salad?
When you go to Japanese supermarkets, you can find Japanese potato salad at deli section. In Japan, you can find one at supermarkets, convenience stores, bento shops, izakaya restaurants and so on. You can even find fancy one at department stores, which are called depachika (デパ地下). You can find potato salad sandwiches at many convenience stores in Japan.

My Potato Salad

Last week, I made Japanese potato salad, and it turned out so delicious. I also enjoyed potato salad sandwiches next day. :) Anyway, today, I'm going to share how to make Japanese potato salad with you. :) If you make Japanese potato salad, I recommend you to use Japanese mayonnaise like Kewpie. You can check my previous entry, Japanese Mayonnaise Is the Best!.

How to Make Japanese Potato Salad

Ingredients for 4 Servings
4 Russet Potatoes (Sliced)
1 Cucumber (Thinly Sliced)
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt (for Cucumber)
1/2 Onion (Thinly Sliced)
2 Teaspoons of Vinegar
2 Teaspoons of Olive Oil
Nip of Salt and Black Pepper
8 Tablespoons of Japanese Mayonnaise

You can also add corns, carrots, boiled eggs, shrimps, tuna and so on.

1. Put the potatoes in a pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer it over medium low heat until potatoes are fully cooked.

Then, drain potatoes and mash potatoes with a masher. Then, turn off the heat.

2. Thinly slice cucumber and onion with a slicer. I'm using this slicer which I purchased at Daiso in Japan 5 years ago. I really love it. I can make perfectly thin slices with it very easily. :)

Slicer

Sprinkle salt over sliced cucumbers. Let stand for 10 minutes. Then, gently squeeze cucumbers with paper towels to remove excess liquid.

Soak thinly sliced onions in water for 10 minutes. Then, drain water and gently squeeze onions with paper towels to remove excess liquid.

3. Mix vinegar, olive oil, salt and black pepper, and add the mixture into the potatoes. Stir thoroughly.

4. Add cucumbers, onions and Japanese mayonnaise into the potatoes. (If you want to add your favorite ingredients such as ham, add ones here.) Toss gently to combine.

5. Serve and enjoy!

       These are also my entries you might like.
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■Don Quijote (Donki) Haul - What He Got in Japan

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Saturday, June 8, 2019

How to Make Easy Matcha Green Tea Warabimochi

Yesterday, I uploaded this video, How to Make Easy Matcha Green Tea Warabi Mochi, on my YouTube Channel. My husband and I were really surprised that this warabi mochi was very delicious! Did you know that the combination of matcha, kinako (roasted soy bean paste) and anko (sweetened red bean paste) is so perfect? It was like one authentic Japanese wagashi cafe serves! I hope you will try one. :)

As I mentioned in my previous entry, How to Make Warabimochi with Microwave Oven, warabi mochi (warabimochi, わらび餅) is a traditional Japanese mochi dessert and coated with kinako, roasted soy bean flour.

Regular Warabi Mochi

Potato Starch, Katakuriko (片栗粉)

Potato Starch, Katakuriko (片栗粉)

Warabi mochi is made of starch. Traditionally, bracken starch (warabiko, わらび粉) is used to make warabi mochi, but it's very expensive. That's why now most warabi mochi selling in Japan is made of sweet potato starch or tapioca starch. This time, I used potato starch, katakuriko (片栗粉) for making warabi mochi.

Roasted Soy Bean Flour, Kinako (きな粉)

Roasted Soy Bean Flour, Kinako (きな粉)

Kinako (きな粉) means roasted soy bean flour in Japanese. It's usually unsweetened, and you need to mix it with sugar according to your taste. However, this time, I garnished warabi mochi with anko (あんこ), sweetened red bean paste, so I didn't add any sugar to kinako.

Sweetened Red Bean Paste, Anko (あんこ)

Sweetened Red Bean Paste, Anko (あんこ), Ogura An (小倉あん)

My husband loves sweetened red bean paste very much, he always stocks some in our refrigerator and often enjoys it with toast. Yet, it was our first time to try this Morinaga Ogura-An (森永小倉あん). We were really surprised that Morinaga one tasted so much better than Shirakiku Sweetened Red Bean Paste, he has often purchased. Morinaga one is a bit expensive, but it was worth trying this one. :)

Ingredients (6 Servings)

For Mochi
3 Tablespoons of Sugar
4 Tablespoons of Potato Starch (Katakuriko)
1 Cup of Milk
1 Teaspoon of Matcha

For Garnish
Roasted Soybean Flour (Kinako)
Sweetened Red Bean Paste

I'm going to share how to make matcha green tea warabi mochi with you. :)

1. Add sugar, potato starch and milk into a saucepan. Mix them thoroughly.

2. Sift matcha into it and stir thoroughly.

3. Place the pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture is thick and smooth.

4. Wet the tray with water, and transfer the paste into it. Then, place it on the iced water.

5. Once it's cooled, cut the mochi with a wet knife.

6. Sprinkle roasted soybean flour over the mochi.

7. Top with sweetened red bean paste. Enjoy!

These are my entries you might like.

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★You can find my recipe entries through my Pinterest.

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Fukuoka's Popular Delicious Souvenir Earned Guinness World Record!

Hakata Torimon

This week, I watched Japanese news which was that Hakata Torimon (博多通りもん) has earned a Guinness World Record for having the most annual sales in a new category dedicated to a bean paste bun! As I mentioned in my previous entry, 5 Best Delicious Souvenirs from Fukuoka, Hakata Torimon is manju (饅頭), a traditional Japanese confection, with a filling of delicious butter flavor white bean paste. It's always very popular confectionery from Fukuoka. It has also gotten the gold award of Monde Selection 19 years in a row! If you are planning on visiting Fukuoka, Japan, you should try this delicious Hakata Torimon! You can find these at souvenir stores of an airport, stations and highway service areas located in Fukuoka prefecture. You can also find more of popular souvenirs from Fukuoka in my previous entry.