Food Politics

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11282008/watch.html

Korean BBQ meets Mexican Tacos

Kogi @ Silverlake!!!!

I found them. But found them late. Not really my usual hour to nosh since I'm no longer a nocturnal creature studying for some final or another with hunger pangs distracting me from actual studying!

But curiosity got the better of me.

My first bulgogi taco and korean style chicken bbq taco!

Good eats!!! Yum! It works!

I'd be really happy if they got to my hood just a bit earlier.....

Not your ordinary caramels

I've been a big fan of Jean-Paul Hevin chocolates for almost 4 years.
Because they do not have a retail outlet in the U.S., (and because they are a touch pricey), I haven't had a chance to try EVERYTHING they have to offer.... if I did, I'm sure my dentist will kill me.......

When I did go to one of the JPH boutiques in Tokyo, I felt like Charlie going to Willy Wonka's factory! I believe their first Tokyo store was in Isetan Department Store in Shinjuku. Japanese department stores are known for the basement levels to be treasure troves of food shopping. It's like hitting Dean & Deluca, Citarella, Zabar's, and various renowned artisan food vendors in one fell swoop! I could live there.......

Getting back to the JPH boutique, it was simply amazing.
The store was a separate enclosed area within this gourmet food shoppers paradise, regulated for temperature and humidity to keep the chocolates in optimum condition. They also controlled how many people were in the store at one time. Extreme? Possibly, but done in such a gracious way that I didn't take it as being snobbish. All I know is that I spent waaaaaay too much in that one store on that long ago trip.

A recent care package from Japan came with a chic parcel with a familiar logo.
Jean-Paul Hevin!!!!!!

Wait, caramels? hmmmmmmmm..... so my friend obviously noting my new found fascination with caramel (with my blog title), sent me an assortment of caramels to try!

vanille!

Well, all I can say is tres bon! I've never had caramels that had such intense flavor and richness. Although caramel is mostly composed of sugar, these caramels do not have a cloying sweetness to it. Leave it to the French to take candy to another level! And leave it to JPH to make me fall in love with even more of their products...... Santa, if you are listening, can you open a JPH boutique in Los Angeles please?

Obsessed with Tea

A couple of postings ago, I used a tea from Kyoto to make cha-gayu.

Ho-ji cha ほうじ茶 (roasted green tea) is usually is considered as a lower grade of tea.The exception is when it comes from Kyoto. And, this one happens to be that exception!

Yum! This is soooo fragrant that I am constantly thinking of how I can utilize it in cooking.

So, I decided to go a bit Italian this time.... Ho-ji cha infused panna cotta!

Despite the infusion of the tea, the color of the panna cotta remained quite light, and the flecks of tea actually resemble scraped vanilla beans.

I didn't sweeten the panna cotta too much as I wanted to use a traditional Japanese sugar syrup as a sauce. Kuromitsu is a syrup made from unrefined sugar, (often from Okinawa) and is rich in minerals. Kind of like molasses. A homemade version would melt down chunks of brown sugar with a bit of water. However, I found a ready-made version at a Japanese grocery store. :-D

As I thought, the tea flavor held up nicely to the syrup. There is an almost cloying sweetness to this syrup, but the panna cotta has an afternote distinctly of the ho-ji cha!

I wonder what I should make with ho-ji cha next?

Or, maybe I'll just brew a cuppa and simply enjoy.

yaki-imo 焼き芋

Roasted Sweet Potato

I had an extended trip to Japan one November to attend my cousin's wedding. I must have been about 8 or 9 years old. I don't remember much about that wedding, but I do remember the pull-cart street vendor selling roasted sweet potato 石焼き芋. The old-time street vendors were starting to get scarce then, and is even rarer now. These days, many vendors sell their wares via something resembling an American ice-cream truck or catering truck.

Getting back to the roasted sweet potato of long ago, my mom bought some for me. I immediately fell in love with the natural sweetness. While butter adds a nice touch, a piping hot sweet potato needs no other adornments. No utensils necessary either. You just have to be careful not to burn your fingers! And since my siblings were not along for this trip, I didn't have to share. :-p

My aunt, willing to indulge me further, made a bonfire in the backyard to roast more sweet potatoes in the embers. (Not sure about the fire safety code now, but back then, you were allowed to have bonfires in the backyard, and fireworks could be enjoyed all summer long.)

To me, this roasted sweet potato is the taste of fall, and part of my first true memory of Japan.The sweet aroma of these spuds cooking bring back happy thoughts.

And by the way, my cousin is still happily married.

Cha-gayu 茶粥

A modern rendition of Cha-gayu.

The Classic Style - hopefully with the essence of the old capital.

When last I saw my friend Chika in Japan, she bestowed me with many

delectable food gifts.One of which happened to be a vacuum-sealed bag of roasted green tea (Houji Cha) from Kyoto.

Chika, ever the Kyoto connoisseur, always picks the good stuff!

I immediately knew I would use this tea to make cha-gayu.

Cha-gayu is more of a regional rice porridge associated with Kansai (Western Japan), and is prepared by cooking rice with brewed Houji Cha ほうじ茶.

It is a traditional breakfast food, contrary to Shira-gayu 白粥　in Kanto (Eastern Japan).

Where as Cha-gayu is associated with breakfast, Shira-gayu (white porridge) is associated with invalid food, ranking similar to dry toast in America.

I tried to do a modern take on Cha-Gayu. (1st pic)

Sprinkled with a mix of freeze dried radish greens and flowers, (also brought back from Japan) it's quite pretty. But nothing remotely resembling the Kyoto style and tradition.

To me, it almost became garish, and Hello Kitty-esque. The furikake mix that I used, was unfortunately very salty and utterly overpowered the unique aroma of this roasted tea.

The tea, unlike any I've had before had a very elusive, elegant bouquet.

It refused to become modern.

I had to go back to tradition, (Over a thousand years for Kyoto) and rely on the tried and true. Umeboshi (pickled plum) and shio konbu (salted kelp), both traditional accompaniments to Cha-gayu. Knowing that less is more, I kept the add-ins minimal and austere.This time, the fragrance of the tea did not fade or get overpowered.

The subtle woody/smoky nuances of the tea lingered, enhanced by the sour plum and the salty essence of kelp, reminiscent of the sea. Somethings don't need modernization.

This tea was one of those things.

caramel bites

for those of you who know me as a chocoholic...

I am...

so why is my blog caramel bites?

a bag of this lovely treat was residing next to my mousepad as i was prompted to think of a title for this blog!

Yum!

a few words of welcome.....

In the last 5 years, I've had blogs mainly in Japanese updated mostly on a whim.

My last attempt in English was short-lived, only because my schedule is hectic enough with one blog, esp. in a language I struggle to maintain.

So here's attempt Number 2 in English! ;-)

My non-Japanese friends who do see my Japanese blogs want translations and explanations.

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Sometimes, the picture elicits a thousand comments.

Bienvenue! :-)