Pattzukis and basil argan oil zucchini

A 2 dish casual lunch : pattzukis (azuki bean patties) and zucchini.

Boiled azuki beans are the base.

I mashed them with a fork, added ajowan, cumin, dochi (Chinese fermented beans), garlic, hot chili, salt, fresh thyme and potato starch. Pan-fried.

Served them topped with cumin, with grated cabbage as a side, and a dressing :

Dressing : basil, sesame seeds, a little garlic, salt, argan oil, sudachi lime juice, water.

Grated a zucchini, patted with sea salt, added cut basil leaves and ground coriander seeds. I’ve let about 1/2 hour.

Then added argan oil.

Ginger potato salad

Here is a simple refreshing Summer salad, a good base for a full meal.

I boiled potatoes, let them overnight in the fridge. Added ribbons of sweet red chili and young ginger. Dressing : argan oil, rice vinegar, salt, ground coriander seeds.

Served with more ground coriander. Here are the other dishes :

tofu and wasabi okra tororo


eringi tsukemono and tomato agar

Summer salad with argan oil and black beans

Black beans have a Winter image… I refreshed them with greens and juicy items for a nutritive Summer salad meal.

Fragrant argan oil from Morocco, a little garlic, salt and balsamic vinegar for the dressing.

The companions of the kuromame (black soy beans, that were boiled and frozen) are edamame, sliced okra, shimeji mushrooms and green sweet chilis. I’ve added a little minced hot chili. I’ve steamed all that together. Added the dressing, let cool.

Reba-sashi, but fake. What could replace the Japanese carpaccio…

レバ刺し reba sashi (liver sashimi). It’s an immensely popular food in Japan. A few years ago all the yakiniku, yakitori and izakaya restaurants proposed it. I find it delicious too.
BUT…
I guess you are wondering if it’s healthy to eat raw liver. The answer is unfortunately that it’s risky and a number of food poisoning cases have occurred, so now the delicacy has disappeared from menus. And people miss it. So food industry made “safe liver sashimi”. It’s planted based, maybe not fully vegan (I’m not sure about all coloring ingredient) but at 99%. It’s made of konnyaku.

That’s how it is in the package. The faux-liver is in a liquid, you just need to rinse it. There is a sauce to marinate or to dip and sesame seeds. Sold less than 200 yen, that’s expensive for konnyaku but cheaper that the original liver.

Perfect appearance. Taste ? None. You will only have the taste of the sauce. Let’s try.

Served with mitsuba and onions (salted, rinsed).

A dip in the sauce.

Catching toasted sesame seeds and chili flakes that I’ve added.

VERDICT : YES… but NO.
Yes for the idea. As I said, you don’t have the liver flavor, it’s lost. but the texture and freshness is pleasant and goes well with the oily dressing. That could be good… with another sauce.
No, because I don’t like their sauce, this brand’s sauce. It’s too dominated by soy sauce and onion, too salty.

The classic sauce is usually simpler : a good ra yu (flavored sesame oil, infused with garlic and chili) and very little soy sauce.

I made my version with argan oil, natural sea salt, a few drops of soy sauce, dry garlic chips, dry chili flakes. Mix, and after 15 minutes, place the faux-liver in it 5 minutes. The great taste of the oil is showcased.
You have a nice appetizer.

Crispy mochizza inflated in 10 minutes

Yeah, a mochi pizza ! La mochizza ! You may wonder if I have turned into a wholesaler of mochi. Not really, but I surely have a big stock to of the white goodies… And well that’s really good.

A pizza whose crust is like that ! Crispy like a cracker and soft like a chewing gum, with a delicate flavor of grilled rice.
And that takes only 10 minutes to be into your mouth…

The recipe is simply to slice some block of mochi, put on some oiled pie tray, garnish like a pizza and bake 10 minutes under the broiler/grill at full heat. Take into account that the mochi doubles of volume when it cooks, so slice it thin.

The small cubes are also mochi, added after 5 minutes so they just become soft like melted cheese, not hardened yet.

This vegan version is made with lots of onions, a little green sweet chili, garlic, tomato paste, black pepper and later flavored with argan oil poured on top after baking.

Here is one with veggies (carrot, red sweet chili, tomato paste, onion, a little garlic) and shrimps. Olive oil, dry hot chili and kezuribushi (fish flakes) as flavoring.

That’s how the bake “dough” is. You have to eat it directly from the tray. And eat quickly because it’s so goood, and it has to be eaten hot. Later it deflates. Oh enough photos, anyway it’s night. Make yours someday.