Go go-ya ! an Okinawan super food

That’s the beast. Goya. Say go-ya. It’s the infamous bitter cucumber. I didn’t like it much the first time… That really depends how it’s prepared. Now it’s one of my favorites.

What is great about it ? Well, it has all the antioxidants of dark greens, watery texture and hydrating property of cucumbers, fiber and also thanks to bitterness it’s great to eat in hot weather.

A few years ago, that was not common in Osaka. That’s known as an Okinawan vegetable. But people got hooked to it, and more was proposed on markets, then they tried to grow it even in “continental” Japan. So we get it cheaply in season, available all year. The hot season is ending now… but I still get it a couple of times.

Red seeds indicate extreme maturation in sunlight. They are good, just eat them at once.

There are white ones too, with similar taste.

You simply need to discard seeds and scrub the white part.

Often sliced that way.

Preparation tips :

1. eat it raw, or only slightly cooked before it loses vivid colors : salads, steamed, stir-fry, etc
2. you can reduce bitterness by scrubbing well, slicing finely and salting then letting 20 minutes and rinsing

What to do with it ?

kefta spag’
tofu chigae
pasta avocanaise

colorslaw
panda salad

As a drink :
Shiri-shiri with goya
Another goya shiri shiri

dashi’t pickles
Go~ya champloo~ and Okinawan soba
white bean goya
chakin egg sushi and natsu chirashi
white goya in pesto rice

Black delights… (via GiO)

Black is beautiful. In Japanese cuisine, that’s really a precious color…

Ideal for the cooling weather :　炙り寿司 (aburizushi) aburi sushi. It’s fire leached sushi.
If you never had them, you must try. The transformation of taste of the fish is dramatic…

Chakin 茶市 is a piece of fabric used to wipe accessories during tea ceremony. So this is chakin-zushi or a fukusa-zushi. Classic filling is sushi rice and rehydrated dry vegetables (shiitake, daikon), and a shrimp is added to them. Today I filled with some Summer chirashi(-zushi), it's big dish sushi garnished with tsukemono (veggie pickles). Cook rice on sushi mode (nearly al dente) or reheat some genmai brown rice. Add the vinegar (just black vi … Read More

via Gourmande in Osaka

Cosy sushi, many ways

Are not visitors disappointed ? A food blog from Osaka with so few sushi… It’s Japan, so we are supposed to eat some at every meal.
That’s not really the case, but we have some. I don’t try to replicate the restaurant style, but anyway what we are proposed here tends to differ from the horr… , I mean, the offer, in the West. There are many regional variations. I try to prepare the original home-made ones…

Definition : vinegared rice, with toppings.

If there is no rice or nor no vinegar (citrus juice/fermented sake), it is not a sushi. Consider using another name. Well, the concept is large enough to play around with shapes and toppings.

Personal opinion : what makes a good sushi, is :

ONE : the rice, quality (Japonica or Arborio, which is a Japonica anyway) and good preparation.
TWO : there should be a way to distinguish a sushi and a hamburger (I mean no ketchup, no cheese, no fries…)

Enjoy the visit…