Food in Japan: Home cooking---Mum's food

Here's some of foods my mum cooked for us. When we got there, I told her what our diets were like, she looked a bit puzzled. She thought bacon was o.k to eat for vegetarians, bless her. She made us lovely salad every night. We were more than happy eating with kabocha, sweet potato and seaweed salad. 

My parents don't eat lots of food we used to eat anymore, simple food with fresh ingredients seem to be their diets. Of course, us, Japanese loooove our noodles, wherever you go there, there are always noodles bar/ cafe/ restaurant and convenience stores. You don't get hungry there. 

My dad is a diabetes, he was taking a few tablets. As far as I could see, he ate much better than last time I saw him. He used to love sweet things, like me, cakes, chocolates, biscuits and anything passing through his eyes. That is one of many reasons why I now tend to avoid sugary products. 

Anyway, here they are. o(^▽^)o

The evening we got in

Salad, tofu, sauteed mushrooms and fruits

Salad & Vegetable broth

The evening we got in, mum already cooked Japanese bacon (it's much different from English ones. More like a ham-like texture and colour) sauteed with Shimeji mushrooms, and pan fried chicken in soy sauce. I did tell her we didn't eat meat on the phone before, but obviously she didn't take in, did she. So, she needed to cook another batch without bacon and made a bowl of salad. Bless her. 

This veg broth is usually made in winter and popular dish to have on new years day, is called "Kenchin-jiru). Some put chopped pork, but this one was made with kombu stock with little soy sauce. And I loooove it. This is another dish I could easily live on. It usually contains: shiitake mushrooms, eddo potatoes, konnyaku( made from a kind of yam, contains dietary fiber, low calorie, helps level blood sugar and cholesterol, prevents high blood pressure, it's called konjac in England), daikon (radish), carrots & gobou (burdock root). All cut into chunky pieces. Always taste much better on the second day!

 

Aubergine with miso & Kabocha

Sweet potato cooked in lightly salted water

I asked to mum to cook without soy sauce, Marcus can't have it due to wheat intolerance, she cooked in lightly salted water, she thought really plain to begin with, but actually, these sweet potato had plenty flavour, no need to add any sauces. It was gorgeous as they were. Same as kabocha. Cooked in the same way, and they were delish! When I got back, I cooked them just like she did, but felt it tasted different...Always what mum cooks is better than mine.

Sauteed beansprouts and Shimeji mushrooms

Ooooh! Seaweed salad! The best in the world!

I love seaweed salad, I could eat them all day and everyday.  In Japan, they are reasonable to purchase from supermarkets, and full of nutrients. They are available in dried or semi-dried, of course, semi-dried ones are much nicer and fresher. They usually come in salted. So, need a good soaking and wash in cold water. For mixed seaweed salad, it's just handy to buy dried ones, they usually come in a few packets in a bag. 

Seaweed is very nutritious. It contains natural iodine, much better than iodine added table salt. There is "seaweed seasoning" available in England too, use as salt. It also contains good amount of calcium and protein. When I was a child, I was told to lots of wakame seaweed for strengthen bones and healthy hair, and what they said was true! 
Moreover, seaweed has vitamin B12, A and soluble fiber.

I recommended to many people to include them in their diet, most of them didn't want to, and they thought seaweed was horrible things to eat without trying them. Some said it didn't taste anything and didn't like it. So, it sounds like yet another "love-or-hate" food. It can be blended into your smoothies (if it doesn't taste nothing to some, blend into smoothies don't affect taste and still gaining benefits), adding to your salads, make sushi (with sushi nori-seaweed sheets), rice balls, cut into small pieces and sprinkle on rice, salad, even soup. Koreans make nori rolls without vinegared rice. They are delish, make nori rolls with unvinegared rice, what an good idea!

Spinach with egg seasoned with salt and pepper

Japanese home cooking is very simple, well, mind you, my parents are getting older, they eat light dishes like those, adding fish sashimi (raw fish), little amount of meat. Younger generations eat differently. Still, Japanese cooking focuses on good quality, delicate & fine flavour of each ingredients. We like to eat small amount (except me ☺) with a few different dishes, bowl of rice, and miso soup. Usually contains fish, meat and veg dish in one meal (dinner). Lunch, love bento (lunch box) take-aways and noodle bars.

Chicken and veggie in ankake (my parents' dinner)

This dish is chicken and veggie ankake. Ankake is a sauce made with potato flour to thicken. Soy sauce, a bit sugar, sake and mirin, add potato flour dissolved in water. Or coat chicken with potato flour, take excess off, sauteed them with veggies, add sauce mixture in the end. Chinese style contains rice vinegar, is called famous "sweet and sour " dish! (Option: Add tomato ketchup)

Good quality Tamari soy sauce

This tamari we found in Tobu department store food hall, which was really tasty, very rich and thick. Cor, blimey, it was thicker than ones we get here. (ie; Clearspring --good quality products). So, only needed a little bit each time. 

Oh, my friend Naomi thought my mum was having a bit hard time cooking food without meat and fish, she thought wheat-free vegetarian cooking was difficult. Bless her.

Anyway, I love Japanese food! Yum yum.