Jimami Tofu Recipe: How to Make Okinawan Peanut Tofu

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Rosanna

Jimami tofu (peanut tofu) with Sweetened Soy Sauce — Jimami *tofu (peanut tofu) with Sweetened Soy Sauce*

I first had jimami tofu (peanut tofu) when traveling in Mei Prefecture in Japan. Locals invited us over for a delicious breakfast consisting of miso soup, steamed rice, mango, kurobuta sausage, sweet Japanese omelet, pickled plums in honey, jimami tofu, and green tea. The tofu was unlike any other tofu I’ve ever had, bursting with peanut flavor in a sweet, savory sauce. At first, I assumed the sauce gave it the peanut flavor—since tofu usually takes on the flavor of the ingredients it’s paired with. Later, I found out that jimami tofu isn’t actually tofu—since it’s not made with soybeans; rather, it’s made from peanuts! It’s called tofu because it looks and feels like tofu. read more

Raku—the one Restaurant you must go to in Las Vegas

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Rosanna

Raku’s Crispy Fried Shrimp Appetizer

Dining at Raku—a Japanese restaurant specializing in charcoal grilled foods, house-made tofu, and other Japanese fare—is a sensual food experience you don’t want to miss! Each bite ignites your taste buds and leaves you in culinary bliss. When the food arrives, life slows down, conversation stops, your attention shifts to the food; you savor and enjoy the delicacies served, then eagerly wait for the next course. It’s almost meditative—your mind focusing on the simple task of eating and enjoying the food set before you. Raku means comfort in Japanese and I can’t think of a more fitting name for a restaurant.

Compared to the glitz and glamour of many Las Vegas restaurants, Raku’s location—in a strip mall in Chinatown a couple of miles from the Las Vegas Strip—and atmosphere is unassuming. It’s a small, cozy restaurant with intimate seating. The focus is less on the surroundings than the food itself. When you enter the restaurant and taste the food, you will find yourself transported away from the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas and transported to a serene Japanese inn. If I had to recommend one restaurant you must go to in Las Vegas, I’d choose Raku. It’s hands down my favorite restaurant in Las Vegas.

Ordering the Omakase Menu at Raku Las Vegas Restaurant

During past visits to Raku, we ordered à la carte (which we loved), but this time we wanted to try the omakase—chef’s choice—menu, as it usually contains the restaurant’s best dishes and we wanted to see what the chef would select. Raku’s omakase menu varies nightly and is entirely up to the chef. You can select between two omakase options, one for $75 and one for $100 per person, both provide the same number of courses; however, the more expensive option features premium ingredients, such as blue fin tuna and caviar.

Bottle of Nigori (Unfiltered) Sake at Raku Restaurant in Las Vegas

To start the meal off, we ordered a bottle of nigori sake that had a milky, sweet taste. I was slightly disappointed that they no longer bring you an assortment of sake glasses to choose from. I really appreciated this in the past and thought it was a unique and personal way to serve sake. However, the sake glasses provided were robust stoneware and felt nice in the hands.

Raku’s Homemade Tofu with Bonita Flakes, Chives, and Ginger

The Raku omakase menu started off with their homemade tofu dish—plain tofu served with bonita flakes, chives, and grated ginger. Raku makes their tofu in-house and the texture is incredible; the consistency feels like cream cheese. The first bite they recommend having alone, so you can truly appreciate the freshness of the tofu. Then they recommend tasting it with the toppings as well as sprinkling a little of their green tea salt on top. This dish will transform the way you think about tofu—it’s like eating a fluffy, savory cheesecake. Truly delicious! If you’re ordering à la carte, make sure to try one of their signature tofu dishes.

Raku’s Green Tea Salt, Koregusu (Okinawan hot sauce), Soy Sauce, and Shichimi (Japanese Spice Blend)

Part of what makes Raku Restaurant special is their attention to detail, from their homemade condiments to their carefully curated dishware. Everything has a purpose and adds to the dining experience.

Mini Oysters with Sturgeon Caviar and Meyer Lemon at Raku Restaurant

Texture plays a prominent role in Japanese cuisine and is considered an important part of taste. Just like the first course’s texture tantalized the taste buds, this course played with texture as well. The oysters—long considered an aphrodisiac and luxury in many cultures—were topped with caviar. We slurped the oysters out of their shells, rolling the caviar along our tongues, savoring the saltiness of the caviar and the smokiness of the oysters. The oysters were very fresh, creamy, and smooth.

Sashimi with Pickled Chrysanthemum at Raku Restaurant in Las Vegas

Sashimi, slices of raw fish, factor heavily into Japanese cuisine, as does seafood in general. The chef chose to serve us 4 types of sashimi as part of our omakase menu: seared blue fin tuna (incredibly smoky and full of umami flavor), raw blue fin tuna (very pleasing and fresh), crevalle jack (creamy and fatty, without being greasy), and amberjack (pleasant tasting, but not as good as the crevalle jack). The pickled chrysanthemum served as a palate cleanser, and was different from the pickled ginger normally served alongside sushi. The presentation was colorful and artfully arranged—glistening silver skin, the pink flesh of the tuna, a lemon curl, a transparent radish slice, a purple pansy.

Raku’s Crispy Fried Shrimp Appetizer (an à la carte item)

These shrimp were not on the omakase menu, but we couldn’t go to Raku and not order them! Ever since we had these shrimp, the very first time we dined at Raku, we have been looking for restaurants that served them. They’re crispy and delectable, and one of our favorite dishes. This time, we added a little of their hot sauce and chili-spice powder to the shrimp and quickly devoured them.

Bacon-Wrapped Enoki Mushrooms with Ponzu Glaze at Raku Las Vegas Restaurant

After the crispy shrimp, the meal transitioned to the robatayaki—fireside cooking or foods cooked over hot coals. First we served bacon-wrapped enoki mushrooms with a ponzu glaze. The bacon was a surprising feature since bacon isn’t often used in Japanese cooking. In fact, I don’t think I recall ever seeing bacon while in Japan, except maybe at a buffet breakfast that served Japanese and Western foods. However, the use of bacon in this dish worked wonders. These were the crispiest, smokiest enoki mushrooms we’ve ever had.

Beltfish in Soy Glaze with Shaved Daikon Radish at Raku Las Vegas read more

Visit Tsukiji Market and Eat Fresh Sushi at Iwasa Sushi

Posted on September 16, 2017 by Rosanna

Omakase Set at Iwasa Sushi

If you’re a foodie traveling in Tokyo, you must visit Tsukiji Market—the world’s largest seafood market. It’s a mad rush of activity, especially in the early morning when most of the commercial purchasing takes place. Forklifts and small trucks whiz back and forth, workers stack enormous piles of empty Styrofoam containers for recycling, and every type of seafood imaginable is on display. The sheer volume of seafood sold daily is astounding—over 5 million pounds!

Workers Recycling Styrofoam Containers at Tsukiji Market

Worker on Small Truck in Tsukiji Market

Tsukiji Market consists of an inner and outer market. The inner market is where most of the commercial purchasing takes place—including the famous bluefin tuna auction that starts at 5:30 a.m. In the inner market, rows of wholesalers line a large warehouse, where they display and sell seafood to restaurant suppliers and chefs. Tourists have limited access to this area so as to keep business humming, but it’s opened to the public at 10 a.m. (the last hour or so).

Me Walking in the Tsukiji Inner Market Near Closing

We made it to Tsukiji market around 11 a.m., when most of the inner market vendors were packed up for the day. A few merchants remained in their stalls, tallying up their sales or cleaning their stations. At this time of day, the warehouse had an eerie stillness to it—a stark contrast to its usual hustle and bustle. Walking through the seemingly endless and dimly lit aisles and seeing the closed stands felt surreal and mysterious, almost like a ghost town.

Tsukiji Market Merchant Closing His Stand for the Day

Tsukiji Market Wholesaler Calculating the Sales for the Day

Fresh Fish for Sale at Tsukiji Market

While it’s fascinating to see the vast array of seafood on display and experience the bustling atmosphere of Tsukiji’s inner market, the outer market is where to head if you want to eat fresh sushi and other prepared delicacies or shop. Tsukiji’s outer marker appeals more to tourists and visitors looking for a meal, souvenirs, or kitchen and food supplies. The outer market is a vast, densely packed warren of open-air shops, small restaurants, food stands, and bakeries. Not to mention the vending machines that sell beer and plum wine! There are no open-container laws in Japan—this may have something to do with their amazing public transportation system—so you can walk around the outer market with a drink in hand.

Shops and Restaurants in Tsukiji’s Outer Market

We found some pretty chopsticks and cute pufferfish plates browsing the market. If you have a foodie friend or someone who likes unique dishware, this is a great place to shop for souvenirs.

Cute Wagashi (Traditional Japanese Sweets) in Tsukiji Market

Fishmonger Tools at Tsukiji Market

Eating Sushi at Iwasa Sushi in Tsukiji Market

Me at the Entrance to Iwasa Sushi in Tsukiji Market read more

Experience Japanese-Homestyle Cooking in Mayuko’s Little Kitchen

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Rosanna

Japanese-Homestyle Cooking Class in Mayuko’s Little Kitchen

Whenever I travel, I try to immerse myself in the culture and experience local cuisine. I enjoy dining out, visiting markets and cafés, and tasting different regional specialties and styles of cooking. But I also like to see how the locals cook, as restaurant cooking usually differs significantly from what’s prepared in the home. That led me to Mayuko’s Little Kitchen.

Mayuko is a young Japanese woman, who quit her job as a cosmetics manager to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a cooking teacher. She teaches out of her small Tokyo apartment located on the border of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in a quiet residential area just off the main bustle. Her classes give an intimate glimpse into Japanese cooking.

Mayuko offers many different types of Japanese cooking classes, including ones focused on bento boxes, sushi, homestyle cooking, and tofu. Corey and I opted for the tofu class since we didn’t have too much experience cooking with tofu. We found the idea of a whole menu, including dessert, featuring tofu intriguing. Note: this wasn’t a vegetarian meal (though one of the attendees was vegetarian and Mayuko accommodated her dietary needs with special dishes, when necessary).

Mayuko’s Little Kitchen Cooking Class Sitting Around Mayuko’s Table Sharing a Meal

Mayuko teaches in English and her classes consist mostly of foreign tourists from around the globe. When we attended, there was a couple from Spain, a girl from France, and an Indonesian girl who was studying abroad in Japan. Class sizes range from 1 to 6 students; this gives you a chance to talk to Mayuko and the other attendees. It’s a very friendly, welcoming environment and at the end of the cooking class, everyone sits around Mayuko’s table and shares a meal together.

Ingredients Used in Mayuko’s Little Kitchen Tofu Class

At the beginning of the class, Mayuko introduces you to the 4 main seasonings essential to Japanese cuisine: miso paste, soy sauce, mirin, and sake. She explains the ingredients, the different types and their uses, and the best way to store the ingredients for optimal flavor. She also passes everyone small dishes of the seasonings to smell and taste. Corey and I were already familiar with these ingredients as they’re staples in our pantry and fridge, but I imagine this would be highly informative if you were new to Japanese cooking.

Mayuko did provide some interesting facts, such as the process to make red miso and white miso paste is exactly the same. The only difference between the two pastes is in the length of fermentation; red miso requires 2 years of fermentation and is saltier than white miso. In addition to talking about the seasonings, she discussed the other ingredients we would be cooking with and the preparation involved.

Mayuko’s Little Kitchen Tofu Dinner

Mayuko’s Little Kitchen Tofu Menu

Barley Tea served cold
Miso Soup (Omiso Shiru)
Fried Tofu with Japanese Sauce (Agedashi Tofu)
Simmered Tofu and Pork (Niku Doufu)
Skewered Rice Dumplings in a Sweet Soy Glaze (Mitarashi Dango)
Rice

The dinner featured a main course, a side, miso soup, rice, and a dessert. Most people who’ve eaten Japanese food before are familiar with miso soup. It’s fundamental to Japanese cuisine and is traditionally served with every meal.

The broth consists of dashi stock, which is made from bonita flakes (smoked, fermented, dried, and shredded slipjack tuna) and kumbu (dried kelp). White miso paste, made from fermented soy beans, is tempered into the broth. This is what gives miso soup its cloudy consistency and saltiness. Miso soup served in the States almost always features cubed tofu, wakame seaweed, and thinly-sliced scallions. However, in Japan you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand. In this class, we used Japanese mustard greens and deep-fried tofu.

Miso Soup with Japanese Mustard Greens and Deep-Fried Tofu

Tempering Miso Paste Using Ladle and Chopsticks

It’s important when making miso to make sure the miso paste is fully dissolved in the soup and no clumps remain; the best way to do this it to hold a ladle with hot broth out of the water and gradually stir miso paste into the ladle, until the paste is fully incorporated. You then repeat this process with the remaining miso paste.

For the main course, we made simmered tofu and pork, similar to this Japanese pork and potatoes dish I blogged about previously, except grilled tofu was used instead of potatoes. This dish is commonly served in Japanese homes. Mayuko recommended trying to segregate the ingredients in the pot, which makes plating easier. She taught us that when plating it’s common to stack the ingredients into the shape of a mountain. The Japanese put a lot of thought into presentation and believe that you first eat with your eyes. This is most apparent in kaiseki cuisine.

Making Agedashi Tofu in Mayuko’s Little Kitchen Cooking Class

Agedashi tofu is deep fried tofu served with a savory-sweet sauce made from dashi, soy sauce and mirin. When making agedashi tofu, it’s important to press the tofu before frying to remove excess water. This will help make your tofu nice and crispy. You do this by resting a plate on top of the tofu for 15 minutes and then draining the excess water. You place finely grated daikon radish and ginger atop the deep-fried tofu. It takes time to finely grate daikon radish and Mayuko told us that many restaurants in Japan serve it to costumers as symbol of hospitality.

Agedashi Tofu with Daikon Radish and Ginger (before the sauce is added)

Mitarashi Dango, Barley Tea, Agedashi Tofu, and Rice read more

Pad Thai Spring Rolls with Tamarind Dipping Sauce

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Rosanna

Pad Thai Spring Roll Ingredients Ready for Assembly

One of my favorite dishes is Pad Thai. I love the refreshing sweet and sour sauce, the bright herbs, and the juicy shrimp. I recently tried to create an appetizer that captured all the flavors of traditional Pad Thai, but presented in a totally new way. That’s how these Pad Thai spring rolls with tamarind dipping sauce came to exist.

Ingredients for Tamarind Dipping Sauce

Tamarind Dipping Sauce

This sauce is at the heart of Pad Thai. It’s a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salt, spice, and acidity. To make it, you need rice vinegar, fish sauce, fresh tamarind concentrate (concentrated juice and pulp from the tamarind fruit), palm sugar (an unrefined sugar made from the sap of palm trees), Thai bird chiles, shallots, garlic, and kaffir lime leaves.

Most likely, you’ll need to visit an Asian grocery store to find all these ingredients; alternatively, if you pay a little more, you can purchase the harder-to-find ingredients online: rice wrappers, kaffir leaves and tamarind concentrate. You can also use these ingredients in many other Thai dishes.

Tamarind Dipping Sauce

The tamarind dipping sauce is easy to make. Simply combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Continue cooking at a rapid boil until sauce has thickened and the flavors are concentrated, about 10 minutes.

Making Pad Thai Spring Rolls

Ingredients for Pad Thai Spring Rolls

My Pad Thai spring rolls use all the ingredients from traditional Pad Thai—shrimp, mung bean sprouts, rice noodles, roasted peanuts, diced egg, cilantro, and chives—plus bacon for extra flavor and crunch. You can’t go wrong with bacon!

Assembly and prep is crucial when making the spring rolls. You’ll seriously benefit from mise en place (having “everything in its place” and ready to go), as it will make assembly a breeze. The first step is to rehydrate your rice noodles. Boil water in a stockpot and then remove the pot from the heat and add your noodles. Allow them to soak for 15 minutes, then drain and divide the noodles into 8 uniform piles.

While the noodles are soaking, sauté thick-sliced bacon in a skillet until crispy. Once crisp, remove the bacon from the skillet. Then add the shrimp to the bacon fat and cook until pink and opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the skillet and allow the shrimp to cool slightly on a paper-towel-lined plate. Once cool enough to handle, cut the shrimp in half lengthwise.

Lay out all your ingredients around your work surface. It helps to lay them out in the order you’ll be using them: shrimp, bacon, cilantro, mung bean sprouts, peanuts, diced egg, and chives. The noodles can be on your work surface, but make sure to leave enough space for the rice wrapper. To the right of your work surface, place a glass baking dish or rimmed baking sheet filled with ½ inch of water. This is for rehydrating the rice wrappers.

The Assembly Process

Add 1 wrapper to the pan and soak for 20 seconds, flipping once. While it’s soaking, rub your hand over the surface, smoothing it out. Transfer the wrapper to a clean work surface, allowing the excess water to drip off (if you don’t do this, your work surface will become too wet and the delicate rice paper will tear). Rub each side briefly to make sure the surface is smooth and pliable.

Working quickly: place 3 shrimp pieces, bright side down, in the center of the bottom of the wrapper, leaving a 1 ½ inch border. Top shrimp with a few pieces of bacon, cilantro leaves, mung bean sprouts, a sprinkle of peanuts, and diced egg. Top with noodles, chives, and another layer of toppings.

Working from the side closest to you, fold the wrapper tightly over the toppings. Then fold the sides into the center. Finish by rolling it up until wrapped tightly.

Pad Thai Spring Rolls with Tamarind Dipping Sauce

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