Adventures in Mika's Kitchen
What do “Melon Pan” (from Japan) and “Pineapple Bun” 菠蘿包 (from China) have in common? Well, for starters, neither contain any fruit – there is traditionally no melon in Melon Pan, and no pineapple in Pineapple Bun. Rather, each bun is named for the fruit based on appearance alone – the final baked bun is said [...]
This is one of my favorite “Cream Pie” recipes – it’s so versatile and adaptable. Substitute regular milk for the coconut milk, and vary the flavor of the pudding to make some it totally different. Banana Cream Pie? Add banana slices, and use either vanilla or banana flavored pudding. Lemon Cream Pie? Use lemon pudding, [...]
Last week, I noticed a strange low buzzing sound in our yard coming from my lavender bushes. I walked a little bit closer to figure out where the noise was coming from… and realized, each lavender flower had it’s own individual bee! So many bees… so many flowers! When I planted these bushes last year, [...]
After figuring out how to make Daifuku Mochi (Sweet Red Bean Mochi) a few weeks ago, I’ve been thinking about all the other types of Mochi that I could now make. I have some Yomogi (Japanese Mugwort) growing in the garden… and eventually those leaves will end up as Kusa Mochi (one of my most favorite [...]
Apparently, there are two styles of “Kung Pao Chicken“! The original Szechuan version was created during the Chinese Qing Dynasty, and normally contains Szechuan Peppercorns. These “peppercorns” do not come from the Piperaceae family (Pepper) - they are actually from the Rutaceae plant family (Citrus). This unique spice gives a tingling/numbing flavor which is typical [...]
Mochi is one of my most favorite treats to eat… I LOVE mochi! It’s so hard to come by though… Where we live, the nearest Japanese market is (at least) a 30 minute drive, and we don’t go down that way very often. Also, I’ve noticed that Mitsuwa Market has reduced their “fresh food/bakery” section [...]
Recently, I’ve been reading a lot about this “3-2-1 cake” online… It’s supposed to be a really easy single serving cake to make in the microwave using a rice bowl or a mug (which is great if you don’t want to have an entire whole cake lingering around your kitchen). **Cough** …portion control… **Cough** (You [...]
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