Spring Episode
My O*BENTO STORIES
Episode 1: Cherry blossom viewing Bento (Hanami Bento)
photo: Chidorigafuchi, Tokyo
Spring is the season of fresh beginning in Japan. Cherry blossoms becom full bloom all over the country.
Harumi and Sakura visited Chidoigafuchi to see the fully bloomed cherry blossoms. Chidorigafuchi is a moat located in the northwest of the Imperial Palace, and one of my favorite places out of many popular cherry bossom viewing spots.
The view is magnificent that cherry blossoms hang out to the moat and the flowers are reflectd in the water of the moat. It is remarkable in terms of the scale and volume of cherry blossoms.
They sat in the park and enjoyed having Bento lunch under the cherry trees in full bloom that are going very soon.
Japanese Featured Foods:
In the spring time, you can use bamboo shoot, edible flower bud of butterbur sprout and Ftsia sprouts. There are also spring cabbage, crown daisy, green peas, trefoil (Mitsuba), shiitake mushroom and Rape blossoms. Food from the sea is fresh bonito.
1. Chirashi Zushi literally means "scattered sushi" which is sesrved on bowls with colorful toppings. It is prepared for festive occasions. It is just like "Sushi Rice Salad", mixed with simmered shiitake mushrooms, shredded nori seaweed. Vinegared lotus root, Shredded egg crepes. It is just right for spring time.
2. Onigiri rice balls
Onigiri is a Japanese comfort food cooked from rice formed into triangle or oval forms and usually wrapped in seafood (nori). Determine the hot steaming hot rice with your hands or put it in a ittle container to set the size. Put in the constituents that you like such as slted salmon, cod roe as needed.
3. Stir-fired burdock
Burdock has abundant dietary fibers and stimulates digestion. Because burdock exhausts an internal toxin, blood is purified and keeps the skin beautiful. Burdock contains inulin, a natural chemical that acts like insulin. For this reason, burdock tended to lower blood cholesterol and improve kidney function. In adition, it has abundant minerals being low-calorie.
4. "Rape blossoms" dressed in mustard sauce
Mustard works for the bittersweets of the rape spicily. "Rape blossoms" are not tyically found in Western countries, and are similar to "Broccoli Rabe",
5. Tosa-style Simmering (Tosa-ni):
Bamboo shoot simmered in soy sauce, dried bonito (flake), sake and sweet cooking rice wine (mirin). The Tosa style cooking makes use of the rich taste of the dried bonito flakes. Season it with soy sauce, dried bonito flakes, liquor and sweet sake (mirin).
6. Lotus root in sweet-and-sour sauce
Brisk texture. Light vinegared food.
7. Japanese style confectionery, called Sakura-mochi or Domyouji.
A rice cake filled with sweet bean paste and wrapped in a pickled cherry leaf.
Photo: "Wadamon",Palace Hotel