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BAM 40: Ikura Don (Salmon Roe Rice Bowl), Shitake and Green Onion Osumashi and Salad.

BAM 39: Teriyaki Chicken, Okara salad, Daikon with Chirimen jyako and Rice.

BAM 38: Shake (Salmon) Rice, Satoimo and shimeji miso shiru, hiyayakko with komatsuna and salmon skin daikon oroshi

BAM 37: Sui-gyoza 3 (3 of 3)

BAM 36: Sui-gyoza 2 (2 of 3)

BAM 35: Cabbage Salad with Sesame Dressing, Suigyoza Soup, Eggplant and Bell Pepper Miso Stir fry and Rice

Matsutake Gohan

BAM 33: Yakiniku, Kimchi, Kimchee, Soy Bean Soup and Rice

BAM 32: Wafū Pasta 3: Sansai (Mountain Vegetable) Pasta

BAM 31: Nasu no Tuskemono (Fast and Easy), Turkey Hijiki Niku Dango (Meat Ball), Negitama (Egg and green onion) Miso Soup and Rice

Cooking Perfect Stove Top Japanese Rice (Update)

BAM 30: Okonomiyaki (American-Kitchen)

BAM 29: Okonomiyaki (Buta Tama) (Easy Breezy)

BAM 28: Classic Osaka-Style Okonomiyaki (Buta tama)

BAM 27: Hiyashi Chuka

BAM 26: Southern-Japanese Build-a-Meal featuring Fried Chicken with Umeboshi Honey Dipping Sauce, Tofu Macaroni Salad and Okara Cornbread

BAM 25: Vegan Build-a-Meal Nagaimo Pancake, Lemon Daikon, Myoga and Red Potato Miso Soup and Rice.

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Mizuame ("Water Candy")

Thursday, May 10th, 2012
I know...I know it's been a year since I posted. How lame is that? I could run the gauntlet with excuses but why bother? I even neglected it for so long that I didn't realize my blog went offline for a month due to some technical issues. Excuses aside, I'm just going to jump back in. I decided to bring my blog back with something that I know not too many people know about. Mizuame is a unique ingredient because of it's subtle sweetness and smooth texture. It's also an ingredient that's near and dear to my heart so I'm bringin' it back with Mizuame!

Mizuame is a thick syrup-like sweetener made from barley and other starches which is converted into sugar. When I think of mizuame, I'm reminded of my childhood and my grandfather. When I was a kid my mom would dip the ends of two chopsticks into a jar of mizuame and hand them to me with a gooey glob of mizuame on the ends. From there I would take over and spin the tips of the chopsticks around eachother over and over until the mizuame became frothy in texture. The excitment and joy of eating mizuame on a stick was so much better than anything else on a stick (ice cream and lolliepops included) because not only was it melt in your mouth delicious, I worked hard for it.

It's been a while since I had mizuame like that. Maybe kids are the only ones that eat mizuame like that, however there are other uses for mizuame. It can be used in place of sugar in sweets to make them thick and shiny.

I'm also reminded of my grandfather who was sent to protect the Japanese Imperial Palace during the war. The Imperial Palace was never attacked, however many of the stores and homes near the palace were bombed. On his way home he found cans of mizuame (apparently they were in cans back then) in the rubble of one store and brought them home to my grandmother to use as a sweetener. To this day, my grandmother is the only person I know who uses mizuame.

Mizuame in Action
This YouTube Video shows a kid going to town with her large glob of mizuame. Man, my mom never gave me that much.

I decided to search for mizuame at my local Japanese grocery store and was pleasantly surprised to find a variety of different types. There was a higher grade mizuame in a jar and this smaller, more practical mizuame in a tube.
mizuame_tube

I'll be using this mizuame in a dessert this weekend so stay tuned.
tags: mizuame 
It's so nice to see your blogs not only back but updated! Yay!
— Anonymous, May 14th, 2012
Thanks! I'm going to try to post more regularly.
— Umamitopia, May 21st, 2012
Yay, welcome back ! >< I was sad when your blog seemed to be down ! I'm always hearing about mizuame, but never tried, cause I don't know what to do with it. Thanks for the link, next time I'll try it like that ^v^.
— Anonyme, May 31st, 2012
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tags (categories)
Soy Sauce [25]
Dashijiru [23]
Rice [19]
Daikon [14]
Egg [14]
Vegan [13]
Sesame Seed Oil [12]
Katsuobushi [11]
Chicken [11]
Kyuri [9]
Shiso [9]
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Miso [8]
Tofu [8]
Shoga [8]
Sake [8]
Cabbage [7]
Garlic [7]
Beef [7]
Vegetarian [7]
Pork [6]
Miso soup [6]
Vinegar [6]
Mirin [6]
Age [5]
Umeboshi [5]
Carrots [5]
Carrot [5]
Green Onion [5]
Hakusai [5]

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