FDC#13: A Special on Comfort Food

The FooDorama Challenge: I Watch It, I Try It!

(=^･ｪ･^=))ﾉ彡。･∵゜:;，･゜∵: ○ ;，･。∵゜:;，。･゜

Jdorama Inspiration: Shinya Shokudo

Shinya Shokudo (深夜食堂 or The Late Night Diner) is a 10-episode drama that was shown past midnight on TBS and MBS for the Fall Season of 2009. As its title suggests, the drama takes place in a unique, night-shift diner in one of the alley-ways of Tokyo’s busiest municipality, Shinjuku.  The dimly-lit diner is run by its cook who goes only by the name of  ‘Master’ (played by Kobayashi Kaoru). He opens the diner from 12 midnight up to 7 am with a menu that offers goodwill and just one dish – tonjiru (pork and vegetable soup).  If a customer wishes to order something else, the Master will whip it up only if he has the ingredients available.  The stories told in this drama are those of the customers that patronize this humble eatery.

‘Master’ Class: Kobayashi (left) plays the enigmatic, unnamed cook in this drama based on a manga by Abe Yaro

I was very well-impressed by this drama’s low-keyed simplicity and quiet charm.  Since the diner opens only during the wee hours, it would naturally attract a few but interesting characters as its customers – mostly the city’s nocturnal creatures who work the graveyard shift (a yakuza boss, a stripper, a newspaper delivery boy, a male porn star, etc.).  The warmth and calming atmosphere of the diner is set against the contrasting backdrop of night-time Shinjuku’s cold, lonely and impersonal concrete milieu, so it was natural that these customers would find refuge in it.  And what gives this drama its stroke of genius is the menu – or rather the lack of it. Since a patron can ask for a simple dish (if the Master has the means to make it), he or she orders a favorite comfort food which in turn conjures up repressed or forgotten memories of family, lost friends or past loves that basically inspires the character to remember what was once lost or left behind, deal with regrets or seek a sense of personal closure as well as fulfillment.

With scenes accompanied by Suzuki Tsuneyoshi’s haunting song “Omoi-de,” Shinya Shokudo is an introspective drama that despite the differences in language and culture, it proves that there is something universal about the topic of food that we could all connect with.

Just like the food it features, the drama stimulates feelings of comfort and good vibes.  It is one of the best yet seemingly underrated jdoramas I’ve seen so far (and rightfully deserves a second season, too).

Jdorama Food: Japanese Comfort Food

Comfort food pertains to “foods consumed to achieve some level of improved emotional status, whether to relieve negative psychological affect or to increase positive.”  They can be simple dishes that could be home-cooked (sandwiches or soup) or bought from a store (ice cream). For me, the idea of comfort food is something that can be easily prepared anytime, usually made up of left-overs and satiates those annoying hunger pangs that creep during ungodly hours of the night, a rainy day or during dvd weekend marathons.

The comfort dishes shown every episode are the real ‘stars’ of Shinya Shokudo (the drama even offers cooking tips at the end of each episode).  They include traditional Japanese comfort food like tarako (cod roe – above left) and ochazuke (rice with green tea – above right); and Western dishes like potato salad and egg sandwich.

The FooDorama Special Challenge: Remembering my own Comfort Foods

This is a special on comfort food – meaning, I will refrain from reprising the dishes featured in the drama since they are just too easy to prepare, does not pose much of a challenge and hence, no need to share recipes.  So instead, for this post, I would like to share my very own simple and personal comfort food experiences…

The FooDorama Connection #1: Nekomanma

In episode 2, an aspiring singer comes to the diner and orders nekomanma (literally means ‘cat food’) which is rice with dried bonito shavings and a dash of soy sauce.  It is a super easy to prepare and makes use of leftovers – particularly rice and fish.

My Counterpart: Rice with leftover Maling bits

LOL… I’m guessing a lot of my fellow Pinoys can relate to this. Maling is a brand name of a Chinese canned luncheon meat widely available locally. It is the poor man’s Spam… well, even middle class folks like it, too.  We did have the occasional Spam but Maling was the canned meat we consumed most often while growing up. Yes, I’ve heard of horrible rumors about this product but it’s cheap anyway, readily available and saves you time.  As long as this unsophisticated, much-maligned fare can help ease hunger pangs and gets you through the day (or night)… Lunok na lang, at wag nang mag-isip ng kung anu-ano…

FooDorama Connection #2: Tamago (or Egg) Sandwich

In episode 7, a young newspaper delivery man would order egg salad sandwich at the midnight diner during his breaks.  The Master would prepare it for him along with extra ham sandwiches.  I had to pause from watching this episode in order to make an egg sandwich for myself. There’s nothing like watching a good drama while having the same food that the characters were enjoying.

My Counterpart: The Tasty Adobo Pandesal

Chances are, every Filipino family may have some leftover adobo inside their refrigerator.  This quintessential Pinoy dish is practical, have a long shelf-life (because of its main ingredient – vinegar) and simply delicious.  I remember living on these when I was on my own in Cebu. Usually accompanied with rice, this dish could be made into a sandwich, using adobo pork or chicken from the fridge, nuke it up, shred it into thin flakes and spread it along with mayo on hot pandesal (Philippine round bread).

The FooDorama Connection #3: Butter Rice

In episode 5 (which is probably my favorite), a renowned food critic who is used to eating expensive gourmet food, drops in and orders a simple dish that reminds him of his happy, worry-free life as a young man spent with a senpai he had admired. The dish is that of butter rice – steamed rice mixed with a dab of butter and a drop of soy sauce.

My Counterpart: Sinangag (Garlic Fried Rice)

If I could order something from the Master, it would be this: the simple sinangag or left-over rice stir-fried in oil and chopped garlic, with a dash of salt and pepper.  One of my early childhood memories is watching TV alone and eating fried rice, cooked and lovingly served by my mother. I remember the rice was so good I ate 2 to 3 plates of it without eating anything else – just the fried rice. I also recall feeling contented and happy as any care-free preschooler at that time. That is why after watching Shinya Shokudo, it made me contemplate on how I long for those times, and how I miss my mother, and so, well… I ended up crying like a baby… *sighs*

The feelings attached to one’s own personal comfort food may differ from one individual to another.  Whether to make us remember our moms, or wax nostalgic for those happy youthful times, or simply unearthing lost emotions forced to be buried in exchange for steeling ourselves up as a way of self-protection against life’s harsh realities, enjoying simple comfort food more or less, is a humbling experience that helps reconnect with the child within us.  It’s this simple food that reminds us of things that may mean little to others and yet this is what we treasure for it fills us up (physically and emotionally) even for just a fleeting moment.

How about you… What’s your comfort food?

P.S. This post is dedicated to my beautiful and kind MOM. I miss you so much – and not just because of your fried rice (^^)… Love you always and happy birthday!

~(=^‥^)ノ☆ おやすみニャ。｡o.ﾟ｡*･★

————————–fodocha

My FooDorama Challenge Links

Coming Soon – FDC#14: Taiyaki (Jdorama Inspiration: Shinzanmono)

FDC#12: Omuraisu (Jdorama Inspiration: Tumbling)

FDC#11: Bibimbap (Kdrama Inspiration: Full House)

—————————

Info Sources: Comfort food (wikipedia); Jdorama (dramawiki)

Jdorama Photo Credits: (MBS, meshiya.tv)

 

Let’s Have Sekihan! (FDC#9)

The FooDorama Challenge: I Watch It, I Try It!

平和 (★´3`)ノ.☆.・∴.・☆:*・∵.:*・☆.。.:*, :*・∵.:☆.。

Jdorama Inspiration: Hotaru no Haka

The live action version of Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies) was a tanpatsu (movie made for TV) that was shown on November 1, 2005 on NTV.  Based on a novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, Hotaru no Haku was first made into a critically acclaimed animated movie in 1988. The story, set in World War II, is a heart-breaking tale of a brother and sister who were orphaned and taken under the care of a distant aunt.  The harsh realities and hopelessness caused by the cruelties of war inevitably affected everyone and thus, led the the two siblings to go and fend for themselves which ultimately brought about tragic and unfortunate consequences.

It would be better to see the 1988 movie before you watch the jdorama version.  A lot of people liked the original much better than the newer version – mainly because they disliked the auntie (played by Matsushima Nanako in the live action version) so much they prefer not to see her side of the story (which wasn’t implied in the animated movie).  The 2005 version tried to point out that it is understandable if people do make cruel, apathetic decisions and acts just to protect those who are precious to them in times of war. Both versions still showed a clear message though: war may bring out the best as well as the worst in us, and let’s hope and pray that something like this will never ever happen again.

“War does not determine who is right – only who is left.” ~Bertrand Russell: Seita (Ishida Hoshi) and Setsuko (Sasaki Mao) try to stay alive during the war (above left); At right are their animated counterparts from the 1988 movie.

Jdorama Food: Sekihan

Sekihan or red bean rice is a traditional Japanese dish that is made of steamed glutinous rice and azuki beans.  The rice gets its red color from the water used from boiling the beans.  Red is a color associated with ‘happiness’ or driving away evil vibes in Japan; that is why, sekihan is served during celebrations like birthdays and holidays.

The FooDorama Connection: At the start of the TV movie, the husband of the auntie was called to serve in the war and will be leaving on that day. For his going-away party, the aunt cooks a big batch of sekihan which excited her two daughters for they hadn’t eaten anything as luxurious as sekihan since the war started.  Above shows the elder daughter Natsu (played by Inoue Mao) scolding her sisters, reminding them that their father’s departure is not something to rejoice about.

The sekihan in the TV movie being cooked in a wooden steamer.

Another jdorama that featured sekihan:

Smile (TBS, 2009): In episode 2, Hayakawa Bito (Matsumoto Jun), helps make and deliver sekihan to an elementary school.  Unaware that the rice in the sekihan was tainted with pesticide, Bito later finds out about the mass poisoning of the students through the TV news (above right).

The FooDorama Challenge: Sekihan for My Dad’s Birthday!

We Pinoys are no strangers when it comes to glutinous rice cakes (like biko and bibingka) which we also serve during special occasions, and occasionally as an afternoon snack.  However, ours have coconut milk and sugar so they’re sweeter and goes well with strong coffee.  So when I read the ingredients for sekihan – I naturally went: What? No sugar? WTH will it taste like?

Having doubts about it, I still went ahead with this recipe for my dad’s birthday, using whatever that was left from the expensive azuki beans that I used for shiruko (FDC#3).

To make Sekihan: I used half a cup of the beans and soaked them overnight in water.  Then, I boiled them with two cups of water for less than an hour, making sure they weren’t totally cooked yet.

Then, I placed the washed uncooked rice in the rice cooker, along with three cups of water (a portion of which came from the reddish water used for boiling the beans).  I also placed the semi-cooked beans in it and some salt and let it sit for an hour. Lastly, I turned on the rice cooker until the sekihan was ready.

Sekihan for FDC#9 is done! You can mold the sekihan into round or triangular shapes (onigiri) if you like. 🙂

What did this biko-loyalist, Pinay amateur cook think of the taste? Hmm, as I said, I had my doubts but I decided to give it a chance.  I tried it with sesame seeds and salt (as stated in the recipe) but I wasn’t satisfied with it, and was only able to eat a few amount. I even tried store bought furikake (condiment used for rice) with it but I still found it lacking. The rice and beans tasted well together but I just blame my stubborn taste buds which is too used to eating rice cakes the way we usually make them… hence, I found my hand reaching up into the shelf to get the sugar jar….

Topped with brown sugar and sesame seeds, this sekihan is much better and more satisfying for me.  And I did find out that in some parts of Japan (like in Tsugare and Iwate), they do use sugar to sweeten their sekihan. ^_^ V

This sugar-topped sekihan is for my dad who celebrated his birthday today! Happy, happy birthday to my dear old Dad!

——————

Postscript (★´3`): Btw, my sekihan turned out too dark (it was more like brown, not red) so my advice is to lessen the amount of the “red” water and use more clear water for the one you’ll use to cook rice with – that is, if you want a lighter red or pinkish colored rice.  (★´3`) Also, if you are a beginner, it is better to experiment with smaller amounts first (like 2 cups of rice and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of beans) and see if you like it.  If you do, you can make more next time. (★´3`) And lastly, of course, I don’t discount the traditional way of putting salt – but if you are watching your health and on a low-salt diet, I think brown or muscuvado sugar could be a tasty and healthier alternative.

^*･’ﾟ☆｡.:*:･’☆’･:*:.｡ ~piisu~fireflies!~ v (ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ.:*:･’ﾟ:*:･’ﾟ☆

My FooDorama Challenge Links:

FDC#10: Agedashi Tofu (Jdorama Inspiration: Jin)

FDC#8: Kareh Raisu (Jdorama Inspiration: Kaibutsu-kun)

FDC#7: Zaru Soba (Jdorama Inspiration: Attention Please)

———————————- fodocha

Sekihan info source: wikipedia (English), wikipedia (Japan)
Recipe sources: japanesefood.about, recipezaar
Jdorama info source: dramawiki
Jdorama photo credits: NTV, TBS
Anime photo source: News-Anime

 

Sweet Comfort: Shiruko (FDC#3)

The FooDorama Challenge: I Watch it… I Try it!

\( ^-^)／且☆且＼(^-^ )/

Jdorama Inspiration: Saigo No Yakusoku

Saigo No Yakusoku (The Last Promise) is a tanpatsu type of drama (movie made for TV) shown on the 9th of January, 2010 on Fuji TV.  It is a story of five young men who happened to be in the same building on a day when it was taken over by a mysterious terrorist-like group. It stars the five Arashi members:

From Left to Right: Sho as a barista in a coffee stand; Nino as the building’s security systems technician; Jun as a courier; Aiba as an insurance salesman; and Ohno as a hired custodian.

It also stars Kuroki Meisa and Kitamura Yukiya.

Saigo no Yakusoku is a quintessential Arashi movie, purposely made to make their fans happy. Even if it had a predictable ending, I still enjoyed watching it.

Jdorama Food: Shiruko

Shiruko (also called oshiruko) or Red Bean Soup is a sweet soup made of azuki beans. It is usually served with mochi, a Japanese glutinous rice cake. It is a favorite comfort food among Japanese usually taken during winter and the New Year.

The FooDorama Connection: Having heard that the building has a vending machine that sells delicious red bean soup, Nozomu (Matsujun) boldly invites Yuriko (Meisa) outside for a hot cup of shiruko. Even if she is the company president’s daughter with a busy schedule and he’s a delivery guy she hardly knows, she accepts his invitation. *But who can blame her? It’s Matsujun!*

Matsujun’s ready-made, hot shiruko from a vending machine

The FooDorama Challenge: Seeking Comfort in Shiruko

I looked at the recipes of shiruko, and it seems to me that it isn’t such a difficult thing to do. And azuki beans are more like the common mung beans (munggo) that we Pinoys use (for porridge, buchi, hopia and halo-halo) and is readily available in the market.  Case in point: azuki bean’s scientific name is vigna angularis while mung bean is vigna radiata which for me it means they slightly differ only in shape but taste is more or less the same… which brings me to the question: Should I use mung beans instead?

I mentally debated about buying the real azuki beans or not. Since it is not a challenge if I don’t go for authenticity, I decided to buy the real thing. But…

Anak ng -! Ang mahal naman! E, parang munggo lang ito ah?!: Oh boy, azuki beans (left) are so expensive, I admittedly had moments of uncertainty and regret. Oh, well. It is for the sake of the challenge though. So GO!

I only bought one package. I resolve to conserve it as much as possible so I could use it for other future FooDorama recipes as well. Hee-hee.

I soaked the red beans in water overnight, then, boiled them the following day.  I only placed a considerable amount of brown sugar since I am not really fond of sweets. What came out was this red bean paste they call anko (at right).  This could also be used for daifuku, or –for me- good enough to spread on crackers for a light snack.

To make the soup, I used half a cup of anko and 2 cups of water, adjusting it with either more anko or sugar. As mentioned, it should be serve with mochi.  But now this time, I draw the line here. Instead of buying mochi, I decided to use our own glutinous rice cake, tikoy (nian-gao in Chinese), because it’s basically the same thing but cheaper (and since this was during the Lunar New Year, tikoys were abundant in the stores).

I sliced the cake into small squares and toasted them in the toaster oven for 10 minutes. Afterwards, I placed 1 to 2 tikoy squares in a bowl and pour the hot soup over it:

FooDorama Challenge #3 is done: Shiruko for Lunar New Year 2010! It is best served with something sour and/or salty like umeboshi (on the saucer in the above pic) which they say are pickled ‘plums’ but are actually related to apricots.

The sweetness was just right. I could understand why Japanese are fond of this dessert. There was something soothing about it like a comforting, hazy memory from childhood. It was that good! And to think that I wasn’t fond of tikoy, too. The only way we Pinoys commonly prepare it is to soak tikoy in beaten egg and fry it which can get to be awfully boring.  Shiruko is certainly another better way to serve tikoy. And the contrasting sour/salty taste of umeboshi was an outstanding match! I loved it!

I will certainly try this again. But I’ll go for the practical and inexpensive version: use red mung beans instead of azuki beans; buy Chinese pickled plums rather than umeboshi; and of course, still try tikoy in lieu of mochi.

Shiruko maybe new in my household but for me it’s destined to be a sweet classic.

Next on The FooDorama Challenge:

FDC#4: Okonomiyaki! (Jdorama Inspiration: Hana Kimi)

Previous FooDorama Challenges:

FDC #2: Takoyaki (Jdorama Inspiration: Gokusen)

FDC #1: Yakiniku (Jdorama Inspiration: Kekkon Dekinai Otoko)

—————

Recipe Sources: japanesefood.about, japaneserecipesinusa
Shiruko info source: wikipedia
Azuki beans info source: wikipedia
Umeboshi info source: wikipedia
Jdorama info source: fujitv

 

My Dad’s Karimbuaya Chicken (SLP#3)

Sunday Lunch Project#3:

My Dad’s Karimbuaya Chicken

We’ve been having this dish since I was a kid.  It started when a friend of my dad gave us this plant which he got from the North. Ilocanos called it karimbuaya (also spelled as carambuaya). Dad, being a native of the North as well, knew what to do with it. He planted it in our garden and harvested its leaves from time to time so he could use it for stuffing every time we have roasted chicken.  Since then, we’ve been enjoying this chicken dish so much that it has become a well-loved family recipe.

The karimbuaya plant in our garden with its oblong shaped leaves (at left)

Karimbuaya (scientific name: Euphorbia neriifolia) is often mistaken for a cactus (that’s what we thought, too) for it’s prickly thorns. It is actually a type of succulent shrub that can grow as big as a small tree. It is also known as soro-soro in Tagalog and sudu-sudu in the Visayas; Indian spurge tree in India; and milk hedge and oleander spurge in English.

Karimbuaya is also used for medicinal purposes.  It is considered purgative while its milky substance is used to treat asthma and coughs and can be applied on warts and calluses.

However, people in Northern Luzon like in Vigan, Ilocos and Abra used it more as stuffing for lechon.  When fused with spices and juices from the meat while cooking, it comes up with its own distinct flavor and smell that is uniquely vibrant, tangy and mildly spicy.

I decided to cook Dad’s Karimbuaya Roasted Chicken for Sunday Lunch Project today.  It was my first time to do this (among my many firsts), and it was important that I had to have instructions along the way.

I harvested around 8 to 10 karimbuaya leaves from the garden (feeling Barefoot Contessa! lol), getting the top leaves to ensure freshness.

I washed and chopped them up along with onions and garlic.  And  I cleaned the chicken (my first time to do so! I don’t why I find that funny but haha!) and put in a bath of soy sauce, salt and pepper.  I also added an ingredient that I can’t reveal because it’s a family secret – Sorry! I stuffed the chicken with the mixture of chopped karimbuaya, onions and garlic. After I sealed its cavity with needle and thread, it was ready for the oven. Well, in my case, the turbo broiler (which is a kind of circular convection oven for those who are unfamiliar with this contraption).

I let the chicken cook for 35 to 45 minutes (please note that cooking in the turbo takes less time than an ordinary oven), turning and inverting it so all sides were evenly roasted at a temperature of 250 degrees. And this was the result:

I like the wing part the best, along with a hefty serving of steaming white rice.  This is really good when you eat it with the karimbuaya stuffing and if you are not too health-conscious, mix it with the tasty drippings from the chicken as well. Ooh, yeah!

So was my Karimbuaya Chicken a hit or a miss?

Answer: Oh, I better make it a hit or else my dad would disown me. Just kiddin! Of course it was a hit! Since it was a time-tested, reliable family recipe, nothing could go wrong.  And unlike my Thyme-Lemon Chicken fiasco, this was much more flavorful. It was an absolute yum-yum, as always! Thanks to my dad’s friend, we didn’t have to travel up North to get karimbuaya. This dish is something we will cherish for years to come.

Postscript: Since it was an easy recipe, I decided to prepare a more challenging and intimidating (well, at least, for me) recipe for my next SLP…

Next on Sunday Lunch Project – Beef Pochero (SLP#4)

Previous SLP Posts:

Sunday Lunch Project #2: Yakiniku

Sunday Lunch Project #1: Thyme-Lemon Roasted Chicken

Karimbuaya info sources:
Asia Pacific Medicinal Plant Database
bpi.da.gov.ph