Fish Trip Cafe

In Japan, children are taught not to leave even one grain of rice in your rice bowl, because there are seven rice gods residing in every single grain of rice, so we shouldn’t waste them.
This custom to ‘finish all the food served for you’ contains expression of gratitude for food and appreciate farmers who produced the food.

Anyway, I calculated how many rice gods in this rice ball when I was making them today.

100g of rice = about 4300 grains of rice.
I used 300g of rice for 8 small rice balls.
So, 11287 rice gods residing in each rice ball.

Mmm… they must feel so cramped.

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— Grilled Rice Balls with Spicy Miso (8 rice balls) —

300g rice (Japanese short grain white rice, or sushi rice)

420ml water

Some salt

2 tablespoons spring onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons miso paste (light brown coloured miso is preferred)
*please see this link for more information about miso

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon chilli powder

Some sesame oil for frying

1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

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Rinse the rice in a clod water, changing the water several times until the water runs almost clear.

Drain the washed rice in a sieve and place in a saucepan.

Pour 420ml water in the pan and cover with tight-fitting rid.

Bring to the boil over high heat and let cook for 2 minute. Reduce the heat to the lowest and simmer (always cover the pan with a rid) 15 minute. Remove from the heat, still covered, and leave the pan for another 10 minutes.

Place the chopped spring onion, miso paste, mayonnaise, sugar and chilli powder in a small bowl and mix together. Set aside.

Divide the cooked rice into 8 equal portions.

Wet the palms of your hands and then lightly sprinkle them with salt.

Form the rice into circle shape.

Heat a frying-pan on medium heat with a little bit of sesame oil. Fry each side of the rice balls until lightly golden.

Transfer the rice balls onto the baking tray. Spread the miso mixture on the rice balls.

Preheat broiler, position the backing tray approximately 6 inches away from top heating element. Broil about 5 minutes, until the miso mixture starts to brown.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Spinach olive pizza. Popeye and Olive . . .  Help me, Popeye!

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— Spinach Olive Pizza (1 x 12 inch round pizza) —

1 x 12 inch pizza base (please see how to make pizza dough. *This recipe makes 2 x 12 inch thin pizza base)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tablespoons pine nuts

400g spinach, roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

A pinch of grated nutmeg

A pinch of black pepper

120g mozzarella cheese, grated

12 small black olives

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Some black pepper

*****

– for tomato sauce –

2 tablespoons tomato purée

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

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Mix all the tomato sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a frying-pan and fry the crushed garlic and pine nuts over low heat until golden.

Add the spinach and stir-fry over medium heat until wilted. Season with the salt, nutmeg, black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 220C / 425F.

Brush the baking tray with olive oil and lay the round base on the tray.

Spread the tomato sauce onto the base, sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Spread the spinach and black olives over the top, followed by the rest of mozzarella and the parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes until topping is golden and the base is crispy.

Sprinkle with some black pepper.

Bright and breezy. A perfect day for making vegetable chips.

The sliced root vegetables and my cat and I, we all bask in the sun today.

Sunshine brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetables,
and these half sun-dried vegetables makes light and crispy chips.

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— Root Vegetable Chips —

Carrot

Parsnips

Beetroots

Butternut, peeled

Sweet potatoes

Chinese lotus roots

Vegetable oil for deep-fry

Sea salt

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Slice all the vegetables in very thin slices with a mandolin or vegetable peeler.

Wash the sweet potato slices and chinese lotus roots in several changes of water, till the water runs clear of starch. Dry the slices thoroughly on paper towels.

Lay out each slice of all the root vegetables separately on a sheet or tray.

Dry them in sunshine for about 4 hours until half sun-dried.

Heat the vegetable oil to 325F / 160C.

Deep-fry the half sun-dried vegetable slices in batches until lightly golden and crispy (deep-fry each kind of vegetable separately). Drain excess oil on kitchen paper.

Sprinkle with sea salt.

Spiky haired corn cobs dressed up in fresh and spicy butter. Looking hot.

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— Grilled Corn with Lime Chilli Butter —

8 ears corn, husked

100g butter, softened

1-2 teaspoons chilli powder (adjust chili to suit your taste)

Zest of 1 lime

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Some salt

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Place the butter, chilli powder, lime zest and fresh lime juice in a bowl. Mix until well combined.

Transfer the mixed butter on a sheet of parchment paper and mold into a log. Wrap the log with the paper and twist the ends to seal. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

Pull back hunks from ears of corn, remove and discard silks, tie husks together with string to form a handle.

Place corn on rack of an uncovered grill directly over heat with husks hanging over the edge or away from the heat.

Grill the corn for about 15 minutes until browned, turning occasionally to cook evenly.

Sprinkle with salt and serve with the lime chilli butter.