Following my previous post, I'm going to write the top ten recipes in my Japanese blog. There are more sweet and/or stodgy food recipes viewed by the Japanese (or Internationals with advanced Japanese language skills) audience than in this English blog, whereas in this blog the top ten has a lot of healthy stuff. I'm not trying to make some kind of audacious statement here from this insignificant miniature statistics, but I think I can safely say one thing.
It is kind of obvious, but Japanese (or Oriental) people are still leaner than Westerners even though they do eat sugary and stodgy stuff. You might say that it's due to the difference in genetical constitution, but then genetic traits are just inheritance of habits, aren't they? I think it is to do with the fact that the amount of sugar and fat contained in a, say, 5cm3 (cubic centimeter) piece of cake is quite a lot more in the cakes made in the West than in the East.
Think of all these cupcake shops that have sprung up in New York and in London in the last few years (since Sex and the City, I guess), and all that icing, in case you don't know what it's made of, is nothing but sugar and butter. It's the same thing as stuffing your gob with a large knob of butter. I don't understand how these shops can afford those premium locations in London just by selling cupcakes... It's scary.
Think of all these cupcake shops that have sprung up in New York and in London in the last few years (since Sex and the City, I guess), and all that icing, in case you don't know what it's made of, is nothing but sugar and butter. It's the same thing as stuffing your gob with a large knob of butter. I don't understand how these shops can afford those premium locations in London just by selling cupcakes... It's scary.
Traditional Japanese sweets generally don't have any fat in them but they do contain sugar, and young (and old) Japanese girls do eat a lot of Western-style cakes. It's just that the level of sweetness is way way more in the Western confectionary. AND the portion! A packet of a chocolate bar in Japan is half the size of the UK ones. Cakes and tarts from cafés in the UK are much larger and sweeter than the ones in Japan.
Of course the Japanese have some other health issue - stroke (due to their high consumption of salt), but if you are conscious of your calorie intake, it all comes down to one simple exercise - eat less. Eating very small amount of food four or five times a day with one fruit in-beween (eating about eight times a day) would fill you up and make your stomach shrink.
Anyway, here are the top ten recipes in my Japanese blog:
Parmesan Cheese Biscuits
Smoked Mackerel Rice
Grilled Vegetable and Halloumi Salad
Cabbage Rice with Anchovy and Garlic
Mincemeat Crumble Squares
Almond Biscuits with Rum Raisins
Pancake
Mushroom Risotto
Strawberry Shortcakes
Prune and Armagnac Tart
The picture above, by the way, is Blackberry Foccacia. I'm Japanese and I like sweet and stodgy stuff...I can't help it. Happiness is the best medicine for everything ;) I got it from Nigel Slater's fabulous book called Tender.
Ingredients (for 4-8 people):
(for the focaccia)
450g strong white flour
1 sachet easy-bake yeast (7g)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar
350ml warm water
(for the topping)
250g blackberries
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon caster or demerara sugar
icing sugar for dusting
Set the oven at 220C.
Put the flour in a large bowl, add the yeast, the sea salt, then the sugar and warm water. Mix with a wooden spoon, then turn the dough out onto a generously floured board and knead lightly for five minutes or so. You need not be too enthusiastic. A gentle pummelling will suffice.
Once the dough feels elastic and 'alive', put it into a floured bowl, cover with a clean cloth or cling film and leave it somewhere warm to rice. It will take approximately an hour to double in size. Once it has, punch it down again, knocking some of the air out. Tip it into a shallow baking tin about 30cm in diameter. Gently knead half the blackberries into the dough, scattering the remaining ones on top. Cover the dough once more and return it to a warm place to rise.
Once the dough has expanded to almost twice its size, drizzle over the olive oil, scatter with the sugar and bake for thirty-five to forty minutes, till well risen, golden brown and crisp on top. It should feel springy when pressed. Leave to cool slightly before dusting with icing sugar. Cut into thick wedges and eat whilst it is still warm. It will not keep for more than a few hours.
Of course the Japanese have some other health issue - stroke (due to their high consumption of salt), but if you are conscious of your calorie intake, it all comes down to one simple exercise - eat less. Eating very small amount of food four or five times a day with one fruit in-beween (eating about eight times a day) would fill you up and make your stomach shrink.
Anyway, here are the top ten recipes in my Japanese blog:
Parmesan Cheese Biscuits
Smoked Mackerel Rice
Grilled Vegetable and Halloumi Salad
Cabbage Rice with Anchovy and Garlic
Mincemeat Crumble Squares
Almond Biscuits with Rum Raisins
Pancake
Mushroom Risotto
Strawberry Shortcakes
Prune and Armagnac Tart
The picture above, by the way, is Blackberry Foccacia. I'm Japanese and I like sweet and stodgy stuff...I can't help it. Happiness is the best medicine for everything ;) I got it from Nigel Slater's fabulous book called Tender.
Ingredients (for 4-8 people):
(for the focaccia)
450g strong white flour
1 sachet easy-bake yeast (7g)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar
350ml warm water
(for the topping)
250g blackberries
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon caster or demerara sugar
icing sugar for dusting
Set the oven at 220C.
Put the flour in a large bowl, add the yeast, the sea salt, then the sugar and warm water. Mix with a wooden spoon, then turn the dough out onto a generously floured board and knead lightly for five minutes or so. You need not be too enthusiastic. A gentle pummelling will suffice.
Once the dough feels elastic and 'alive', put it into a floured bowl, cover with a clean cloth or cling film and leave it somewhere warm to rice. It will take approximately an hour to double in size. Once it has, punch it down again, knocking some of the air out. Tip it into a shallow baking tin about 30cm in diameter. Gently knead half the blackberries into the dough, scattering the remaining ones on top. Cover the dough once more and return it to a warm place to rise.
Once the dough has expanded to almost twice its size, drizzle over the olive oil, scatter with the sugar and bake for thirty-five to forty minutes, till well risen, golden brown and crisp on top. It should feel springy when pressed. Leave to cool slightly before dusting with icing sugar. Cut into thick wedges and eat whilst it is still warm. It will not keep for more than a few hours.