Park adventures and skipping dinner.

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and drove out to a large park called Inokashira Park.

This particular park is a wonderful place to be on the weekends or on a holiday, because there are always many street performers and musicians that come to entertain. My favorite was this quirky band. Their instruments were a little more unusual but they were surprisingly good.

We enjoyed some yummy treats while we were out. First some dango, a chewy dumpling made with rice flower.

 

 

Then there was a fun take on the hot dog–the naan dog.

But what day would be complete without ice cream? There were many flavors to choose from:

But what did I choose? Sakura of course!

I had some help . . . .

After we got home I opened up the refrigerator to start thinking about what to make for dinner. I saw a container of fresh strawberries that I bought the day before and decided to put them to good use. So why make dinner when you can make dessert?

I decided to make a type of Japanese dessert, little mochi cakes filled with strawberries and neri-an, however I gave it a bit of a western twist by replacing the neri-an (Japanese soft adzuki bean paste) with whipped cream.

Traditional Japanese desserts tend to not be as sweet as their western counterparts, but the whipped cream helps to sweeten the deal a bit more here.

The powder used, shiratama-ko powder, is not a traditional rice flour.

It is made up of larger granules:

Mochi Cakes with Strawberries (Ichigo Daifuku)

Makes 5

-100g/3.75 oz./scant 1/2 cup shiratama-ko powder (this is the rice flour, it is kind of in granules instead of being straight powder)

-15ml/1 tbsp granulated sugar

-200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup water

-cornstarch, for rolling out the dough

-10 strawberries

-whipped cream

1. In a microwave proof bowl, mix the shiratama-ko powder and sugar. Gradually add the water, then knead well to make a thick paste. You may need to adjust the amount of water slightly depending on the weather. It was a bit more humid yesterday, and so if I had used all of the water, my mixture would have been too soupy and the rice dough then would have turned out too sticky and difficult to work with.

2. Cover and cook in a microwave for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes (600 or 500watts). Alternatively, steam the mixture in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water for 10-15 minutes.

3. Lightly dust a cutting board with cornstarch. Turn out the mixture onto the board and divide it into 5 pieces. Roll out a portion of mixture into a small oval shape.

4. Put a strawberry and some whipped cream in the middle. Fold the rice cake in half and serve decorated with a strawberry.

Repeat this process to make the other 4 cakes. Eat the cakes on the day they are prepared–if left for any longer they will harden.

*If you want to make yours a bit more traditional, replace the whipped cream with some neri-an (Japanese soft adzuki bean paste). To do this you will need 115g/4oz./scant 1/2 cup canned neri-an cut into 5 pieces.

My goal is to start trying to put more Japanese recipes on here in an effort to improve my Japanese cooking, so if anyone has any requests, let me know!

In a few hours the Fuji family will be hopping on a plane bound for Southern California to try and find a new house to live in. Hopefully one with a tree so that Squirrel can practice her climbing skills. See you on the other side of the pond!