Takenoko no tosa-ni

This is a simmered bamboo shoot with dried shaved bonito.
Takenoko means bamboo shoot.
Spring is nice season to have takenoko in Japan.
Tosa-ni is a type of simmered dish which has rich flavor of dried bonito.
Takenoko has nice texture and plain taste.
Dried bonito has rich taste.
This combination makes wonderful taste.

Sakura mochi (Domyoji mochi)

I have already introduced you Tokyo style sakura mochi.
In this time, I introduce you kansai-area style sakura mochi.
It is called "Domyoji mochi.

Sweet red bean paste is covered with dough which is made from domyoji flour, sugar, food red and water, and wrapped with sakura (cherry blossom) leaf which is pickled in salt.
Domyoji flour is made by steaming mochi rice, later dried, and ground coarsely.

Sakura mochi (Chomeiji mochi)

This is a Tokyo style sakura mochi.
Sakura means cherry blossom.
Sakura mochi is a Japanese traditional sweet.
It is pink dough and sweet red bean paste wrapped with sakura leaf.
We have two style of sakura mochi.
One is Tokyo style, and another is kansai area style.

In this time, I introduce you Tokyo style sakuramochi.
It is also called chomeiji mochi.
Sweet red bean paste is wrapped with fried dough and wrapped again with sakura leaf.
The dough is made from mochi rice flour, wheat flour, sugar, food red, and water.
The sakura leaf is pickled in salt, it has nice fragrance.

Rakkyo

Rakkyo (rakkyo-zuke) is pickled Japanese shallots.
(We also call Japanese shallot "Rakkyo" )
Cleaned rakkyo(shallots) are pickled in the sauce which is made from water ,vinegar, sugar, salt, and red pepper.
usually, those are pickled around three weeks.
Rakkyo is well known healthy food.
Personally, I eat a few piece of rakkyo every day.
It is rich in mineral.
And, allyl sulfides which is included in rakkyo aid the absorption of vitamin B1.

Goma Dofu (Sesame Tofu)

This is a traditional vegetarian dish (shojin-ryori).
Goma dofu looks like tofu.
"goma dofu" literally means sesame tofu.
( "goma" means sesame )
It is not made from soy bean.
Goma dofu is made from sesame seed , arrowroot flour, dashi-soup.

It has a rich taste and smooth texture.
We usually dip it with wasabi-jyou ( soy sauce mixed with wasabi ) and eat.

Aji no Nanban-zuke

"Nanban-zuke"(nanbanzuke) is a type of marinated dish.
It is made by marinating deep-fried fish ( or meat ) into vinegared sauce.

"Aji" means Japanese horse mackerel.
It is rich in DHA and EPA, it is a healthy food.

Cut filleted aji into around two bite size.
Coat them with wheat flour slightly, and deep-fry them.
marinate deep-fried aji into sauce which is made by mixing vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, dashi-soup, and red pepper.

Ikura no Gunkan-maki

This is a salmon roe sushi.
Ikura means salmon roe.
It has a rich taste.

Gunkan-maki(gunkanmaki) is a style of nigiri-zushi.
Hand formed sushi rice is surrounded with nori.
And Ikura is toped on the rice.
Nori works just like a wall, so ikura is set on the rice.