Daifuku Mochi (大福餅)

A traditional Japanese confectionery filled with traditional homemade red bean and black sesame paste.

Chewy, soft mochi filled with homemade sweet red bean paste and sweetened black sesame paste :) 

> Origin: Japanese
> Cost: Cheap
> Ease: Easy

   I do realize it's been forever since I last posted. I don't have any excuses besides the fact that Anime North had me sewing day and night, and my course had me studying for la plupart de Juin. In any case, this was requested a long while ago by somebody, so here it is and I'm sorry for the delay! Honestly, boxed mochi isn't expensive to buy. In fact, it's probably even more convenient if you went out to buy it yourself, assuming you live near an Asian supermarket. If you don't, you may find it difficult to find glutinous rice flour, which is pretty essential. In any case, this is the easy/lazy way of making mochi, but it works, so why not? :P However if you don't have heat resistant hands (like I do), you need to be careful with this recipe, I'm not sure what I can tell you. Typically, you'd be pounding the mochi with a kine in an usu (mallet and... mortar-type thing), but here, I use my hands to do so. Please be careful ): ! 

Japanese Cheesecake Recipe

Love cheesecake, but hate feeling the guilt of eating heavy, regular cheesecake? Then this is the recipe for you!

Light, fluffy melt-in-your-mouth cake with all the goodness of cheesecake, but without the heaviness

> Origin: Japanese
> Cost: Moderate - Expensive (depending on your budget)
> Ease: Moderate to Difficult

 I've always loved Japanese cheesecake. Although I love western-style cheesecake a lot, I often find that they are too heavy and leave me feeling bloated and guilty. Japanese cheesecake really is a LOT lighter. It's texture is somewhat like a spongecake-- very light, fluffy, and the best part is... it still tastes like regular cheesecake! It's great when you just want a snack and you can cut yourself a slice and munch on it :) ! However, like all cheesecakes, Japanese cheesecakes are pretty delicate and because this isn't as heavy as a regular cheesecake, there needs to be a lot of moisture when baking. I've tried this recipe twice. The first time, I was using a springform pan and immerse it in water... without wrapping it in tin foil. BAD IDEA. The bottom came out very soggy and some of the batter leaked, though it still tasted great. The second time, I filled a pan full of water and placed it on a rack beneath the cheesecake while it baked, but the result was too dry and the top of the cheesecake cracked. Basic cake making skills would definitely be an asset :) 

Now this recipe... was modified from another site and pasted into a Word document for easy printing... I don't have the site bookmarked or written down, so if you recognize the recipe from somewhere, just leave the site in the comments so I can give them credit for a great recipe! :)

Japanese Pickled Cucumber (キュウリ浅漬け) Recipe

Kyuuri Asazuke :) An easy way to unknowingly finish a whole concombre. 

Crisp cucumbers traditionally pickled to for a light and delicious taste

> Origin: Japanese
> Cost: Cheap
> Ease: Very Easy

 If you're craving a healthy and easy snack, kyuuri asazuke are the way to go! All you need to do is make preparation and let it sit overnight (or longer) to have delicious results. This recipe can be used with any type of cut of cucumber. You could slice them thickly, or cut them into rectangles, but my favourite is cutting them into thin slices. It gives me the illusion that I have more and it also calls for a shorter 'marinating' time because the pickling liquid can easily seep into the thin cucumber. I love this snack a lot, and since cucumbers aren't expensive, it's a perfect snack for a student who wants to eat healthy but wants fast food :) ! 

Steamed Black Bean Spare Ribs (蒸豉汁排骨) Recipe

Steamed spare ribs in black bean sauce... dim sum time anyone? ;)

The aroma of black bean marinated spare ribs, healthily steamed and served dim sum style :) 

> Origin: Chinese
> Cost: Inexpensive
> Ease: Very Easy

 This is one of my favourite Chinese dishes. Whenever my family and I go to dim sum, my parents know to always order this for me because they know I love it. My mother used to make this for dinner all the time when I lived at home. When she bought a new steamer, she gave me our old one (there's a giant hole in the top from where my sister put it on the stove), and I decided I'd make this for myself too! It's very very simple, you can even marinate the spare ribs beforehand and freeze them so that they're ready-to-steam! This version is exactly like the version you get at dim sum restaurants when you can yum cha, so definitely try it out if you're a fan (like me)! 

Tiramisu Recipe

A heavenly "lift me up" in more ways than one :)

Delicate dessert with rich, creamy marscapone, infused with the energizing ability of two caffeine-ingredients; espresso and cocoa

> Origin: Italian
> Cost: Expensive
> Ease: Difficult

 Everybody loves tiramisu. If you don't love it, it's because you've never tried it. Thanks to a good high school friend of mine, I've my hands on her traditional Italian-esque recipe. I actually asked for this recipe when I was in grade 10, and I never got around to making it til 3rd year university... Gotta love hotmail's archiving. In any case, this recipe is absolutely delicious, but it honestly is very difficult. As you can tell from the top two pictures, I made 2 batches; the second, taller one turning out better. Although I'm an advocate for taking creative liberties, I would suggest following the recipe exactly if you aren't familiar with making desserts like such. Please read the recipe through before you start making it. Honestly though, it was so worth it, I enjoyed every bite :) 

Teriyaki Steak Strips Recipe

Excuse the horrible picture... I think I made this during midterm season :( 

Sweet taste of teriyaki marinated steak strips, grilled or pan-fried to perfection

> Origin: Japanese/Western Fusion
> Cost: Cheap
> Ease: Very Easy

I love meat. I love steak the most. I tend to eat mine rare or medium rare, but to be very honest, eating the same old steak all the time gets kind of boring. The best thing to do with a not-so-good cut of steak would be to cut it up and marinate it awesomely. Most of the time, I love eating my steak plain because I love the natural flavour, but often times, certain cuts of steak won't taste as good, so it's worth it to marinate it a bit to bring out some hidden flavours. Here's one way of doing it... :)

Cocoa Banana Bread Recipe

Cocoa banana bread fresh out of the oven! 

Traditional banana bread with a hint of chocolate fresh from the oven

> Origin: Western
> Cost: Cheap
> Ease: Easy

 Back when I was a little girl, my mom used to make banana bread all the time. Her banana bread was honestly the best thing in the world, and it'd get finished in 2-3 days easily. I loved the sticky top of the bread and the crunchy exterior, and of course, the soft center. Sometimes she'd add walnuts because my dad is a big fan of nuts and she added blueberries one time as well. I remember making it with her a lot as a kid, it was a lot of fun and after awhile, I learned the recipe by heart as well. It was so simple, but so good. Banana bread should be something that everyone knows how to make. The recipe is super easy, so it's hard to mess up/go wrong-- so please try it out and enjoy!