Natto

Last week, our cellgroup games forfeit was to eat a spoonful of natto with wasabi. Many of our cellgroup members were wondering what that pungent smell was and did not want to get forfeited so that they wont have to eat it! Two of our cellgroup members were the sad ones that got forfeited (3rd one being me but i like natto!), and they literally felt like dying when eating the natto. So today lemme introduce this mysterious natto!


When i first ate natto, i tried one small mouthful and did not like it at all! i hated the smell and sticky texture of it! however, after a few more times, i started to take bigger and bigger mouthfuls of it and fell in love with natto! the pungent smell actually attracts me to it and somehow it smells a little like coffee beans to me.

ok u might be wondering why i kept trying natto over and over again even though i dont like it! its because john looooveeess natto and i kept buying it for him to eat! thus i had to keep trying it too!

natto is actually a type of traditional japanese food made from fermented soybeans. it is fermented with Bacillus Subtilis. ok i dont know what is that but wikipedia said so. wikipedia also said that it is a rich source of protein and good bacteria but i already knew that, since its soybean right???

so history of natto... if u dont wanna read, pls skip to the next part.
right, history.... ok so sources differ about the origin of natto but the consistent thing in all the sources is that originally, natto was made by first steaming the soybeans then fermenting it in rice straw. they would leave it in the straw bags to ferment for days and the fermentation was done either buried underground underneath a fire or in a warm place.



today, natto is made steaming the soybeans for 6 hours then mixing it with the bacterium. the mixture is then fermented at 40 degrees celsius for 24 hours. after the natto is cooled, it is aged in a refigerator for up to one week to allow the development of stringiness. today, it is usually sold in small styrofoam containers and a typical package contains 2 or 3 containers. It usually includes a small packet of soy sauce and a packet of mustard.


Natto is eaten in many different ways in different parts of Japan and i guess they all try to come up with special ways to enjoy natto. for me, i like to eat it by itself, straight out of the pack! but i am always game to try other ways to eat it! one good way would be to put it into a handroll.


or do it like how most japanese does it. mix it with rice for breakfast



i saw this at a japanese-western restaurant at NEX some time ago,
natto pasta

basically, the sky's the limit when cooking with natto! its all up to your creativity (and whether u can accept the funky taste and smell hehe) 

where to buy natto? 
you can get it frozen at most fairprice finest , bishan fairprice (always buy it there), got it once at clunycourt cold storage and meidi-ya (jap supermarket at liang court) 

alternatively, if you just wanna try some first, you can go to sushi-tei. they serve it with maguro. not too sure about other japanese restaurants but i'm sure it wont be that hard to find! 

Enjoy!

DINNER!

Chilli crab sauce stir-fry with prawns


Brocolli, carrot stir-fry with sliced pork


pan fried cod fish with garlic and parsley


anyone wants the recipes? do comment!

KONAPUN

Hi everyone! we haven't been uploading our blog for a long time and i guess its because we lost the momentum of blogging and its so hard to get back into it! well, today I'm here to blog because i have something exciting to share with everyone! It's something i discovered on youtube and eventually got so madly in love with, i watched almost every single video of it! 


The title of this blog post is the name of this thing I'm currently crazy over! it's KONAPUN! its invented by the Japanese and I'm not surprised because they are really creative and innovative! favourite japanese inventions includes 


karaoke***** love it to the max!!




Can't live without it, cup noodles! 



extremely cute tamagotchi! 



Of course there are so many other japanese inventions that we cant live without. A trip to Daiso would be very rewarding because of all the interesting inventions that they sell there. i cant come out of daiso empty-handed. i just dont have that capability yet hahaha. ok im digressing... i shall blog about the awesomeness of Daiso another day. 

back to KONAPUN. what is that? Basically, it's a range of toys released by Bandai, in which you can make mini fake food by adding water to the powder to imitate the cooking process. The sets available range from sushi sets, pasta and even creating and decorating cakes. this is a play set for kids but im sure many adults buy this for themselves!  The Japanese are really good at making fake food look like real ones and many japanese restaurants display them outside their shop. still not convinced? lemme show you some videos. 

making sushi

making a full bento set

making doughnuts


these are just some of the videos available on youtube. if you are really interested, u can go onto youtube and search for konapun! 

this set of toy does not only mimic the whole cooking process of the food, it also makes sounds and different effects for example when you deep fry food or pan fry it. it is AMAZING! this will be something to buy when i go to Japan soon! i will make sure i buy one of every set! HEHEHE anyone else wants to buy this?? 


p.s. it is not edible and the 'food' actually rots after awhile 

pps. stay tuned for another post on popin cookin'! something similar to konapun but its edible!!! 



Konapun feast


konapun cooking set


New Year! A Fresh Start!

Hey all those who frequent our blog! (yes all 10 of you XD) thanks for view our post during 2010! Stay tuned for exciting recipes, posts are review which are coming up. sorry for the lack of posting over the last few months. Been busy with such and such. XP

Any way, look forward to our Mandarin Orange Creme Brulee recipe coming right up!. ( Another good way to use those many carton of oranges!)

Peace!

Food Bloop

Hi all, Singapore is a big racial society. It is a melting pot of many cultures and as such finding errorneous posters or typos on menus can be frequntly found almost every from your neighbour hood kopitiam to classy restaurants.

I decided to post random shots when ever i find them to tickle your funny bone ^^.




Poor Chicken... even if you got laid off you don't need to sell your body.

Interesting Food Facts!

Time for some interesting food facts! Here are some that i have come across and compiled.

1. Apples, potatoes, and onions all taste the same when eaten with your nose plugged. This shows the nose plays the incredibly important part in the sense of taste. The fact that the three items have a similar consistency makes it virtually impossible to identify them without the sense of smell.



2. Tea is said to have been discovered in 2737 BC by a Chinese emperor when some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water.



3. The only continent that does not have a McDonald’s is Antarctica. 



4. In general, raw vegetables have a much higher nutrient value than cooked, though there are a few exceptions, such as cooked tomatoes. Cooked artichokes also have very high overall antioxidant value. 



5. Iceberg lettuce is 90 percent water, and therefore, of negligible nutrient value. 



6. There are around 1200 varieties of watermelon.






 okay, this is just funny hahaha

7.  Diet soda has not been proven to aid in weight loss. In fact, it’s been shown to actually increase hunger.





8. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. The ancient Assyrians used saffron for medicinal purposes. The Greeks and Romans used it to perfume their luxurious baths. The bright orange-yellow color also made saffron useful as a dye. In modern times, saffron is used widely in different cuisines to add colour to food. 





9. Truffle hogs were used to locate trufffles, which grows underground, as they have an innate ability to locate it. This is because compound within the truffle is similar to androstenol, the sex pheromone of boar saliva, to which the sow is keenly attracted to. In recent years, dogs are used instead as pigs tend to damage the area searched and they have the tendency to eat the truffles once found.




10. In olden times, the origin of truffles was a mystery to many. Some thought it was a tuberous root and some deemed it as children of the earth. Truffles in actual fact, is a rare edible funghi that is deemed as a delicacy around the world. There are many different types of truffles but the famous ones are the italian white truffle and the french black truffle. The white truffle, often referred to as the white diamond, is considered the rarest type of truffle, demanding one of the highest prices. In general, truffles are among the most expensive natural foods in the world, selling for hundreds or thousands of US Dollars (USD) per pound (0.45 kg).


dont let their ugly appearance fool you. Sometimes a thin slice is all you need to flavor your dish.








Tsukiji Gindaco



today's review is on Tsukiji Gindaco, that famous takoyaki stall at the basement of Ion Shopping Mall. It is known for having long queues so when i saw less than 4 ppl in the queue, i immediately jumped right behind to get my hands on some takoyaki!

first things first, some info on takoyaki that u might or might not know.
Takoyaki literally means fried or grilled octopus and it is a popular Japanese dish made of batter, diced or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, ponzu, mayonnaise, green laver (aonori), and katsuobushi (bonito flakes - fish shavings). It is first popularized in Osaka. Yaki is derived from "yaku" which simply means "to fry or grill" in Japanese, and can be found in the names of other Japanese cuisine items such as teriyaki or sukiyaki.

Takoyaki brings back fond memories of my pri and sec sch days, when we wld buy at junction 8 every so often. so needless to say, i was extremely excited to try the takoyaki!

This stall only sells takoyaki with octopus because tako stands for octopus! non of those cheese and ham versions! i really enjoyed the takoyaki because at first bite, it was crisp and brown. The inner fillings that were soft and runny, complemented the crispy exterior. every takoyaki had a nice size tako and they did not overcook the octopus. the takoyaki is then topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayo and some bonito flakes.
The yakisoba however, failed in comparison. the yakisoba i ordered has a fried egg on top and some meat and cabbage below. the soba noodle was chewy and not overcooked but there was nothing special about it. i felt like it was just soba noodles with egg and tons of okonomiyaki sauce.


 If you happen to be at Ion, just go for the takoyaki! 






below is what the yakisoba originally looked like but i was too hungry and started eating before taking a photo! heh



Being a good blogger, i went to their website to check out their menu and saw so many other exciting takoyaki flavors that i have to share!

Mentaiko (pollock roe) flavor 

Negi (green/spring onion) flavor served with tempura dipping sauce and grated daikon (radish)



Egg mayo flavor


Please correct me if im wrong in identifying the flavors but i cant read jap at all! so im having a hard time trying to identify it too! so if u happen to read jap, pls do me a favour by pointing out the diff flavors! (: 

ok i am hungry TTM now! why do i write a food blog???!?!?!? hahahahahaha






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