Fuki no shiroppu-ni / candied Japanese butterbur

A great companion for tea time! Sweet yet faintly bitter butterbur makes you come back for more.

Breakfast, May 21, 2015

Last week, Tom got off one of his three medications. His heart is pretty much functioning normally again (!) except for one condition that seems to stay with him.
The doctor complimented him on his diet, which made me happy.

• Steamed rice with toasted sesame seeds (130 g in photo; 218 kcal; 1 mg sodium)
• Kakitama oroshi no misoshiru / egg- flower and grated daikon radish miso soup, with seri water dropwort (51 kcal; 255 mg sodium)
• Iridofu / scrambled tofu with bracken, burdock root, carrot, yu choy sum, king oyster mushroom and egg (137 kcal; 131 mg sodium)
• Fuki to age no gomani / Japanese butterbur and thin deep-fried tofu in sesame-flavored broth (88 kcal; 102 mg sodium)

Total calories & sodium content: 494 kcal; 489 mg sodium  (For Tom: 594 kcal; 541 mg sodium)

Aoyose / chlorophyll extracted from green leaves

Aoyose [lit. blue/green put together] is a vegetable-based colorant commonly used at restaurants in Japan. From the following simple process -- much like an elementary school science class project -- you can obtain a smooth, dark green paste like an artist's paint that gives a vibrant note to a number of dishes. Just don't be shocked how little aoyose you actually get.

Ichigo no shootokeeki / layered sponge cake with strawberries

A Japanese-style "strawberry shortcake" comes as either a double or triple layer of airy, delicate and somewhat moist sponge cake, with whole or sliced strawberries packed inside and more on top. The sponge and cream are equally soft and almost melt together in your mouth, yet you can still clearly sense the mellow aroma of sugar and fresh eggs of the sponge, the fresh silkiness of the cream and the sweet, subtly sour taste of strawberries. This is the most common Western-type cake in Japan, as it has been one of the preferred choices for special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas for many years.

Whole cake: 
2,605 calories; 32.0 g protein; 185.5 g fat; 192.8 g carbohydrate; 187.3 g net carbs; 285 mg sodium; 1,002 mg cholesterol; 5.5 g fiber

1/8 slice: 
521 calories; 6.4 g protein; 37.1 g fat; 38.6 g carbohydrate; 37.5 g net carbs; 57 mg sodium; 200 mg cholesterol; 1.1 g fiber

Suponji keeki / sponge cake (genoise)

Indispensable for a number of Western-style cakes, including layered cake with fruits and fresh cream, framboise or raspberry mousse cake, baked chocolate or chocolate mousse cakes, Mont Blanc, baked & unbaked cheesecakes, matcha green tea cake, etc. Key ingredients are as simple as flour, eggs and sugar. Below I replace some all-purpose flour with potato starch, and add some maple syrup, butter and milk to increase the cake's soft and delicate texture and moist finish.

Whole cake (18 cm mold): 
1135 calories; 27.2 g protein; 43.2 g fat; 154.6 g carbohydrate; 152.4 g net carbs; 231 mg sodium; 713 mg cholesterol; 2.2 g fiber

Hotate to meshida no bataajoyu itame / stir-fried scallops and Western lady fern in butter and soy sauce

The softly mellow taste of scallops and faint bitterness of lady fern heads complement each other really well as the no-fail combination of butter and soy sauce works again here for a pair of ingredients from the sea and the land.

1/2 of recipe:
116 calories; 12.8 g protein; 2.7 g fat; 8.4 g carbohydrate; 5.7 g net carbs; 192 mg sodium (with 50% reduced-sodium soy sauce; 304 mg with regular soy sauce); 27 mg cholesterol; 2.7 g fiber

Fuki no gomani / Japanese butterbur in sesame-flavored broth

Fuki's mild bitterness is softened by tahini sesame paste, making the juicy stalks a delightful companion for your meal and drinks. Delicious hot or at room temperature. Adjust the amount of tahini to make the dish lighter or richer.

1/2 of recipe:
59 calories; 2.2 g protein; 2.4 g fat; 5.9 g carbohydrate; 4.8 g net carbs; 112 mg sodium (with 50% reduced-sodium soy sauce; about 200 mg with regular soy sauce); 0 mg cholesterol; 1.1 g fiber