Nattou (納豆) = Japanese food, others dread !
(Photo left ; Nattou I found in a Japanese food shop = £1.5 for 3~4 packages.
It comes with light colored soy-source and mustard.
Photo right ; Mixed all together with added spring onion = just in a minute, it’s ready to eat )
You know, Nattou is the most popular food in Japan —– still, so far, I never seen
any westerner ever eat, let alone liked it. 😀
Nattou is a fermented soy-bean. To make it, soy-bean was just boiled and placed between a
straw-mat and kept overnight, that’s all, nothing else. No trick, no additive, even no need to put
yeast kind of bacteria = in fact, the bacteria [Bactillus Subtilis var. natto] naturally comes from the
straw or any kind of dried grass hence fermentation will be naturally taking place.
( —– though, today the production was automatized in the factory where no straw
in sight = using cultivated pure bacteria instead, still some enthusiast making it
in traditional way )
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In nature, bacteria are everywhere, include inside of our body and some are doing pretty good
job helping digestion etc, but others are not necessary so, and cause illness.
Some are working to decompose the milk to make it a cheese, or to make a wine etc etc =
as long as it works useful to us, it is called fermentation otherwise called rotten.
So, fermented soy-bean is = to Japanese, it is a great fermentation but to rest of
the world, it is nothing but rotten. 😀
Rotten, because it smells like rotten and the bean became covered with sticky slime.
(In the same context, many of cheese here smells nothing but awfully rotten to the Japanese)
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To eat Nattou, Japanese are mixing it with soy-source, generally with mustard
and finely chopped spring onion — some people even prefer to add raw egg-yolk
to make it more slimy. (how delicious ! 😀 )
As the protein of soy-bean has been decomposed by the bacteria, it is much more digestible and
nutritional value is much higher than just boiled soy-bean. = Hence, Nattou is an indispensable
part of healthier Japanese food life.
And an interesting point is, as Japanese are familiar with slimy Nattou, they also
eat many slimy food such as Okra, name but few.
—– You may not think, Okra is slimy food because you eat them boiled.
But, Japanese eat it raw by cutting it into thin slices and mixed with dried fish flaks and drip of
soy-source = if you cut, you will notice, it got slimy mucilage =this texture is what
Japanese are after. ( I’ll write about this kind of cooking more on a coming post 🙂
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Incidentally, Okra is a sister of Hollyhock or Marshmallow, and a cousin of
Hibiscus = all in the same Malvaceae family hence if you clash those plant between your
fingers you will feel it has slimy texture inside = using this slimy mucilage property,
a soft sweets [Marshmallow] was originally created, as its name suggests.
(But today’s Marshmallow is an almost artificial sponge made by substitute)
And using its slimy substance as a fiber-bonding glue, Malveceae plants has been used for the
paper making —– you believe or not 🙂 ) As a matter of fact, lots of food such as cheap
Ice-cream couldn’t keep its soft creamy texture without having those slimy additives.
So, you may read a name of Zantan-gum on a food packages, it’s a slime created
by the rotten Cabbage ! —– horrified ? — Or you accept your unavoidable fate,
and start eating Nattou ? 😀
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—– thanks to its pure vegetarian contents, Nattou is very popular in the
Buddhist’s temple menu hence if any westerner had a chance to stay in a temple
= it would be a real dread as well, to face Nattou. 😀
But, I know, to get know to eat Nattou would be rewarded by really healthy life.
To open your mind (and the Mouth), it is the Zen —– ? —– really ?
Yah, —– may be. —- Ha ha ha 😀
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Funny Practice
A man who I met recently, and read this blog, gave me a response saying that
he was pretty impressed by Zappa photo and the camera I made though, he
couldn’t make any connection of them to the Zen.
And he wondered,
“You are not serious to the Zen don’t you, as you are making a fun of it
or even cynical”
—– Well said. So, I replied to him.
Yes, I can see you got certain idea of Zen though, I’m afraid to say it is mere
pretense or crèche.
I’m doing the Zen Buddhism not Parroting what the books say.
Lord Buddha taught how to alleviate the suffering in the life. He didn’t give a
false hope to escape from it by living in a fantasy world, but taught a practice
to gain the clear eyes and the mind how to see and deal with the matter.
Instead to tell a sweet story of heaven to such as a woman who just lost her
child, but her to running about the village.
Zen is the teachings of how to run 🙂
While running, the person will acquire the Mind and the eyes to see the suffering
in detached eyes, hence able to get rid of blinding emotion and the stacked mind.
—– Do you think, could the woman alleviate the sorrow by sitting all day
next to the dead body ?
It is the exactly the same situation.
You are stacked with an idea or crèche of so-called Zen.
So-called “Serious concentration of the Mind etc etc” so that you may see I’m
doing something useless to the Zen and not serious enough.
But Zen is also free the person from those stereotypical fixed idea
include the Zen itself.
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In any eye point, in any scope, the life is a troublesome matter.
If this is the nature of the matter, complaining it would be useless because
it is inescapable anyway.
But, in the same time while billions of the people struggling, it is an awesome view and may
have quite funny moment, especially if we can see it in bird’s eye view.
I’m serious enough to the life and I’m dealing with it, as nothing else is on the board.
It’s mean, I have no false dream believing another world such as a heaven etc rubbish.
And as I have nothing else to see, I could see even the minute detail of the subject of which
most of the people wouldn’t bother. —– So, I could see lots more funny side of the situation
as my eyes are above the water, as I, at least know how I can avoid drowning in the water.
—– So, I’m not drowned in the Zen.
(Anyhow, Zen is an extremely funny practice. 😀 )
Convinced ?
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Sushi Party
Me and the Artists friends, who also being involved in education, training program to the
disadvantaged people had a Sushi Party at a flat where those two are living. I prepared some
in my place and brought up to their flat. —– I used to have a Sushi party in my place though,
my flat runs out of the space to receive the guests 😀 —– Preparation for Temaki Sushi is just
cut the material to a stick shape, other than the shoppings 🙂 —– So, cutting is very easy, but
the hardest part I always found was = to get the best Avocado, = matured still not too soft 😀
(So, all the ingredients were prepared and cut into a stick shape for roll-up.
Photo left = Cucumber, Seafood Stick and the front three were Cooked Kombu (Kelp seaweed),
Cooked fried Tofu ( Soybean Curd) and Cooked Shiitake mushroom = those three were
boiled together in one hour or so, then Soy-sauce, a bit of sugar, vinegar were added = they
were the improvisation and the substitute of cooked Japanese Kanpyo (Dried Marlow) = as
Kombu and the Shiitake act as Dashi (taste base) no other Dashi was needed.
Photo middle = Salmon and front left was a substitute of Shime Saba (marinated Mackerel)
= Herring Rollmop and dark colored one was Tuna.
Photo right = Avocado, Cucumber and the front = Flied Egg and the Cheddar Cheese. )
So, I did some cooking and brought those to their flat in a big logistic operation and
I made famous Miso soup as well. 😉
To cook Sushi-rice to ideal condition is the most tricky part of Sushi making = Rice had to be
washed and soaked in the water over-night though, bring a big pan with soaked rice in water is
too awkward = so, next day, I drained the water and measured its amount ( for five or six people
I put 3 cups ( 1 cup = 250 ml ) of rice into a pan, and after washed, the water was completely
drained, then I put 4 cups of water for over-night soaking. Next day the water I drained was
3.5 cup = so, I added back the same amount of water in their kitchen, then put it on fire.
= When the rice started to boil vigorously, put the fire down to very small, and made it to
shimmer another 10 minutes.
Then change the cooked rice to a big bowl and let it cool down, and to add the Vinegar and
Sugar though this time I mixed the rice with Sushi Powder. (Sushi powder was made with
dried vinegar hence it prevent the rice become soggy —– but I found, it was a bit too sweet)
Photo middle was prepared Prawn for Nigiri Sushi (My friend Alberto was very keen to it 🙂 )
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Temaki Sushi is, to take some amount of rice on a piece of Nori (1/4 cut of the Nori sheet) then
put any ingredient(S) which was dripped in the Soy-sorce with Wasabi — then role it and eat 🙂
—–Every body try to use chop-stick (it was not obligatory though 😀 ) some were well
managed but some were not. As sushi has been well adapted in the west, the matter to cook it
by ourself is, where to get material or how improvised. = Instead to stick with traditional
ingredients, such as use of Avocado was invented in California — may be use Herring Rollmop
was my invention still they quite liked it 🙂
The party was a good success as everybody eat to the full or even over 😀
(Second round was requested )
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Happy New Year 2013
Happy New Year to all those who is visiting and supported my blog.
I hope it would inspire and cause more active and fulfilling life
on the 2013 and ahead for you. 🙂
Yoshizen aka Kinetorori
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Cooking Daikon ( Japanese / Chinese White Radish )
Daikon (大根 in Japanese) is a sister of Radish (yes, that red small one) or Swede and hey are all in the same Brassicaceae family, hence having the same four-petals flower like Rape flower (but Daikon’s flower is in pale violet to white = in fact pretty pretty, innocent looked flower 🙂 )
Despite it is one of the most common root vegetable in Japan (also in China = Japan is exporting its shredded and dried products to China hundreds of thousands of tons every year) when I came to England, it was not in greengrocer’s (yet, French calls it as Molly and eat a lots though, theirs having black skin and as big as Japanese one (up to 4″ or 10 cm diameter = hence, it resembles girl’s leg with black tights = so, to see it in the piled-up mountain in St’ Michelle market in Paris, it looked very sexy 😀 )
(In Japan, call a girl “Daikon ashi” (Daikon leg) is a worst insult 😉 )
Even though Daikon is so popular and ubiquitous though, you may not see them in a restaurant menu —– situation looked the same in French or Chinese, I don’t remember I ever seen this vegetable in their menu, except a very rustic or family kitchen style restaurant, otherwise as a small side-dish to drink Sake = such as I describe hereafter. 🙂
( If you ever seen disc-shaped yellow pickles = Takuan = it is one of the pickled style Daikon though, it may not in an expensive Japanese restaurant 🙂 )
—– So, how Japanese is cooking this vegetable in their kitchen ?
Daikon is very easy to cook vegetable as its own or with another materials —– It can be eaten even raw = grated ( the source to dip Tempra) or finely cut into thread (comes with Sashimi) and often boiled with Octopus or Squid because the Daikon is having a Digestive Enzyme which soften Octopus, on top of many nutrition and vitamins 🙂
The photo above is Furo-fuki Daikon ( 風呂吹大根 ) = Daikon was boiled with dashi, that’s all !
* Boil the Dashi = as the powder, or in a small packet, or use Dashi Kombu (Kelp sea weed) and a bit of Salt.
* Then put cut Daikon and boil — may be 60 min or so, until it was cooked soft (— it would be disintegrated if it was boiled too long —– still, it will make a nice soup. 🙂 )
Even simpler is Dengaku ( 田楽) = just boil Daikon in a plain water until it was cooked soft.
* And eat it with a Miso based source = Miso with small amount of Vinegar and a bit of Sugar, + small amount of Mirin (Japanese Cooking Sake or a bit of wine, White Rum can be used instead )
* For additional flavor — I add few drop of West-Indian Hot-chilly Source, or Wasabi, Mustard. — When I mixed with Thai Tom-yam-Ku paste = it wasn’t too bad —– any variation you can try and enjoy the taste. ( If it became too runny with vinegar etc, just add more Miso. 🙂 )
(For Dengaku, you can put many different materials too, such as Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery even Potato. — Japanese use Konnyaku (it’s a funny staff / Mannan product) as well. ) —– from here, another popular Japanese cooking called “Oden” is only a step away. Basically Oden is a cooking of the chopped Daikon and various fish cakes boiled together and pick up of those you like from the pan to your own small dish and eat. (normally with mustard = why mustard is, = since Daikon and Mustard belongs to the same botanical family, their taste mix well, = same as that, Tomato based cooking will mix well with chilli pepper, since they are in the same family)
—– Now you have seen the key of the Daikon cooking = main seasoning in Furofuki Daikon was in its Dashi, but the Dengaku, it was in the Source. Still in both cooking, the dominant taste is Daikon itself.
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When an Italian guy who seemed to have very good taste bud, first ever eat Daikon and he was very impressed and asked me how to make it. —– And he was even surprised, why Italian doesn’t have such cooking, despite it is very popular in France.
( Only a small trouble with eating Daikon is, it could make you to produce strongest mankind ever know kind of fart, yet still, it was known to be not poisonous = hence, it makes short of health warning. 😀 )
—– Not because of its humble, Minimalistic Zen approach, but simply, it’s so tasty = So, this is my Festive time eating. (on top of Temaki-Sushi. 😀 )
If you haven’t tasted it yet, I strongly recommend you to try.
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PS : I received an Email from my Chinese friend Sing Lee, the way how to cook it in Chinese style !
<<< (There was the Photos from him though, they have been disappeared — copyright issues ? —– I don’t know. What a shame.)
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SKI
Ski — a news from my friends in Japan = I received an Email from a friend in Japan who had
first mountain ski (off-piste) in this season. My friend, Makoto is one of the younger member
of the Alpine Club of our Uni’ = some years younger than me though, he is now over 60.
Still, he has been skiing almost every week on the last winter.
When I was in my Uni’ I was thinking to become a Ski Photographer = I wasn’t too bad in Skiing
as I could ski while holding camera and shooting though, one day, on a very steep slope with ice
where I needed side-slip, then, another photographer was skiing down straight while holding
16 mm cine camera between his knee ! A practicing race skier there said “He is our club’s
old boy” —–I instantly realized that there is no competition = I gave-up my idea.
(Later I learned, Ski photographer doesn’t need to ski like a slalom racer = Go to the best spot on
the course on FOOT and capture the action of each Skier. Otherwise visiting good ski resort and
making vivid report. The matter is not a ski skill or top-notch photography but a good relation
with the editor. In case of advertising photo = it’s all set-up. 😀 😀 )
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What I found interesting in Makoto’s latest equipment was, the advancement of the technology
and the material. (40 years ago, most of the ski was made by wood and ski-boots was leather 🙂 )
When I try to re-use broken metal ski, I was pretty impressed by its construction = how
different materials were stuck together = the technology in Glue = such as non-sticking Teflon
was stacked to the bottom of ski and the artificial rubber (Neoprene) was sandwiched between
High-tensile aluminum — yet, under extreme cold and extreme rough handling (footing ?) and
constant vibration and the bending strain = still, ski doesn’t disintegrate even without having
rivets, screws or welding to bind them together !
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And the plastic boots (Makoto is using the boots which was designed for walking as well ) is not
a simple PVC = very complexed compounds of plastic = solid enough to firmly attach to the
bindings and soft enough for walking = above all, consistent in very wide range of temperature !
(most of plastic become brittle and crack under cold temperature)
And his boots has Accordion structure ! (See the photo) —– How fascinating 🙂
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This year, japan is having quite heavy snow ( Do you know, their snow is as heavy as 7 m deep,
not just in the mountain area but many Cities and Towns in north-western side of Japan).
The mountain where Makoto went was only 2 hours drive north of Tokyo.
Then, after climbing and ski down from 2,000 m high top, having had relaxing hot spring bath,
before drive back to Tokyo —— all done in a day, 14 hours exact with little expense (They brought
their lunch-box made by their wives ) ! = What an active, healthy life.
—– As a man, stack in London, I really envy them 😀
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Apocalypse ? —– What Apocalypse ?
According to a kind of interpretation of Mayan Calendar, last Saturday, 21st of December suppose
to be the end of the world ! —– How exciting ! If it happens, the most spectacular scene must be
seen on the landscape of sky-scrapers = so, I went to the City. In fact, I went there together with
another video artist, Funki Porcini and Tallbastard. —– Funki needed to shoot the night building
whether it is in ruin or collapsing on front of the eyes, otherwise just standing as usual 😀
And while he was shooting, I cricked few pictures.
The top photo, Snowdrops was the kind, I least expected to find here. —– But, expecting only to
see them in a kind of nature, might be just an arrogance of the mankind = for them, like a rocky
mountain and the thin soil on the rock = city-scape can be just another nature for them.
As I didn’t expected, likewise, people may not noticed this flower = hence never disturbed her =
being left her own, Snowdrops could thrive !!! ( This is what the Nature is. = It’s the Dharma )
—– It seems, the world has survived intact and the Xmas is coming yet again 😀
So, to everybody who is going to celebrate it, “Merry Xmas” 🙂
—– For me though, a matter, winter solstice has past, was much more significant, as
the sun is coming back ! = It’s getting brighter 🙂
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Video Geeks in Wireless Workshop
Wireless Workshop (SPC.org) is in the Greenwich former Town Hall. The members (?) are
meeting every week, generally for a talk shop. (some time to save broken computer !)
To create Video images, there are many approaches, from purely shooting real scene, or use real
image as a trigger or source of secondly image —– to Computer Graphics or Graphical animation
or Clay model animation etc etc ! —– Strangely you might think, there are many different kind
of Artists are visiting Wireless Workshop (some said Wireless Wednesday) —- So, last Wednesday
as video artists came, the meeting was held in their “Video lounge” = top of the building which
was the lighting and the Projector’s room of the former Greenwich theater. 🙂
Photo left is a Thermin (Electronic musical sound generator) and the right, there might be old
Super-8 Cine fanatics. = the trace of how this group is related to such as Exploding Cinema.
And as the Electronic Geeks network, it extends to continent too, and also overlapping with
Linux users groups (and Huckers as well 😀 )
Video lab, and the sound mixer —– even hand knitted small pouch (photo right) said to be a
” Testicle Warmer” and its rainbow color suggest “the Gay power movement” though, I have no
idea how it came here 😀
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Stollen ( German Fruits Cake for Xmas )
On my daily life, there are quite few things missing —– on the shopping front, it is far easier
to count what I buy rather than listing up what I don’t buy = such as other than fresh vegetables and
the fruits, a sort of sweets or confectionery is completely missing = simply because I’m buying
essentials which I desperately need ! = if I don’t eat I may die = So that, I have to eat = hence, I buy
the food staffs, but in the cheapest way = fresh raw material = never buy processed food, let
alone junk-food or that kind, bottled drink, any alcohol, which we don’t need for our survival 😀
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Don’t get me wrong, I’m not following ANY idea of “Healthy diet” or Religious restriction what so ever
but simply I’m living the life of poor-man. Cooking out of fresh materials is the cheapest way to eat.
This mind-set, “poor-man” (in Buddhist’s term, Bhikku = Beggar) seemed to have originated from
my family = Zen priest’s and the life in the mountain = NO waste of food, food is to survive.
—– And in the same context, no waste of anything (since, I’m not printing a money or ever
produced even a single grain of rice) so to repair and recycle what so ever it was possible, is the norm.
In the same way, wear the clothes is for its essential function, not for fashion or vanity = hence,
as long as it is wearable (with stitching repair etc), no need to buy another one.
—– So, I’m still using my heavy-duty jacket I bought in Japan 40 years ago 🙂 — though, it seems,
it has gone too far hence, some body told me “If you like to come, buy decent clothes and wear a tie”
= so, I needed to buy a trouser and jacket last week (last time I did shopping for clothe (other than
underwear and socks) was two years ago 😀 )
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Therefore, in my shopping, I’m going through a forests of foods and goods like a remote land-scape.
Still, it is not a kind of fixed mind or prohibition, the mind recognizes those item which I don’t need is
not there —– sweets, confectionery or the fashion display doesn’t take any attention = or they are
almost NOT exists. (I might be an enemy of the super-market —– or for them, £10 par week
kind of person has no statistical significance :-D) —– THOUGH, once in a year, I’m making
an exception for a German cake Stollen which is only sold in the Xmas time.
Stollen is a German equivalent of Xmas pudding but not as heavy as Xmas pudding with Rum or
Brandy, still it is a kind of festive fruits cake.
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—– I’m not an expert of cake making, let alone Stollen. I only know this, in the past 7~8 years since
I saw a woman buying this from the Lidl saying “This Stollen is our traditional Xmas cake”
As the woman pronounced “Sh-tollen” I noticed she is a German. (And Lidl shop was originated
from Germany)
—– So, as a cultural interest, I bought one and realized this must be the symbol of their winter life.
= In the Autumn, people, kids goes woods and gather edible small fruits, Blue-berry
kind and Walnuts, Pine-nuts etc. And use those harvested and dried fruits to make a
cake for winter festive season. (Though, today’s Stollen was made with imported Raison, Almond
/ Marzipan etc —– still showing and maintaining their traditional folk culture 🙂 )
I like the life rooted on the Earth and live accordingly to the season = life of
the moment to moment.
Pick the Berry in a late Summer, preparing for the coming Winter — and eat the gift of the Nature
in the Festive time remembering the Sun in the Past Summer = To repeat this, ten or so times,
the kids become good grown-ups and start to have their own family.
—– or, to repeat 60~80 times is what our LIFE is = smell of sun drenched bush, or cool air
of forest’s floor —– the memory of brother or sister, friends etc etc = and the cycle of the LIFE
= therefore, as I bought the same Stollen again, it’s mean yet another year has past.
I wouldn’t say, either congratulation or sorry = it’s just another year 😀
(And, I wouldn’t imply the life has an equivalent value of 80 Stollen 😀 😀 )
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