Hotaruika (firefly squids) are known as small squids which glow in the dark. They are usually found in Toyama Bay from March to May, and boiled hotaruka are available at supermarkets in Japan. Boiled hotaruika are often dressed with sumiso (a mixture of miso, vinegar, and sugar), or eaten by dipping in soy sauce with grated ginger.

Amazake is a thick drink which is traditionally made by allowing a mixture of steamed rice and malted rice (koji) ferment at about 60 degrees for about 12 hours. It’s naturally sweet and contains no alcohol. Amazake is sometimes served at Japanese festivals. This is a quick recipe to make amazake with sake kasu. It warms you up on a cold night.

ECC Foreign Language Institute seeks a professional, energetic and committed Native English Instructor for its small and friendly school in Okayama. Utilising a mixture of ECC and commercially produced materials, classes will involve children and adults of various levels. The position will involve complete training for children and adults at one of our regional head offices. For those interested, a part-time schedule may also be available.

Applications will be accepted only from those currently residing in Japan, and further preference will be given to applicants residing in the Okayama area specifically. However, applications from those residing elsewhere in central Japan will also be accepted, provided applicants are able to relocate. For applicants in the Tokyo area wishing to relocate to Okayama, recruiting sessions may also be held in Tokyo (please enquire for details).

Additionally, interested individuals should have a Bachelor’s degree from a recognised university, be native speakers of English and possess a valid working visa (tourist or working-holiday visas are NOT acceptable). Please ensure that all of these criteria are met before applying.

Please join us and our friendly new school director in keeping ECC Okayama a great place to study!

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Zosui is Japanese rice soup made from pre-cooked rice. When we make Nabe (japanese hot pot), we make zosui after with the hot pot soup. It good to eat when you are feel sick or have a hangover and is also easy on the waistline.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

• 2 bowls of steamed rice
• 2 beaten eggs
• chopped green onion (handful)
• chopped seaweed (optional)

Spices

• 8g Hondashi
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• dash salt

1. Boil 3 cups water and steamed rice in a sauce pan for 15 min on low
2. Add hondashi and dash of salt
3. Drizzle egg over mixture in rice, then add soy sauce and green onion
4. Serve in a bowl and add seaweed on top (if you like)

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Ebi Mayo is a fantastic appetizer that is extremely easy to make, delicious, but strangely, very hard to find in American cities I’ve visited. Considering that, this is a great dish to show off to friends who may have never heard of it before. Please let me know if you have seen or eaten it in your city!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 ebi (shrimp or prawns), peeled and deveined

• 1/4 cup Japanese sake
• 5 tbsp katakuriko (or corn starch)
• Cooking oil

• 3 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise (such as Kewpie)
• 1 tbsp milk
• 2 tsp catsup
• 2 tsp honey (or sugar)

1. Marinate peeled and deveined shrimp in sake for 2-3 minutes
2. Dredge shrimp in katakuriko and fry in pan with about 1/4″ oil until cooked and golden brown (about 2 mins per side). Remove and transfer to paper towel. Pat to remove excess oil
3. Mix spices for sauce together, coat shrimp with mixture and serve

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Hakusai is a common vegetable we use in hot pots. It’s also called “napa”, or Chinese cabbage in English. Chinese cabbage gets very soft and sweet when it is boiled and has dietary fiber and lots of healthy minerals. The Japanese word for soy milk is “tōnyū” ( 豆乳 ) and is a healthy alternative to cream in this recipe.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/4 Chinese cabbage
• 1/2 medium onion
• 2 pieces low fat bacon or sliced ham (1/2″ ham slices)
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 tbsp butter (10g)

Spices

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• dash pepper
• 1 tsp katakuriko (potato starch, for thickening)

Preparation

1. Heat the butter in a frying pan, then grill onion and cabbage for 3 mins over medium heat
2. Add bacon (or ham) and cook for one more minute
3. Add soy milk, salt, sugar and pepper then cook for 1 min
4. Mix katakuriko in 1tbs of water and add to the pan, stirring while the mixture thickens
5. Serve and enjoy!

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This recipe takes a long time to make it but it is really tasty and the meat is so tender you don’t even need a knife!

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork belly
• 2 boiled eggs
• 1/2 daikon (sliced)
• 1 green onion (cut into 1″ pieces)
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• 1 tsp ginger

Spices

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp sake

Preparation

1. Cut the pork into 1″ strips and sauté until both sides are browned
2. Place the pork in a sauce pan, add 2 cups of water and green onion, and boil for 30 minutes on low heat
3. Remove pork and add 2 more cups of water, sugar, sake, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger, wait for the mixture to boil, then reintroduce the pork, and add daikon, boiled eggs, and cover, simmering for 2 hours on low. Stir occasionally.
4. Serve pork, daikon, and eggs in a bowl with sauce from the pan

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“Itawasa” is the name for kamaboko with wasabi and soy sauce. Kamaboko is probably one of the least accessible Japanese foods, but if you give it a chance, you’ll find that it is healthy, delicious, and attractive. Kamaboko is made with “surimi”, a mixture of various whitefish formed into a distinctive loaves (often pink and white) and steamed until firm. You’ll find kamaboko in many soups (such as ramen) and noodle dishes. Kamaboko is sold in grocery stores and even convenience stores in Japan, and in America it can be found at Asian groceries. If you don’t have an Asian grocery nearby, I hope you’ll try it if you have the chance to visit Japan!

• 2 loaves of kamaboko
• 1 tsp wasabi
• 3 tsp soy sauce

Preparation

1. Run the knife underneath the kamaboko to loosen it from the board and slice it into 1/2″ pieces
2. Mix wasabi in a small bowl with soy sauce, dip, and enjoy!

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In Japanese oyako literally means “parents and children” and don is short for “donburi,” which is food served on top of rice in a bowl. This recipe calls for boiled chicken covered with beaten egg (hence the “parent/child” metaphor). Many udon restaurants serve Oyakodon in Japan.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 0.4 lb of chopped chicken
• 1/2 medium onion (sliced)
• 2 beaten eggs

Spices

• 3 tsp mirin
• 3 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sake
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp hondashi
• 2 tsp chopped seaweed (optional)

Preparation

1. Boil 1 cup of water in frying pan, add hondashi
2. Add mixed spices (mirin, soy sauce, sake and sugar) then mix in onion and chicken
3. After the mixture boils, cover for 5 minutes over medium heat
4. Drizzle egg over mixture and cover again for 30 seconds on high (longer if you prefer your eggs well done)
5. Serve in a bowl over steamed rice
6. Sprinkle seaweed on top(if desired)

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