When you think about it, processed peanut butter is gross. In addition to the added sugar and chemicals, it's also quite unsanitary. A former colleague of mine who used to work in a food factory wouldn't eat peanut butter because there was actually a limit to the amount of RAT FECES that could be present in a final batch. It was in the parts per million, but it still gives me pause when I'm craving it. Sometimes I satiate the urge with a good organic brand, but a jar of the good stuff in Japan will set you back about $12 US.
So, when craving a good peanut sauce, I figured out a way to make it using a ubiquitous local ingredient: the sesame seed. It's probably my favorite ingredient because it's so versatile: it can be sprinkled, crushed, or ground into a paste. For this recipe, I used Neri-goma, which is liquidized sesame seeds and is somewhat similar to Tahini. It's available in easy-to-use tubes in white or black.
The black is great if you want to make a beautiful goma pudding like this one:
I like neri-goma because there's only one ingredient listed: sesame seeds.
Sesame sauce
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons Neri-goma (white)
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar or Tenzai (beet) sugar
1 clove of garlic, grated
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon of water
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. It makes a really creamy, delicious sauce that can be added to a stir-fry at the end. You can also put it on noodles, as a dipping sauce...the possibilities are endless!
Might not look great in the photo but this was a piece of success that we loved at the dinner.
Daifuku is a sort of rice cake but it's got stuff inside and my favorite one has a whole strawberry in it. How sweet. There are actually lots of places your can find strawberry daifuku but this one from Yamato-ya (大和や) near Keio Inokashira line Kugayama station is unprecedented.
My recent hits, Maroon(chestnuts) Cream and 梅(plum) Jam. It's pretty organic and great spread on toasts, pan cakes, etc.
Lamb curry with saffron rice take-away from "PANAS".
When picnic in the park, I often make my own sandwich kit. It's handy and you can make delicious sandwiches everywhere. Freshly baked bread is the key. Fortunately in Tokyo, there is a local bakery in almost any towns and I can easily find freshly baked breads. Grab a few slices of bread, tomato, lettuce, pastrami and anything you like to sandwich with, and pack them with butter, mayonnaise, ketchup, or any sauces you like. don't forget to take disposable knives and plates. As cherry blossom is in full bloom in the park, a piece of my own sandwich adds a relish to the picnic.
Not exactly 15 minutes to be ready to eat but basically all you have to do is mixing up all the ingredients, fill up the cups, and place them in Oven. Depending on the ability of your oven it would take an hour or so but I still made it with my not-so-great microwave oven so you should be fine with your oven.
People say Tokyo is a dead city for good Mexican but I always enjoy home made tacos as it's easy and fun to make. Preferably choose hard taco shells, get nice pieces of beef in the nearest super market and mince it up with our new food processor, or just get a package of mince meat.
Fry the mince with beans and any vegetable you like. Fill up the shell with the fried meat and top with grated cheese and taco sauce which you can find in any super market.
