...I don´t really like them that much!

Yes, the truth will always come out.... And finally my daughter had to come clean (after 2 mochi half eaten): Mummy, I don´t really like those sweets that much!

Here she´s pretending to want some! For the camera....

Daifukumochi - the candy that makes Norwegian kids cry...

So I came home from Japan two years ago with loads of Japanese sweets. They´re mainly made of rice flour and beans. The taste is somewhat different from western sweets. My daughter has set her mind on liking everything Japanese, so she ate them with all the enthusiasm only a small kind can. She also invited the neighborhood kids in for a treat... the result; tears.

They looked so tasty, pink and green, in such a nice box!

Two years later I thought I´d try to make my own. I didn´t have azuki beans to make the filling, so I made plain without filling, but with green tea. They came out very well on the second try!

Here goes:

Daifukumochi

3/4 cup glutinous rice flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp matcha

potato starch to dust with

Sift matcha into flour in a large bowl.

Mix sugar and water in a pan, bring to a boil.

Pour the liquid into the flour and whisk as hard as you can.
Transfer the mass back into pan and simmer while stirring for 2 minutes or so.
Put the mass on a plate and cut small pieces that you drop into

potato starch
and roll into small balls.

Enjoy! (Ps. Be careful when handing them out to kids - might case unwanted reactions!)

Tea-marbled eggs, o-cha tamago

New year - new things to try!

Marbled eggs are originally a Chinese tradition, but they´re used in Japan too. In Japan there´s also sho-yu tamago (eggs in soya), that´s an easier fix.

Anyway, recipe is easy, but cooking takes some time.

Put 3-5 eggs in a pan (one layer). Hard boil them and let them cool down.
Take a heavy spoon and crack the eggshell all over without breaking off pieces.
Put the cracked eggs back in the pan.

Mix:
2 tbsp black tea ( I used Darjeeling first flush - fancy me)
2 tbsp soya (I used organic Tamari)

extra salt if you use low-sodium soya

4-5 star anises
2 logs cinnamon or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
Pour it over the eggs and fill enough water to cover the eggs.
Let it simmer for 1-3 hours, refilling water if needed.

The egg will look brown and a bit scruffy when done... and can be kept in the fridge in the cooled down, strained liquid in a jar for quite some time or for 2-3 days wrapped in plastic.

Peel the egg and eat it as a part of a bento box, a snack, with dinner... I had mine with furikake!

While I´m waiting for my camera to return...

.. here´s some random creativeness! Just for fun....