Rice Popsicle with Miso 五平餅

日本語のレシピは　ビーガン、ベジタリアン情報満載の　Hachidory から　ご覧下さい。

 

February is the coldest month in Kanto area of Japan.

As I mentioned in my blog already a few times, it is the season that I enjoy the least in a year.

Because it’s cold, so cold !

Japanese housings are not built with the effective insulation nor well equipped with the heating devices, especially old houses like mine.

I’m waiting for the spring to come all through the winter…

Having said those negative things, there’s a wonderful thing  about the cold winter.

I love it so much, so I go out often after all.

Can you guess what it is ?

 

It is the clear blue sky!!

 

We are blessed with this awesome nature only in winter.

Whenever I see this beautiful cloudless clear sky, I cannot help thinking how fortunate I am to be here in this moment.

 

So, the winter is something precious for me after all.

Today’s recipe is Goheimochi, the Japanese local traditional sweets eaten during the cold season.

It is made from rice, miso and nuts.

The combination of the rice and the beans is considered perfect nutritionally.  On top of that, Miso is the fermented soybeans therefore it is also good for digestion, absorption, and for protecting the environment of intestine.

In addition to this fact, Goheimochi requires lots of seeds and nuts, which add more nutritional value such as protein and calcium.

What is good about the traditional Japanese sweets is that many of them are vegan and oil-free.

It is much healthier than the traditional western sweets which are often laden with eggs, butter and cream.  

The only things you need to be careful is that the ones that you might purchase from the shops often add too much refined sugar and sometimes use the artificial colorings to make the sweets look pretty.   
So the best thing is to make the sweets by yourself, adjusting to your preference.

 

 

 

GOHEIMOCHHI

Grilled Rice topped with Sweet Miso Nuts Paste

 Ingredients

150g steamed rice

For Gravy

1/2~1Tbsp miso

1Tbsp mirin – sub:1Tbsp wine plus 1tsp sugar

1tsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sugar of your choice

2tsp ~ toasted sesame seeds → grind

1Tbsp~ toasted walnuts or peanuts → crush

The walnut that I picked up during my walk and

the local peanuts from the farmers market.

Yuzu peel (optional)

My town's alias is "Yuzu Town", and Yuzu is abundant in winter.

Ginger (optional)

Utensils

Wooden poopsicle sticks

Aluminum foil

Parchment paper

 

Procedure

1.    For gravy

Combine miso, mirin, soy sauce and sugar in the saucepan, stir and heat up till boiling.

 

2.    Add the grinded sesame seeds and crushed nuts.  Set aside.

 

3.    Mash the cooked rice with the pestle or spoon.  Divide into 3 portions and form 3 balls.  Insert the popsicle stick into the ball and shape into flat oblong like this photo.

 

 

 

4.    Cover the exposed parts of the sticks with the aluminum foil so that they would not burn when the rice popsicles are grilled in the toaster.

5.    Line the oven tray with the parchment paper, lay the rice popsicles, and grill till lightly browned.

 

6.    Coat the surface with the gravy prepared earlier.

7.    Put them back to the oven and grill till the gravy turns slightly darker.

8.    Sprinkle the chopped Yuzu citron or squeeze the grated ginger on top as you like. 

 

 

 

If the gravy ran down like this, you can eat it as it is (it is usually crispy after grilling.) or sprinkle as the toppings on the salad.

 

This gravy can turn to a nice dressing when it is mixed with the tofu mayonaise. 

 

The radish of the winter is juicy and sweet in Japan.
I steamed the red, green, pink, white radish and the carrot, and then drizzled this dressing over them.

 

Nnnn, so delicious !

 

Happy Cooking！

タグ：米 味噌 五平餅 落花生 ricepopsicle グルテンフリー マクロビオビーガン healthy oilfree GlutenFree Vegan macrobiovegan YUZU japanesetraditionalsweets rice MISO goheimochi 柚子 郷土料理 伝統食 くるみ wholefood