My First Paella

Danny and Maria’s holiday home is straight out of a Richard Linklater film. It is so unbelievably idyllic. So damn romantic. I just can’t believe I was there.

Meat prep: rabbit, chicken and fish. Or was it squid, Jose?



My photos don’t do this place justice. It was truly gorgeous.

Rice.

Muscles and shrimp.

The head chef himself! Danny was so funny, when his wife Maria went to check the paella he quickly rushed over. “No, no, no,” he said. It was his project.

Truly delicious! So flavourful. The white meat, the seafood, the rice, all cooked in saffron and natural juices. Oh mama, how I wish you could have tasted it.

Sara being sara.
A short walk after dessert (Maria’s amazing chocolate cake – not pictured).


And last but not least, watermelon – myyyyyy favourite.

Something Fishy

Tsukiji Fish Market (from Jiro Dreams of Sushi).

This is Atsuyaki-Tamago or in English, layered omelette. 
Fresh wasabi.

Shredded dried squid.

Whole small dried squid.
Lightly seared tuna.

spontaneous day trip to osaka

Spent a spontaneous day in Osaka today. I ate takoyaki (octopus balls) in a strange rice-cracker burger thing which was delishhhhhhious and later, kushikatsu (deep fried skewers) of mushroom, brie cheese, squid, pumpkin, tomato and onion! Oh my goodness, I reckon if I opened up a kushikatsu restaurant in Christchurch, I’d be a billionaire. Errybody loves fried food, especially on a stick! What do you reckon?!

sh*ts steaming up in here…(excuse the pun)

If I am a bird
for eating trail mix
then you
are a WHALE
for gulping
so much fish!

i miss my mama’s food

An urgent memo
for the lunch lady:

slimy seaweed
pickled “salads”
minuscule eggs
eyes

please note
the above
are out of stock.

sometimes pictures speak louder than words!

Some words:
-Every single restaurant in Japan, without exception will give you a damp white cloth to wipe your hands and face with before gobbling your meal.
-Slurping is OK so don’t be surprised when you hear it and I guarantee you will!
-99% of restaurants serve Japanese green tea (hot or cold depending on the weather/restaurant/time) with each meal which is heavenly for digestion – definitely one to learn from!

all you need to know about okonomiyaki and a recipe

Okonomiyaki, the low down:

The word okonomiyaki is derived from the Japanese words okonomi meaning “as you like” and yaki meaning “grilled” or “cooked”. In short, it’s a savoury pancake filled to the brim with deliciousness (to your liking, of course).

When it comes to Okonomiyaki there’s no one distinct style. In fact; each Japanese region will have their own unique way of making it. In saying that; the many variations are often narrowed down to two main styles: the Hiroshima Okonomiyaki (from Hiroshima) or the Osaka-style Okonomiyaki (from Osaka).

Both styles includes batter, which is made up of flour and water and/or milk and dashi, shredded cabbage, egg, and green onion alongside your choice(s) of protein, including; bacon, calamari, shrimp or prawn. Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki differs because the ingredients used are layered rather than mixed into the batter (as is the case with Osaka-style). In addition, “Hiro-yaki” contains fried egg(s) and yakisoba noodles (or sometimes udon noodles) as well! In other words, the Hiroshimians (is that a word?) combine all the best foods into one! Actually, sometimes an Osaka-style okonomiyaki is made with the addition of noodles called Modan-yaki -just to confuse you even more but basically, one’s mixed (Osaka) whilst the other is layered (Hiroshima).

The savoury pancake is then topped with a delicious sweet and sour Okonomi sauce, aonori (green seaweed flakes), fish flakes (which smell like fish food – just don’t sniff the bottle like I did) and mayonnaise – yep, it just keeps getting better!

Okonomiyaki, often described as Japanese “soul food” is eaten by the locals at okonomiyaki restaurants that specialise in the dish (as opposed to just any old place) where you can sit around a hot iron griddle (teppan) while the food is prepared in front of you or, alternatively, one can sit at a private table equipped with its own hot plate with the luxury (or burden – whichever way you want to look at it) of mixing and cooking the okonomiyaki themselves! Obviously, this can be a lot of fun and various types of okonomiyaki can be ordered and tried! Nom nom.

Also, there’s another style which I believe is worth mentioning here called monjayaki. The batter for this version is much softer than the others and is spread evenly throughout the iron plate and is often eaten when only partially cooked – so, be prepared to have some chopstick trouble!

A simple Osaka-style recipe to get ya’ll started on the Okonomiyaki craze! (makes two large pancakes but feel free to half the recipe if flying solo).

Pancake:
1 cup of self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup dashi (or chicken or vegetable stock)
4 small free-range eggs, beaten
pinch of salt and pepper
4 cups finely chopped white cabbage
4 spring onions, sliced
1 cup raw prawns, chopped
4 slices of bacon
1 cup raw calamari, chopped

Sauce:
If you can/want the real authentic flavour/are just too lazy, buy Okonomi sauce from your nearest Asian supermarket or simply mix together:
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp caster sugar

Toppings (optional):
Aonori flakes
Dried bonito flakes
mayonnaise

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, milk, dashi, eggs, salt and pepper.

Next add and mix in cabbage and spring onion.

Heat some oil in a large frying pan over medium heat then drop the egg mixture into the pan.

Top with bacon, prawn and calamari.

Cook until bubbles start appearing on the surface then turn over and cook for a further 4-5 minutes or until thoroughly cooked through.

To finish, brush the top with okonomi sauce, sprinkle with aonori and bonito flakes and last but definitely not least, MAYONNAISE.

Of course, you can make a vegetarian version by omitting the meat – sorry so Captain Obvious, I know.