Japan

Hello there blog world, I thought I would give you some insight on my current whereabouts. I am currently living in Osaka, Japan for the next 5 weeks. My husband was chosen for a summer grant fellowship through the National Science Foundation (NSF) to do research with a professor at a university in Osaka for 11 weeks. Lucky for me, my employer allowed me to take 5 weeks off (half vacation, half unpaid) so that I wouldn't have to be apart from Nick for too long. Therefore, I planned my visit to be smack dab in the middle of his stay. So far it has worked out perfectly because Nick had a little over 2 weeks to take part in his orientation with NSF in Tokyo and to get settled in his apartment in Osaka and with his professor at the university. Plus, I got here just in time to celebrate my birthday with my hubby in Japan. My plan for the next couple of weeks on this blog is to share my experiences living in a new country. I will do my best to share the differences, and the things I am learning, especially as it pertains to food since it is so very different.

To begin, I must mention what I have found to be food staples in Japanese cuisine (washoku): all kinds of seafood(including squid, eel, etc.), rice, noodles, pork, pancakes, "European" breads, soybeans, waffles, breaded things with tempura or panko, eggs, root vegetables, apricots, green onions, sprouts, curry, sweet beans, seaweed, etc. 

 I have a few items already to share by photos of course (please note these are from my experiences in Osaka, a very very populated area):

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps are one of those things that are always delicious. I think it is a healthy way of getting something different than a salad or skipping out on a complete meal. For a long time I did not realize that normal lettuce wraps were so easy to make because my most favorite lettuce wraps are served at Cheesecake Factory. Unlike the usual ground meat based wrap, Cheesecake Factory uses grilled chicken and tons of cold sides so that you assemble your lettuce wrap to your liking. Although I love the Cheesecake Factory wraps, I do not mind the simplicity behind the normal wraps and so when I had the perfect ingredients lying around for lettuce wraps, I decided to make this recipe. I based this recipe off of some Asian flavors specifically Chinese with the use of Hoisin and Thai with Srirancha. I think all in all I came up with a great recipe that I feel I had to share. So please give it a try.

Kale Frittata

 

I had a bunch of kale and since it is much too hot to make any of my usual kale dishes, zuppa toscana and/or kale and cheese casserole, I decided to make this recipe I found for a delicious kale frittata. I made it ahead of time and ate it for lunch for a couple days in a row, it was quite tasty and perfectly hearty for a lunch meal. I halved the recipe since I was cooking for one and it turned out just as great. Also, I didn't broil mine long because I do not like browned eggs, but a normal frittata should be browned on top. 

Baked Coconut Shrimp

Sorry for my absence, but we have been quite busy over here (I will explain more in another post).  For now, here is the latest new recipe I have made. I love coconut shrimp even though coconut is not one of my favorite ingredients. This recipe is awesome because you bake the shrimp rather than deep fry, so it's a bit healthier...I think. Either way, these were delicious and quite easy to prepare.