Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!

Get out, Devil! Come in, Happiness! 

- Traditional Setsubun formula

Granted, the traditional Japanese wish may sound a tad dodgy, coming - as it is - from one who picked a mischievous li'l fire demon (*) as her online persona (and who isn't even Asian, for heaven's sake!)

But, well, I kind of like the whole Setsubun symbology. And since I haven't posted anything on New Year's Day, I will blatantly exploit this holiday (as well as the beginning of the Lunar Year of the Horse three days ago) to catch up on the kind of stuff that normal people post on January 2nd. And no, I don't mean "detox" or "skinny" recipes. Ewwww, the very idea!

(*)  Have you seen the new pic in my profile btw? It's by one of my favourite DeviantArt members, and I love it more than I can explain. Isn't it the sweetest thing ever?

Image belongs to YamPuff @ http://yampuff.deviantart.com

 Now the reason why I commissioned a (literally!) sparkling new avatar, is that I am now seriously considering baking for a living. Not as my primary job maybe (not yet, at last), but hey... why not? 

 

I won't go into my working situation here, because it would be a long ramble which wouldn't probably even make sense to those of you who live in a less ludicrous country than Italy, but I have reasons to fear that the company I work for will undergo some serious pruning two years from now. Mind you - I say "fear" because this job is still my main source of income at the moment, but I almost hope for the worst to happen, since I'm too chicken to willingly quit a position I despise, and that is slowly seeping every ounce of energy, joy, and creativity out of me. 

 

So... for the time being, I am proceeding at baby steps. I am now a member of Con.Pa.It, the Italian bakers' federation. I am gathering information about the legal requirements for opening my own business. And above all, I'm slowly working up my courage.  

 

This very blog, unassuming as it is, has been a huge factor in my attempt to build up my confidence. At the same time, though, there have been times when the mere thought of having to dig out my camera, stop every few minutes to snap WIP pics, clean the mess on my table for the "hero shot", and edit the photos afterwards - it has been enough to dissuade me from trying some new idea right away. 

There might be a problem there because, you see, if I ever take the plunge and turn my hobby into a proper job, I'll have to deal with the "boring" stuff - administration, balances and what have you - on a daily basis. Which, knowing myself, might very well kill all the passion I put into baking. 

 

So, what am I going to do? Wait and see, as they say. 

In two years' time I will be turning 40, and that sounds as good a time as any to change my life for good... 

Happy Year of the Snake!

Best wishes to all of you Snakes out there... and to my Asian readers, have a joyful New Year celebration!

...See? I remembered! 

(Seeing how I, like, totally forgot about Setsubun one week ago... Sigh! And it's one of my favourite international holidays too...)

The Fanbaking Project: Kareh-pan, a.k.a. Curry Bread (as seen in Kuroshitsuji)

So you have read this other post of mine, yes? 

Take a seat, grasshopper. I knew you would be back.

We are going to focus on making kareh-pan today, thus I'm taking it for granted that you already have some Japanese curry ready, either leftover or made for this purpose. If not, check my previous entry linked above and go make yourself some! It's super easy! 

Now let's pick up things right where we stopped last time. Remember how I told you that proper kareh is very runny, almost soup-like? That is the consistency you will get if you follow the directions on your curry package. Only this time we need it thicker, so keep it simmering on medium-low heat, stirring slowly with a wooden spoon to prevent it from burning.

It is a bit tricky to explain when it's done; basically you want it to get to a point where it doesn't slosh right back when you pile it on one side, but the different ingredients are still distinguishable. (The pic below is the best I could manage; it will become even firmer as it cools off, so it is fine to remove it from heat at this point.)

The kareh part is done. Time to deal with the pan!

(My recipe is a slight adaptation of this one by Makiko Itoh, hostess of Just Hungry. If you have even a passing interest in Japanese food, her blog is THE place to be!)

Kareh-pan

Ingredients (yelds 8):

* (300 g) Manitoba flour

* (70 g) all-purpose flour

* 1 packet (7 g) dry yeast
* 2 Tbsp sugar
* 2 tsp salt
* 5/8 cup milk (+ 2 Tbsp for the coating)
* 2 + 1/2 Tbs butter
* 3 medium eggs
* Panko bread crumbs

* frying oil

1.  Cube the butter and let it soften slightly. The eggs and the milk should be room temeperature too.

2.  Whisk together the dry ingredients (the two kinds of flour, sugar, salt, and yeast). Mix in two of the eggs, then - gradually - the milk. Finally, add the softened butter and knead (either manually or with a KitchenAid or somesuch) until you get a veeeeeery sticky ball of dough!

3.  Put it into a bowl, cover it with plastic film (or you can wrap the dough into it directly; if so, wrap loosely, because it will more or less double in bulk). 

Let it rest for a couple hours (you can get away with 1 1/2  in a particularly warm day, but don't skimp on the rising time! Your patience will be rewarded in the end!) 

4.  Go look at your dough. Has it grown into a huge, bloated, vaguely eldritch thing?

...Wow, that's GOOD!

Unceremonoiusly punch it down until it deflates, wrap it up again and put it back in its warm, cozy nook for 45 more minutes.

No, really, I mean it! I suggest re-watching your fave Kuroshitsuji episode and pretend you're Sebastian, keeping hunger in check while Ciel pursues his revenge... and waiting, waiting for his master's soul to distil into pure, perfect yumminess...

5.  OK, you can stop daydreaming now! Deflate the dough again (hee hee, isn't it fun?)

Cut it into 8 equal parts, and shape them into balls. Dampen a clean kitchen towel, cover your buns-in -progress with it, and - guess what? - let it rest for a further 15 minutes.

6.  In the meanwhile, beat the remaining egg with 2 Tbsp milk and a pinch of salt.

Take out the dough balls, one at a time, and roll them into flat rounds. Put some curry in the middle...

...then close up the dough around it. You can use a little egg mixture as glue, or dampen the edges with water;  in short, do whatever works for you. It doesn't have to be pretty, as long as it stays closed.

(This is why the filling needs to be so thick btw: if you get smudges of it on the edges, it will be very hard to seal the bun properly. Come on, ask me how I know.)

7.  Roll the filled bun gently into the egg mixture...

...and cover it in panko crumbs.

DON'T substitute plain bread crumbs for it; they are too fine and soak up tons of oil, so your coating turns out all soggy and not crunchy at all. If you can't find them, break up some crackers instead (son't salt the egg mixture if you're using salty crackers), or leave uncovered altogether.

8.  Now carefully place the buns on baking paper aaaaaaand... leave them alone for the usual 15 minutes.

Stop whining already; the coating needs to set at this point. If it doesn't, the crumbs will come loose in the hot oil and your pan will have a nasty burnt taste.

9.  Time to deep-fry! If you're using a frying machine, set it on the highest temperature; if not, you'll know the oil is hot enough when a bread crumb dropped into it turns crisp and golden right away. If it blackens as soon as it touches the oil, then it's too hot!

Carefully lower the buns in, so as to dislodge as few crumbs as possible.

Mine were done in 7-8 minutes, but they were on the largeish side. Simply keep an eye on them and fish them out when they look good!

Drain the excess oil on kitchen paper...

...and now, at last, you can nom them!

OM...

...NOM...

...NOM...

...Well, you got the hang of it, didn't you?

A few words of caution: 

*  Making kareh-pan is not difficult per se, but it takes a crapload of time due to the fact that you have to allow the dough to rest and rise multiple times. Try it on a day when you're happy and relaxed, and really have nothing more pressing to do.

*  It is also messy business. Very messy. This is how my kitchen looked right after I was done with them, just so you get the idea... 

*  You really, really do not want your buns to burst open while frying. I can't stress how important this is. This poor guy was unlucky...

...and it was pretty icky, let me tell you. The oil had seeped inside, so that it was basically a grease-soaked sponge. Ugh. 
(Even the digicam didn't have the heart to put the wretched thing into sharp focus. True story.)

*  Oh, and one last thing. When they cut the "mystery donut" in Kuroshitsuji, you can see tons of curry flowing dramatically out of it and onto the plate... 

Kuroshitsuji belongs to Yana Toboso and Square Enix

As you know by now, that is not the case. The filling is delicious and creamy, but definitely not this soupy.  Here I am squishing mine slightly to let you get a good peek at it...

It is, however, a devilishly delicious treat and I really hope you'll give it a try! 

Goya Champloo (guaranteed samurai-free!) *

Are you familiar with goya?

...LOL nope, not this Goya either! 

What I mean is: goya, the vegetable. The weird one that looks like zucchini with a bad case of acne. 

This one. 

Better known as bitter melon or bitter squash in English, it is a tropical variety of the Cucurbitaceae family. It is a widely used ingredient in the Caribbeans, Asia and Africa; for us who live in other parts of the world it is not easy to get hold of it, but Asian and South-American groceries stock it on a regular basis, so a visit to your local Chinatown might be your best chance (and hey, it's always fun!) 

The Japanese call it nigauri, but in the Okinawan dialect it is called goya, and the name kind of stuck. 

 "China here. Japan here. Okinawa here."

The geography lesson is on me, peeps. Feel free to thank me later. And yes, of course I did it just for the sake of throwing in a gratuitous Mr Miyagi quote!

A-hem. 
What was I saying again? 

Oh. Right. 

...so, in short, goya is to Okinawa what potatoes are to Ireland, or something like that. And since Okinawans are proverbially long-lived, the rest of Japan had to wonder: could goya be their secret? 

(Now, while the Japanese are as hungry as anyone else for reputedly magical food that will make them fit and healthy with zero effort, goya actually is good for your health. I won't delve into the scientifical stuff here; that's what Wikipedia is for, right?)

Let's slice our goya in half. You will see the white pith inside, with seeds in it. Get rid of it, then wash your goya accurately, pat it dry, and slice it. 

If your fruit (yes, it's technicaly fruit) is slightly more ripe, the rind will be a greenish yellow and you'll find that the pith has turned red - you still don't want it in your Champloo, but it is now sweet and delicious to eat as-is, or you can throw it into a salad (mind the seeds though!)

One of my goya was at that stage but I forgot to snap a pic of it, until after I had absent-mindedly devoured its soft, squishy insides (ewww, gross!) while slicing the rind. 

Now for the actual recipe... 

Goya Champloo

Ingredients (serves 4):

* two goya fruits
* shima-dofu (Okinawan tofu), one block
* 150 g bacon, thinly cut
* 1 Tbsp instant dashi stock powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* ground black pepper

(shima-dofu is a firm, savory kind of tofu. If you can't find it, you can use ricotta salata or a similar cheese instead, or simply substitute silk tofu - that's what I did myself!)

1.  Fry the bacon slices in a pan. When it's done, add the sliced goya and let it fry with the meat. 

2.  Add the dashi powder and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon, and adjust salt if needed. 

3.  Break the tofu block with your fingers and throw it into the mix. Let it soak up the flavours for a couple minutes. 

4.  Remove from heat. You can grind some black pepper on it if you like. You're done!

You can enjoy your Goya Champloo while it's warm, or cold from the fridge. It is yummy on its own, but I like to pour it over brown rice; I find it makes a perfect lunchbox meal since it is filling and satisfying, but not too heavy. I mostly eat it in the summer as a welcome alternative to the usual rice salad, because the bitterness from the goya gives it a very refreshing quality. 

Why, yes - goya is bitter, as the smartest among you may have surmised. If you really hate it, I guess you could swap it for plain old zucchini or cucumbers, but trust me on this - give it a try!

It might taste unpleasant at first, as the bitterness is all you'll perceive, but after a few mouthfuls you will find that it sort of recedes in the background, and the other flavours and textures - the sweetness of the rice, the salty, crispy bacon, and the delicate tofu - are incredibly heightened by it. 

Once you're familiar with the basic recipe, feel free to play around with it - fried eggs are a popular addition; your fave veggies would fit right into it, as would different spices. 

Champloo, or champuru, means "mixed up" or "stirred together" in the dialect of Okinawa, so... do it! Be creative!

* = some of you may be old enough to remember the word from the title of the anime Samurai Champloo. It was a weird but cool series, indeed mixing up traditional samurai tales with modern elements such as pop music (much like in Cowboy Bebop, which ended up being far more popular in the long run).

Samurai Champloo belongs to  Shinichirō Watanabe and Manglobe

Apart from this bit of linguistic trivia, this is totally unrelated to the recipe above - I just thought I'd better state clearly that no samurai where hurt in the making of this Champloo.  You know, just to be on the safe side! 

The Fanbaking Project: Kareh, or Japanese Curry (as seen in Kuroshitsuji)

So you are going to start this Fanbaking Project of yours by posting a recipe that doesn't even qualify as baking?
Why, yes. 
Get over it. 

There could be no better recipe to kick it into motion anyway, since - as any Kuroshitsuji fan will know - it is not only featured into both the manga and the anime, but was the pivotal plot element of a whole story arc. 

Kuroshitsuji belongs to Yana Toboso and Square Enix

Better still, it is really really good... so, without further ado, let's get started!

Here. You need this. 

Right, so we all know Agni would be horrified, but don't let his stern countenance affect you overmuch! Maybe you won't win a Royal Warrant with it but I assure you, this stuff will give you a perfectly yummy kareh!

You can buy it - or any other brand, since they are more or less equivalent - at your local Asian foodstore. It typically comes in Mild, Medium, and Hot flavour. I hear the Japanese mostly use the sweetest kind to make it more palatable for kids; I picked the Medium one as you can see, and it's still pretty bland, so no need to worry even if you're not into spicy food. 

Below you can see what it looks like. It's not a powder, but not really a paste either; it looks more like stock cubes, only - you know - curry instead of stock. 

You just need to follow the directions on the package... assuming, of course, that it has one of those handy translation stickers pasted to it. If not, don't panic and read on! It really is super-easy and foolproof!

I had about 1/2 Kg chicken meat left in the fridge. I used a common pair of (clean) scissors to get rid of the stringy bits and cut it randomly into strips, like this: 

By the time I was done I had about 350 g left, so I guess I could have used some more; anyway I was happy with the meat-to-veggies ratio in the end.

You could use beef instead, or lamb - I'm not sure about pork, but who knows - or even shrimps; or you could just skip the meat altogether and go for an all-vegetables kareh, maybe with a few bits of tofu thrown in. Your choice!

I melted a little butter in a large frying pan, cut a small onion into thin slices, and let them brown slightly. I threw in the meat until it colored, then added about 500 g frozen vegetables.

Yup, that was it! I didn't even bother thawing the vegetables (be careful, though, because the hot butter will spittle).

Finally I added water to the mix. The instructions on the package will give you a fair idea of how much you need. In my instance, 3 cups were the right amount.

As soon as the water boils, lower the flame, cover the pan and let your mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes. You want the liquid to reduce, but not completely...

...like this. Almost done! At this point you can turn off the heat and add the curry paste to the hot mixture, stirring until it's completely dissolved. I didn't use the whole package, as I found three out of four blocks to be enough for me.

If you want to do things like Sebby and throw in some chocolate, now's the time to do it - only do yourself a favor and pick milk chocolate, not dark like he did. Just trust me on this, ok?

Don't go overboard with it. A small Kinder bar was more than enough for this batch.

Cover again and let your curry sit for five minutes or so. It might turn a bit dense; if so, add a little water. Proper kareh must be runny, almost soupy, yet you should still be able to tell apart the various veggies that are in it. 

Kuroshitsuji belongs to Yana Toboso and Square Enix

You can now pour it over steamed rice (white or brown), or boiled potatoes. Or you can take this one step further and turn it into kareh-pan, just like Sebastian did!

So guess what my next installment's going to be about?