This Cucumber is Pickled with Love

Some people make hearts out of chocolates and whipped cream. But if you want to go the extra mile to impress your valentine in February, how about making them a bento box filled with heart-shaped cucumbers?!

It’s not exactly an aphrodisiac, but when prepared the right way, cucumbers will make anyone fall in love with you!

Start off with this product by Yamagata-based CMR to sculpt your baby cucumbers. It’s a heart-shaped encasing (stars, too!) that you wrap around a baby cucumber; as it grows it conforms to the mold. When it’s done, you simply pop off the encasing and get cooking.

My favorite cucumber recipe is called sunomono, sweet pickled cucumbers. First, mix two parts vinegar with one part sugar. Then slice your prized cucumbers thinly and salt them generously to help extract some moisture. After about 10-15 minutes, they should be crunchy. Put the cucumbers in the vinegar mixture and after about an hour they’re ready for eating.

I like eating sunomono with a hot bowl of rice and miso soup. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside because it reminds me of home. Okay, pickled hearts may not make someone fall in love with you, but it’s a tasty attempt! \(^o^)/

Himawari

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Rise and Shine to a Japanese Breakfast

TravelLady Magazine has a great article on Japanese breakfasts. When I was in Tokyo for my honeymoon a few years ago, I was astounded by the variety of food at the hotel’s breakfast buffet. They had to cater to foreign visitors, so scrambled eggs and other westernized fare were on display, but they also provided traditional food, and it was fun to mix and match from both cultures.

So what is a typical Japanese breakfast?

Salmon, bowl of rice, and miso soup are mainstays. Asagohan, the Japanese word for breakfast, means “morning meal.” Some people enjoy seaweed, fermented soybeans called natto, and noodles, too. Sounds a lot like lunch and dinner, right?

A diet of veggies, tofu, rice and tea is supposedly one of the reasons that “Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat.” It’s certainly a healthy alternative to Lucky Charms or Count Chocula.

Still, as evidenced by Krispy Kreme and other high-fat, high-sugar trends recently embraced by the Japanese, breakfast is becoming westernized. According to Japan-Guide, most Japanese eat a combination of Japanese and western food for breakfast these days. The western portion includes fried eggs, yogurt, bread and cereal.

Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before Sushi-O’s become a reality!

Sarah S.

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JPBizDirect, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more
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