June 4: Cooking class for men, Hard boiled rice
by Mie
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As my husband has been rather busy last one month, he couldn't join the cooking class for men. Today, he will challenge what he has learned last week - hard boiled rice with edible wild plants. First, three cups of Mochigome (a kind of rice specially grown to make rice paste) is washed and drained on the sieve. Then prepare the secondary stock from kelps and dried bonito shavings (first stock will be used for making soup.) The ingredients to be added to the rice are edible wild plants and boiled Adzuki beans. The edible wild plant was purchased at a super market as a package. It must be carefully rinsed with fresh water so as to remove any possible bleaches. The package contained bracken shoots, bamboo sprouts, and Jew's-ears. Carrots and soaked dried mushroom will be added as well.
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In the cooking class, canned beans was used, but this time we cooked from dried beans. The first boiling water is to be drained to remove harshness. Then the beans are simmered until they become soft. If water evaporates before the end of the simmering, a little amount of water is to be added.
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Three cups of water soaked Mochigome is put into a electric cooking pod together with total 350 ml of soup (150 ml of simmering drainage of Adzuki beans, and 200 ml of second stock.) After steam comes out of the cooker, Adzuki beans and edible wild plants are added into the cooker for further cooking.
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After the electric cooker's switch turned off and enough minutes, I opened the lid with expectation. A mouthwatering smell of edible wild plants and Adzuki beans rose up from the beautifully cooked rice. In the class, my husband cooked "Sashimi of horse mackerel assorted with sea grass" and clear soup of the fish meat, but this time we changed the menu.
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We prepared fried sardine and clear soup of water shield. Since my husband haven't learned how to fry, I cooked it. Water shield is a seasonal vegetable which I bought at a supermarket nearby. We also prepared root ginger, which is one of the seasonal food as well. It was a liking of my late father-in-law, which was surely handed down on my husband's tongue.
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Here in Oita, the rainy season started yesterday, TV says, but we have had a refreshing air in the evening. I sprayed water on the garden and enjoyed a nice dinner in the terrace.
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