Green tea culture in Japan + benefits of drinking green tea + easy Matcha recipe

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my daily doses of green tea. Coming home from work and sipping on a huge cup of green tea is what gives me that ultimate moment of relaxation. Not only do I enjoy drinking green tea, I love snacking on matcha KitKat, biscuits, matcha caramels... wait.. don't tell me your only drinking green tea? If so, your missing out! Let's talk about Japanese green tea culture and keep reading till the end for a little bonus.


Japanese green tea culture
Japanese green tea, or matcha 抹茶 is specifically grown and picked tea leaves ground to a fine powder. These are then processed to flavor wagashi, ice cream, noodles, mochi and a other varieties of food. (look at my wagashi post to get an idea of Japanese sweets flavored with matcha) Just name a dish and there's a huge possibility there's a matcha version of it. That is how popular matcha is in Japan.
What made matcha so popular is the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. This is a widely practiced ceremony which focuses on the preparation and presentation of matcha.  These ceremonies can vary from a highly formal tea event to less formal tea gathering. Not only for me, but for many people around the world matcha helps them to relax and calm their mind. It is said that many monks drank matcha to remain calm during their meditation sessions.

Benefits of green tea
according to matchasource.com powdered matcha has 137 times more antioxidants than regular brewed green tea this is because when you consume matcha, you ingest the whole leaf and receive 100% of nutrients from the leaf. One cup of matcha equals to 10 cups of regular green tea!
Not only does it contain antioxidants called polyphenols which aid in protection against cancer and heart disease, it also has many more health benefits such as;

✿ It boosts your metabolism and burns calories

✿ It detoxifies your body in a natural way

✿ It's rich in vitamins, fiber and chlorophyll (a green pigment which you find in all kinds of veggies)

✿ It lowers cholesterol and blood sugar

✿ It has anti-aging properties 

this is only a small collection of all the benefits matcha has. If you want to know more about the benefits, I suggest looking at the matcha source website which gives you a lot of information and also comparisons between matcha and regular green tea.

Easy matcha recipe
If all the benefits made you excited to start consuming matcha please try out this easy recipe. Matcha is very easy to include in your daily recipes as it can be combined with both sweet and savory dishes. If you are just tried matcha and aren't really accustomed to the flavour, try adding it gradually in some of your dishes. You can add it to your yoghurt, breakfast bowl, mix it in with your smoothies, add it to some milk and more endless options. You may want to invest in a traditional matcha whisk which is called a chasen (shown on the picture below). This enhances the flavor of the matcha and makes sure it's perfectly mixed. Also don't add your matcha to any boiling liquid, wait a couple of minutes after the liquid has boiled and then add your matcha to prevent it from getting a little bitter.
This recipe is perfect for those of you who love the matcha taste or want to try something different. Matcha goes perfectly with the sweet coconut flavor!

Matcha coconut latte
This recipe requires only two ingredients; powdered matcha and coconut milk.
1. Heat up the coconut milk until it comes just two a boil.
2.Transfer it to a bowl and let it sit for a couple of minutes.
3. Add a little bit of hot water and 2 tablespoons of matcha.
4. Whisk it with your chasen (or a small kitchen whisk) until it becomes frothy.
5. Serve in a tall glass and add toppings if you like. I like to add just a little bit of honey and desiccated coconut on top.

Please try out this recipe and include some matcha in your healthy lifestyle!
I hope you enjoyed reading.
~ mei mei

The history of tofu - Mapo Tofu recipe 麻婆豆腐

In 1986 USA Today reported that tofu was America's most hated food. Years later tofu is gradually making it's comeback. And it should be! I love tofu, and if you grew up in an Asian family you grew up with tofu. My boyfriend born and raised in Vietnam cannot look any more happy than when I serve tofu on the dinner table. He very well remembers the times where he was younger and they had to share a block of tofu with the whole family. Eating a whole tofu dish now equals wealth for him.

In western countries tofu is getting more popular because it's natural, inexpensive and nourishing. In those countries people manly use tofu in stir-fry dishes or as a substitute for meat, but there is so much more you can do with it! In this post I will explain you where tofu originated from, how tofu is made, the health benefits of soy products and a delicious typical Chinese tofu dish.

How tofu is made

First let me explain how tofu is made. The process begins with soaking and then mashing soy beans. They will separate the mashed soy beans into two containers. One container for the milk and one for the pulp. The factories sell the pulp and keep the milk for making tofu. Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing it into those familiar blocks you see in your local supermarket.
Tofu originated from China. Legend says it was discovered in the Han Dynasty more than 2000 years ago when a Chinese cook accidentally curdled soy milk when he added seaweed. Some people also state that Lord Liu An discovered the technique for making tofu, but there is not much effort supporting that statement. Back in that day inventions were mostly attributed to important leaders.

Health benefits

Tofu contains more than double the protein in meat or fish, contains all eight essential amino acids, has high value of magnesium, copper, zinc and vitamin B1! Also daily intake of soy foods are associated with reducing risk of at least one cancer type. Quite amazing for such a simple looking product right?

Mapo tofu 
One of the most famous and my all time favourite tofu dish; mapo tofu. Mapo tofu is a spicy tofu dish that originated from the Szechuan province. It has that numbing spiciness which I adore and is flavoured with Szechuan pepper and fermented black beans. Most of the time the tofu is combined with pork or minced meat but if you are a vegetarian you can just leave the meat out and it will still taste amazing.
I will share the recipe with you today and I hope you have a chance to try it out. If you are not used to spicy food, remember if you are the cook the spiciness is all up to you. This is such an easy and nutritional recipe for those days where you don't have much time to prepare dinner.

Ingredients;

- one block of soft tofu cut into cubes
- 250 gram of minced pork or beef (optional)
- one cup of chicken stock
- 2 cloves of chopped garlic
- one cup of chopped spring onions
- cornstarch
- one tbsp fermented black beans
- chili bean paste (to taste)
- 2 tbsps soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of Chinese rice wine
- sesame oil
- ground Szechuan pepper (to taste)

Instructions;

1. Heat up a skillet or a wok and add the sesame oil. Add the fermented black beans and break them a little with the back of a spoon. Add the garlic, chili bean paste and toss until fragrant.

2. Add the meat and cook for another minute.

3. Pour in the chicken stock, rice wine and soy sauce. Carefully add the tofu blocks to the mixture and stir gently until all the blocks are coated with the sauce. Be careful not to break the blocks. Add half of the spring onions and cook for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add a tsp of cornstarch in the middle of the pan and allow the sauce to thicken for another minute or two. The sauce is thick enough if it sticks a little to the spoon.

5. Pour everything in a bowl or serve on a bed of rice. Put the other half of the green onions on top and finish with some ground Szechuan pepper to taste.


I hope you enjoyed reading my post and try out my recipe.

~Mei mei

Black Day, Asian day for singles? 블랙데이 - Jjajangmyun 자장면 Recipe

In case you don't have that  special person to celebrate Valentine's Day or White Day with, don't worry, the Asians have a special day for you too. It is called 'Black Day' 블랙데이. Black Day is celebrated on April 14th and is mostly celebrated in South Korea. At this day the Koreans mourn a little over the fact they didn't get any gifts earlier (on Valentine's or White day) and then celebrate their singleness by getting together with other single friends. If you want to follow their tradition you just have to wear something black and eat some dark coloured food like the famous jjajangmyun 자장면. 

Jjajangmyun is Black Day's signature dish and consists of white noodles covered in black bean sauce. Although jjajangmyung is written like 자장면 , it is pronounced as 짜장면, with a 'J' as in 'jam'. Jajang (자장) means 'fried sauce' and myeon (면)means 'noodle'.

It is actually a Chinese-Korean dish which some Chinese immigrants brought to Incheon. Unlike other Korean noodles, jjajangmyun is made of white flour instead of potato starch. The noodles are made by hand, and after that shortly boiled. When the noodles are cooked,  pork,vegetables and sea cucumber are added which make the base for the sauce. Last but not least they add black bean paste and a good stock. Some corn starch can be added also if the sauce isn't thick enough. jjajangmyun is considered as a national dish of Korea and the perfect comfort food for Black Day.

If you want to take it to a whole other level there are even many jjajangmyun eating contests this day!

Although jjajanmyun may sound like a dish for the loners which can make your teeth stain, it is really delicious. I highly recommend you to try it so I have the recipe for you below!

  

Recipe;

 This recipe makes four servings;

- Pork belly, diced in easy to eat cubes or strips

- 1 cup diced carrots

- 1 cup diced potatoes

- 1 cup diced onions

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- +/-  3 large table spoons black bean paste

- corn starch

- Water

- Sesame oil

- Your favorite vegetable julienned ( I recommend cucumber or Korean radish)

- Korean noodles of your choice 

1.        Heat a wok or a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat and cook until the edges are slightly browned.

2.      Add the carrots and potatoes and sauté for 1/2 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions turn translucent.

3.      Add the black bean paste to the pan and combine. Make sure everything gets  evenly coated. Gradually add some water and bring to a high simmer. ( be careful not to add to much).

4.      Let the sauce simmer until it thickens, this will take about 3 to 4 minutes. The sauce has to stick to the noodles, but not too much either. If your sauce is not thick enough, you can add some cornstarch.

5.      Turn off the heat and add some sesame oil, stir until combined. Pour the sauce on top of the noodles. Garnish with your fresh vegetables.

I hope you enjoyed reading my post!

~ Mei mei