I had another home day today, after having already cancelled everything on Monday (Japanese course, piano lesson, swort-fighting practice) . It was good that I did and got some rest, though, and this morning I woke up in the absence of headache. However, while I was feeling better during the day, everything got worse again in the evening. I just hope that all of this will be over soon.
A few impressions from today …
~ lots and lots of tea ~
~ a lovely lunch bowl: chicken and asparagus, roasted in butter ~
~ learning Hiragana syllable signs in the courtyard ~
~ freshly made vegetable stock for drinking throughout the day ~
A thing I have been doing a lot lately (and which has not shown on my blog so far, with one exception) is marinating, and I have tried quite a lot of marinade recipes so far and will post the yummiest ones on here. Until a couple of weeks ago, I used to simply fry my chicken and fish like it was, but by now, I marinate it almost all the time. I have to store it in the fridge anyway, so why not store it in marinade? And it gets so much more flavorful and tender from marinating!
Of course, you cannot only marinate meat and fish. Tofu would be awesome, even hard-boiled eggs might work, and why not try beans? Also, vegetables like sweet potatoes, kabocha, carrots, or asparagus can be marinated before baking them in the oven or steaming them. Prepare for a fireworks of flavors!
The beginning makes this anise and onion marinade I made today, which is inspired by flavors that are used in Chinese cuisine.
Anise and Onion Marinade
1/2 cup
Ingredients
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin (or sherry)
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 tsp peppercorns
4 whole star anise
Directions
Mix everything together and use for marinating. Foods should be marinated for at least 30 minutes, better overnight.
This marinade works well with chicken, turkey, pork, beef, fish, tofu, and eggs.
I am off to bed now! Have a happy day everybody!
