Hyogo Spotlight: Sobameshi

To overcome the heat in summer, Sobameshi is a really nice choice for everyone to take a look at. Sobameshi is an unique dish in Kobe, Hyogo. Sobameshi is known as a Japanese stir-fry noodle cooked with rice. This name is originated in the western region of Japan, in which Soba indicates “chukamen”- a noodle used to make yakisoba, and Meshi means cooked rice in this dish.

Now is the time to learn how to cook this wonderful dish for your

Sobameshi

summer!

Sobameshi is a good method for you to pass through the hot summer time. It is very easy to make and only costs you around 10 minutes to finish. So Why don’t you get started with it? In order to cook Sobameshi, you need an unique noodle called Yakisoba, rice, your choices of vegetables, maybe kimchi, pork and fried eggs.

Fristly, to prepare the yakisoba noodles, you take the block of noodles and cut it into 1-inch sections.The rest of the “work” consists of frying the ingredients in the pan, starting with rice, and then pork; after that slowly adding in the other ingredients. The last step is placing a fried egg on top of the dish. Now let’s enjoy it! Within kimchi, the dish would taste a little bit of spicy. The more kimchi you added, the spicier it is going to be; it only dependd on how much you want. By placing the fried egg on top is the extra bonus for your dish, when you are going to break the egg, you can enjoy the creamy yellow liquid sauce in each bite of your dish.

 

 

Spicy Sobameshi
Inspired by the Spicy Sobameshi recipe in Orange Page, February 17, 2010, p. 35

Makes 2 servings

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 ounces (1/4 pound) bacon (I like thick sliced), cut into lardons (small strips)
3. 5 ounces (a generous 1/2 cup) kimchi, chopped
2 tablespoons beni shoga (thinly sliced pickled ginger)
1 package (5.6 ounces/160 grams) fresh yakisoba noodles, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup steamed Japanese rice (short grain white rice)
2 fried eggs

1. Make the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, mirin, and oyster sauce together. Set aside.

2. In a 10-inch frying pan, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Add the bacon lardons being careful to shield yourself from splattering oil, and cook them until they are cooked through and starting to brown. Add the kimchi and beni shoga, again being careful to shield yourself from splattering oil, and stir-fry for about 30 seconds.

3. Add the yakisoba noodles and steamed rice, and toss to mix. Then add the sauce to the frying pan made in step 1, and continue to stir fry the contents in the frying pan for about 2 minutes.

4. Divide the sobameshi between 2 plates and top each with a fried egg. Serve.

Hyogo Spotlight: Himeji Yukata Festival

Children in Yukata

The Himeji Yukata Matsuri (姫路ゆかたまつり) is an exciting summer festival that takes place in Himeji. It is one of the biggest festivals in western Japan; over 800 vendors line the streets and there is a popular parade with children wearing various yukata and carrying traditional lanterns.

The festival originated around the time of the Himeji lord Sakakibara Masamune. It celebrates the original ceremony from over 250 years ago, when Sakakibara Masamune was ordered to leave to Echigo. To remember Himeji, the lord demanded a festival be quickly put together, dedicated to the Osakabe Shrine. He moved the shrine to downtown Himeji where all people could visit it easily; before then, only certain individuals were allowed to worship there.

Festive clothing couldn’t be prepared in time, so they used the light, cotton, summer kimono called a “yukata.” Yukata are simple, comfortable, and are often worn during summer festivals such as this.

The parade of children begins at the famous Himeji Castle and proceeds to the Osakabe Shrine. The stalls sell many things such as colorful masks, special food and candy, games and more.

When: Friday, June 22nd – Sunday, June 24
Where: Osakabe Shrine, 33 Tatemachi, Himeji
a 10 minute walk from JR Himeji Station

Kodomo no Hi- May 6

Kodomo no Hi poster jpg

seattlejapanrelief.org One Year Anniversary Event

Sun, March 11, 2012 ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY EVENT A Day of REMEMBRANCE, a Day of PREPAREDNESS, a Day of REBUILDING

Date: Sunday , March 11, 2012 Location: Seattle Center 10am to 2pm – Presentations/Activities @ Fisher Pavilion 2pm to 3pm – Ceremony @ Kobe Bell  

SeattleJapanRelief.org and the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle will hold a special . . . → Read More: seattlejapanrelief.org One Year Anniversary Event

Yuji’s Omusubi 7.0 :Hot Japanese noodle “UDON”

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On Feburary 25th, we’re excited to welcome back Yuji’s Omusubi 7! We’re going to cook Udon, which are Japanese noodles, and also . . . → Read More: Yuji’s Omusubi 7.0 :Hot Japanese noodle “UDON”