Memories of “Japanese Dish”

I had a day off this Saturday, so I decided to cook a decent Japanese meal. In Australia, it is very difficult to get proper Japanese food (ingredients). Of course, you can buy normal vegetables such as onions, cucumbers🥒 and tomato 🍅 etc, but root vegetables such as lotus root, burdock root and Japanese radish etc are not sold at normal supermarkets. It is difficult to find raw slices of meat or wiener (vienna), but there is a wide variety of cooked or processed meat available, such as chicken, pork, beef, lamb. When it comes to fish 🐟, there are definitely more varieties in Japan, sashimi is not sold in ordinary shops here in Australia. You can’t buy proper Japanese rice (short grain) at ordinary shops as well…

The other day, when I went to a Japanese grocery shop, I found one of my favourite vegetables which is burdock root, so I decided to cook KINPIRA GOBOU^※1 for the first time in a long while. Here, of course, I have rarely seen burdock root, so I was very lucky♪
Unfortunately, the Japanese rice was sold out because of the influence of COVID-19, and the shop clerk doesn’t know when it will be in stock again. Also, the consomme (soup stock) is still sold out😭😭😭

KINPIRAGOBOU^※１ It is a traditional Japanese dish. It’s made of chopped burdock root cooked in soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil.

By the way, when I say KINPIRA GOBOU, it reminds me of my grandmother. My grandmother was very good at cooking and made everything quickly. When I visited her, she often made my favourite sweet potato tempura, my grandmother would give me a full bag to take home with me, but I always finished eating it before I got home. My grandmother’s KINPIRA GOBOU was exquisite and a favourite for everyone in my family, but after her death, no one could cook it the same way she did. My aunt and mother still haven’t been able to match my grandmother’s quality and taste, even though they use the same ingredients💧

Well, what’s today’s dinner?
Can you imagine from this picture???

《Menu》
① Seasoned rice with chicken and burdock root
② Seaweed soup
③ Grilled Hokke (Atka mackerel)
④ Japanese omelette
⑤ KINPIRA GOBOU

Here is my dinner👇
Itadakimasu (Let’s eat) 🙏

It was wonderful if I say so myself😁
I realized that Japanese food looks a little brown because we use lots of soy sauce.
KINPIRA GOBOU was delicious 😋 I really enjoyed the crispy texture. But still not 100% my grandmother’s taste.  When will I be able to eat it next time?

I will post the difference between the supermarkets in Japan and Australia Soon. Don’t miss it!