Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 - Buddhist Obon: Eating my way through festival food

Welcome to the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple's 50th Annual Obon Festival!

I'm thrilled that Foodbuzz selected my proposal for this month's Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24, a unique monthly food blogging event covering 24 meals on 24 blogs in 24 hours. My proposal: Eating my way through festival food! Come along!

Obon Festivals are an annual Japanese Buddhist tradition, honoring the departed spirits of one's ancestors. My friend describes it as the Buddhist Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead.

Buddhist temples and churches have Obon Festivals in the summer to celebrate their heritage, religion and family connections. Obons are known for unique and yummy foods prepared by church members. Like most children, I remember eating my way through festivals. While my friends have memories of hot dogs and corn dogs at the county fair, I remember rice, noodles, and the wonder of dango.

Even though I wasn't raised Buddhist, my family would attend the local Buddhist Obon festival. The chance to win a goldfish or glass cup in the dime toss (I'll tell you that story later), and eat some comfort food draws families from all faiths.

Used with permission, Estelle Ishigo, Obon, 1942 - 1945, Japanese American National Museum (94.195.10F)

This pencil drawing by Estelle Ishigo was made during WWII in the Heart Mountain, Wyoming internment camp. That is how far back and important these festivals are to the Japanese American community.

Six friends, all who have never been to an Obon Festival, joined me at the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple in downtown Los Angeles (Little Tokyo). Founded in 1904, the Los Angeles Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple is a member of the Shinshu Otani-ha denomination with its headquarters in Kyoto, Japan. This year, they celebrated their 50th Obon Festival!

Recently, I made somen noodles. These cold noodles are perfect on a hot summer day!

Always on the menu...beef and chicken teriyaki plates.

Tamales with chili and tacos. The obon food reflects the character and culture of the Japanese American and Los Angeles communities. Remember, my family used to make mochi AND tamales during the holidays! Chili Rice is also a favorite Obon dish (a staple in Hawaii). Why have cornbread when you can put chili over a hot bowl of rice? :)

Chirashi sushi is sushi rice (rice mixed with a sugar & rice vinegar syrup) with egg, kamaboko (fish cake), shitake mushrooms, and age (fried tofu). It is a must at Obon festivals!

Spam musubi. Spam, rice, seaweed and sauce.

Japanese confectioneries. These manju cakes are filled with sweetened beans, and handmade by temple members.

Shave ice is a delicious summer treat. They were sold out of my favorite: kintoki...Shave ice with "an" or sweet red beans. If you see that, try it!

Oh yes. The Dango. The draw of the food booths! The Okinawan Dango is a fried cake-like donut. I've been spending this summer doing the Obon circuit seeking dangos! :) See below for my mom's dango recipe.

This was a new one for me! The Dango Dog. Hot dog dipped in dango batter. A sweeter corn dog! They were also making Oreo dangos but they were sold out.

We found some great, inexpensive produce at the farmer's market at the festival. Nothing like Japanese pumpkin (kabocha) and tomatillos! The festival also had a bake sale, flower and plant sale and white elephant/bazaar area.

The night always ends with the Bon Odori dance, a circular folk dance performed by temple members, friends and visitors. Some members dress in yukatas (cotton kimono).

Here is a slide show of Bon Odori photos:

Three Taiko drum groups performed during the festival. And we played a couple games of Bingo!

Whew! That was a lot of food and fun. Thanks for coming along on our eating tour!

Whatever your faith, I hope you take time this summer to spend time with family and honor your family members who came before you. Give them a some thanks...and perhaps a little dango.

There are a million different Okinawa Dango recipes out there...believe me, I'm made it my mission to try all of them. Variations include: thick crust, density, size, sprinkling of powdered sugar, and the addition of cinnamon flavor. I want to share my mom's with you. My mom came to Los Angeles on a student visa in the late 1960's. She arrived with very few possessions, very little English and big dreams.

Okinawan Dangos (originally published in this December 2007 post)
Mix together in large bowl: 3 c flour, 1 T baking powder, 1 c sugar, 1/2 t salt

Beat together in small bowl or measuring glass: 5 eggs, 1/4 c milk, 1 t vanilla

Mix the dry and wet batches together by hand (with a wooden spoon or spatula) until dough forms. Do not overmix. Heat a wok or deep-fryer with vegetable or canola oil. Form dough into small balls with your hands or with an ice cream scoop/cookie dough disher before dropping into the oil. Fry until golden brown. Makes 36 dangos.


The amazing thing about Obon festivals is that they only occur once a year, and most of the city doesn't even know about it. If you are in Southern California and Nevada, there are still some Obon Festivals to attend this summer! You can find a calendar here.

Thanks to the good people at FoodBuzz and VISA Signature for this great opportunity!
Be sure to check out all the other 23 bloggers in this event!

Rabbit Manju from Piyonya in Kyoto

I've been reaching for my roots and getting my Japanese on lately. Ramen California yesterday, rabbit mochi today and you'll see my Saturday post of Japanese festival foods.

The other day, I got a txt from friend, JustJenn. It read something like... "omg. rabbit mochi coming soon. 4 days only."

Um, them magic words.

Piyonya in Kyoto set themselves up in Marukai Pacific Market in Gardena, California. Yes, another Japanese place in the South Bay. A lot of Japanese American settled in the South Bay before and after WWII (see the book Japanese Americans of the South Bay), and the city of Torrance has a lot of Japanese companies, including the North American headquarters for Toyota and Honda. Thus, lots of Japanese restaurants and stores.

The white rabbits are steamed dough manju filled with smooth sweetened "an" or red beans. The colored rabbits are sweet dough filled with flavored and sweetened beans.

That tail is just too kawaii (cute!)

These Bunny Cakes are white chocolate, green tea and chocolate flavored manju. They come in a box that reads: Yumeki-Usagi. In Kyoto the rabbit is legendary.

This post is just eye candy (literally!) Too cute! More photos here.

Piyonya is only there from Thursday-Sunday (7/23-7/26/2009)
Here is their website (all in Japanese): piyonya

Pacific Market - Marukai
1620 W. Redondo Beach Blvd, Gardena, CA 90247
(310) 464-8888
Mon-Sat 9:00AM-9:00PM, Sun 9:00AM-8:30PM

Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes (Martha Stewart Cupcakes)

I bought Martha Stewart's new Cupcakes book on "opening" weekend. However, I have yet to make anything in it!

I had good reason to try the Zucchini-Spice cupcakes first. See below.

When this ends up on your porch, you instantly think...Zucchini Bread.
(The cupcake liner is shown for scale)

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book suggests a cream cheese frosting (which would be lovely). But I was out of cream cheese...so I made a quick glaze of powdered sugar, vanilla extract and water. I think I probably saved about 100 calories each too!

I got these cool cupcake liners at, well, where else? Surfas in Culver City, California. They are basically squares of parchment folded into pretty little things.

Note to Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet: When you and the family come out to Disneyland, I'll go with you to both Disneyland AND Surfas! :)

The cupcake is very moist and easy to make. It is dairy-free, and I used olive oil instead of canola oil.

I poured a wee bit too much in each cup and ended up with 20 cupcakes instead of 24. I also ended up baking them for about 35 minutes instead of 20 minutes. Because these liners are really tall, I had the pans on the top and bottom racks. If I use these liners again, I'll try baking them separately and in the middle. So watch the time and size of your cupcakes!

When you are gifted with some zucchini, make sure to make this tasty treat!

Recipe:
Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book, page 44-45.
Also found on Erin's Food Files blog. She made the cream cheese frosting - yum!

Ramen California Restaurant (Torrance, California)

I keep reading about Ramen California.
Oishii Eats.
Go Ramen.
Rameniac.
Exile Kiss.
Los Angeles Times Food Section.

Finally, it was time to experience this new place for myself! I met Jun, Yvonne, and Courtney tonight at Ramen California in Torrance, California (Southern California's "cool ocean breeze" South Bay community).

Please, please put aside any ideas you have about Ramen. Especially the 10 cent stuff you had in college. And even set aside the pork ramen in your local Japanese ramen restaurant. When I heard about fresh veggies in ramen, I was a bit skeptical. I'm used to a piece of fatty pork in a rich broth, but after eating here, I'm so converted!

Ramen California is light, filled with fresh farmer's market vegetables and is, simply put, delicious.

Californian Ramen
Check out all those fresh veggies! The broth is light and as you eat it, it gets colored by the red beets.

If you want to read about the background of the chef, his philosophy, and the farmer's market ingredients he purchases...please read the above reviews. Because this is our conversation (verbatim):

Yvonne: Oooh. This is so good.
Jun: This is soooo good.
Courtney: That's my favorite.
Mary: Oh, smell this!
Yvonne: Yummmmm.
Courtney: Delicious!
Jun: Mmmmmmm.
All: [Hands clapping]: Yeah! More bread! Food of the Gods!
Jun: You done with that? Can I have the rest?
Yvonne: When are we coming back?

The noodles are organic and have a lovely texture. I slurped them up!

Bread. Bread. Bread. Rosemary Kasha Bread. It's basically a bao with rosemary and lovely sea salt. And it is my new best friend.

Reggiano Cheese Tofu ramen with seasonal vegetables. The ramen comes in three sizes and we all got the small size ramen.

California Vegetable Mix (Onyasai) with Crispy Anchovy Powder
Oh my goodness. This was my favorite. It was delicious!!!

Masala ramen made with curry. Smelled and tasted great!

Alpine Sausage with Gnocchi in Tomato Sauce
This was good, but it was our least favorite item.

Oysters. Yum.

The peeled, fresh tomatoes were delicious!!!

For drinks, Courtney and Jun ordered the small "taster" wine...and they got a big glass! Our final bill was very reasonable...4 people: $52

If you are boiling in the valley or IE, take a trip to the South Bay and enjoy the cool ocean breezes as well as some delicious ramen and small plates.

Ramen California
24231 Crenshaw Blvd. Unit C
It's in the Torrance Crossroads Plaza (with an In N Out, Home Depot and Vons. Ramen California is located next to Office Depot on the side closest to Lomita Blvd.)
Torrance, CA 90505
tel: (310) 530-2749
fax: (310) 530-4318
Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays
Lunch: 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm to 10:00pm

May 2010 Note: I had to close comments on this post because Every Single Day I was getting SPAM comments coming from Japan (strange, huh?) After rejecting what seems like hundreds of comments, I realized I can close comments on a single post. - mary the food librarian

Raspberry Blanc-Manger (Tuesdays with Dorie)

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy selected Raspberry Blanc-Manger on pages 398 and 399 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

The Blanc-Manger. I thought it was a cousin of the Mont Blanc fountain pen.

Turns out it's a cousin of the panna cotta with some almond meal, whipped cream, milk, raspberries and gelatin. It is pronounced: "blah-mahn-jhay"

Beyond simple to make, it's like eating sweet air.

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Recipe:
Find it on Susan's pretty blog or on this NPR piece, "It's never too hot in the Kitchen for Dessert" (June 22, 2007)

Homemade Rice-a-Roni (Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli from Everyday Food)

Oh, the box. The box rocks.

Sometimes, it comes to my door with a big Amazon label and I do a little happy dance of retail therapy happiness.

And I can't name one person who doesn't love a big pink box from the bakery.

Anyway, I often have a few boxes in the kitchen...a San Francisco treat!

I do enjoy the Rice-A-Roni (chicken flavor is my favorite). However, the crazy high sodium content and long list of "ingredients" with many syllables makes me long for a different recipe. I found this recipe for Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli on the Everyday Food website.

1/2 onion, finely chopped, 1 ounce of angel hair pasta, and 2/3 c long grain white rice are the main ingredients. I tried to health it up a notch and used whole wheat angel hair pasta. Next time, I want to replace some of the white rice with long grain brown rice (might need to cook it a bit longer).

Saute in a pan, just like the box and add low-sodium chicken broth. You can go vegan and make it with veggie broth or powder. I threw in a bunch of finely chopped Italian parsley at the end. Or you can use dried parsley and other dried herbs (like the box stuff).

I still love you box. But this is a nice homemade version of Rice-a-Roni...with a lot less salt and ingredients you can pronounce!

Recipe:
Everyday Food Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli

Peanut Butter Coffee Cake

I wish I was there when the first person took a few peanuts of out their shell and smashed them up. I would have screamed, "Awesome!"

Peanut butter is just so comforting. I love it.

And what's as great as peanut butter? The Coffee Cake (or coffeecake - space or no space? I've see it both ways all the time)

Grammar aside, I found this recipe for Peanut Butter Coffee Cake on the Suite101.com website.

I got this cute Hello Kitty figurine from one of those vending machines that 7 year olds love. $1 in quarters gets you one of 6 different figurines - "collect them all" the machine screams. I'm sure this guitar playin' Hello Kitty likes peanut butter too.

The batter has flour, brown sugar, and peanut butter...and the topping is flour, brown sugar, peanut butter, chocolate chips and butter. Double peanut butter!

I thought the cake is a little salty...it has both peanut butter and a bit of salt. I think I would drop the additional salt in the batter. Note: I don't use much salt in my diet so I'm more sensitive to the flavor, so this might not be true for you. Also, I used Skippy creamy peanut butter and this jar might have more salt than yours.

Overall, excellent reviews at the library. Everyone loves peanut butter and coffee cake...and you probably have all the ingredients in the house. Make it soon!

Recipe:
Peanut Butter Coffee Cake

Brioche Plum, Nectarine, Peach, and Apricot Tart (Tuesdays with Dorie)

Happy Bastille Day! I went to the Los Angeles Bastille Day festivities in Elysian Park on Sunday, and today Tuesdays with Dorie celebrates with brioche!

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Denise of Chez Us picked Brioche Plum Tart on pages 54 and 55of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

The tart is a brioche dough topped with fruit. Yes, a combination of buttery, rich bread and summer fruit. We were destined for success!

I missed the Farmer's Market this week (again!!) and picked up some nectarines, peaches, red plums and black velvet apricots at my local store. I've never had the black velvet apricot (pictured above)...but its skin is sorta velvety! The inside is like an apricot.

I made the dough last night and got up at 3:20 am to make this tart! If I fall asleep while answering reference questions later today, just feed me a piece of this and I'm sure I'll perk right up.

A layer of peach jam was spread on the brioche dough. Then my various stone fruits were placed on top.

And what happens when you make something before dawn? You "misread" the directions. I thought I was supposed to mix the fruit and sugar together (like a pie) and let things macerate for 30 minutes during the 1st rise in the pan cycle. However, when I reread the directions after the tart was in the oven (yes, this IS the best time to reread the directions!), it turned out the sugar was supposed to go on top of the fruit. Thus, I got no caramelization. Oh well, it's still yummy!

The Brioche Fruit Tart.
It's worth getting up early.

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers! I can't wait to see everyone's take on this - I'm sure there will be a whole farmer's market of fruit and jam!

Recipe:
Find the recipe on Denise's blog Chez Us or buy Dorie's great book, Baking: From My Home to Yours!

Cantaloupe and Cucumber Sorbet

Esi of Dishing up Delights has a great blog. Really. Everything she cooks or bakes is so scrumptious. Most days I just want to put a fork into the screen. Seriously, if scratch-and-sniff stickers have been popular since the 80's, why can't we someone create a way to eat what we see on the Interwebnets?

Well, until that much needed invention comes along, I just have to make some of Esi's delicious treats. Recently, she made Cantaloupe Sorbet...and I just had to make it, with a little cucumber twist.

I think cantaloupe and cucumber have refreshing flavors so I combined the two in a sorbet.

I meant to add some vodka to keep the sorbet from getting rock hard, but didn't have any. I'll just have to eat it all really fast.

Esi adapted a recipe from Chaos In the Kitchen who adapted it from David Lebovitz. All roads for any frozen dessert come via Mr. Lebovitz! :)

Here is what I did:
Cantaloupe and Cucumber Sorbet
1/2 cantaloupe, or 2 cups seeded and chopped cantaloupe, or 15 ounces of chopped cantaloupe
1/2 cup seeded and chopped cucumber
1/2 c sugar
2 teaspoon Meyer lemon juice

Blitz the cantaloupe and cucumber in a food processor until smooth. In a bowl, combine the puree, sugar and lemon juice. Freeze in an ice cream maker.

Happy Summer! This sorbet is really refreshing. I had some for breakfast this morning (hey, it has fruit and veggies!)