Thursday, July 5, 2012

Watching Japanese Drama "Hungry" Inspires You To Cook Too ;)

I love searching and collecting recipes from cookbooks, magazines and online so that i can try out the recipes during my free time. I have not tried a new recipe for a long time and miss the joy of experimenting with a new dish. I feel really inspired to cook more often after watching the 11 episodes Japanese drama "Hungry" starring one of my favorite Japanese actors Osamu Mukai which was shown in Japan earlier this year. Fellow food lovers and fans of Osamu can watch it online at (http://www.dramacrazy.net/japanese-drama/hungry/).

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Osamu stars as Yamate Eisuke, a former bassist of a rock band who gave up his music dreams to carry on the tradition of his family's French restaurant. He is a talented cook and those who have eaten his cooking cannot resist coming back for more. He decided to open a new French restaurant with his former rock band mates at a warehouse after his father sold off their French restaurant when his mother passed away as they could not afford the rent. The drama follows Eisuke's journey to discovering himself and becoming a better chef and person. He is able to face the numerous challenges thrown his way with the support of his love ones.

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I love the French dishes featured in the show which were so beautifully presented and looks really delicious. I was drooling over the dishes presented in each episode and wishing i could also cook such delicious and beautiful French cuisine. Watching the drama really inspires me to cook more often hehe :)

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I found out online that Mukai Osamu had released a French recipe book titled “Mukai Osamu, Bistro Shugyou ~Hungry! na Kantan Recipe 53~” in January 2012 inspired by the drama. The book introduces 53 French recipes that were used within the drama.

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Osamu revealed in an interview that he has been cooking since he was in middle school and even thought about being a chef when he was a high school student. He had a part-time job at a dinning bar and cooking has always been familiar to him. He cooks Italian and Japanese food quite often and took a special training course in French cuisine at a cooking school for the drama. He hopes that everyone can also become more familiar with French food by watching the drama, and trying the recipes in his book.

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The cookbook also features pictures of Osamu in the kitchen. Hopefully the book will be translated into English in the future as i also hope to try cooking the dishes shown in the drama and get the cookbook to add to my recipe collections.

In the meanwhile, i'm going to try this simple Japanese home cooking recipe from (http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/cooking/AJ201201170019) once i get all the ingredients. Those who love cooking can also give it a try and check out the recipe below ;) You can replace katakuriko starch with potato starch or cornstarch if you can't find it in your local supermarkets.

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The egg is a familiar ingredient but you may feel your repertoire of egg dishes is somewhat limited. Here is a dish with shrimp and herbal vegetables that could be the main dish. But the first step is to clean the shrimp by using the dehydrating effect of salt to remove the smell, and using katakuriko starch to clean the surface.

“This is the basic step that will enhance the flavor whenever cooking shrimp,” says chef and restaurant owner Tomoshige Ichikawa. Another key is not to overcook the egg mixture to get a fluffy finish. Serves four.

INGREDIENTS
12 shelled shrimps
3 eggs
50 grams celery including leaf
2 slices ham
1/2 long green onion
Base seasoning for shrimp (1 tsp sake, bit of salt and pepper, 1 tsp katakuriko starch)
Base seasoning for egg (1 tsp sake, 1/3 tsp salt, bit of pepper, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp Chinese soup stock)

METHOD
Add bit of salt, katakuriko starch and water (separate from basic seasoning) to shrimp and knead to remove stickiness. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry.
Split shrimp open along the back and remove veins. Add base seasoning.
Thinly slice celery at an angle and slice green onion finely. Cut ham in half, then into strips.
Break eggs in bowl. Add base seasoning and mix.
Pour 1 Tbsp cooking oil in frying pan and thoroughly stir-fry shrimp. Once cooked, remove and add to egg mixture. Briefly stir-fry green onion, ham and celery and add to egg mixture and mix.
Add 2 Tbsp oil in pan, turn up heat and wait until oil is heated. Pour in egg mixture all at once. Swiftly mix with ladle in large motion and turn off heat when mixture is half set.

(Source: http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Hungry!)
(Source: http://asianwiki.com/Hungry!_%28Drama%29)
(Source: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/01/mukai-osamu-to-release-a-french-recipe-book/)
(Source: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/cooking/AJ201201170019)

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