Okowa
Okowa おこわ (御強) is a Japanese steamed rice dish made with glutinous rice mixed with meat or vegetables. It is sometimes combined with wild herbs (sansai okowa) and vessel chestnuts (kuri okowa). It is generally boiled glutinous rice blended with azuki beans to give it red color for festive look, made by boiling regular rice with azuki beans."Kibo ("Brimming with Hope"): Recipes and Stories from Japan's Tohoku", Elizabeth Andoh, Since okowa is meant to be eaten at room temperature, it is used to make onigiri for its capacity to be frozen well. Etymology The word Okowa in Japanese stems from a shortened form of Kowameshi (強飯, meaning "hard rice"). Sometimes, dishes made by blending different rice varieties is also known as Okowa. History Originally referred to plain glutinous rice made in steam, Okowa today refers to red rice called Sekihan. White steamed rice is called by another name. Variations Okowa can be mixed with any kind of meat or vegetable. Some t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steaming
Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American Southwest, steam pits used for cooking have been found dating back about 5,000 years. Steaming is considered a healthy cooking technique that can be used for many kinds of foods. Compared to full immersion in boiling water, steaming can be faster and more energy-efficient because it requires less water and takes advantage of the excellent thermodynamic heat transfer properties of steam. History Some of the world's earliest examples of steam cooking were found in China's Yellow River Valley; early steam cookers made of stoneware have been found dating back as far as 5,000 BCE. And also in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, created during the Stone Age. Some of the earliest examples of steam cooking have been found in Italy and Sardinia, created during the Bronze Age, and in Cochise Cou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Onigiri
, also known as or , is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese rice ball made from white rice. It is usually formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes, and wrapped in ''nori'' (seaweed). Onigiri traditionally have sour or salty fillings such as ''umeboshi'' (pickled Prunus mume, Chinese plum), salted salmon as food, salmon, ''katsuobushi'' (smoked and fermented bonito), kombu, ''tarako'' or ''mentaiko'' (pollock roe), or ''takanazuke'' (pickled brassica juncea, Japanese giant red mustard greens). Because it is easily portable and eaten by hand, onigiri has been used as portable food or bento from ancient times to the present day. Originally, it was used as a way to use and store left-over rice, but it later became a regular meal. Many Japanese convenience stores and supermarkets stock onigiri with various fillings and flavors. It has become so mainstream that it is even served in izakayas and sit-down restaurants. There are even specialized shops which only sell onigiri to Take-out, t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Xôi
Xôi () is a traditional dish of Vietnamese people. History The development process of the customs using xôi so far is still in the debate. However, although the civilization of India and China is often thought to be the foundation of modern East and Southeast Asian culture, sticky rice and customs revolves around it are almost not appearing in two civilizations. Especially, Southeast Asia has shown the rich development of sticky rice growing model. Besides, each country or ethnic group has unique ways of processing, which is directly related to sticky rice. According to the survey of Vietnamese scholars, the customs related to sticky rice have followed the Tai tribes from Yunnan to the Northwestern region of Vietnam from the beginning of the Christian era. In fact, so far, this region is still the largest sticky rice growing in Vietnam. Part of the reason is because this rice variety is only suitable for high terrain with low water. Therefore, it was known as "the sticky ri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rice
Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much less commonly, ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). Asian rice was domesticated in China some 13,500 to 8,200 years ago; African rice was domesticated in Africa about 3,000 years ago. Rice has become commonplace in many cultures worldwide; in 2023, 800 million tons were produced, placing it third after sugarcane and maize. Only some 8% of rice is traded internationally. China, India, and Indonesia are the largest consumers of rice. A substantial amount of the rice produced in developing nations is lost after harvest through factors such as poor transport and storage. Rice yields can be reduced by pests including insects, rodents, and birds, as well as by weeds, and by List of rice diseases, diseases such as rice blast. Traditional rice polyc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sesame Oil
Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. Oil made from raw seeds, which may or may not be cold-pressed, is used as a cooking oil. Oil made from toasted seeds is used for its distinctive nutty aroma and taste, although it may be unsuitable for frying, which makes it taste burnt and bitter. Manufacture Manufacturing process Sesame seeds are protected by a capsule which bursts only when the seeds are completely ripe, a process called dehiscence. The dehiscence time tends to vary, so farmers cut plants by hand and place them together in an upright position to continue ripening, until all the capsules have opened. Tanzania remains the largest producer of sesame oil and also dominates the global consumption of this product. The African and Asian regions constitute the fastest-de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nori
Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, usually made from species of the red algae genus ''Pyropia'', including ''P. yezoensis'' and ''Pyropia tenera, P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is generally made into flat sheets and used to wrap rolls of sushi or ''onigiri'' (rice balls). The finished dried sheets are made by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking. They are sold in packs in grocery stores for culinary purposes. Since nori sheets easily absorb water from the air and degrade, a desiccant is needed when storing nori for any significant time. Nori—despite not being cultivated by humans until the 1600s—has been popular since the pre-modern era in Japan, having been used as currency, offerings at shrines, and food since the 700s. History Ancient Originally, the term ''nori'' was generic and referred to seaweeds, including ''hijiki''. One of the earliest descriptions of nori is dated to around the eighth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fish And Chips
Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of batter (cooking), battered and fried fish, served with French fries, chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, the dish is a common Take-out, takeaway food in numerous other countries, particularly English-speaking and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. Fish and chip shops first appeared in the UK in the 1860s, and by 1910 there were over 25,000 of them across the UK. This increased to over 35,000 by the 1930s, but eventually decreased to approximately 10,000 by 2009. The British government safeguarded the supply of fish and chips during the First World War and again in the Second World War. It was one of the few foods in the UK Rationing in the United Kingdom, not subject to rationing during the wars, which further contributed to its popularity. History The British tradition of eating fish battered and fried in oil may have been i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spring Onions
Scallions (also known as green onions and spring onions) are edible vegetables of various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions. Their close relatives include garlic, shallots, leeks, chives, and Chinese onions. The leaves are eaten both raw and cooked. Scallions produce hollow, tubular, green leaves that grow directly from the bulb, which does not fully develop. This is different to other ''Allium'' species where bulbs fully develop, such as commercially available onions and garlic. With scallions, the leaves are what is typically chopped into various dishes and used as garnishes. Etymology and naming The names ''scallion'' and ''shallot'' derive from the Old French ''eschalotte'', by way of ''eschaloigne'', from the Latin ''Ascalōnia caepa'' or "Ascalonian onion", a namesake of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean coastal city of Ascalon. Other names used in various parts of the world include spring onion, green onion, t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Carrot
The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', native to Europe and Southwestern Asia. The plant probably originated in Iran and was originally cultivated for its leaves and seeds. The carrot is a biennial plant in the umbellifer family, Apiaceae. World production of carrots (combined with turnips) for 2022 was 42 million tonnes, led by China producing 44% of the total. The characteristic orange colour is from beta-carotene, making carrots a rich source of vitamin A. A myth that carrots help people to see in the dark was spread as propaganda in the Second World War, to account for the ability of British pilots to fight in the dark; the real explanation was the introduction of radar. Etymology The word is first recorded in English around 1530 and w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, ''Agaricus bisporus''; hence, the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (Stipe (mycology), stipe), a cap (Pileus (mycology), pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. Lamella (mycology), lamella) on the underside of the cap. "Mushroom" also describes a variety of other gilled fungi, with or without stems; therefore the term is used to describe the fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota. The gills produce microscopic Spore#Fungi, spores which help the fungus spread across the ground or its occupant surface. Forms deviating from the standard Morphology (biology), morphology usually have more specific names, such as "bolete", " ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of leaves) about one meter tall, bearing narrow leaf blades. The inflorescences bear flowers having pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate shoot (botany), shoots. Ginger is in the family (taxonomy), family Zingiberaceae, which also includes turmeric (''Curcuma longa''), cardamom (''Elettaria cardamomum''), and galangal. Ginger originated in Maritime Southeast Asia and was likely domesticated first by the Austronesian peoples. It was transported with them throughout the Indo-Pacific during the Austronesian expansion ( Before Present, BP), reaching as far as Hawaii. Ginger is one of the first spices to have been exported from Asia, arriving in Europe with the spice trade, and was used by ancient Gre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Salt
In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as rock salt or halite. Salt is essential for life in general (being the source of the essential dietary minerals sodium and chlorine), and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous food seasonings, and is known to uniformly improve the taste perception of food. Salting, brining, and pickling are ancient and important methods of food preservation. Some of the earliest evidence of salt processing dates to around 6000 BC, when people living in the area of present-day Romania boiled spring water to extract salts; a salt works in China dates to approximately the same period. Salt was prized by the ancient Hebrews, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Hittites, Egyptians, and Indians. Salt became a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |