CUBAN CUISINE

The Cuban cuisine had the same genesis that culture: it has been integrated by contributions of Spain and other regions. The poor table was conformed, partly, by the Canaries. They left the chickpeas that the islanders ate with corn, and Mojo, a very important dressing for most of Cuban plates where the viands are included.

From Africa came the forced habit of the slaves of eating corn flour, tender or dry, and in tamale. Even the Chinese brought, more than 150 years ago, their culinary ideas. That is why we also have the fried rice, plate combined with multiple meats and vegetables.

In favour of the Cuban culinary art is necessary to admit the creativity of the cookers. A traveller of the XIX century, the North American Luisa Mathilde Woodruff, wrote that she saw in Cuba already known plates, and she found out, when she tasted them, that those plates were different in a way. Due to that capacity the Cuban cuisine stands out in the revenues that the country receives from tourism.

A spirit of renovation and variety is perceived in the Cuban recipes. The ability to combine traditional plates with new tastes has propitiated the invention of new plates.

BLACK BEANS RICE CUBAN STYLE

1 1/2 c. black beans4 slices bacon1/2 clove garlic, crushed1 onion, chopped1 tsp. chili powderSaltCayenne pepper2 c. boiled rice

Wash beans; cover with 5 cups water and soak overnight. Drain water off beans. Cover beans with fresh water and boil gently until tender, drain. Add bacon, garlic and onion. Season with chili powder, salt and cayenne to taste.

Add enough water to cover beans and simmer slowly until it makes thick sauce. Pour over cooked warm rice.

CACAO

The Maya believed that the kakaw (cacao) was discovered by the gods in a mountain that also contained other delectable foods to be used by the Maya. According to Maya mythology, the Plume Serpent gave cacao to the Maya after humans were created from maize by divine grandmother goddess Xmucane.

There are several mixtures of cacao described in ancient texts, for ceremonial, medicinal uses as well as culinary purposes. Some mixtures included maize, chili, vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), peanut butter and honey. The first Europeans to encounter cacao were Christopher Colombus and his crew in 1502, when they captured a canoe at Guanaja that contained a quantity of mysterious-looking “almonds,”. The first real European knowledge about chocolate came in the form of a beverage which was first introduced to the Spanish at their meeting with Montezuma in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1519.

Cacao had immense symbolic value. It was a rare luxury and an import that could not be grown within the boundaries of the Aztec Empire. There are no detailed descriptions of how cacao solids were prepared, but there are a number of allusions to the fact that it was eaten in some form. Cacao was most commonly drunk as xocolat ("bitter water", the origin of the word chocolate) and was the beverage of warriors and nobles. It was considered a potent intoxicant and something that was drunk with great solemnity and gravity which was described as something "not drunk unthinkingly" by the Spanish chronicler Sahagún.

Chocolate could be prepared in a huge variety of ways and most of them involved mixing hot or tepid water with toasted and ground cacao beans, maize and any number of flavorers such as chile, honey, vanilla and a wide variety of spices. The ingredients were mixed and beaten with a beating stick or aerated by pouring the chocolate from one vessel to another. If the cacao was of high quality, this produced a rich head of foam.

Hot Chili Chocolate

* 1 2/3 cups milk
* 1/2 vanilla bean
* red 1/8 tsp chili powder.
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 30/50 g bittersweet chocolate

Split red chili pepper and remove the seeds. Also split the vanilla bean, lengthwise. In a saucepan, heat milk to simmering with vanilla bean, chili pepper and broken up cinnamon stick. Continue to simmer for a minute or two. Grate chocolate, and whisk into the hot spiced milk until melted. Remove mixture from heat and let sit for 10 minutes, to steep. Strain, and heat through again if necessary. Serve hot. Serves 2.

LIGHT JAPANESE FOOD

Japanese food is light and cooked without much grease. Fresh fish, seafood, rice and vegetables are intrinsic to most Japanese food recipes. Most Japanese food recipes can be classified as rice dishes, seafood, noodle, yoshuku, soya bean, tofu, nabe, sashimi and sushi dishes. Red meat did not figure much on the Japanese cuisine till the end of the 19th century. The meals consist more of grains, beans, seaweed, vegetables and seafood. Seaweed, fish, clams and fish cakes are used in most Japanese food recipes. Probably this accounts for the higher life expectancy among the Japanese people. A Japanese meal usually ends with green tea. There are regional variations even in a small country like Japan. While the Japanese food recipes from the Kanto region have a stronger taste, the recipes from the Kansai region are lightly seasoned.

Japanese food

While typically Japanese meals are eaten with chopsticks, forks, knives and spoons are also used. A Japanese meal setting includes a bowl of steamed rice on your left and miso soup on your right. Nabe dishes are prepared hot at the table and include ingredients such as negi (Japanese leek), hakusai (Chinese cabbage), mushrooms, seafood and meat. Sukiyaki, Oden, Chanko Nabe and Shabu-Shabu are popular nabe dishes. Tsukemono or Japanese pickles are served with most Japanese meals.

Edamame or young soybean boiled and seasoned with salt is a popular Japanese snack. Ohitashi or boiled greens can be eaten with soy sauce. Alternatively you can coat vegetables with sesame paste. This Japanese dish is called goma ae. Tempura dishes are seafood, vegetables and mushrooms coated with batter and deep-fried.

Rice forms a core element in most Japanese meals. In fact, it is eaten for lunch and dinner as well as breakfast. Rice used in Japanese cuisine is sticky and short grained. While white rice is served at Japanese meals with a variety of toppings, there are other combinations such as Domburi, Kare Raisu (Curry Rice), Chahan (Fried Rice), Kayu (Rice gruel) or Onigiri (Rice balls with vegetables or seafood in the middle). In fact rice balls wrapped in seaweed are a popular snack and available easily. Kare Raisu is also a popular take away dish. Rice cakes (mochi) are another popular Japanese food item.

Japanese noodle dishes are made with soba noodles (buckwheat and wheat flour) or udon noodles (wheat flour). Somen noodles are relatively thinner and eaten cold while yakisoba noodles are served fried with vegetables and meat. Seafood is eaten grilled, steamed, boiled or even raw as in Sashimi.

Pungent sauces and delicate flavors are used to whip up dishes that tantalize the taste buds and look appetizing too. Japanese food recipes primarily make use of seasonings such as shoyu (soybean sauce), mirin (sweet sake), vinegar, myoga (ginger) and wasabi (Japanese horseradish). Ground sansho seeds and yuzu also find place in Japanese food recipes. Miso paste is made with soybean and used to marinate fish and flavor soups. Fermented soybeans or Natto are usualy served with chopped onions and mixed with rice. Its characteristic pungent smell and stringy texture needs some getting used to.

Sake or Japanese rice wine is made with brewed rice, water and malt. This Japanese wine complements the cuisine. Other Japanese beverages include ume – an alcoholic beverage made with Japanese plums and shochu – a distilled spirit made with sweet potatoes, rice and sugar cane. Typical Japanese sweets are made with rice, sugar and red azuki beans. Yokan, higashi and manju are served as desserts. Chawanmushi is steamed egg custard.

Japanese food recipe

Recipe for Teriyake sauce

Mix ½ cup soy sauce, ½ cup mirin and 2 tbsp sugar. Simmer in a pan for a few minutes and cool. Store for use later.

Japanese food recipe for Atsu Yaki Tamago

You can prepare this thick sweet omelet for a meal. Serve it with rice or fish.

½ cup dashi
½ cup of sugar
2 teaspoons shoyu
2 teaspoons sake
½ teaspoon of salt

Mix sugar, dashi, shoyu and sake and salt. Simmer on low flame. Cool and add beaten eggs. Pour a ladle full of mixture on a heated frying pan. Spread it evenly. Use oil as required. Cook both sides till done. Serve chilled. This omelet is usually made on a square pan.

Japanese food recipe for Chawanmushi

2 eggs
1 cup dashi
sugar and salt
tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sake
fish cakes

Beat eggs and add dashi, soy sauce, salt, sugar and sake. Pour this mixture into individual serving bowls. Place mitsuba on each bowl.

Japanese food recipe for Chicken sake

Chicken fillet pieces
Sake
Lemon juice
Ginger
soy sauce
Mirin

Marinate chicken with sake, lemon juice and ginger. Prepare a sauce with soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil and spring onion. Cook chicken till tender. Cut into pieces and serve drizzled with sauce. Garnish with pepper strips and chopped spring onions.