Sugu Magazine by naomimatsuo

Spring / 2017

The Magazine for People Who are Busy

Quick and Easy Bento Lunch Boxes

CONTENTS

SPRING / 2017

DEPARTMENTS

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Up SUGU?

20 Minutes Meals

40 Minutes Meals

Seasonal Menu

The Dessert of the Month

SPRING 2017

FEATURES

Quick & Easy BENTO BOXES

Recipes from Famous Movies

106

Smart Ways to Save Time

112

Refresh & Best Food for Your Body

136

Amazing Pie SPRING 2017

easonal Menu

SPRING

When you eat foods that are in season, they’re not only more affordable, but they’re also fresher and packed with the highest amount of flavor and nutritional value. We’ve compiled a few dishes that are in peak season every spring they’re all easy to find, too! Since many of them will only be on sale for the season, you better act fast.

Written By Olivia Tarantino

Fried Chicken This is a quick and easy week night supper with great spring flavors and nice moist chicken.

Asparagus Salad The ultimate dish a spring veggie with a healthy twist.

Asparagus Salad Recipe Go to page145

SPRING 2017

WINDS Say goodbye to stews and slow cookers and start blasting away those extra winter pounds with there spring foods. Don’t even worry about avoiding or eliminating anything in your diet during this traditional time, simply eating more of the fresh foods you’ll find at your local market will gradually crowd out any lingering rich or heavy foods until you no longer desire those anyway.

3 Tips To Prepare For Spring Chicks 1. Educate Young Children Kids tend to squeeze chicks. Practice holding chicks with your kids—a hard-boiled egg, a nectarine, or something else small and chick-sized will do the trick. Chicks should be held firmly but gently. Kids should also know that it’s better for the chick to escape their hands than it is to prevent their escape with a squeeze. 2. Open Alone Chirping boxes are irresistible, especially for kids, but when your chicks arrive insist on opening the box alone. In the rare event that a weak chick didn’t survive the trip, you need to know first so you can break the news gently to young children. 3. Move To The Brooder Immediately It’s tempting to play with baby chicks when they first arrive, but they need to be moved to their brooder immediately once they’re in your care. Be mindful of how long the chicks have been in transport. From the time they hatch, they need food and water within the first 72 hours of life. While transport through the mail is safe, shipping can be stressful for some chicks. Getting them to food and water, and assessing any health concerns has to be the first priority.

Fried Chicken Prep time : 10 mins

Cook time : 14 mins

Total time : 24 mins

Ingredients (Serves: 4) 2 cornish game hens 2 tablespoons soy sauce 4 tablespoons fish sauce ½ cup dark brown sugar ½ cup cooking wine (shaoxing or dry sherry) 1½ teaspoons nutmeg 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 5 cups water 5 cups cooking oil Instructions Prepare the marinade by Combining cooking wine, fish sauce, soy sauce, dark brown sugar, nutmeg, garlic powder and grund black pepper. Stir to mix. Place the chicken in a resealable freezer bag. Pour-in the marinade.Make sure that the chicken is well coated with the marinade. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 3 to 5 hours. Pour the water in a steamer and let it boil. Steam the marinated chicken for 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the steamer and place over a wire rack or a plate. Leave it that way for 2 to 3 hours until the skin becomes dry. Heat the oil in a cooking pot or deep fryer. Fry at 350F for 8 to 14 minutes or until the chicken turns medium to golden brown. Remove from the fryer, transfer to a serving plate. Serve. Share and enjoy!

SPRING 2017

MODE APRICOT P PMODE APRICOT Premium Organic Tea

Premium Organic Tea

A CUP OF TEA MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER

Walter Baker & Co.

RASPBERRY MOUSSE CAKE

The Dessert of the Month Written by Elizabeth LaBau toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Cool the brownie layer completely before proceeding. To Make the Mousse Layers:

Ingredients (Serves: 12-16)

To Finish:

For the Brownie Layer:

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped 4 oz heavy cream 1 pint fresh raspberries Chocolate curls or other decorations

3 ½ oz (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour 2 oz (2/3 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder ½ tsp salt , ½ tsp baking powder 4 oz unsalted butter 7¾ oz (1 cup +2 tbsp) granulated sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 2 tsp vanilla extract For the Chocolate Mousse: 9 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped 1¾ cups heavy cream, divided use Pinch salt 2 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin 2 tbsp water For the Raspberry Mousse: 1½ cups fresh raspberries 9 oz white chocolate, finely chopped 1½ cups heavy cream, divided use Pinch salt, 2 tbsp water 2 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin Pink food coloring, optional For the Vanilla Mousse: 9 oz white chocolate, finely chopped 1½ cups heavy cream, divided use 4 tbsp honey, Pinch salt 2 tsp unflavored powdered gelatin 2 tbsp water, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (can substitute vanilla extract)

Instructions To Make the Brownie Layer: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment and spray well with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Set aside for now. Cube the butter and place it in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally as the butter melts. Add the sugar, and stir until it melts. Don’t allow the mixture to come to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, and let it cool to lukewarm. Once it has cooled, add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well between each addition. The mixture will start out grainy, but as you add the eggs, it will become shiny and smooth. Whisk the vanilla in. Finally, add the dry ingredients, and stir them in with a spatula. Scrape the brownie batter into the prepared pan, and bake it for 22-24 minutes, until a

Prepare your pan. You need a 9-inch pan with sides at least 3 inches tall, and the ability to remove the bottom. Either a cake pan with a removable bottom or a spring form pan will work. Line the inner wall with a 4-inch high acetate cake collar or strip of aluminum foil or waxed paper. Make sure the acetate or waxed paper is long enough so that it overlaps itself, and if you are using foil/waxed paper, make sure you cut the strip tall enough to extend at least an inch over the pan’s sides, since the cake is about 4 inches tall. Place a cake cardboard in the bottom of the pan, then carefully place the baked on top of the cardboard. Prepare the chocolate mousse layer: combine the chocolate, ¾ cup of cream, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour it into a large bowl, and let it cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Combine the white chocolate, raspberry puree, ½ cup of heavy cream, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Continue to make this layer the same way you made the chocolate layer, by melting and cooling the chocolate, whisking in melted gelatin, and folding in whipped cream. Finally, prepare the vanilla bean layer. Combine the white chocolate, ½ cup heavy cream, honey, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Continue to make this layer the same way you made the previous two layers. At the very end, stir in the vanilla bean paste and pour the mousse over the raspberry mousse layer. Refrigerate to set the mousse layers very well, at least 4 hours or overnight.

SPRING 2017

QUICK

Y S A E

BOX

BENTO Written by Leanne Valenti / Photographer Kyo Shinohara

Bento is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional Bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables as a side dish.

SPRING 2017

id you know that the bento boxes served at sushi restaurants are just one of many types of bento traditionally offered in Japan? Their common characteristic isn’t the raw fish or the cute compartments they are served in, but the way they are packed. Every bento is created according to a deep cultural principle known as washoku—literally “harmony food”—the ancient practice of balancing five colors, five tastes and five elements in every meal. I first learned of this Japanese art in culinary school when I discovered the cookbook, “Washoku,” by Elizabeth Andoh. Intrigued, I played with this theory of balanced cooking and was astonished that even the simplest ingredients became ridiculously delicious and strikingly satisfying when prepared as part of a complete symphony of flavor, texture and color. I’ve been using washoku principles in my cooking for six years and it’s at the heart of our menu design at my business Bento

SPRING 2017

This is a Traditional Japanese Style BENTO Box

Picnic. The comment I hear most frequently is, “I’ve never liked this vegetable or that vegetable, but I LOVE all of yours! How do you do it?” I’d like to say it’s magic, but it’s simply about balance. You have no doubt seen washoku principles in practice in sushi restaurant bentos, where raw fish might be nestled next to Japanese-style toasted nori, steamed white rice, tempura-fried vegetables and fermented soy sauce. But it’s just as easy to achieve washoku with home-style bento combinations, such as chicken meatball skewers with soba noodle salad, kinpira-sautéed carrots and burdock, quick-pickled sesame cucumbers and ripe cherry tomatoes. The possibilities are truly limitless—I’ve even had success using washoku to make the one-dimensional recipes from my childhood more well-rounded and appetizing; my grandma’s beef stroganoff came to life once I accentuated the slow-braised beef and egg noodles in gravy with horseradish-beet relish, crème fraîche and fresh scallions.

“These simple beginner bento lunch ideas make cute lunch box food for kids, well- balances for Adults, and they’re great for encouraging picky eaters to try new foods”

Practicing balanced cooking through washoku has made me more present and tuned-in to the process of nurturing my body with food. With each meal, cooking has become a more fun, intuitive and creative process. Did you know that the bento boxes served at sushi restaurants are just one of many types of bento traditionally offered in Japan? Their common characteristic isn’t the raw fish or the cute compartments they are served in, but the way they are packed. Every bento is created according to a deep cultural principle known as washoku—literally “harmony food”—the ancient practice of balancing five colors, five tastes and five elements in every meal. My journey to Bento + Picnic began in the foothills of Mt. Fuji. I was in Japan on a home-stay after just completing culinary training at The Natural Epicurean. While waiting for a train to Tokyo, hunger struck,

and I grabbed an ekiben, a boxed lunch sold at train stations. Fast food of a whole different order, ekiben are boxes composed of five to nine unique dishes, all specialties of the region. The brilliance of the concept was not lost on the young chef. I savored every last bite and spent much of the following three years back in Austin dreaming and plotting about what a bento that showcased the best ingredients of Central Texas would contain. In January of this year, I launched BENTO puls PICNIC, which offers bento box lunches that are made with the highest-quality, non-GMO and organic ingredients sourced from Texas’ finest farmers and producers. Each box includes three seasonal vegetables, a sustainable protein, and a glutenfree starch. I caught up with this busy lady recently to hear a little more about the vision behind BENTO plus PICNIC, plus get some inspiration for our own cooking for spring and summer! I use ancient Japanese principles when I design menus. Every bento includes five colors, five tastes and is cooked with five elements. This philosophy has been a really formative part of my training, and I do it quite instinctively now. I find these guidelines foster my creativity. For example, when I needed to add something to my menu that was red, sweet and cooked over an open flame, those parameters challenged me to develop the Honey Ginger Carrot recipe. For the diner, what is so beautiful about eating meals cooked by these guidelines is that they’re naturally healthy. Having all the five flavors hit your palate (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent) is wonderfully

Spring / 2017

The Magazine for People Who are Busy