to be fair, the past few years have seen a remarkable rise in Japanese and Korean produce being sold here in the Chinese supermarkets, but it s not quite the same.
i mean, where was i going to find kinako? i had never ever seen it here. sure, soy sauce, nori, gari, sushi-vinegar... what with the upcoming trend for making sushi at home now, but something so typical and mostly used in a Japanese dessert? nah...
so imagine my delight when i found that, and so many other flavors of my childhood at Nagomi Superstore...
and they had kinako!
and loads more, among which another of my favorite flavorings; yuzu!
guess which is the odd one out...*
and OMG, yuuuumm! (oh, to be 10 again!)(this Peko-chan box contains little balls of milky sweetness for those not in the know)
now, once home, i just had to make some warabimochi (mochi rolled in sweetened kinako), but since i had a birthday coming up and it s traditional to treat friends and colleagues to something, i thought i might make some kinako-cookies.
here s how i did it:
KINAKO-COOKIES
INGREDIENTS:
170 gr all-purpose flour
40 gr kinako
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
115 gr butter, softened
60 gr fine white sugar
55 gr soft brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
drop of vanilla extract
METHOD:
1. sieve the flour, the kinako, baking powder, salt together into a bowl
2. beat the softened butter and the sugars together until light and fluffy
3. mix the egg, milk and vanilla into the butter/sugar mixture
4. slowly add the dry ingredients until quite a soft dough
5. wrap in cling-film and leave in the fridge to set (about an hour)
6. meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 190°C and line some cookie trays with baking paper
7. roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 3 mm thick and cut out shapes with your favorite cookie cutter
8. bake for about 8-10 minutes until just browned, be careful not to crowd the baking sheet, as they do spread a little
9. leave to cool completely before tucking in...
unless you can t wait ofcourse
*odd one out is a jar of umeboshi (which i just love with some white rice)
