La-yu craze

Do you know la-yu (spicy oil)?

you know the red oil that you find on top of that bowl of Sichuan spicy and sour soup?

That smells of sesame oil, but is very spicy.

I don't really fancy it cos in the first place i am not that big a fan of the strong smelling sesame oil. But recently, the 食べるラー油　(taberu la-yu) which means edible la-yu has been selling like hotcakes all over the country. And every maker has their own version.

It is basically la-yu filled with fried garlic and is so mild you can pour it over your rice and you will finish that bowl in no time.

Remember? The Japanese love to describe any food with how well it goes with rice.

So there you go, la-yu will be another friend for your rice.

Then next came 具たくさんラー油　(gutakusan la-yu) which means la-yu filled with a lot of finely chopped vegetables like garlic/onions/sesame seeds etc.

Again, good for your rice.

And since it is summer, people probably have it with their chilled ramen too.

We (finally) decided to get a portion for ourselves at the supermart.

So i can try to understand what this craze is all about.

We had it with our cold ramen for lunch.

This version is with kimchi, garlic and ginger.
Oh my gosh, it was sooooooooo good i can't wait to try it with rice.

Dinner tonight was something i was looking forward to making, but not eating.
Goya (bitter gourd) chanpuru, an okinawan stir fry with bitter gourd, pork slices, tofu and eggs,

topped with bonito flakes

The egg/tofu/pork combination was yummy.

Not the bitter gourd.

Last year when i happily bought my first bitter gourd from the farmers mart, i was so excited. But it tasted so bitter, i didn't like it, and i told myself i won't buy it again.

This year, i thought, ok maybe that was just my pregnancy hormones affecting my taste buds the last time. Let's give goya another chance.

I rubbed it hard with salt. Soaked in water, did everything the pros always advise for making the bitter gourd less bitter. BUT IT WAS STILL BITTER!!!

J kept repeating it is good for me, so i should finish up and stop transfering the green slices into his dish.

oh my, i have another one in the fridge cos it came in a set of 2.

Ahh... just nice, we have more left for J's bento.

Kangkong soup

with fried chanjula

My precious stock of chanjula is running out, but we have to finish them before they lose their freshness.

daikon rice

Edamame that look their usual nice bright green

but were black in there

I love these black bean version of the edamame. The flavour is deeper than the usual green ones, but the price, the same =)

What would i do without the farmers of Koganei? They make such tasty vegetables!