Japanese Autumn 2020

Sweet Autumn: Hokkaido Basque Cheese Cake

When it comes to “Cake of the Year”, the Basque Cheese Cake is definitely one of the most talked-about desserts recently! This cake originated in Spain’s Basque region. The crispy, caramelised part from baking at high heat matches perfectly with the rich cheese. As we enter into autumn, Hokkaido’s Mireica Basque Cheese Cake has landed at city’super. Dessert fans, don’t miss out!

What’s so great about Mireica’s Basque Cheese Cake?

The name, “Mirei-ka”, comes from “delicious, cold dessert”. All of the brand’s desserts are made with a strict selection of ingredients and production methods, and are true examples of Hokkaido’s premium, local taste. Mierica’s Basque Cakes are the perfect combination of Hokkaido and Australian cream cheese, which have also been added with freshly made Hokkaido fresh cream. It is packed full of fresh creaminess and a rich texture that is not overly sweet.

Mireica Basque Cheese Cake (Small)
Mireica Basque Cheese Cake (Large)

Tip: At least 8 hours before consumption, move the cake from the freezer (-18 ℃ or under) to the fridge (below 10 ℃) for the best texture.

Boozy Autumn: Limited-edition Japanese Junmai Sake

Japanese food culture is all about seasonality, and it’s the same when it comes to sake. As we feel the autumn breeze, city’super is delighted to bring you three autumn-only limited-edition sake, two of which are hiyaoroshi. Cheers!

Fukucho Kosumosu Junmai Ginjo Hiyaoroshi

Brewery: Imada Shuzo uses Hattanso - a local rice variety originated from Hiroshima - for making sake. The quality rice in addition to the soft water in the prefecture gives Fukucho sakes a smooth and mellow flavour. Besides, the brewery bottles their sake immediately after pressing and they only pasteurise once. This practice helps preserve the aroma and freshness of the sake.
Flavour: light body with a mild fruity aroma.

Okunomatsu Tokubetsu Junmai Genshu Hiyaoroshi

Brewery: while inheriting the traditional brewing method, Okunomatsu use pasteuriser, which showers sake immediately after bottling. This helps to keep the original flavour and aroma inside the bottle.
Flavour: elegant with unique and mature aroma. A good match with Japanese dishes such as meat, grilled fish and nabe pot.

Izumibashi Akitombo Kimoto Yamada Nishiki Junmai

Brewery: with the philosophy that “sake brewing begins from rice growing”, Izumibashi Shuzo grows excellent sake rice including Yamada Nishiki in Ebina Kanagawa. They also make only junmai sake without adding any distilled alcohol, expressing the authentic flavour of rice.
Flavour: steady aroma; a slightly strong acidity mixes with the rice’s umami to bring out a rich and dry flavor. We recommend to serve this warm.

FoodPairing : enjoy your preferred sake with the delicious Japanese One Night Dried Fish for the perfect autumn food and sake pairing.

High-quality Healthy Autumn Snack: Japanese Tamba Black Bean

In Japan food culture, black beans are an important food ingredient, and are often used to make New Year dishes, kimchi and traditional desserts. Black beans have also now been transformed into healthy snacks, and they are sure to be a hit with office ladies!

city’super is happy to bring you premium snacks made with Tamba black beans from Odagaki from Tamba-Sasayama City in Hyogo prefecture, Japan. Tamba black beans are Japan’s number one black beans when it comes to quality, as they are big, round and meaty. These nutritious, locally-produced beans are then made into snacks by experienced artisans. Here are four of its most popular products:

Odagaki Matcha Sweetened Tanba Black Bean
Odagaki Kuromame Sucre - Tamba Black Beans in Crispy Sugar
Odagaki Kuromame Chocolate - Tamba Black Beans with Chocolate & Soy Powder
Odagaki Sweetened Tanba Black Bean

Rice to the Autumn: Japanese “Musenmai” No-wash Rice

Rice is an important part of Asian cuisine. Apart from white rice which is commonly seen, recently, rice added with fun, natural and healthy elements has been very popular in Japan. It is easy to make and can help add more excitement to the dining table.

What’s so special about Japanese “musenmai”, or no-wash/pre-washed rice?

The answer is in the final step of rice production, where the grains have been cleaned very thoroughly so there are no impurities left, and you can simply cook the rice without rinsing. From Japan, Mindbank’s musenmai has even been added with agar and other healthy ingredients. Apart from making you feel fuller and can resist absorption of carbs, it also provides skincare benefits – definitely worth a try!

Mindbank Rice for Women

Added with agar, honey and collagen powder, which cover the surface of the grains. Purple sweet potato has also been added so the rice has a beautiful pink colour once cooked.

Mindbank Rice with Vegetables

Added with agar, honey and lactic acid bacteria in a fine powder that covers the surface of the grains. The grains got its lovely green colour from added vegetable ingredients.

Light & Easy: Delicious Tonkatsu for Autumn

Japanese tonkatsu that is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside is sinfully delicious, but how can we make it a lighter dish?

Compared to breadcrumbs made with wheat flour, which are commonly used for frying, breadcrumbs made using rice and bean dregs absorb less oil, making it suitable for those watching their oil consumption. Breadcrumbs made with bean dregs even contain more dietary fibre and less sugar, and has a mild soy aroma. Here are two types of breadcrumbs recommended by city’super. Which one do you prefer?

Uemanryosyoku Gluten-Free Soy Mix Rice Breadcrumb
Uemanryosyoku Gluten-Free Rice Breadcrumb

Choosing the right oil is also important. Takemotooil Maruhon Taihaku Sesame Oil is made from non-roasted sesame so it has a lighter aroma that will not overpower the food’s original taste, and is suitable for all cuisines, especially for making tonkatsu. Head on over to your nearest city’super store to find all the above healthy ingredients!

Want to know how to make Japanese tonkatsu pork at home?

Autumn Must-have: Homemade Japanese-style Oden

The weather is getting cool, which is the perfect time for a big bowl of soul-warming oden! But making oden at home seems so difficult… Fear not, as city’super has prepared for you all the ingredients you need, so just follow a few simple steps and you can enjoy an exquisite oden experience at home!

Fushimi Hanpen Boiled Soft Fish Cake

These white Hanpen Boiled Soft Fish Cake has a marshmallowy texture. Add them to your oden pot and let it soak up the rice broth for a juicy, umami-packed experience. Apart from making oden, you can also cut this fish cake into cubes for salads, which adds a nice flavour and texture to crunchy leafy greens.

Choice of recommended soup base:

• Naogen Kanazawa Style Oden Soup Base (10X Concentrated)*
The soup base for famous Kanazawa Oden from Ishikawa prefecture. Made with dried sardines, kombu, bonito and roasted flying fish and added with a light soy sauce to create a smooth, rich broth.
*Please dilute with 1:10 water for oden soup base

• Kayanoya Dashi & Soup (Oden Soup Pack)
Made with roasted flying fish, frigate mackerel, dried bonito, sardines, kombu and double-aged soy sauce. Three-step seasoning packs have been used to bring out the unique flavour of bonito. Simply place this soup pack in hot water for a yummy Japanese-style soup base.

Japanese Tea Experience for Autumn: Great Tea-brewing Goodies For Beginners

Japanese green tea is loved by Hong Kongers, and tea brewing culture in Japan has been slowly changing with fun and creativity injected into traditional ways of enjoying tea. Hailing from Ginza in Japan, Senchado is a premium tea specialty shop whose green tea has gained popularity recently. This cool little shop has green teas from different regions in Japan, paired with uniquely designed tea-brewing equipment to give you a one-of-a-kind tea experience. Come and follow along a few simple tea-brewing steps and experience this for yourself!

Senchado Unbreakable Clear Tea Cup with Strainer

This one-person teapot takes on a very simple tea brewing concept, combining modern lifestyle and special technologies to create a clear teapot made by pressing really thick resin into a glass-like material. It does not break easily, is not hot on the hands, and is space saving. This teapot has won the German Red Dot Design Award in 2018.

Senchado 004 Yabukita-Yame Green Tea

A marriage of sencha and modern minimalism, the beautifully coloured tins contain premium tea leaves. Each colour represents tea leaves from a different Japanese region, and Senchado has printed little maps of these tea regions onto the colourful tins. For green tea from Yame in Fukuoka prefecture, use water of about 70°C for its first brew, which is sweet and aromatic. Its second brew is darker with a richer tea flavour.

Senchado Nikomaru Genmai Tea

Produced in Mashiki in Kumamoto prefecture. A beautiful genmai aroma will fill your nostrils as soon as hot water is poured, and the tea flavour changes over time for a pleasant surprise. Add in your preferred amount of genmai. This genmai tea has a fresher, richer flavour than ready-made genmai teas. We recommend adding genmai during the third brew so you can enjoy the tea’s original flavour in the first and second brews.

Simple tea brewing techniques: