Basic Japanese Cooking (Pantry Essentials)

Basic Japanese Cooking (Pantry Essentials)
The key to Japanese cooking is using the right ingredients. It is best to use Japanese ingredients. They can be made in Singapore or Hong Kong but Japanese style is best or the flavours will not be quite right. The following are the essential pantry ingredients needed to make Japanese food.


1. Dashi (stock): Dried bonito is used extensively in Japanese dishes as the basis for stocks and broths. There are powders available but I recommend using Marutomo brand flakes.

2. Miso: Red and white miso is added to dashi stock for miso soup a staple of the Japanese diet. Red is stronger and has more flavour while the white is light and sweet in taste.

3. Seaweed: There are different types used in Japanese cooking. Daichu brand dried kelp is good for udon noodle dishes, while flat sheets are used for sushi.

4. Mirin: Japanese cooking rice wine. Is used extensively in hotpots such as nikujyaga, nimono and teriyaki. I highly recommend the Mizkhan brand cooking rice wine.

5. Rice Vinegar: This is a sushi rice essential. It can also be used to make ponzu sauce by adding soy, cooking sake and a bit of dashi. Mizkhan is again the preferred brand.

6. Wasabi: Fresh wasabi is still rare in Australia but the House Spice brand Japanese horseradish paste is very good.

7. Soy Sauce: Comes in both normal and light varieties. Light soy is best for vegetable dishes or udon noodles. Darker soy is best for dipping sauces. My preferred brand is Kikkoman brand sauces.

Easy To Follow Steps To Create Over 108 Top Japanese Recipes!

Basic Japanese Cooking

Japanese Recipe Niku Jyaga (Meat & Potatoes)

Basic Japanese Cooking (Japanese Food)

Most people know Japanese food as sushi which is now commonly available in Australia, but sushi is really just a takeaway food. Japan has hundreds of different ways of cooking and food. At the heart of most meals are three basic bowls: rice, soup and a main dish (usually grilled fish, or a hotpot, tempura or teriyaki). Japan cooking uses flavours that are mostly light and clean. Soup is essential and most Japanese believe the key to the healthy nature of their diet. A basic miso soup can be made from instant dashi stock. I will go further into the basic staples of Japanese cooking in my next post. Armed with a few basic recipes and a few pantry staples, it`s very easy to include Japanese food in your repertoire. Happy Cooking!!

Easy To Follow Steps To Create Over 108 Top Japanese Recipes!

Centenary Park Golf Course, Frankston, Victoria

Centenary Park Golf Course in Frankston, Victoria is one of the most popular public courses in Melbourne. It is a top class facility available at an affordable price boasting an 18 hole public access course, practice fairway, putting green, Pro-Shop, clubrooms and maintenance center. Centenary Park is rated as one of the top five public courses in the State.
The 13th hole has recently been upgraded to feature a larger green with strategic bunkering now visible from the new tees. It is a big improvement. In addition to junior clinics, Centenary Park also offers ladies clinics, and lessons from the team of on site PGA professionals. The course is open dawn til dusk, seven days a week and is located at McClelland Drive, Langwarrin (Melway Ref: 100 F10).
Centenary Park is currently offering a Daylight Saving Special. The deal applies to golf played after 2:00pm from Monday – Friday, where you can play all the golf you want until dusk for only $15.

The Ultimate Guide To Golf.

Ventana Latina Fiesta Wells Street Plaza, Frankston

Join in the Ventana Latina Fiesta on Saturday, 13 March from 12:00pm – 11:00pm at the Wells Street Plaza, Frankston. The festival is Frankston City`s annual community boutique celebration of Latin American, Portuguese and Spanish cultures, people and stories. In its fourth year, this interactive event offers plenty of activities and features Latin music, dance, delicious food, arts and cultural attractions, cooking demonstrations and a fashion show with a difference. Ventana Latina 2010 is a free event and promises to be a great cultural experience for all ages.

Mornington Peninsula Packs a Punch

Tiger Woods Apology Video

Golfer Tiger Woods apologizes, admits he cheated and says he is undergoing therapy. In his first public statement since allegations of infidelity arose in November, Tiger Woods issued a public apology from PGA Tour headquarters in Florida on Friday. “I owe it to my family to become a better person.” Woods said, “I do plan to return to golf one day.” In a 13.5 minute statement carried live by major TV networks and cable channels, Woods apologized for his marital infidelity.

The Ultimate Guide To Golf.

Tiger Woods Apology Video

Balnarring Beach Camping Reserve

I would have to say one of our favourite Victorian places to getaway from it all is Balnarring Beach Camping Reserve. Located approximately 80km south of Melbourne and on the Western Port side of the Mornington Peninsula, it is ideal for a weekend break. With its coastal bushland setting, calm waters for swimming overlooking Phillip Island, and koalas who you can see around the camp it is an ideal place to escape.

Mornington Peninsula Packs a Punch

Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula

Stunning cliff top views over Bass Strait close to Melbourne. Country markets and quaint seaside towns. Wineries and costal walks. It`s all at Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula. The Mornington Peninsula has some of Victoria`s best wineries, galleries, produce makers and historic villages. Add the coastal beauty – ocean to the south and bays and protected inlets on either side – and rolling countryside and you have an attractive all-round package for relaxed weekends away and it is all just over an hour`s drive from the center of Melbourne. Cape Schanck is known for its historic lighthouse which is one of the few operating as it did in the 1800`s. Cape Schanck Lighthouse with its commanding cliff-top location and spectacular views is a sight to behold. The RACV Cape Schanck resort has a Robert Trent Jones deigned golf course that is ranked one of the top courses in Australia. For more information on the resort or to book accommodation/play golf visit the website at racv.com.au/resorts.

Mornington Peninsula Packs a Punch

Teddy Bears` Picnic at George Pentland Botanic Gardens, Frankston

Sunday, 28 February is the Teddy Bears` Picnic held at the George Pentland Botanic Gardens, corner Foot and Williams Streets, Frankston. The event is from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Bring your teddy along and enjoy a fun family day, including market stalls, displays, free activities, rides and amusements, food stalls, competitions, music and stage show and a whole lot more. Entry is $2.50 per person, which goes towards Frankston Toy Library, free entry for children under 18 months.

Interesting Wineries on the Mornington Peninsula

The following are some of the most interesting wineries on the Mornington Peninsula.

Port Phillip Estate
The new Port Phillip Estate complex just opened in December and located at 263 Red Hill Rd, Red Hill South, is a true showpiece winery. There is a restaurant, cellar door and tasting room, and state of the art winemaking facilities for the Kooyong Estate and Port Phillip Estate wines. Open daily from 11am to 5pm.

Merricks General Store
The refurbished 1920`s Merrick General store at 3460 Frankston-Flinders Rd operates as a rustic bistro and cellar door for three local wineries – Elgee Park, Baillieu and Quealy. The Elgee Park chardonnay and Baillieu pinot noir come highly recommended. Open Mon to Fri from 9am to 4pm, Sat from 8am to 10pm and Sun from 8am to 5pm.

T`Gallant
You can sample the top pinot grigio at T`Gallant located at 1385 Mornington-Flinders Rd, Main Ridge. Open daily from 10am to 5pm.

Stonier Wines
Stonier Wines, established in 1978, specialises in the region`s two classic wines, chardonnay and pinot noir. Located at the cnr of Frankston-Flinders Rd and Thompsons Lane, Merricks, it is open daily from 11 am to 5pm.

Other long established wineries include Moorooduc Estate at 501 Derril Rd, Moorooduc open Thurs to Mon 11 am to 4pm, and Main Ridge Estate at 80 William Rd, Red Hill which is open daily from 12pm to 4pm and Sat –Sun until 5pm.

Mornington Peninsula Markets

Mornington Peninsula Produce Outlets

Easy Japanese Cooking Recipe Niku Jyaga (Meat & Potatoes)

This month's Easy Japanese Cooking recipe is Niku Jyaga (Meat & Potatoes)
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins

200g Thinly Sliced Beef
4 (500g -600g) Potatoes
1 Carrot
1 Onion
2.5 Cups of Water/Dashi (Stock)
3 tbs Sugar
3 tbs Sake (Cooking Wine)
4 tbs Soy Sauce
1.5 tbs Cooking Oil

1. Place beef in a bowl and marinate briefly with 1 tbs cooking sake & 1 tbs sugar. Peel potatoes & carrot and cut into 2cm cube. Roughly slice the onion.
2. Pour cooking oil into the fry pan and fry potatoes for a few minutes add carrots when potatoes are starting to soften.
3. Add beef to the pan. When beef is almost cooked add water or dashi to the pan with 2 tbs sugar & 2tbs cooking sake. Add onion and cook for 10-15 mins.
4. Add 4 tbs soy sauce and cook for a further 10 mins.

Easy To Follow Steps To Create Over 108 Top Japanese Recipes!

Japanese Food Stores in Melbourne Australia

Mornington Peninsula top 10 Golf Courses by Australian Digest

The following are the top 10 Golf Courses on the Mornington Peninsula as rated by Australian Digest

1. The National (Moonah Course) Cape Schanck
2. Moonah Links (Legends Course) Rye
3. The Dunes, Rye
4. The National (Old Course) Cape Schanck
5. Peninsula (North Course) Frankston
6. Moonah Links (Open Course) Rye
7. St Andrews Beach, Rye
8. The National (Ocean Course) Cape Schanck
9. Portsea
10. Peninsula (South Course) Frankston

The Ultimate Guide To Golf.

Golf on the Mornington Peninsula

Australian Golf Digest Australia`s Top 100 Golf Courses

Australian Golf Digest has just released in its current edition its list of Australia`s Top 100 Golf Courses. There was a big surprise as Kingston Heath (VIC) ousts Royal Melbourne (VIC) as the new No. 1. This is the first time Royal Melbourne has lost its customary position as Australia`s number one ranked golf course with Kingston Heath crowned as the new leader. Previously most course ranking panels have judged Royal Melbourne on its composite course, the tournament layout that has 12 holes from the west course and 6 from the east. Under the current list Royal Melbourne, West Course comes in at number 3 with the East Course in at number 8. Royal Melbourne`s composite course will hold the 2011 Presidents Cup between the US and an International Team. See the Top 10 Courses listed below.


Australia`s top 10 Golf Courses by Australian Golf Digest

1. Kingston Heath (Vic)
2. New South Wales (NSW)
3. Royal Melbourne, West Course (Vic)
4. Barnbougle Dunes (Tas)
5. Ellerston (NSW)
6. The National, Moonah Course (Vic)
7. Metropolitan (Vic)
8. Royal Melbourne, East Course (Vic)
9. Royal Adelaide (SA)
10. Victoria (Vic)

The Ultimate Guide To Golf.

Little World Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, Japan

Little World also located close to Inuyama is a themepark dedicated to the world. You can see 22 countries houses ranging from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Germany, Italy and France. You can also eat and buy food, accessories and products from those countries. I highly recommend the Sri Lankan Curry, Okinawan donuts, and German beer and sausages. There is sometimes a small circus troupe that perform there. All this you can enjoy in a day.

Discover The Secrets Of Dating The Beautiful Women Of Japan

Nihon Monkey Park Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, Japan

Nihon Monkey Park also close to Inuyama is located on a hillside, surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the Kisogawa River. The park covers 500,000 square meters, and is crammed with such attractions as the Atomic roller coaster: `Canyon Splash`, a thrilling carpet ride: `Eagle Coaster`, a large Ferris wheel from which you can see four castles, and a merry-go-round. Adults as well as children can have a great time.
One day passport which includes admission fee and free tickets for attraction is a popular way to enjoy the park. The park also houses the Japan Monkey Center, which is a unique primates museum with about a thousand different types of primates from all over the world.

Hours: Open Every Day
9:30-17:00 Mar 1-Jul 19 and Sep 1-Nov 30
9:30-18:00 Jul 20-Aug 31
9:30-16:30 Dec 1-end Feb
• Close Wed, Thurs , Fri. of 4th week in Jan.
• Admission: High School & over Yen 1,500 / Junior High, Elementary School students Yen 800 / Infants (3yrs old or older) Yen 600
• Getting There: 4 min by monorail from Inuyama Yuen (Meitetsu Inuyama line)
• Information: Japan Monkey Park Recreation center 0568-61-0870 / Zoo 0568-61-2327

Discover The Secrets Of Dating The Beautiful Women Of Japan

Meiji Mura Museum Inuyama, Achi Prefecture, Japan

At Meiji Mura Museum, 20 minutes by bus from Inuyama Station you can see more than 60 Meiji-era buildings brought together from all over Japan. The clash of architectural styles on display, both Western and Japanese provides a sense of that period`s cultural schizophrenia. You will need at least half a day to enjoy the place at an easy pace. Admission is 1600 yen and it is open from 9:30 am to 5pm. Buses depart every 20 minutes from Inuyama Station (380 yen).

Find Out How To Import Cars From Japan and Save $$$$$$$!

Golf on the Mornington Peninsula

The Mornington Peninsula is one of the best places in Australia to play golf on some of the best courses in the world. The golfing gods surely must have smiled when they spied this land with its emerald landscape as green as the great golf courses in Britain, sand dunes that would create naturally contoured challenges, fast draining soils and cool refreshing sea breezes. The area offers superb quality of golf that has been likened to the Monterey Peninsula in California and Fife in Scotland. There are many reasons to play golf on the Mornington Peninsula. First, is the price; you can play many of the courses here for less than $50 a round. Then there is the convenience; there are more than 20 courses located within a 30 minute drive of each other. Most of the courses are open to the public and the Mornington Peninsula boasts 8 of Australia's top 50 courses. The following courses are some of the best the Mornington Peninsula has to offer.


Moonah Links Golf Course (Rye)
Moonah Links has two courses: The Open designed by 5 time British Open Champion, Peter Thompson, and The Legends, designed by Ross Perrett. The Open course is a long testing championship layout that has hosted the Australian Open twice in 2003 and 2005. You need to be a reasonable player to handle this course. The Legends was designed to be more user friendly and not as challenging as The Open course. Play 18 holes for $95, $50 after 3pm or from May 1, $75 and $50 after 2pm.

St Andrews Beach (Rye)
St Andrews Beach close to Moonah Links has only just re-opened after a brief period of closure. This stunning links style layout was designed by legendary American designer Tom Doak and offers quite reasonable green fees. Play 18 holes for $49 on weekdays, $39 after 1pm, or $69 on weekends, $49 after 1pm.

Eagle Ridge Golf Course (Boneo)
Eagle Ridge Golf Course located in Boneo just outside of Rye is a resort style championship course with competitive green fees. This course is often described as the Royal Melbourne of the Mornington Peninsula. The stunning clubhouse showcases views of the magnificent course, landscaped grounds and ornamental lakes. Play 18 holes for $50 on weekdays or $55 on weekends. From May 1 it's $35 and $45 respectively.

The Dunes Golf Links (Rye)
The Dunes also located in Rye is rated as one of the nation`s finest and the green fees are more than reasonable. Set on 300 acres of gently rolling sand dunes the facility offers 27 holes of golf. Play 18 holes for $52 on weekdays or $69 on weekends.

Portsea Golf Club (Portsea)
Portsea is a wonderful golfing experiences and can be played cheaply. The course is rated one of Australia`s best and is set amongst a superbly maintained links style layout with rolling sand dunes and coastal vegetation adjoining Point Nepean National Park.

The National Golf Club (Cape Schanck)
The National boasts 3 championship courses all listed in Australia`s top 50. The Old course designed by legendary American designer Robert Trent Jones jnr, The Moonah designed by Greg Norman and the Ocean desgned by Peter Thomson with partners Wolveridge & Perrett. All 3 courses are remarkably unique and all offer the most incredible golfing experience.

Flinders Golf Club (Flinders)
Flinders Golf Club was founded over 100 years ago and is one of the most scenic and accessible golf courses on the Mornington Peninsula. Built along a stunning stretch of cliff top land overlooking Bass Strait and Westernport Bay.

Devilbend Golf Club (Moorooduc)
Devilbend Golf Club in Moorooduc is a challenging 18 hole 5998m course set amidst a flora and fauna reserve. This is a very picturesque course with lots of birdlife set amongst Moorooduc plains.

The Ultimate Guide To Golf.

Mornington Peninsula top 10 Golf Courses

Yokuzuna Asashoryu Retires from Sumo

Yokuzuna Asashoryu announced his retirement from sumo on Thursday. Asashoryu is recognised as one of the strongest sumo wrestlers of the modern times. Unfortunately, his frequent misbehaviour also made him one of the most controversial grand champions of all time. The 29 year old Mongolian announced his retirement amid an investigation by the sumo association into his alleged beating of a man in a drunken rampage in Tokyo last month.

Gero (Gifu Prefecture)

Gero located in Gifu Prefecture is famous for its onsen (mineral hot spring spa). The mineral waters are reputedly beneficial for rheumatism, athletic injuries and the complexion. The town is fairly compact, making it easy to walk around and go hot-spring hopping. There are several ryokan and minshuku in this resort town to stay and for more options you can check with the Gero Tourist Information Office at the west exit of the train station. To get to Gero take the JR Takayama line train from Gifu (HIda tokkyu, 67 minutes) or from Nagoya (Hida tokkyu, 90 minutes).

2010 Oscar Nominations

The 2010 Oscar Nominations were announced today for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. There were a few surprises as always. Click on the link below to see a detailed list of all the nominations.

2010 Oscar Nominatons Full List Link

Gujo Hachiman (Gifu Prefecture)

The main claim to fame of Gujo Hachiman in Gifu Prefecture is its Gujo Odori Folk Dance Matsuri held from early July to early September. The townsfolk continue nearly four centuries of tradition and let their hair down for some frenzied dancing. During the four main days of the festival from 13 to 16 August the dancing goes on through the night.