General Cooking and Recipes

Cooking outside the (bento) box.

Mixing white and black rice?

Hi, I saw a bento blog a while ago where onigiri were made by mixing black (thai?) rice and regular white sushi rice. Result was really nice-looking black-purple onigiri! I didn't bookmark the page so can't find it anymore...but I'd really like to try it, too. Has anyone tried mixing black and regular rice? Any opinions what kind/brand of black rice works best? I don't own rice cooker so I usually boil the rice or microwave it, but I think I'll just have to experiment with cooking times then.

Product Testing: Mochi

So, I was browsing my local Health Food Store this week. As I was searching for Non-GMO tofu (they had none, the hypocrites) I saw this product, which I had noticed on previous trips. It was labeled "Break-And-Bake Mochi". I figured I'd give it a whirl. Please enjoy my flikr set detailing my experience with this product: http://www.flickr.com/photos/44171194@N03/4320246527/in/set-72157623323950892/ If you don't want to do that, here is the summary: Don't buy this product. Mochiko is cheaper, and tastes better.
Taxonomy upgrade extras: 

Mushi Pan variations for dough and topping?

I'm in love with Mushi-Pan right now and I also tried my own one some days ago! I also made some Matcha-butter-cream and Sesame-peanut-cream as a topping. It was delicious, but I want to try more flavors. Do you have any tips for me how to variate the Mushi-Pan-dough a little bit? What is your favorite-Mushi-Pan ingredient? (for example, chocolate, fruits or any other cream as a topping...?) Thx for all your help! =D
Taxonomy upgrade extras: 

Long cooked dashi

Has anyone else seen this? http://cookingissues.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/umami-nation-kombu-dashi-smackdown/ It's a blog I find really interesting (because I'm a geek), and I've been able to try out a few of their techniques using old equipment rescued from work. I haven't tried this dashi thing yet, but I've made "roast" beef sous vide* and it was stunningly good. *Vacuum packed, submerged in a 55°C waterbath for a few hours, then quickly seared on the outside before eating.

Is Haiga-mai really as nutritious as brown rice, minus the fiber?

Or might it be corporations taking advantage of consumers who don't like brown rice? I actually really like brown rice, more than white in fact. But I also am growing fond of haiga-mai. Plus it's much simpler to cook. I don't really care if it has less fiber because sometimes I think I get too much anyway, but I don't want to take a major hit on nutrients. Also, does anyone know its glycemic index compared to brown rice? Thank you!

Pages