Tuna Onigiri

Really easy to make and is a very nice quick snack. Just cook rice, sprinkle with Japanese rice vinegar to taste (and a bit of salt if you like), mix. And then mix with any of your desired seasonings or fillings. In this case, I used flaked tuna from a can, but you can use all sorts of fillings, like furikake or pickled vegetables. I've used xue cai before, and it turned out really well.

To wrap it quickly and efficiently, put a piece of plastic wrap over a bowl, and scoop the desired about into the bowl, then you can shape it and wrap the onigiri up for whenever you want to eat.


Forgive the photo quality as the steam in the plastic wrap makes it really hard to take good photos.

One cup of cooked rice can make around two small onigiris, about the size of my fist.


Onigiri unwrapped!

Chocolate Blackberry Cake

Had some leftover blackberries and wanted to make something out of it. I was debating between a blackberry poundcake or a coffee cake until I realized that I wanted neither. So there's the birth of a chocolate blackberry cake. Found the following recipe and got started.

The picture doesn't look too bad, does it? The fact of the matter is, I have trouble working with springform cake pans, for some strange reason. and the cakes I make out of them always look messed up... =_= So the picture above is actually of a good looking slice. Tastes great though! ^^ The ground almonds made the crusts very crunchy and almost caramelized while the inside chocolatey parts are still soft and moist.


Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
• butter, for greasing
• 150 g chocolate (70%cocoa)
• 100 g butter
• 3 eggs
• 125 g sugar
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or Cointreau liqueur (I used very concentrated instant coffee instead)
• 100 g ground almonds (skin on)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch or flour
• 100 g blackberries
• icing sugar, for dusting

Directions
1. Line and butter a springform of 20cm.
2. Melt butter and chocolate on low heat. Let cool a little bit while stirring. Add eggs, sugar and gran marnier (or cointreau). Mix cornstarch (or flour) with ground almonds and add. Pour mixture into springform. Stick blackberries into mixture. Bake in the middle of a 200°C oven for 20-25 minutes. THE CAKE SHOULD STILL BE MOIST. Remove cake and let cool.
3. Cool for several hours or best overnight.
4. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve as it is or with whipped cream, sour cream or ice cream.