A recipe for photogenic food #8 Celebrate the Year of the Rooster in style

31.December.2016 | FEATURES / FOOD

Turn everyday food into an SNS worthy, gorgeous dish with just a small twist! Arisa Shirai is here to start her series of recipes, serving up tasty tips so that you too can turn ordinary food into photogenic dishes with just a few clever tricks! Today, you will be learning how to make ordinary New Year’s celebratory foods cute with just a few simple techniques.

 

 

『Mitsuami Kamaboko — braided kamaboko』 (Serves 2)

 

■Ingredients:

Pink Kamaboko (1/4 of a stick)

 

■ How to make:

① Cut the Kamaboko into 8mm thick pieces and cut off the pink outer layer, leaving approximately 8mm remaining.

② Cut the pink layer into 3 strips lengthwise and braid.

 

 

『Bara no Kamaboko — Kamaboko Roses』 (Serves 2)

 

■Ingredients:

  • Pink kamaboko — a small portion
  • White kamaboko — ¼ stick
  • Cucumber — small portion

 

  • How to make:

① Cut two pieces of pink kamaboko, each 1mm thick. Cut 8mm of the kamaboko from the bottom (From the opposite side to the pink layer)

②Cut the an 8mm thick piece of white kamaboko and cut a small notch in the centre that runs halfway down.

③ Roll a slice of the pink kamaboko into a tight spiral shape starting with the end of the slice. Once this is done, roll the second slice.

④ Place a pink kamaboko spiral into the white kamaboko. Cut a piece of cucumber into a half moon shape and garnish the kamaboko rose by placing it inside the white kamaboko next to the pink rose-shaped kamaboko.

 

 

『Yudetamago no Niwatori — boiled egg chicken』 (Serves 1)

 

■Ingredients:

  • Boiled egg — 1
  • Red bell pepper — Small portion
  • White kamaboko — small portion
  • Carrot — small portion
  • Nori seaweed — small portion
  • Fried spaghetti (dry) — 1
  • Drinking straw — ¼

 

■ How to make

 

① Slice 2mm off the bottom of the boiled egg and let it sit flat on the surface of your cooking space.

② Cut a 2mm thick piece of kamaboko and then cut this piece into half on the wide surface.

③Cut the carrot into a triangle shape for the beak and the red pepper into a small mountain shape for the cockscomb. Then, cut out two circle shapes for the eyes (using a craft hole punch).

④ Use the straw to cut out a round section from the egg and insert the carrot beak into the hole.

⑤ Affix the bell pepper on top of the egg and the two kamaboko slices to each side of the egg using the spaghetti.

⑥Stick the nori seaweed eyes from step ③ onto the face of the chicken and your chicken is complete!

 

『Uzara no Hiyoko — Quail chick』 (Serves 5)

 

■Ingredients:

Curry powder — 2/3 spoon

Water — 200cc

Boiled quail eggs — 5

Carrot — Small portion

Nori seasweed — small portion

 

■ How to make:

① Pour the water into a pot and dissolve the curry powder. Place the quail eggs in the pot and boil on a medium heat for 4 minutes.

② Take the quail eggs from step ① out of the pot and cool down. Then, cut 2mm from the bottom of each egg and stand them upright.

③ Using a straw, poke out a hole in the egg. Cut the carrot into a beak shape and fit this into the hole.

 

④ Cut out two circle shapes from the nori seaweed (using a craft hole punch). Stick these onto the quail eggs in place of the eyes.

And just like that, ordinary New Year’s dishes can look wonderful! How about trying a few of these tricks for your New Year?

 

 

■ Arisa Shirai

A colourful bento researcher who takes passion in creating beautiful visuals with food. Here to hand you some wonderful tips to enhance your experience of homemade cooking!

 

Instagram:arigohan

Blog:http://ameblo.jp/arinko0917/

 

■ Related article: A recipe for photogenic food #1 “lollipop” sandwiches

■ Related article: A recipe for photogenic food #2 Bruschetta for Christmas

■ Related article:  A recipe for photogenic food#3 “Japanese Style Onigiri Pinchos”

■ Related article: A recipe for photogenic food #4 “Cheese Fondue & Veggie Boquet”

■ Related article: A recipe for photogenic food #5 “Snowman Fromage”

■ Related article: A recipe for photogenic food #6 “Potato salads parfait”

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