Trying to make Uncle Tetsu’s Cheesecake

While I still have room for improvement, I think I’m off to a good start! I had a plan but then I made a mistake in the plan… which led to an okay recipe! 😛 But hey that’s how amazing food gets discovered right?! Through random chain of events! Chef Michelle~ Just kidding, I’m just an average hooman that trying to have some fun in life :3

I’m sure you have seen the videos on the jiggly, fluffy, Japanese cheesecakes in Japan! One of the viral videos was of Uncle Tetsu’s cheesecakes! Surprisingly, with the amount of time I was in Japan for, I never tried it.

BUT, when we arrived in Toronto, we decided, heck, let’s do it!!

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I think we lined up for an hour and a half? All I remember was that it was raining and BFF was super prepared with an umbrella and I loved her for that.

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If you’ve never been here, the aromas that were coming out of this place that spilled outside was enough to bring in curious customers. And they got a system going here, very efficient.

I think the most satisfying part was watching them brand the cheesecake.

P8182211.JPGThe wall is lined with articles of them in the news! :)

 

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I would definitely recommend eating this within the hour that you get it. We spent most of our time trying to find a place to eat it (it was like 11 pm when we went to line up), and eventually went back to our tiny room in our Airbnb to eat it (I think we got back around 1 am).

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Okay, so I want you to know that this picture doesn’t do it justice at all. This was like 3 hours after getting it, it has been through quite a ride (as you can tell) before it got back to our place.

We were actually super tired and too stuffed to eat it, but managed to force ourselves to take the first bite… OH MY GOSH… It is creamy, and soft… it’s like eating cheesecake foam because it just melts in your mouth. I’m just flabbergasted how it can even hold a solid structure!

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So the one big mistake I made was forgetting to lined my pan with some foil to avoid some water leaking into the cake pan. (to make this cheesecake you need to put it into a water bath). Luckily, there wasn’t too much water damage and you couldn’t really tell at all!

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Personally I felt like I got the texture pretty close, It’s soft and creamy. The biggest difference is still the taste. AND, I don’t think I would ever come close to Uncle Tetsu’s quality for taste if I keep using… Philadephia cheese. There’s NOTHING wrong with that cheese, it just isn’t the best for this recipe as it came out on a heavier, sharper cheese taste than a light one. Uncle Tetsu uses a Austrialian specialty cheese… so…unless someone wants to gift me one sometime? -wink wink, nudge nudge-

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It’s definitely really important to get soft peaks and when that you GENTLY fold the meringue with the batter. You want to keep as much of the air bubbles in there to create that light and airy texture and the JIGGLINESS.

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The one thing I did differently was adding in honey as I wanted a thinner batter as I’ve seen in Uncle Tetsu’s shops. I’ll keep experimenting though. I want to try a different rack level in the oven too! And learn how to get that gorgeous, even browning on the top! AND I NEED MORE JIGGLE.

I’m just super glad my sister liked it and the kids! Haha.

TOO much effort to make this… probably be a good couple of months before I can find the time again.

Peace out.

Mish~

Cooking Experiments~

When I start experimenting in the kitchen it’s usually either of the following reasons:

  1. Limited ingredients and need to be creative
  2. I feel inspired! / I’m cooking for someone I care about!
  3. There’s leftovers for days and I need to be creative in mixing it up with something so I don’t get bored

Mostly #3 applies to me the most! Anyone else feeling me? Haha

Let’s show you three of those dishes!

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Roasted butternut squash with Israeli couscous.

This experiment came from the I-don’t-have-much-ingredients-and-need-to-be-creative.

So, if you ever work for this place called Organic Box, what’s amazing is that because they don’t want to waste food, they let their employees take home any leftovers. Parents were ecstatic while it lasted… but it kind of meant they neglected to buy any groceries for a while.

What did we have in the fridge? Tomatoes, some pieces of butternut squash, green peppers and onions. In the pantry we had this Israeli couscous that I decided to try and use.

I roasted the butternut squash with some garlic and peppers before putting it in the pan to fry.

Anyways, at least the fam enjoyed it! Haha.

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This is the leftovers-for-days-so-I-need-to-be-creative dish.

Can you figure out the leftovers?! It’s the spiced chicken wings that I took the tedious task of shredding apart :’D.

I am super excited we had fresh herbs to make the dish! The sauce comes out way more fragrant. Always excited to make some different lunches for the sis!

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Last but not least! When there’s a get-together or I get into the sudden inspiration to cook for my friends (or maybe someone I like), I can’t help but challenge myself to try something I haven’t made before!

This one is extra special to me as the special red soybean miso sauce is from Nagoya, Japan! I’m terrible at deep-frying things, so I worked extra hard in trying to get this right… So many steps you can’t do wrong T^T. Butttt other than the person saying it wasn’t salty enough pffft, I think it was alright :3.

Heh. Look guys. It looks like a fish from up top right?!

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How am I doing?! Do you guys like seeing my homemade creations? Or do you prefer more restaurant postings! I promise the next one will be a restaurant review!

 

Lovu Lovu,

Mish

 

Happy Happy Fall!

 

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GUYS GUYS GUYS!!! It’s autumn! This year might just be one of the warmest autumns yet! Can’t wait to take the kiddies out for trick or treating. Let’s all admit it, we like to go with them to get in on that free candy :’D. Thank you to all the people who continue to decorate their homes and hand out candy and contributing to the festive spirit!

This year we had a small get-together with friends to celebrate fall! Keep scrolling to see what yummy food we had in-store and fun activities!

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Polly and Henry working at those water chestnuts! (going to be a filling inside dumplings)

I actually had to force myself to wake up early after a night of karaoke and hot pot the day before ahaha. Henry helped me run around the West side in grabbing groceries. Later on Polly, Alex and Nana arrived to help with more prepping of the foods!

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Helping on making that tiramisu!

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We even had our meat master show us how to make some nice steaks :p. And thanks to Organic Box we had a ton of fresh thyme to use!! Key: Let it rest before cutting!

(p.s. I’m way too hyper to be doing a blog post. Hopefully you guys understand what I’m trying to say)

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Ooo, who made the appetizer?!

I did a little decorating to make it feel more Halloweenish. I love Popeyes but it seems like a lot fewer people like it than I thought :'(.

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Why, none other than our Ben! Look at that :3 Healthy and yummy!

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The moment you’ve been waiting for! FOOD! Um… believe me when I say we did have veggies…

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I started everyone off with some Thai coconut soup! I always wanted to learn how to make this! I added a bit more lime juice, less coconut milk and cooked the shrimp in a Moroccan-spiced broth. I do have to say that I really liked how it turned out. Though, as usual, lots more experimenting to do to make the recipe mine!

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Alex brought over the wings! It took a while to finish. We had 10 people too! (Actually it’s not finished, and I’ve tried using it in many different dishes to try to finish it off. I don’t think my sister noticed yet! Shh :’D)

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We made 200 dumplings! Two different fillings and 3 different folding styles (I… didn’t get the chance to take the other styles.) I was also too lazy to take the time to pan fry it nicer.

Filling number 1: pork, chinese lettuce, chives, white wine, pepper, salt, sugar, soy sauce

Filling number 2: pork, shiitake mushrooms, water chestnut, white pepper, salt

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Makes me super happy to see everyone eating and having a good time ^^

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Yes Ben! Grab that dumpling!

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Sorry my hand was shaky and totally didn’t do the steak any justice. Also… who grabbed different coloured chopsticks?!

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Nancy’s Budae Jigae stole the spotlight though ;P. Always love the colour of it. Have you guys tried Steel Wheel’s budae jigae?! It’s the BEST.

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The rest of the night was dedicated to games, movies and carving!!!

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We watched rush hour 3 while carving pumpkins! I think Ben’s making an ig story and Lisa’s showing off her luscious hair hehe :3.

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Mochi got to play with so many people today! He’s so tuckered out, dreaming~

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Voila! Some beautiful pumpkins carved by: Ben, Lisa, Polly and Nana!

Happy Fall everyone! Hope you all are enjoying it!

 

-LOVE MISH.