Cookery

In Japan, it is rare for apartments to have ovens; to whit, my kitchen consists of a single sink, counterspace enough for a dry rack, and two electric burners overtop some cupboards. The toaster oven, microwave, and fridge are all stacked on top of each other in a separate cubby hole. Because of the lack of ovens, this also means that baking needs tend to come in packages: pancake mix, toaster-oven muffins mix, etc. You can get a bag of flour, sure, but finding gluten-free flour? In large quantities? It takes some searching.

However, I am determined not to let that deter me. I have now made (gluten-free!) pancakes twice, and I'm going to record the recipe here for posterity - along with pictures!



Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour (100 yen for a 2-cup bag)
1 tbsp-tip baking soda (100 yen for 100g)
2-4 tbsp corn grits (500-ish yen for 200g or so)
1/2 cup corn starch (250-ish yen for 100g)
1/2 cup milk (100 yen for a carton)
1 egg (100 yen for a carton)
2 tubes of sugar (100 yen for a bag of 36)
water
dash of olive oil
frozen blueberries (100 yen for a small bag)

Instructions:

Mix together dry ingredients in bowl*. Beat egg separately, then add liquid ingredients except water and stir. Add water until desired consistency; should be smooth, at least. Depends how thick you like your pancakes.



Heat frying pan on #2 setting. Grease pan with butter, ladle out 3-4 spoons of batter. Add blueberries.



Cook until small bubbles appear on the uncooked side; flip. Cook the other side, then put it on a plate. Enjoy your delicious gf pancakes with that no-name watery syrup they sell, or with the insanely expensive maple syrup you can get at the specialty stores. Up to you ;)



Makes 5 medium-large pancakes; the corn grits give them a lot of substance, so I find that three is the most I can eat in one sitting, and I have to be pretty ravenous. Which means leftovers for later!

Oh, and as a note, I found the corn grits and corn starch in the basement of the Maruei department store in downtown Sakae. The rice flour you can find almost anywhere; it's for making mochi or those other brightly-coloured rice treats that I forget the name of. The baking soda is at my local Lawson's, and I was quite surprised when I found it, finally. But the final word is: it can be done!


*In my case, cooking pot, as I have no bowl