Singapore is the land of everlasting summer, where it’s hot and humid 24-7. And even though we are constantly melting in the tropical heat, there is something worth celebrating as AUTUMN IS FINALLY HERE! 秋が来た！If spring is the season of wild vegetables, autumn is the season of sanma, chestnut, potatoes and mushrooms.
We did a poll on Instagram a month back and ask about what you would like to see on KODAWARI this autumn, and we thank you for your kind feedback! You can probably see some of your recommendations here! Meanwhile, here are some of our staff recommendations on what you should try out this Autumn!
Japanese Sweet Potato (Yakiimo) 焼き芋
Let’s not get started with how good sweet potatoes are during autumn. We all miss the times where we can just grab a hot, steamy yakiimo from the convenience stores in Japan. These high carb, guilty to eat but satisfying to have treats has purple skin and golden yellow flesh. Japanese sweet potatoes (Yakiimo) have a higher sugar level as compared to normal sweet potatoes, which makes them even tastier! You can even make them at home if you have a toaster or oven, or you know, just be friends with people who are Japanese food enthusiasts and ask them to make you some 😀
KODAWARI will be having a range of seasonal sweet potatoes directly imported from Japan so you can get your hands on some Japanese goodness. Don’t have an oven? Daijobu! We also have frozen roasted sweet potatoes from Taiwan in stock!
Chestnut (Kuri) くり
One of the favorites among Japanese when it comes to autumn, chestnut is also known as Kuri in Japanese, and marron in French. Japanese chestnuts are famous for their gigantic size (they can go as big as a 500 yen coin, or slightly bigger than Singapore’s 50 cent coin). Comes with great nutritional value, and is loved by all ages. If you are an avid dessert maker, you can ever try out some chestnut waguri recipes this season!
With that, we are excited that we are collaborating with Kogetsuan from Ibaraki and their chestnut dorayaki are to die for! A gigantic piece of fragrant chestnut slapped with a generous portion of azuki red bean paste from Hokkaido, sandwiched with fluffy dorayaki dough made with premium Okukuji egg from Ibaraki, something that you should definitely try out this autumn!
If the ingredients are not enough to persuade you, check out their video! (I’m not sure about you but I’m already drooling as we speak).
Meanwhile, we are also bringing in actual chestnuts from Japan so you can have fun with them at home. You can go big by roasting them or you can just boil them and enjoy them as they are.
Pacific Saury (Sanma) さんま
Sanma, or what many referred as pacific saury, is on a smaller side compared to other fish, and has a similar flavor to herrings and sardines. Usually served grilled with salt, radish and lemon. Interesting fact is that the name of sanma in Japanese can be translated directly to ‘autumn fish’, which pretty much sums up everything we need to know about the fish.
Sanma is usually served as breakfast in Japanese households when autumn arrives, along with some delicious miso soup. You might even find them on seasonal menus across restaurants in Singapore.
If you are not comfortable with dining out at the moment, we are currently running a seasonal promotion for sanma, do check them out and give them a try!
Oden おでん
Those pre-COVID times when we had fun enjoying hot, warm oden in the mid-autumn breeze, standing outside a random Japanese convenience store in the middle of the night, and probably trying to spit fire from our mouths because we forgot how hot the oden is and just ate it whole. In the dashi soup, you can find radish slices soaked in mild yet sweet-savory dashi soup, along with cabbage rolls, fish cakes, meat-and-mochi tofu packets. This is basically a bowl of happiness for late-night salarymen in Japan and tourists who seek for a quick fix in the middle of the night. It is a very healthy dish as there are also other ingredients such as seaweed and konnyaku (yam jelly), which has a chewy texture and mild, aromatic yam accent to it. Sometimes you can even find an egg in it!
You will be able to find some seasonal convenient oden pack very soon on KODAWARI so do keep an eye out!
Red Bean Soup (Zenzai) ぜんざい
We get the feeling that this is probably not very popular in Singapore, and it’s usually eaten during winter, but we DO know that many of you love red bean desserts and are too lazy to make them 😀 Introducing you zenzai, a bowl of ready-made azuki red bean soup! We got this seasonal item from Imuraya directly, a very popular dessert maker in Japan. Do enjoy the subtle sweet fragrance of these delicious azuki beans. The one we got from Imuraya is a 2 piece pack, so you can share it with your family as well (though we understand if you want to keep it all by yourself).
Daifuku, Warabimochi, Ohagi 大福 わらびもち おはぎ
Zenzai is not the only thing we got from Imuraya, we also got some Japan all-time favorite desserts in stock for you this autumn! You can now get daifuku, ohagi and warabimochi on KODAWARI! These tasty treats do not need an introduction, and they all come in 4 pieces per pack. You can even get a trial pack from us, which consist of all 3 flavors, so you can share it with your friends and family!
