I recently visited Japan for the first time over the holidays. Over ten days, we visited Tokyo, Hakone, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. Of all the cities, Osaka surprised me the most. Dubbed, “Japan’s kitchen”, I should have expected to love it. Many of my favorite Japanese foods originated in Osaka, including takoyaki and okonomiyaki. I was transfixed walking down the rows and columns of shops and restaurants in Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori – every direction you looked at every intersection was a never-ending street to explore. The narrow streets and added extra charm. During the trip, I was very impressed by how clean and orderly the entire country was as well as the high level of service whether at a train station or a Michelin starred restaurant. The deer in Nara even bow to you!

Kyoto is famous for its tea, so I made sure to stock up on matcha while there. The increasing popularity of matcha in the US over the last few years has been astonishing, but understandable when you consider matcha’s health benefits. Matcha is finely powdered green tea leaves from plants grown in the shade to deepen the flavor. Best known for being high in antioxidants to help you fight against infections and disease, matcha also boots metabolism, detoxifies the body, and provides alert calmness through caffeine.

With a plethora of matcha from Kyoto on hand and Chinese New Year coming up, I decided to incorporate matcha into my nian gao (mochi cake) recipe (http://cinnamonandcilantro.blogspot.com/2011/02/nian-gao-moochi-cake.html). Nian gao is traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year to symbolize a family sticking together. I didn’t have sweet red bean paste at home, so decided to throw in some medjool dates – I found they added just the right amount of sweetness and a diversity in texture.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 60 minutes
Servings: 24

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups milk (I used soy milk)
• 1 pound (16 ounces) glutinous rice flour (the green bag with the 3 elephants on it)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons matcha powder
• 3/4 cup medjool dates (pitted and chopped into eighths)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and grease or line a 9×13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and milk.
3. In another large bowl, shift together the rice flour, baking powder, and matcha powder.
4. Carefully stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. The mixture may be lumpy so try and break up the lumps. Pouring the mixture through a sieve helps.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place the chopped medjool dates on top.
6. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until cake springs back when lightly touched. It should be golden and crispy on the edges. Cool on the counter for at least 15 minutes before cutting into squares.