小常识
Dear Expats in Japan
Ovens, Toasters and Microwaves, oh my!
Having an oven in Japan is not a given and is even looked upon as a luxury not everyone can afford. On the contrary, microwaves can be found in nearly every household. Some microwaves have an oven setting which may make it easier to bake cookies, cakes, even whole chickens (if you can find one!). The much more reasonably priced oven toaster, with a dial for setting the temperature (in Celsius, of course!), can substitute for an oven in some cases, but you have to be careful about burning.
I usually start a cake in a relatively shallow pan at 180℃ (about 350℉) and bake it for 10-15 minutes. Then, I cover the cake with aluminum foil or cooking paper, turn the temp up to 200℃ (about 400℉), and bake it for another 10-15 minutes. Cookies can also be cooked to perfection (usually at 170℃, about 340℉)) with a little trail and error. You have to be extra sensitive about having a uniform size and thickness, or you will have some crispy critters! It helps to turn the cookie sheet around every ten minutes or so, too.
Familiarizing yourself with common temperature conversions from Fahrenheit to Celsius, and measurements like ounces to grams and milliliters, will save time. Whenever I try a new recipe, I make notes in the margins about appropriate conversions, as well as measurements for doubling and tripling. A lot of American recipes will list an 8-ounce can (237 milliliters) of something as an ingredient! Those are a pain to convert!
Recipes often include an ingredient that has to be prepped in a microwave, so if you do not have one, or are against them in principle, try to be creative about your heating techniques. Relatively new on the market and backed by Oprah Winfrey is the Cook-zen Cookbook (available in both Japanese and English) and microwave cookpot (available in black or white). Supposedly, the recipes are for simple, healthy foods that do not require a lot of preparation, and taste great, but that is a personal issue.