{"id":9151,"date":"2025-02-04T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zojirushi.com\/blog\/?p=9151"},"modified":"2025-02-03T15:43:02","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T23:43:02","slug":"have-a-jiggly-valentine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zojirushi.com\/blog\/have-a-jiggly-valentine\/","title":{"rendered":"Have a Jiggly Valentine!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"coffer<\/a><\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s a party for two or a family get-together, \u201cminimalist\u201d entertaining is a thing these days, where quality time with the company you keep, is more important than the frills and the show. Let me tell you, that\u2019s good news to me because I\u2019m a minimalist guy.<\/p>\n

This Valentine\u2019s, if you want to have dinner at home with your partner, you don\u2019t have to bake a souffle to impress with the dessert. It\u2019s the thought that counts, and the more clever the thought, the smarter it looks! How about coffee gelatin hearts? Cute? Easy? And here\u2019s a bonus\u2014they taste so good!<\/p>\n

Make the coffee gelatin\u2014use a recipe like the one from Zojirushi<\/strong><\/a>. It\u2019s made with instant coffee, so if you have a water boiler, press the button to REBOIL and in a few minutes you\u2019ll have boiling water ready to use. I always have mine set to 195\u00b0F for tea anyway, so getting it to reach boiling doesn\u2019t take long at all\u2014much faster than boiling cold water.<\/p>\n

\"using<\/a><\/p>\n

Make the condensed milk gelatin\u2014use condensed milk straight out of the can and thin with hot water before adding the gelatin. I used 2 packets of gelatin each for both my milk and coffee to make sure it got firm enough to mold and release. I also coated the mold very sparingly with oil too.<\/p>\n

\"jello<\/a><\/p>\n

Refrigerate for a few hours and pop them out.<\/p>\n

\"jello<\/a><\/p>\n

The Japanese way to serve coffee gelatin is to pour cream on it; this is so good I would definitely recommend this. The cream balances the bitterness of the coffee, and the act of doing this extra ritual makes it kind of special.<\/p>\n

\"cream<\/a><\/p>\n

BTW, did you know White Day is coming up on March 14th? If you lived in Japan, you\u2019d see the men reciprocating gifts to the girls on this day, because on Valentine\u2019s the gift giving is typically one-way only (girls > men) in Japan. On White Day the roles are reversed. What a way for the candy companies to take advantage of two days,<\/em> eh?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s have a gyoza<\/em> party! This year Valentine\u2019s falls on a weekday, so if you don\u2019t want to hassle with cooking after work but you still want to entertain at home, why not fry up some store-bought frozen pot stickers and call your friends? Who cares if it comes out of a bag\u2014these days they all taste delicious if you cook them right. You may notice that these ones are pretty large; that\u2019s because they\u2019re Korean style pot stickers known as mandu.<\/em> It\u2019s a different experience from the Japanese gyoza,<\/em> but trust me, you\u2019ll like them too.<\/p>\n

\"gyoza<\/a><\/p>\n

After you brown them lightly on one side with some oil, pour about half-cup of water in the pan and cover it. This will steam cook the frozen gyoza.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"pouring<\/a><\/p>\n

When you notice most of the water has evaporated, lift the cover and continue cooking until they look brown and delicious.<\/p>\n

\"gyoza<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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