- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
RBGPF | -1.03% | 59.49 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.58% | 6.92 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.14% | 24.555 | $ | |
NGG | 0.88% | 66.265 | $ | |
BTI | -0.04% | 35.095 | $ | |
RIO | 0.55% | 67.21 | $ | |
GSK | -1.03% | 38.811 | $ | |
AZN | 0.25% | 77.06 | $ | |
SCS | 2.48% | 12.92 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.28% | 24.7 | $ | |
RELX | 1.51% | 47.07 | $ | |
VOD | -0.78% | 9.665 | $ | |
BCC | 1.95% | 141.71 | $ | |
JRI | 0.08% | 13.23 | $ | |
BCE | 0.27% | 32.95 | $ | |
BP | -0.48% | 32.185 | $ |
Steam cuisine: cooking in Japan's hot springs
Using geothermal resources to generate electricity is a divisive prospect in Japan, but there is little disagreement about another use for it: natural steam for cooking.
The geothermal sources that make Japan a haven for hot springs or onsen are also used to produce a range of delicacies.
There's the "onsen tamago" -- eggs cooked in geothermally heated water at around 65 degrees (149 degrees Fahrenheit) to produce a relatively firm yolk with a creamy soft white.
And then there are small round cakes called "onsen manju", a popular snack sold at the approximately 2,900 hot spring locations across Japan.
Stuffed with red bean paste, they are cooked with the steam that rises from onsen water.
In Beppu, a small coastal town in Japan's southwestern Kyushu, an abundance of natural hot springs has given rise to a local speciality: "jigoku mushi" or "hell steaming".
Customers can buy meat, fish and vegetables on site at an onsen, and cook them in containers connected directly to the steam emanating from a nearby natural hot spring.
"This method of cooking was already being mentioned in local historical documents as far back as 200 years ago," Hitoshi Tanaka, president of Hyotan Onsen -- which offers "jigoku mushi" to its customers -- told AFP.
With steam at temperatures of 100-110 degrees Celsius (212-230 Fahrenheit), cooking generally takes no more than five to 10 minutes, "so the food retains its original colour", Tanaka explains.
The sulfur present in the steam imparts an "umami" to the meal, a flavour enhancer considered key to Japanese cuisine, and it contains iron, a trace element important for health, he added.
"You savour it with your eyes, you smell the steam, you hear the sound of the source of the hot spring: so you appreciate the food here with your whole body."
The technique has another benefit: no need for electricity or gas at a time when Japan, like many other countries, is dealing with soaring energy prices.
D.Avraham--CPN