By Christy Wong, GVJCI Social Media and Community Outreach Intern

​Hello everyone! Today I would like to introduce a cooking recipe of a Japanese home food – Nikujaga, or beef potato stew in english. At this time of the year, one of the things that parents may worry about is preparing food for their children who may be home alone. They do not have that much time to prepare bentos for their children every day because of work. It is also the time of the year when many students may go back home to eat all the food that they missed. However, some of them may not be able to do so. Given these situations, what’s better than to make something that gives a taste of home in Japan, and that can be done in a short of amount of time! It takes just a few easy steps and a few ingredients to make a hearty nikujaga! Now let’s get started!

​To make nikujaga, you will need the following ingredients: one piece of beef flank steak (around 200g), one onion, two potatoes, one carrot, and one pack of shirataki noodles. For the sauce, you will need soy sauce, mirin, and Japanese sake. For seasoning, you will need sugar and cooking oil. 

​Step 1: Slice the beef and onion into thin pieces, and dice the potatoes and the carrots.

​Step 2: Soak potatoes into water to wash away the starch. You will see bubbles in the water as the starch comes out from the potatoes, just like picture shown! In the meantime, boil a pot of water and boil the shirataki noodles to wash away the smell of the noodles. Also, add a few drizzles of oil into the beef to marinate the meat. 

​Now let’s get cooking! 

​Step 3: Heat up the pan on medium heat, and first add the sliced beef into the pan and stir fry it. Stir fry the beef until the beef looks like in the following picture.

​Step 4: Add the sliced onion into the pan and stir fry the onion until they are soft. 

​Step 5: Add the carrots and potatoes into the pan and stir fry until the potatoes look transparent, just like the picture shown below. Add 3 table spoons of sugar for seasoning.

​Step 6: Add water until the water covers most of the ingredients. Cover the lid and let it simmer until the potatoes and carrots are soft. You can use a chopstick to poke them while they are cooking to see if they are soft or not!

Step 7: Add soy sauce, mirin, and sake into the stew to make the sauce. The ratio of the 3 sauces is 1 table spoon of soy sauce to 2 table spoon of mirin and 2 table spoon of sake. (1 soy sacue : 2 mirin : 2 sake) 

​Step 8: Add shirataki noodles into the stew.

​ Step 9: Bring to stew back to a boil and then do a taste test! If you find that the stew does not have enough flavor, you can add more soy sauce, mirin and sake in the ratio of 1:2:2!

​Step 10: Almost done! Soak all the ingredients into the sauce and cover the lid! Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the flavor of the stew suits you!

​And there you go! A yummy, hearty Nikujaga is done! You can add some scallions on top for garnish too! Enjoy! :D

by Megan Taenaka, GVJCI Social Media & Community Outreach Intern 

What's better than a milkshake on a hot summer day? A matcha milkshake! You may be asking: "What is matcha? Why do I see it everywhere now?"

Matcha is a finely ground green tea powder, and the tea is made by whisking it with hot water.  Matcha has been an integral part of traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, or "chanoyu," since around the 12th century.  While matcha leaves are grown in a variety of places, it is said the best matcha comes from Japan, specifically from Uji, Nishio, Shizuoka, and Kyushu.  The process from growing the matcha leaves to creating the powder is very laborious, making it pricier than other teas.  There are two forms of matcha: usucha and koicha.  Usucha, or "thin tea," is what cafes and restaurants commonly serve.  On the other hand,  koicha, or "thick tea," is used in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies because it is made from the highest quality matcha powder and whisked with a chasen, or bamboo whisk.  While you can find ceremonial grade matcha powder at tea stores, I used a lower grade matcha powder that can be found at almost any market.  
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You may be seeing it everywhere now for a few reasons.  For one, it's a very versatile ingredient.  It can be used in warm and cold drinks, like lattes and cocktails, or in baking cakes, cookies, etc.  Its distinct taste is also appealing to many, with its mixture of sweet, bitter, and earthy flavors.  Additionally, matcha leaves are high in antioxidants, making it a healthy ingredient to incorporate!

Now that we've answered some questions, let's get started!

1. ​Pour 1/4 cup of milk into a small bowl.

3. Whisk together the milk and matcha powder until combined.

4. ​Pour the milk and matcha powder mixture into a glass.

5. Add 1-3 scoops of vanilla ice cream, depending on how thick you want your milkshake, to the glass. 

6. ​Stir together to combine (a blender can also be used), and you're done!

​Now you're ready beat the summer heat with this nice refreshing milkshake!

By Lina Kwon, Patty Hori, and Christy Wong, GVJCI Social Media and Community Outreach Interns

What Tanoshii Fun Camp is 
For the last 10 summers, the Gardena Valley JCI has put together the Tanoshii Fun Camp, which gives children between the ages of 7 and 10 the opportunity to learn more about traditional Japanese culture and also learn about what it means to be a Japanese American.  Not only does this camp help elementary school kids, but it also gives high school and college students a chance to be in leadership roles as either counselors or senior counselors.  All of our counselors are volunteers and are willing to sacrifice two weeks of their summer (one for training and the one for camp) to help out and educate our community's legacy.   

What they're learning ​
Every year, the campers are introduced to an entirely new subject about Japanese culture or about the Japanese American experience.  This year's topic was Japanese American Concentration camps.  While many may perceive this topic as one far too heavy for kids to handle, it is a very important moment in the Japanese American fabric. The Japanese American Concentration Camps were not dismal all the time. Tanoshii Fun Camp campers learned the many ways Japanese American children experienced joy and optimism among the dessert terrain or swampy surroundings.  They would play with cards, make-shift dolls, and create string bracelets; and from there, sports came to popularity and out blossomed sport leagues, which inspired many of the Japanese American leagues popular today.

Campers are also learning the serious repercussions following President Franklin D. Roosevelt's signature on Executive Order 9066. His order was fueled not by objective reasoning, but by the country's fear following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  By acknowledging this fear-driven mindset, we can all learn how dangerous it is to judge a group of people based on characteristics that make them unique. ​

Tanoshii Camp and Counselors thoughts
Tanoshii Fun camp is a great place for both campers and counselors to have fun while learning. Let's see what they have to say about the camp! ​

Counselor Interview
​1. What do you like about Tanoshii Camp?

• “I love being able to interact with the kids and teach them about Japanese culture. It’s an amazing feeling to hear them telling their family what they learned here at camp.” (Kayleen, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Class of 2020)
• “It’s a great feeling to hear them say that they are having fun learning about Japanese culture and doing crafts.” (Jack, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Class of 2018)
• “The activities that we do are really fun and enjoyable.” (Nick, North Torrance High School, Class of 2018)
• “I feel fortunate to be able to teach them about their heritage and keep the Japanese culture alive for future generations” (Derek, University of California, Berkeley, Class of 2021)

In this year’s Tanoshii Fun Camp, we introduced the topic of Japanese American Concentration camps to the campers. While learning about these history, the campers had a fun time here as well. We hope to teach the campers to have pride in their ancestors and be proud of what they had overcome!
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If you are want to know more about Tanoshii Fun Camp and interested in joining the camp next summer, come check out our website for any updates regarding application.
If you would like to see more pictures from our camp this year, come check it out at on our Facebook page!