Welcome to our September 2023 JOC Cooking Challenge!

We’re entering fall and this means it’s time for our quarterly Cooking Challenge. The last challenge was Shoyu Ramen, the iconic Tokyo Bizentei’s ramen featured in the documentary film Come Back Anytime. This month, we have a special theme for your participation.

This Month’s Recipe Challenge: Cook for Maui

The theme for this month’s challenge is Cook for Maui as part of our effort to help the ongoing recovery work for the displaced residents.

For each of your entries, we’ll donate $5 to the selected charities (each 50% goes to the Maui United Way and Maui Food Bank).

This Challenge would mean a lot to many of our readers who are from Hawaii, and I personally owe them for their many years of support, so I want to THANK YOU in advance for the joint effort in helping them.

Cook for Maui Cooking Challenge. Choose one of the five recipes, including poke bowl, loco moco, butter mochi

Select and make one of the 5 recipes below:

  1. Poke Bowl (You can also use Tuna Poke to make a Poke Bowl)
  2. Vegan Poke Bowl
  3. Loco Moco
  4. Spam Onigirazu
  5. Butter Mochi

Please take time to read the entire post and recipe first, before you head to the kitchen!

If you have any recipe questions at all, please leave them in the comment section of the recipe post. If it’s related to the cooking challenge rules, please leave your comment below. We’re ready to help!

The Prizes!

This contest is open to everyone worldwide. We will randomly select 3 winners at the end of the challenge using random.org. Each winner will receive a $100 Amazon gift card.

Everyone who has completed submission for the JOC Cooking Challenge is automatically entered into the prize draw.

Please note that we will NOT select winners based on the creations, but you need to make sure your submission meets the scope of the recipe.

How to Join the September 2023 JOC Cooking Challenge

  1. Recipe: Make one of the 5 recipes listed above. Follow the recipe as closely as possible so your end product looks similar to mine.
  2. Send a picture: Send one picture of your final dish via email (contest@justonecookbook.com) before 12 pm PST on September 302023. This counts as an automatic entry for your chance to win the prize (only one entry per person). We’d love to hear about your fun cooking moments, kitchen mishaps, or difficulties that you come across during the process.
  3. Bonus: If you leave a comment with an image of your final dish in the recipe post (NOT in this post), we will count your comment as another entry! Having a hard time uploading? Reduce the file size, and it should work. We understand it’s an additional step and we appreciate your feedback, which will help us and others who want to try the recipe!
  4. Share: Feel free to share your picture on social media using the #JOCcookingchallenge hashtag.

JOC Cooking Challenge September 2023 Winners

  • Andrew H
  • Kelly S
  • Joyce T

Congratulations! We contacted the winners via email.

The JOC Community Donated $696!

Since we pledged to donate $5 for each entry and received 139 entries total, we could put together $696! We, the amazing JOC Community, have donated $348 to the Maui United Way and $348 (plus the processing fee) to the Maui Food Bank!

Thank you so much for participating in this cooking challenge!

Readers’ Recipe Submissions (139 Entries)

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Past Cooking Challenge & Recipes

This is a quarterly online event on Just One Cookbook and we host the challenge in March, June, September, and December. We’d love for you to join us in each challenge! To receive the updates, be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Introducing JOC Goods

JOC Goods, our new online shop, offering Japanese tableware and kitchenware, is now open. It is a natural extension of Just One Cookbook’s mission to teach home cooks how to prepare and enjoy delicious Japanese meals. We believe that beautifully plated food can bring joy and happiness to people’s lives.

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Great recipe! So yummy and so easy to make. #JOCcookingchallenge #pokebowl

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Hi Daniela! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe!

Well, this is no coincidence. Earlier today (September 2nd) I went to take out the baking pan because I thought I would try to make the Butter Mochi again. The first time I made it, many months ago, I didn’t realize that my baking powder had expired! I called it “Flat Mochi”- and I ate it anyway! There was no way that I was going to let a whole box of Mochiko go to waste.

Then late tonight I checked my email and saw the cooking challenge.I can’t think of a better reason to do it again. My son lives in Hawaii, on the Big Island though- my heart just breaks for the people of Lahaina.

I’ve been seeing a lot of posting on IG, not by official organizations- by the real citizens, the People of the fire ravaged area. Most of the so called “aid” is not actually reaching the People- it’s being held back with “red tape”/bureaucracy. These things are not being reported on the news.

So you might want to check it out and make certain that any money is being sent to where the actual People are going to receive it.

Thank You so much for everything that you do. You’re amazing.

  • Ursula (earth_spirit_medicine on Instagram – the woman with Longcovid)

Hi Ursula! Thank you for sharing your story and input.
Yes! It’s important to ensure help reaches those in need. Thanks for mentioning this!🙂

what’s your email, i wanna make a submission for the challenge

Hello, Bella! Thank you for participating in the JOC cooking challenge!
The email address is included in this post. 😊
e-mail: contest@justonecookbook.com

Is there a particular brand of sweet rice flour you use. I don’t normally cook sweets, but I want to try the butter mochi cake.