[Hiroyuki]

OnigiriFB, on Jun 6 2006, 01:27 PM, said:

but realized when I was putting it away that it was actually ponzu salad dressing. Can I still use that?

I guess so. Just try it and report back!

Quote

I couldn't find men tsuyu but I did find memmei?

I'm not familiar with memmei(?). Is it a Japanese product?
If you can't find men tsuyu concentrate, just replace it with a 1:1:1 mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and dashi.

Quote

I was also thinking of doing spaghetti salad (with kewpie mayo no less), blanched mung beans, rolled omelet (I just found an tamago pan), and kara-age or tonkastu. Too much? Wierd combo? Someone help me, I think I'm turning Japanese! 

Too much? Well, that depends on how much of each dish you are going to have. Not a wierd combination, but don't forget a bowl of hot rice and a bowl of miso soup.

Tamago pan? You have one of those rectangular pans for making atsuyaki tamago?

[JasonTrue]

Nashi no Hiya-yakko... Grated Japanese pears with grated fresh ginger, a little scallion, and a splash of Japanese soy sauce.

Hiromi thought it was an odd idea when I suggested it, but she was a quick convert after tasting the results.

We had way too many Japanese pears after picking a bunch of them at a friend's orchard near Everett, so this was one idea for making use of them.



More details:
Blog entry on nashi no hiyayakko

[torakris]

some more pictures of previous hiyayakkos that I posted elsewhere:



with natto and melokhiya, dressed with a karashi (Japanese mustard) and soy sauce dressing




with blanched okra and myouga





on the left I minced some kimchee then mixed it with a little soy sauce and mirin, I then drizzled the dish with sesame oil
I will definitely be making this again!

On the right is tarako (cod roe) with some shiso and drizzled with soy sauce, I normally make this with mentaiko (spicy cod roe)




a salad with mizuna and myoga, dressed with a kabosu ponzu




left is matcha (green tea) tofu and the right is goma (black sesame seed) tofu

I love the goma one (and buy it frequently), the matcha was a first for me and I really didn't care for it, my husband loved it though... blink.gif

[FoodMan]

Quote

with natto and melokhiya,

MELOKHIYA!! Is that what I think it is ? Talk about international cuisine Kris. How did that taste?

BTW, any particular brand of Tofu you'd recommend here in the US? I love tofu when done right and am trying to cook it (or not I guess) more often. My go to preparation and guilty pleasure is the spicy szichuanese recipe with lots of chile and pepper and pork. I am dying to try one of these cold, quick varaitions now though.

[JasonTrue]

Tofu quality is tied very closely to speed of distribution and transit conditions, since it's so perishable, so US brand information probably isn't so helpful... quality depends on where you are. (I don't really count the shelf-stable oddities like mori-nu tofu which doesn't taste quite right to me anyway). When possible, I buy it from local producers, or at least regionally close ones... There's a great Vietnamese family tofu manufacturing company in Seattle that sells tofu so fresh it's still hot. If it's a brand name that's easily recognized (Sun Luck, for example) it's likely not very good. And the expiration dates on widely distributed brands are wildly optimistic by Japanese standards.

In my area, I've had good luck with a Korean-labeled brand from northern California, a few local producers like Tacoma Tofu (usually), and best luck by buying from one of the in-town manufacturers directly or at one of two supermarkets.

Molokhiya became very trendy in Japan about 4 or 5 years ago... It's easier to find in Japan than in the US, though I can find it at specialty markets and Middle Eastern and some African groceries.

FoodMan, on Mar 29 2007, 09:18 AM, said:

Quote

with natto and melokhiya,

MELOKHIYA!! Is that what I think it is ? Talk about international cuisine Kris. How did that taste?

BTW, any particular brand of Tofu you'd recommend here in the US? I love tofu when done right and am trying to cook it (or not I guess) more often. My go to preparation and guilty pleasure is the spicy szichuanese recipe with lots of chile and pepper and pork. I am dying to try one of these cold, quick varaitions now though.

[torakris]

FoodMan, on Mar 30 2007, 01:18 AM, said:

Quote

with natto and melokhiya,

MELOKHIYA!! Is that what I think it is ? Talk about international cuisine Kris. How did that taste?

Like Jason said melokhiya became very popular here in Japan a couple years back, It can be found pretty much year round in the supermarkets in my area. I usually wait until summer when it becomes cheap, 2 bunches for 100 yen (less than $1) currently they are selling one bunch for 198 yen.
I really enjoy the taste (and the texture) it goes wonderfully with natto!

[smallworld]

torakris, on Mar 29 2007, 02:55 PM, said:

Like Jason said melokhiya became very popular here in Japan a couple years back, It can be found pretty much year round in the supermarkets in my area.

Really? I don't think I've heard of it. What's it called in Japanese?

[JasonTrue]

try モロヘイヤ, though I suspect there are alternate renderings, since there are about 12 in English.

[torakris]

JasonTrue, on Mar 30 2007, 09:27 AM, said:

try モロヘイヤ, though I suspect there are alternate renderings, since there are about 12 in English.

This is the spelling I usually see being used.
It is sold in bunches of fresh leaves like spinach and komatsuna and looks like this.

Look around I am sure you will find it.

[helenjp]

You can buy seeds here too, and I've just sown some - probably best sown frommd-April to mid-May though, depending on your location.

[smallworld]

Oh, I love that stuff! It never occured to me that "moroheiya" could be "melokhiya".
Thanks!

[JasonTrue]

It's tough to render chchch in Japanese :)

smallworld, on Mar 30 2007, 04:24 PM, said:

Oh, I love that stuff! It never occured to me that "moroheiya" could be "melokhiya".
Thanks!

[torakris]

Not technically hiya yakko but still it was a cold tofu dish



Cold tofu with wakame and cucumbers in a su miso dressing, I have added the Su-miso dressing to RecipeGullet.

[torakris]

It is getting a little cold to be making hiyayakko but I really love this stuff. I probably should of thought this one out better, it ended up be a little too salty. A combination of pickled nozawana and shirasu (baby sardines) and then topped with soy sauce.
I just squeezed the liquid out of the nozawana maybe for this I should have rinsed it. The family did enjoy it though.

[Pouncy]

I usually make mine with men tsuyu and green onions.

Other variations have included pesto and tomato (the things that happen when you have tomatoes that need using!), chopped walnuts, black pepper and a bare drizzle of olive oil, minced raw tuna and green onion with a dash of soy, and finally, just plain sea salt.

[torakris]

Made a wonderful hiyayakko a couple nights ago.



Mentaiko (spicy cod roe) mixed with an egg yolk and soy sauce. I topped it with shiso with for color and another flavor contrast.
The kids devoured it.