prasantrin

My Japanese friends refrigerate their fine quality soy sauces (the small batch Y2000/litre stuff), but their everyday stuff stays in a cupboard. Someone on rec.food.cooking wrote to Kikkoman about this very topic and this was their reply. I also refrigerate soy sauce but that's because it takes me years to finish a bottle.

For what it's worth, I have a few Japanese friends with knives in the same price range, and they use them as every day knives. It would be a shame if you didn't use it at least a few times. That's what they gave it to you for, after all .

Mentos. Mint flavoured, of course, none of that fruity stuff for me. I can eat a whole roll in less than 5 minutes (and not feel sick afterwards).

Interesting, that looks a lot like the Cantonese dish often labelled as "Seafood Pan Fried Noodle" It's more or less what Winnipegers call "Cantonese-style Chow Mein". I'm not sure why it's considered udon since the noodles that my friend uses are egg noodles (she's from Nagasaki). I thought "udon" always referred specifically to udon noodles which have no egg in them. I should ask my friend for clarification. My favourite Japanese-style Chinese food would anything from Osho . Greasy and salty Chinese food in a dirty restaurant--what could be better than that? And their gyouza rocks!

At the risk of causing more trouble, might I add... Any Thai restaurant named "The King and I" should be avoided at all costs.

I'm pretty happy about it, too! I've been looking for a copy for years and every so often, I go through amazon, e-bay, half.com, abebooks, etc. looking for a reasonably priced used copy. This time amazon.ca had two listings for the book so I looked at them both. One had the usual "out of print" message but the other had a price and a release date. I wrote to UofC Press and they confirmed that it was being reprinted. The only negative for me is that I'll probably be out of North America when it's released, but I'm going to get a copy shipped to me as soon as possible!

Many of you probably have a copy of this book, but for those who don't and can't afford $69 for a copy (the lowest price I've found so far), it's being reprinted! Due out March 2004, though the release date according to amazon.ca is May 2004. It will be a much more reasonable $16.78 Canadian . The US Amazon site did not yet have details so I cannot report on the US price. I do have confirmation from University of Chicago Press, though.

Yum! I wonder how adding a little bit of feta might work with that...

May I ask which model you got? Costco in Winnipeg has the Vac 1050 for $170 right now. It comes with a bonus roll of bags, three canisters, and a universal lid (I think) plus whatever it usually comes with (but I can't remember what that was). Costco also had a set of three canisters for sale, as well as rolls of bags, but I don't remember how much they were.

Hmm...Any chance you'd post the recipe? I love shortbread and am still searching for the perfect recipe . This year I think I'm doing: Shortbread cookies--what's Christmas without shortbread? Florentines--but I can't decide if I should do bar ones or regular ones. If I make bar cookies, it'll be the recipe from Fine Cooking January 2001. Godiva Biscotti Emily Luchetti's Ginger cookies Hazelnut Linzer thumbprints--last time I made them with almonds and peach jam. This time i might actually use hazelnuts, but I'll use my non-autographed Gedney's Peach Raspberry jam (should've gotten it autographed while I had the chance!). Also from CI Jan/01. And finally, Vinaterta. While it's not really a cookie, there's something very bar cookie-like about it.

I think the stores near me must not have been very adventurous. I only ever saw the "usuals" like kani cream, seafood, curry, vegetable, kabocha, and plain (potato with ground beef). We never had stuff like sukiyaki! Yum! A friend uses her leftover nikujaga (or similar type dishes) for croquette. I didn't care for it too much (something about mashed meat is a bit icky to me). Being back in Canada I am forced to make my own. I always make disc-shaped ones since they fry better in shallow oil. I generally will only make potato, sweet potato, or kabocha since I'm too lazy to do any of the other ones .

I never cared much for it, either, but fugu nabe is not so bad. One New Year's I went to a friend's house and her parents served us fugu sashimi and made nabe with the leftover parts. Years ago I asked some Japanese friends if they ate nabe for the "thrill" of it, and none of them even considered it. They liked the texture of the sashimi and the delicate flavour. I say, "What flavour?" to that, but that's just me.

Kabocha. It's my absolute favourite and I have never been able to make decent kabocha corokke, nor have I been able to find a decent recipe. I like the kind Tengu (the izakaya) has. I've been told it's usually pure kabocha, but I think the Tengu one has potato, too. It's been so long that I don't really remember, though!

This savoury shortbread recipe is a good one. It's nice served with a bit of mango chutney as a spread. According to the recipe, the dough can be frozen but only for up to a week, so it might not work with your schedule. The cookies are a bit fragile, so you'd have to be very careful if trying to freeze them once they've been baked. I've also made a recipe similar to the second recipe here. I think freezing the cookies fpr a few weeks after baking them would be fine, but I've never done it so I can't be certain.

Savoury shortbread. It's even better served slightly frozen!

Me, too! I used to be embarrassed to admit I didn't like truffles, but I'm coming out of the closet. I wonder if I should also admit I don't even like chocolate that much...Nah, that's too much disclosure for one day .

Make marron glace or mont blanc?

I liked it very much, and my mother liked it even more! Unfortunately, I burned the cookie sheet batch. It was quite burnt, too, not even salvagable. My mother, however, liked it anyway and eats it dunked in coffee or tea. My second batch was baked in round cake pans and I kept a much more careful eye on them. This time I did not burn them, but when I made the syrup I accidentally put the flower waters in before beginning to heat it. I think that was a mistake because they were overpowering, but after a few days the flavours mellowed. My mother liked it, anyway, and one pan was gone by the time the Middle Eastern dance party came around--only 3 pieces had been eaten by me, all the rest by my mother! The goat's milk flavour was initially quite strong, but like the flower waters mellowed with time. I like goat's milk so it wasn't really a problem for me, but I think I'll try cow's milk next time. My mother is allergic to cow's milk (not even lactose intolerant, but a full-blown allergy) which is why I used goat's milk. I loved the textures of both the thin and the thick, though I think I like the thick more. I have to make another batch before my mother leaves for holidays, as she wants something to snack on while she lies about my sister's house all day. Thanks for the recipe--it's a keeper! rona

That's what I always thought, too. But then I discovered that Canada produces much more garbage per capita than Japan does (1157 lbs vs 758 lbs--US produces 1930 lbs--all numbers are from the late 1990's). I was pretty embarrassed when I learned of that, especially since I was complaining about the waste in Japan at the time. As for food, I've always thought most of the food that was wasted in Japan was that which was vomited on the streets by drunk salarymen . At the junior high school I worked at, our lunch leftovers were given (sold?) to the pig farmers in the area--all but the curry. Pigs don't like curry, apparently, though they have no problems with eating pork. One of the first phrases I learned in Japan was "fukuro wa irimasen." Clerks would look at me a little strangely, but they almost always obliged.

In terms of specific models, it might be best to ask on the Southeast board or on the general topics board since rice cookers in Japan will have different model numbers than in the US. Generally speaking, I prefer the Japanese-made rice cookers to US made ones. I find them to last longer and they are more reliable (fewer crusty bottoms). I have a Tiger brand cooker than I bought in Japan 10 years ago and it still works very well. It has a non-stick pot, a warmer, and a very basic timer. Our National (the type that's white metal with black plastic trim, one button, and no other bells and whistles) is still in working order and it's more than 20 (possibly close to 30) years old. When choosing a rice cooker, you have to consider what you might be using it for. National, Tiger, Panasonic, and other Japanese brands will be able to make rice for sushi and for everyday eating. I don't think any particular model or brand is better for that than the others. Basic models like the National I mentioned are good choices if all you want to do is cook rice and eat it right away. But if you cook rice in the morning and want to keep it warm for dinner, or if you want to use a timer so your rice will be ready when you get home, then you should consider that. Also consider how many people you'll be cooking rice for. If you generally only cook for a few people, then a 5-cup cooker will suit your needs, but if you cook for large parties, you'll need a larger one. I would suggest getting a non-stick pot for ease of cleaning, but those are just a perk, not a necessity. All rice cookers, even the smallest ones, will take up a fair bit of room on your counter. If you're very protective of your counter space, and do not have much storage space, a rice cooker might not be a wise purchase for you. Ours is on our counter at all times and we have maybe only 3-4 feet of counter space. We use it everyday, though, so for us it's well worth the space it takes up. America's Test Kitchen aka Cook's Illustrated did a test on rice cookers. You can find the results on-line but I think you must register for the site. They preferred the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer NS-JCC10 which is also one of the most expensive rice cookers one can buy, and comes fully loaded. Uwajimaya has some rice cookers that you can purchase on-line. They're a (mostly) Japanese (mostly) grocery store in the Northwest US. Even sites like amazon have a variety of rice cookers. I'm not familiar enough with any site to recommend one over the other, though. edited to fix a link

My mother used to eat balut, but now the thought of eating it completely disgusts her. I used to watch her, and other family members, eat it, but could never bring myself to try it. Of course, the last time I saw someone eat balut was when I was about 12 and I was much less adventurous back then. I might try it now, but that's a big "might". I've never cared much for dinuguan, either.

I checked out the recipe and would like to try it. Should I need to omit the 4 teaspoons of Godiva Liqueur, would orange juice work in its place?

The recipes I remember people mentioning were a prime rib recipe , a spatch-cocked chicken recipe, and one for a chicken and rice dish. All were very much underdone using the times given in the recipes and more than one person had the same result. For people who are experienced cooks, or who have meat thermometers, the times given in these recipes are not that important, but for new and inexperienced cooks they are often crucial to the success of a dish. Another problem mentioned was that some of the instructions in the recipes would say "Add (ingredient) to (whatever)" but there would be no such ingredient listed. I should also mention that the same people who made these comments liked the book very much. They said the recipes made very tasty food and they continued to use the book, despite the problems they had with some of the recipes. The French bread recipe was especially popular. I am in no way recommending against HTCE, I was just wondering if the comments I had read before were justified.

At the risk of posting off-topic... I've read many negative comments about Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. Most have been about incorrect cooking times indicating that the recipes had not been thoroughly tested before being published. Of those of you who recommended this book, have you had similar results or has the book been fairly spot-on in your experience? Costco in my city has this book right now and I am tempted to buy it, but wanted more feedback before doing so.

Ameyokocho! I couldn't remember the name at all! And that building looked a little divey, didn't it? Actually, that whole area looked divey. And yes, it was a fabulous place for foodies--especially those who enjoyed other Asian cuisines. A lot of Asian ex-pats shopped there, too, and I remember seeing a lot of Filipinos there (it was one of the few places where one could buy Filipino goods). Oh, I used to get lamb there, too, as there was one stall where it was relatively cheap. Oh, and I could get cilantro there! It was so difficult to buy cilantro at that time, but I could get a bunch for Y100 there! Ameyokocho was usually my last stop before heading home (Tochigi-ken, at that time) since I would load up on perishables and some heavy canned goods. I think I'll have to make a trip to Tokyo every few months just to visit that place again . Now there's something to look forward to (along with French pastry shops, sushi that isn't made with frozen fish, amazing tempura...).