shinju

I think there are different styles of kari kari ume. What I referred to as kari kari ume is ume that gets salt treatment. The ones you are asking about is the sweeter ume boshi that's closer to dried sweetened fruit. I love them too and I know the brand you are talking about. And you are right, it is called kari kari ume too. I've seen some Japanese recipes where ume is treated with sugar only but I've not tried that method. If I find a method of making the style of Tomuguchi brand, I'll post here. It's definitely dried and sugar or sugar substitute treated.

In my neighborhood in California you can purchase myoga but it has to be in season for Japanese markets to carry it. I usually start seeing in mid summer to September. I grow myoga in my garden too but my harvest is usually around late August. If you can find Japanese market nearby (perhaps in NYC), I think you may be able to find it in summer months.

No difference between naga negi and negi. Some people call them negi and others naga negi.

Thank you for these explanations. Is there a Chinese name for the flat, linguine type egg and wheat noodle? I'm beginning to feel that there are several mistakes in her book. For example her use of the word la mian. Now I'm beginning to wonder if la mian is used for both egg/wheat and all wheat noodle. She uses the term to describe the egg noodle.

Can you also provide Chinese character for the bao part? Thanks.

Please help me understand mian bao. According to C Trang of "Noodles Every Day" it is linguine like Chinese egg noodle. However, when I google I get some bun types showing up. Which is it?Thank you!

Pate? Sounds different.

Although not from seeds, but I have yuzu tree that is producing finally in my Silicon Valley area backyard full of other fruit trees. I had a heck of a time trying to locate this tree (now I can't even remember where I ordered), but I planted the tree about 2-3 seasons ago. I figured it would do well here because I have Meyers lemon, Bearss/Tahitian lime, mandarin oranges, Eureka lime and calamansi growing really well. From seeds, I was able to get enough vines from Japanese kyoho (is that the name? now I can't remember ) which produces really well here.

Wondering if anyone made better progress with kasutera recipes? Love to hear them!

My tiny yuzu tree which was planted about 1 1/2 in Northern CA has finally started to produce. Gave me 2 small yuzu It's a start nonetheless. Surprisingly these yuzu were not very juicy.

Helen, I appreciate you providing a recipe you have actually used to make ramen noodle. Were you happy with your results? I ask this question because although soba is certainly much better when homemade (at least to me), I don't necessarily find homemade spaghetti or udon any better than those available commercially. But, I am very interested in trying my hand in making ramen because it's not easy finding quality ramen noodle here in the US that I like.

Sanrenso - that tune takes me back to my youth. Yogurt kasutera sounds very interesting. I wish I had Bunmeido kasutera that I can do some serious comparison too. Jumanggy - thanks for the video and another good lead. Within a week, I plan on testing that recipe as well. Mary Elizabeth - I have Nijiya within 5 minutes drive in Mountain View. How was that one? I've purchased several at Nijiya in the past and have been disappointed. Don't remember the brands I purchased, but they seemed really dried out. Are you happy with your purchase? Last night I started my first kasutera. And, wouldn't you know it, I also made the same mistake by not oiling the pan that goes on top. I thought it would not touch, but I was wrong. My batter was quite thick going in after whipping for 6 minutes - I may back off on that a bit to make the batter thinner. The taste of was right on, not too eggy and not too honey-like. But, the 35-40 minutes in my oven was too long. I need to decrease the timing. It was bit too dry for my taste, but the texture was quite appealing. It was a little chewy - dense but light at the same time. I would like to see finer texture though. Still needs some tweaking due to my lack of technique and my oven that seems to overbake at times. I used 9 x 9 x 2 in square pan and it was too big for this recipe. Kasutera ended up being a little over 1 inch high. I also inverted the cake after it finished baking before covering it with plastic. The bottom is where it hit the top pan - so not much darkness there.

I looked at this recipe and it's quite similar to the one I'm testing tonight. Mine uses 4 eggs, 100 gram soft flour, 110 gram sugar, 2 T honey, and 1 1/2 T warm water. This ones does not separate the eggs, but whip for 5 minutes and and add honey and water. Combine flour in thirds mixing. Temperature originally at 180 degrees for first 7 minutes. Remove and cover with pan, reduce to 170 degrees for for 35 to 40 minutes. After removing from pan with cookie sheets, cover completely with plastic wrap and plastic for 12 hours. We will see how this ones goes. I'm using a square pan lined with baking sheets.

Oh, good, please try it and let us know so that perhaps we can make the perfect kasutera. I have one baking as we speak and will post the results tomorrow after it sits in the plastic overnight.

BTW, Mary Elizabeth, the dark areas are much more uniform now. The first ones were a lot darker on top that extended inwards than the sides or bottom.