shinju

Ohhh, that looks very good. How long did you saute after adding the miso sauce?

Sorry to ask a question regarding yuzu here, but not sure where to ask. How tall does yuzu trees get? I have one in a garden container now (no fruits yet) but want to plant the tree in the ground in the backyard. I'm a bit worried about this tree since some of the leaves are turning yellow and falling.

Wow, congrats on your soba making. Looks great! I used to make my own soba often when my mom was still living, but haven't in a while. My method is traditional and very time consuming. Although I make pasta using the pasta machine I never thought about using it for soba. Will definitely try it. BTW, my soba is also 100% soba flour and if not quite right, it does crumble easily.

Hiroyuki, those are great looking pictures. All the food looks very delicious especially sazae and awabi. Very hard to find awabi in the US.

John and I talked about our experiences with Otokomae tofu in the tofu thread. Their tofu has become so popular. I can find some of their products even in my small city. But, they are so expensive that have bought one only once. ← Although the texture is very creamy I haven't quite made up my mind whether I like this tofu over others. It is sweet to my taste (maybe too sweet for my taste) and the mouthfeel is crazy as it seem somewhat similar to panna cotta. I threw away the package, but I wonder if they add anything to their tofu other than what's standard. Having said this it's very possible I may end up liking this tofu over others.

Very interesting. I've been using sake (16% alcohol) as well as shochu for making umeshu and never ran into any problems. My umeshu is never refrigerated and I also do not make mine overly sweet. I do not like the taste of white liquor either. It tastes very harsh to me. Did not know that Japan requires 20 proof or more.

I tried the tofu Smallworld used for her salad. This tofu is new to me and new to our neighborhood Japanese market, Nijiya. The only difference between her package and the one I purchased was the writing. The one being offered here in Mountain View CA shows the kanji Otoko. I was very surprised at how they packaged the tofu inside. It was wrapped neatly in paper and as soon as I sliced into it I knew it was going to be very creamy. Not only creamy, but very, very rich and pleasantly sweet. It wasn't quite kinugoshi/silken, but not quite regular/momen either because the texture was too smooth for momen. I really like it, but I did find it very filling - much more so than regular tofu. Not sure how they make this, but I can tell from the taste that they used very, very rich soy milk.

It's kaiware - sprouted daikon. I really like them as topping for many dishes especially on salads and soups.

So many wonderful and delicious looking dishes from all. I had quite a bit of leftover filling from the gyoza and used that to make wafu style cabbage roll. I also added leftover rice and tofu.

Not from that meal, but this one is pretty much the same: The base is spinach (as you can see, Japanese spinach has smaller, flat leaves) and wakame seaweed dressed with ponzu, ground sesame and sesame oil. Next is tofu, topped with katsuobushi and drizzled with a bit more ponzu. This is my standard salad, with the greens and dressing changing depending on what's available (ponzu and olive oil is also a really nice dressing for tofu salad or hiya-yakko). It's important to use good tofu-- here I've used one from my favourite tofu maker, Otokomae Tofu, called Masahiro: The bottom of the package is stamped with the kanji for "otoko", or man. The tofu retains the stamp when out of its package, which looks pretty cool when splashed with soy sauce as for hiya-yakko but is invisible when covered with katsuobushi! ← I just saw these tofu at Nijiya Market here in Mountain View CA and purchased one. They come in small three pack, one pictured in your post, and larger one. I can't wait to try it. And of course for comparison too!

What a wonderful story. : My first taste of fresh yuba was also in Nikko many years ago. Were the dishes he served French or Japanese?

I apologize for not posting the instructions earlier. I make tofu and yuba basically following instructions from “The Book of Tofu” by Shurtleff and Aoyagi with some minor tweaks. You can make yuba either by soaking soy beans or buying soy milk. I don’t buy soy milk and instead purchase soy beans online from a farmer in Midwest. Ingredients: 1 ½ C whole dried soybeans, washed, soaked in enough water to cover completely for at least 8 hours. I usually soak overnight 7 ½ C water 2 C hot water 2 C hot water Instructions: 1. Boil 7 ½ C water in a large non-stick pot. 2. Divide drained beans in 2 equal portions. Blend one portion of beans with 2 C hot water and pour this into the non-stick pot containing 7 ½ C boiling water. Repeat with remaining beans. 3. Place a colander over a large bowl (I usually have two bowls ready for this). Colander should be lined with cheese cloth or preferably cotton straining bag. Extract milk. Be careful, it’s very hot. I use a canning jar pushing down on the bag to extract milk. Now you have soy milk and okara. Use okara for other uses. 4. Pour the milk into a wide non-stick pot and heat the soy milk to 175 F. It takes about 7 min for yuba to form. Wait until the yuba is attached to the walls of the pot. Don’t rush it. For more delicate yuba, see variation below. 5. Trim film away from the pot using a small knife and with your fingertips lift up one edge of yuba and insert a long chopstick underneath to lift up. Drain over the pot for a few seconds. Repeat until soy milk is all used up. What’s left in the pot is red film known as amayuba (a delicacy on it's own). Scrape this off too with spatula. 6. Roll each yuba into rolls. Variation: Half formed yuba takes 4 to 5min steaming before the yuba has had the chance to attach to the sides of pot instead of 7 min steaming . Using your fingertips lift the yuba (very delicate) and serve immediately.

Thank you Hiroyuki for the info on Soy Milk Udon. I might give it a try next week. I've been itching to make soba and udon again. Usually udon turns out ok (my grandmother used to make homemade udon often and I learned how to make it from hearing how she made it through my mother), but the last time I made soba, it did not come out well and I want to make better soba again. Also, thank you for your compliment on my kitchen. My husband and I gutted and rebuilt the kitchen ourselves.

I'm glad I don't have to translate it for you. Another site says it's chewy and firm. ←

Hi Artal - let me get all the info for posting a recipe tomorrow. Like making bread, pasta, udon, soba, ice cream and such, making tofu and yuba takes practice. Don't give up too quickly. My first effort in making tofu seemed fine (at least it looked ok), but in retrospect the taste was lacking and perhaps too bitter. The same with yuba. My first few attempts produced yuba that was very wet and not well set.

showtopic=5369&view=findpost&p=1473196]here. Shinju, are you referring to my dinner? 9,450 yen included everything. The only regret is that I went there by car so I was unable to have that wonderful sashimi with sake... ←

If that included the cost of your children's meals, and the yakitori, then I would say that is very reasonable. If only I could find good quality sashimi and sushi for that price in the Kansai area! Hi Rona, yes, I thought the bill included all other dishes. No? But, it's still good price. And abalone too.

I like making my own tofu and yuba and make them at least every other week. Since I've been making my own tofu for over 4 years I have gotten better at knowing which type and amount of nigari works best for different types of tofu. For making Zaru Doufu I like using liquid nigari and find that it produces tofu with less bitterness and more softness to tofu. Here is what it looks like: With some gomadare with spices: I usually soak enough beans to make one tofu and another batch for making yuba. Here is what it looks like simmering and cooking in the pan: I use my finger to lift up yuba much like turning crepes with fingers and insert a long chopstick to dry out for a bit over the pot like this: Then these are rolled one by one like this: I've seen some reference to yuba and soy milk being added for making udon. Has anyone ever tasted this? If you have, did you like it? I've thought about making it but not sure what taste and texture I should be aiming for. I assume it's more slippery than normal thick udon?

Thank you Jason for the info. The Walker Plus looks like fun site and will be using it. Thank you also Artal. I also like Japanguesthouse and have used it several times with excellent results. But, it is still limited in scope and wish there were more web sites where people outside of Japan can readily review ryokan/onsen and be able to make reservations online. I take group of friends and relatives from US to Japan at least once a year - I have more people who are interested in going than I can comfortably take at one time. Although it's fun to show them Japan, especially for the first time visitors, it's not easy making reservations outside of Japan. I enjoy taking them to ryokan with quality food offerings and it's been hit and miss so far.

What are good online sites for ryokan/onsen review and reservation in Japanese and or English? Those specializing in regional or quality food is most appreciated.

Extremely reasonable? It was 9,450 yen not 945 yen, is that clear? ← yes, very or extremely reasonable compared to what you may pay in Bay Area CA for the same quality and style.

Beautiful looking sushi and sashimi Hiroyuki. There is no question about the freshness - you can see the moisture glistening from all the pieces unlike some water sprayed pictures shown in cooking magazines and cookbooks. And I am so envious! Prices are extremely reasonable too.

This is also good too with salmon. Sake to Kinokono Hoiruyaki 2 servings: 2 pieces of salmon 1 pack enoki mushrooms 1/2 pack shimeji 1/2 to 1 negi (long green onion), cut in 2 inches long Tare: 1 T sesame paste 2 T miso 1 T sake 1 T mirin 1/2 T sesame oil 1/2 tsp shoyu pepper to taste 1 T butter Place salmon, enoki and shimeji mushrooms and negi in a aluminum foil large enough to cover completely like a pocket. Make tare and spread tare between the two salmon in aluminum foil. Dot with some butter. Completely close it and bake 10-15 minutes in oven toaster or 375 oven. BTW Sheena, my nephew also attends a grad school in upstate NY and wanted to cook his favorite fish (saba) in his apartment without offending other occupants. He was taking saba to Japanese or Korean restaurants so that they could grill the fish for him. Hearing that, I bought him one of those smokeless electric fish griller. He loves it and uses that to cook mostly everyhing now. Although it does help to lessen the smell of fish, it does not totaly eliminate it. I have one too and I use that to grill all my fish now.

My favorite fish is also saba. Normally I like my fish grilled very simply with salt with a side of daikonoroshi and shoyu. I can have this every other day. Another simple method with saba is to make several cuts (not all the way through) and insert lemon or lime slices before grilling. This is very nice too. Sometimes I like saba no misoni with gobo. You cook saba with sake, mirin, sugar, soyu, and miso. With buri, I like buri daikon. Another style I like somestimes is grilling fish with some type mayo sauce such as mayo, white miso, minced umeboshi. Spread over fish and grill. But, you will need to do some shitaaji with fish first (sake and shoyu sprinkled over fish for 10 minutes before grilling).

That looks so good! I love all things noodle. Did mentaiko more or less cover the taste of uni? Or can you actually taste uni too?