Hiroyuki

v. gautam: Thanks for all your suggestions. I know that watermelons require pollination (I do the hand pollination almost every day these days, preferably before 9 o'clock in the morning), and the area covered by the fabric already has four or six watermelons, some of which are already quite large. Galvanized chicken wire should be a good idea, and I will consider using it, because, as you have pointed out, I'm worried about the increases in humidity caused by the fabric. As for Momotaro, there is more to the story: The chairman of Takii (seed company) has a grandchild named Taro, and Momo (peach) suggests the color of this variety. Thus, Momo + taro. As for konasu, which you mentioned upthread, I don't think it's considered a kyoto vegetable. It simply means small (ko) + egglant (nasu).

Yes, Kyoho is the name of a variety, 巨峰 in kanji. Kyoho is said the king of grapes in Japan. My father grows it along with other varieties.

On July 8, my vegetable garden looks like this. My biggest concern is how to protect the watermelons from bird damage. I have spread Paopao (unwoven fabric) over the watermelons, but I wonder if this serves the purpose.

In Japan, we have this category of ice cream: lacto ice. By definition, it contains a milk solid content of not less than 3%. I prefer this type of ice cream to rich and heavy, real ice cream. At least in Japan, it is said that ice cream (and other ice cream-like products) sells well at 27C (80.6F) and higher, but at 30C (86F) and higher, shaved ice (kaki goori in Japanese) sells better.

As I mentioned years ago, a rubber spatula works like a charm (depending on the type of fish), and the scales won't scatter about. Some even suggest using a spoon and the cap of a plastic bottle.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the type of yaki nin'niku you described. I did some googling but failed to find any recipe that matches your description. Could you provide some more information?

I have only ever heard it called ohitashi, but it seems to a regional difference, this link (in Japanese) shows a Japanese person asking the same question and basically learning that either pronunciation is okay. ← Ohitashi is still a standard term because it comes from the verb "hitasu" (to soak). Part of the problem is that Edokko (people born and bred in Edo, i.e., former Tokyo) were unable to pronounce hi and replaced it with shi. Even today, many older people living in Tokyo have difficulty distinguishing between hi and shi and/or pronoucing hi. To tell you the truth, my mother, who is in her 70s, is one of such people! Interestingly, just the opposite can happen in Kansai (Western Japan). They call a shichiya (pawnshop) a hichiya, shichi (seven) hichi, and shiku (to lay or spread) hiku.

Besides ohitashi (not oshitashi), it's good in miso soup, nibitashi (simmered with abura age in broth (for example, 8:1:1 ratio of dashi, mirin, and soy sauce), and goma ae (simply replace spinatch with komatsuna). It's also good in stir-fried dishes.

I checked the website of AFramesTokyo, and I found all the Shigefusa knives they offer are out of stock! Isn't it a shame? Zachary Tay may want to say something about the first and third shops you mentioned. As for the last one, Babashoten, I can't say anything other than that similar knives are less expensive at the shop I mentioned, Yoshizawa Riko. (I can't find any that exactly match in specifications.) As for your question, I really cannot answer. I hope someone chimes in! For your reference, Rakuten offers this service: http://event.rakuten.co.jp/borderless/infoservice/en/

For those of you who wish to know about the shop from which I bought my nakiri, visit my blog from here.

I got my first Shigefusa knife, nakiri. For more, click here.

No, I'm forever young! *** Have any of you tried Funwari Shokupan from Yamazaki? I have, and I have found the crust is incredibly soft. Photos of the bread can be found here in my blog.

Silk worm larvae!? I'm not a fan, but my father, who was born in Nagano (aka Shinshu), would be delighted to find them in Korea! Gragon's Beard, 16,384 strands! Very intriguing! Did you actually have one of those taiyaki (bungeo in Korean?)? Do they taste like Japanese taiyaki?

I'm not 100% sure but I think it's slugs and snails, not woodlice. It's interesting that you mentioned them, because the neighbor who gave us the strawberry seedlings said he had a lot of woodlice in his strawberry patch, and his patch is NOT 20 meters apart from ours! Your FIRST two eggplants? I hope you succeed!

I wonder how they eat tempura in Korea? With ten tsuyu? And, how they eat fresh abalone and flatfish and salmon sashimi in Korea? With soy sauce and wasabi? Thanks for posting intriguing photos as always!

I recently bought this bun: MR. BRAIN NOU TORE PAN, which is a collaboration between Yamazaki and TBS. I posted some photos here, along with some explanation.

I resorted to a pesticide after all, as I described here.

MomOfLittleFoodies: Thanks for your reply. I will try to find copper tape. prasantrin: I had the same problem when I grew some basil plants two years ago. I don't know of any immediate remedy, though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_miner

I have a problem with my vegetable garden: slugs! How to keep slugs away from my strawberries?

There is no other way other than to say ahiru no tamago.

No, I don't think so. They should be popular in Chinese cuisine. How do they differ from chicken eggs?

I've never seen or heard of bitter eggplants, either. In Japan, it is a common practice to soak eggplants in cold water for "aku nuki" (lit. harshness removal) after cutting.

That's a good question! I had never bothered to measure the weight of the tea leaves (should I say tea stalks?), and I have measured it today for the very first time, and it is about 10 g. My cup is large (300 ml), thus the ratio is: 10:300 = 1:30. My first brew is a quick one, as I previously mentioned, and my second is longer (10-20 seconds probably) to make sure that I can get all the components from the tea leaves. I dispose of the leaves after two brews. The third brew is drinkable, but can never be as good as the first or second brew.

I use the water directly from the thermos, which is probably at 90C, despite the manufacturer's recommended temperature of 80C, and I brew the kukicha for a very short time of 5 seconds or so. This way, I can get strong and astringent green tea.

Interesting. As I mentioned in my foodblog, kukicha is a favorite of mine, and I highly recommend kukicha. For those who are not familiar with Japanese terms, kuki = stem cha = tea fuka = deep mushi = streamed