Hiroyuki

Do post some pictures of the show or maybe a streaming video of it for those who can't watch the show on TV, like me.

Kinpira gobo (burdock). Visit the kinpira thread in the Japan Forum. A recipe

It's almost mid-April, but we had the first fukinotou (butterbur sprouts) this spring, mainly because of the heavy snowfall this winter. My wife made fukinotou tempura and fuki-miso for supper. I wasn't like this when I was in Tokyo, but now I can never feel spring has come unless I have some fukinotou. I learned from a site that 'spring bitterness' is good for the body. I must admit that fukinotou are quite bitter and are not particularly tasty, but my body needs them at this time of year.

I'm glad that you say so - they are better the second day - just like Japanese curry . Mostly as a side dish. In other dishes?? Not that I know of.

Thanks, Helen. I forgot to mention one important thing: NO DASHI for my takikomi gohan!

I submitted a takikomi gohan recipe here on RecipeGullet. Final product: I know, I know. I'm not a serious home cook. Anyone care to try my recipe and compare it with a meticulous one?

That's my problem as well. I found this blog months ago, but I really don't want to make tonkotsu ramen and eat it for days...

Foolproof Takikomi Gohan Recipe Most takikomi gohan recipes are more complicated than they need be and are also prone to mistakes, a common mistake being that the resultant rice becomes rather soggy. Here is a simple, foolproof recipe for mushroom takikomi gohan. 720 ml (4 gou) Japanese short-grain rice. 1 gou = 180 ml = 150 g (in the case of rice) 1/2 carrot 1 pkg mushroom (oyster mushroom, for example) 1 abura-age Seasonings 4 T soy sauce 3 T sake 2 T mirin 1. Wash rice in a rice cooker pot with several changes of water, and drain water by tilting the pot. Set aside. 2. Cut carrot into julienne. 3. Pour hot water over abura-age to remove excess oil. First cut abura-age lengthwise into half and then cut into stripes. 4. Cut off stem end of mushroom and discard. Divide mushroom into pieces by hand. Put in a bowl and rinse with water lightly. Put in a colander to drain. 5. Put 1 cup (= approx. 250 ml) of water in a pot (NOT the rice cooker pot), add soy sauce, sake, and mirin. Add mushroom. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat in a few seconds. Put mushroom in a colander to separate it from liquid. DON'T DISCARD THE LIQUID; let it cool. 6. FIRST put carrot and abura-age in the rice cooker pot and add the liquid. THEN add additional water up to the 4-gou level. (See the photo above.) Place the rice cooker pot in the cooker and turn on the cooker. 7. When the rice is cooked, add mushroom and mix well. Serve in a rice bowl. You can discuss takikomi gohan here Keywords: Easy, Japanese ( RG1701 )

I'm pretty sure menma is what you are looking for. Ramenya use it. Another name for menma is shina chiku (lit. Chinese bamboo).

What's your recipe, John? According to this recipe http://gourmet.yahoo.co.jp/seturl?mid=japa...1003&id=T001004 you first blanch the satoimo for 4-5 minutes, drain, wash them one by one under running water gently to remove the numeri (slime?). Then you put the satoimo back in the pan, add dashi. When it boils, turn the heat to medium, simmer for 5-6 minutes while skimming foam, add sugar and mirin, simmer for another 5-6 minutes. Add soy sauce and put on a paper lid (paper towel?) and simmer for about 20 min. over low heat. When the satoimo become soft and the liquid is reduced, occassinally shake the pot gently so as not to let the satoimo fall apart. The word "nikorogashi" comes from from this step: rolling (korogasu) the satoimo while simmering (ni-ru). I prefer the word "nikkorogashi" because it's funny-sounding. You can see photos of many of the steps by clicking [ 写真を見る ]. What a meticulous recipe!! My recipe? Just boil satoimo for 2-3 minutes, add instant dashi powder, sugar and mirin first and soy sauce later. It takes less than 10 minutes to cook them. Then I just let the dashi liquid seep through the satoimo. And, remember, satoimo no nikkorogashi tastes really good the next day!! You can see a video of another recipe here http://www.manma-miya.jp/recipe/2523/2523.html Click 動画でチェック to view it. This particular recipe is for "slime-less" simmered satoimo.

That's what I want to know. Anyone?

I heard that warabi mochi is a kansai thing, is this true? warabi mochi is my favorite wagashi. I am lucky there are two wagashi vendors that have very good warabi mochi near my house, and the upscale supermarket sometimes has it for 100yen for 7 pieces. I like the kinako type the best. I think I will try to make warabi mochi if I see warabiko anywhere. I dont eat warabi mochi or bracken often because it has been shown to cause stomach cancer (source: English, Japanese): ← Yes, that's true. Warabi mochi is mainly a Kansai thing. I think this has been discussed somewhere in the Japan Forum. In Osaka, you can see warabi mochi peddlers in the summertime. Helen must be familiar with them. I know warabi contains a cancer-causing substance. My opinion is that two or three warabi shoots a day when they are in season won't cause you any harm.

I checked her recipe and found it called for beef... I'm a Kanto man, born and bred in Tokyo. For me, niku-jaga is supposed to be made with pork, not beef!

It's not a big deal after all. If you find any worms before you cook the fish, just remove them. Heat the fish in some way or other (grill, simmer, etc.), and the worms will die. Eat only sashimi-grade fish raw.

Thanks, John. These tools will reduce the number of posts that I have to deal with!

I should have searched for Higashiyama-tokyo rather than 東山東京. Here are some links: http://www.simplicity.co.jp/higashiyama_tokyo/top03-2.htm http://www.hike-shop.com/cul/bassin/bassin2.htm http://www.flickr.com/photos/49258984@N00/32856876 Looks like a high-class Japanese restaurant. I still can't find any information on the other restaurant, Matsu, except that the fact that it is a Japanese restaurant.

Reaction? Natto is just like any other food for one-year olds. I don't recall any particular reaction when I first fed my children with natto. Believe it not, natto is a favorite of many children throughout Japan, and my children are no exceptions. My son, in particular, used to eat one pack of natto every morning when he was two to three years old. Milk was recommended as a healthy drink when I was small too. It's just that my two children drinks more milk than I did in my childhood and probably than many other children of their ages. Like someone else said, I'm sometimes surprised to see how readily other parents allow their children to drink sweet drinks. Well, when a Japanese refers to "purin", he/she almost always means pudding made from milk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

I'm glad that many of you here speak so highly of the original Japanese version. I was one of those many Japanese enthralled by the show in the 90s. I even had this silly illusion that this show would last forever and Chairman Kaga was a real person. When the show was announced to be discontinued rather prematurely, I came to a sudden realization that it was just a TV show. I now describe the show as pretentious and spectacular, but above all, it was a good show. Now I'm a regular viewer of Senjo no Restaurant.

Their reply: Translation, with some additional information: The restaurants in Tokyo where you can drink (not buy) them are: 1. Higashiyama Tokyo 1-21-25 Higashiyama, Meguro ward Phone: 03-5720-1300 Koshihikari lager and muscat wine tizer (sp??) in bottles Higashiyama Lounge Location: Same as above Koshihikari lager and sunset lager in bottles 2. Matsu 1st floor, ATY building, 3-28-12, Ebisu, Shibuya ward Phone: 03-3442-3915 Koshihikari lager in barrels There is surprisingly little information on these restaurants. Neither of them seems to have an official website.

Sheesh! the search I did on Google before asking my question brought up the Sanrio character (Purin the dog), but not the "pudding" connection. Any idea why "pudding" is spelled as "purin" in katakana, and not as pu-di-n-gu? ← I'm not sure, but it's easy to imagine that when the Japanese first heard the word "pudding", they thought they heard it as "purin".

A mistranslation of curry!!! ← Wow! ← I'm still trying to puzzle out the correct translation of "purine"! ← Tha'ts easy enough. Purin, プリン, custard pudding? I'm amazed at the low quality of the translation. Are we really in the 21st century?

No problem. I just sent them another inquiry.

The man who manages the Hall of Strange Food has this blog. John, did you post a link to this site? I don't think I have much to contribute to this thread because, unlike John, I've never been fascinated by any of those strange foods.

Wow, doomo arigato gozaimashita Hiroyuki san! That was some great info on Koshihikari there. Unfortunately, the Japanese characters are showing up on my Mac as wierd characters and I will have to find another computer to properly load the webpages. But I'm both saddened and surprised to see Hoshihikari only being available for a limited time That is one amazing beer and if only for one time, I'd urge anyone who loves beer to splurge on it and savour it. I think the spring water gives it a unique crispness, taste and superior thirst quenching properties. Strange seeing how alcohol actually dehydrates. For those who haven't tried Hoshihikari....gogogogo, get it b4 its too late. ← I thought I should post some more information about their availability, so I sent an inquiry to the company. I'll post a reply here. ← I received a reply from Nihonkai Yuuhi Brewery today. Here's a summary of the reply: Q1. Can I purchase your beers individually not as a set? A1. For home delivery, we have a styrofoam box for six bottles and a cardboard box for 30 bottles. We will pack what the customer requests, and we will accept only a single type. For more details, contact us. Q2. How can I get your beers in Tokyo, for example? A2. There are two shops where you can drink our beers, but there is none that sells them. Thus, they are available by home delivery (only). Q3. One site says that Koshihikari lager and baisen Koshihikari lager are available in a limited time only. What exactly is the limited time? A3. Basically, we manufacture and sell them all year around.

I ended up making the same old nimono (simmered dish), using kizami kombu, carrot, shiitake, uchi mame (beaten soybeans?), and aburaage. Sorry, I can't be creative with stuff like this...