Hiroyuki

Thank you for your anecdotes. I found them most interesting. >Few people understand the internal logic of Japanese cuisine, particularly the importance of rice and seasonality. I couldn't agree with you more. >Very few people--and I include Japanese on this list-make their own dashi. I found it interesting that Ajinomoto was a sponsor of this "Shokuiku" conference, since they are largely responsible for the fast fooding of Japan. Like it or not, we live in a world of commercialism, and I must admit I'm a regular user of instant dashi powder. >Japanese food is hard to cook at home for those who aren't used to it. Almost all classes on Japanese cooking are sushi making classes, not home cooking. Therefore, Japanese food abroad is found exclusively in restaurants. Japanese do not eat sushi every day. The health benefits of the Japanese diets lie in home cooking, which is unknown abroad. Good point. >I disagree with Mogi's idea that it is possible to "correct" the misuse of Japanese ingredients. I think once people like Ferran get hold of an ingredient, there's no stopping them--nor should there be. Look at all the odd uses Japanese have found for mayonnaise. "Sushi" is no longer Japanese--it has passed into the global culinary lingua franca, along with "pizza" and "tapas," inevitably getting bastardized in the process. It also is getting enriched--look at the creation of the California roll or spider roll--now very popular in Japan. Contact always creates both confusion and new ideas. I agree with you. I don't know why some Japanese people suddently turn nationalistic about Japanese ingredients when they use foreign ingredients the way they want. >Incidentally, I don't think many outsiders know just how much commercial, pre-prepared food is consumed in Japan. Or in France, for that matter. That is the problem, and that's one of the reasons why many people consider shokuiku necessary. The eating habits of the Japanese have changed so drastically over the past fifty years that many people think that they need to be corrected.

I had a lot of difficulty understanding what you meant... Now I think I know what you mean. You don't need to set them down, just hold the chopsticks with your left hand, turn them around, and hold them again with your right hand. I admit I do this sometimes, but I think it's a bad manner. You should provide a pair of chopsticks specifially for what you call the communal bowl.

One of the things that strike me as odd when I look at photos of dishes presented on the table here on eGullet is how they place the chopsticks. I often see them placed vertically. While this way of placing chopsticks seems common in China and Korea, the Japanese way is different - placing them horizontally, like this. Besides, the rice bowl (o-chawan) is placed on the left and the o-wan containing miso soup on the right. Well, I may be nitpicking, since most of you here are non-Japanese.

Sorry for getting off topic, but do you call McDonald's Makku for short? I assumed that Osaka people called it Makudo.

I'm stitting here with my mouth wide open. I buy Nishiki rice in 20 pound bags for about $13.00 . ← Me too. We eat a lot of rice because it's cheap, not to mention the kids love it. Generally a 20 lb bag of Nishiki or Botan and two 1 lb bags of Jasmine rice (about $2/lb at Trader Joes) lasts us at least a month. ← Sorry, I don't know why, but I made a mistake here. I can get a 10-kg bag of Koshiibuki rice for 3,500 to 4,000 yen here, not 4,500 yen. Even that price range is quite high by international standards. But you should know that Koshihikari rice is much more expensive. Two years ago, I regularly bought a 10-kg bag of Shiozawa-produced Koshihikari for about 7,000 yen. If you want to buy Koshihikari rice of the same quality in Tokyo, I think you have to pay up to 12,000 yen.

from http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/scene...218TDY13006.htm In June 10, 2005, the Shokuiku Kihon Hou (Basic Law for Food Education) was enacted. Dr. Hattori is a long-time proponent of shokuiku (food education) and is a member of the Shokuiku Suishin Kaigi (Food Education Promotion Conference).

Imports are allowed, but the government imposes tariffs on imported rice. In 1995, the Shokkan Hou (Food Control Law) was repealed and replaced by the Shokuryo Hou. Under the new law, anyone can sell rice provided they are registered. That is, farmers can sell their rice directly to consumers. In 2004, the planned distribution system was abolished, which means there is no longer jishu ryuutsuu mai 自主流通米 (voluntary marketed rice). Japan is moving toward a free market, but only at a snail's pace.

I sent them (I mean the Secretariat or something) a letter immediately on Feb. 17, but I haven't received a reply. I can send them a reminder any time, but I have to be tactful to make him want to speak to us, because he is probably one of the most busiest men in Japan. Do you have a message to him? Any suggestions?

They are. Just click 第...対戦, and the video will start. Other shows? None at the moment, but I'll keep that in mind.

Italian cuisine: Nihon Italia Ryori Kyokai (Japanese Italian Cuisine Assosiation?) http://www.a-c-c-i.com/index.html Not-for-profit organization founded in 1988. About 80 members, mainly Italian restaurant chefs. To contact them, access the site and click サイトへの お問い合わせ in the last box on the left, above 【人材募集中！】 in red letters. French cuisine: France Ryori Joho Service (French Cuisine Information Service?) http://www.french.ne.jp/index.htm Run by a council whose members include Club des Trente (of Japan) and Club MlSTRAL. To contact them, access the site, scroll down, and click お問い合わせ on the left side, above "Google". I can't find any Chinese or Japanese cuisine chef club.

First of all, I was unable to find any mailing list. Have you checked out this thread? Senjo no Restaurant is a project of Chojin Chef Club. You can't contact them from the website above. To contact them, go to Senjo no Restaurant website and click お問い合わせ at the upper right corner. I'll provide links to some more chef clubs later.

That won't be necessary. I think I've found the best solution to your problem: Heat the grid on high heat enough before placing onirigi. 1. Heat the grid on high heat, with no onigiri on it. (I didn't measure the time, but I think I heated it for al least two minutes.) 2. Place onigiri on it. Lower the heat. Let the bottom of the onigiri dry. Don't touch the onigiri or turn them over. A common mistake is to touch or turn over the onigiri too early or too often. (I let them dry for about two minutes.) 3. Turn them over. Voila! No rice grains are stuck on the grid! (I was successful with two out of three. For one, one or two rice grains were stuck on the grid.) Then, you can apply seasoning such as a mixture of miso and sake (or mirin) or soy sauce. Is this solution too time-consuming? Edited to add: Let me add a link to this wonderful serious of pictures, apparently drawn by some nursery school kids.

I don't have enough time to do an extensive research. I'll give you just one example: from http://www.setuyaku-kakeibo.com/0_4_enquet..._shokuhi_00.htm (Japanese only) No. of family members/No. of replies/average food expense (in yen)/average income/Ratio of food expense to income x 100 1 25 26,300 185,417 14% 2 224 36,663 336,468 11 3 105 41,165 308,252 13 4 98 52,088 350,000 15 5 41 62,917 371,250 17 6 or greater 22 68,370 369,048 19 P.S. I want a tabulation function!!

Many Japanese, including me, think of a food expense on a monthly basis, not on a weekly basis. I don't keep a record, so I can only give you rough figures. I think my family of four spend about 40,000 to 60,000 yen a month on food, excluding rice. We spend about 9,000 yen on rice a month. (A 10-kg Koshiibuki rice bag costs about 4,500 yen and we use it up in half a month.) You know, rice is Japan's staple food, and Japanese tend to think of it separately from other foodstuffs. Thus, our weekly food expense is roughly 12,000 to 18,000 yen. I think ours is average. The above figures do not include an eating out expense. When we eat out, we spend about 2,000 to 3,000 yen. Since we moved to a new home last October, we haven't eaten out yet.

As I suggested somewhere else, 'plum wine' is a misnomer because 'umeshu' is merely a combination of Japanese plums (ume), white liquor, and sugar (usually koori zatou).

Hi, sizzleteeth, I'm glad to see you again on eGullet. I noticed this thread last night, and I've been wondering what questions I can make since then, the kind of questions that can make you laugh and think. Unfortunately, I can't think of any up until now, mainly because of my lack of knowledge of India . So, for now, let me ask you some basic questions, which may be too boring for a smart guy like you to answer. So, here they are: 1. Why India now? 2. What foods did you bring back home? 3. What is your next destination? (Is it a secret?) 4. If there is one place that truly represents India, where is it?

Good question! I did googling and found some solutions to your problem. I'll make yaki-onigiri and post the best solution later.

Nira reba

Thanks. That's what I thought when I first saw it in a TV program here in Japan.

One of the things I didn't know until quite recently is that panko are not bread crumbs. The other day, I did a lot of searching and learned a lot about panko. I think that all manufacturers make panko that way.

Isn't it possible that these poorly written reviews are by Japanese customers? Are you all suggesting that there are no Japanese visiting that restaurant?

This is correct - most Vietnamese restaurants in the uS actually use Cafe du Monde dark roast coffee - the New Orleans product that is a coffee and chicory blend. My favorite local Viet restaurant has switched over to a Vietnames import - more costly but it makes an iced Viet style coffee far superior to any other brand I've tried Trung Nguyen Coffee My favorite iced coffee drink is a home brewed variation of the Starbuck Frappuccino style drink. I make mine to have far less sugar content and lower fat (not to mention that it cost me 50 cents instead of $4.00!) Use a full bodied coffee such as a good French roast. Reduce by 50% the amount of water used to make the coffee. I sometimes also add a couple spoons of Ferrara's Instant Espresso powder while it's hot. Most important is to use small ice cubes and a good strong blender that is capable of finely crushing the ice. I suggest the Braun Powermax Blender It has a stronger motor than anything else in its class and in my experience actually does a better job at crushing than the Waring and other brands in the $100 - $150 range. Do not over blend - mixture will separate more rapidly after serving if you do so. Lately I've been experimenting with adding food grade carageenan as a binding agent to prevent separation - if doing this use a very small amount - about 1/4 teaspoon in a blender full of ice and mix. My attempts at using pectin for this purpose were disasterous. Using ice cubes made of espresso or strong coffee also adds a nice kick. 1 1/2 cups cold extra strong coffee simple syrup to taste 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract Stir to dissolve ingredients while hot Add cooled mixture to 1/2 cup milk with fat level of your choice before storing. Shake well before adding to blender. This recipe is intended for use with 3 cups of ice cubes. ← In Japan, where iced coffee is quite popular, there are clear guidelines to make good iced coffee (which agree with your descriptions): 1. Use dark roast coffee beans. The darker, the bitter, the more bodied, and the less acidic. 2. Use less water to make stronger coffee. 3. Cool the coffee quickly. If cooled slowly, the coffee will get cloudy.

Hmmm I don't think I have had the pleasure of trying it yet, what does it look like and what is it called? My favorite so far is Morinaga Mild Coffee. When I first had it I could have sworn that I had mistakenly picked up a carton of melted coffee ice cream. Now Hiroyuki has me all worried about my sugar intake... Beer, sugar, butter, next thing you know I will find out kimchi is bad for me. ← As someone in your host country, I do care about your health. I know you are still young and 100 g of sugar a day may not be too much, though. I think you drink the same type of coffee drink as that that torakris mentioned.

It's time to update this thread! Here is how to scale a fish with a rubber spatula: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1bYxHiYyCU&search=urawaza

Is it clear to everyone what Sakura Bana means? Cherry Blossom(s)! In Japan, the cherry blossom season is just around the corner. I wonder if Sakura Bana offers a seasonal menu that represents the name of the restaurant.