Hiroyuki

I got a quick response from the hardware shop. Unfortunately, they do not accept orders from those overseas. You will have to use the type of service that prasantrin mentioned upthread or rely on me.

OK, sure. I'll ask the hardware shop.

It sounds obvious to me that freezing tofu makes it spongy, like koya dofu (also known as shimi dofu and koori dofu in Japanese).

How long can refrigerated natto last? I'm not sure but I'd say one to two weeks. When natto smells of ammonia, has turned dark brown, and is no longer thready, it's no longer good to eat. As for wasabi, wasabi is for the maguro. Whether the maguro, natto, and everything else should be mixed together? Well, I had a little discussion in my blog, where Kake provided a link to her beautiful natto maguro.

Anything can be boring if you don't care for it. Rice can be boring, bread can be boring, vegetables can be boring, and beef can be boring. The list can last forever. As for me, natto never fails to fascinate me, almost every morning. Cheap, a great source of protein, and yummy! I can't live without natto! As for the texture of natto when cooked, the slime is on the outside of each bean, so cooking natto makes it less slimy. For example, if you make miso soup with natto, the natto itself will be much less slimy, and the soup will become slightly slimy. If you make natto tempura, you won't tell it's slimy, but you will have to endure the odor while making natto tempura!

A quick Google search in Japanese will give you some answers: Porridge, tempura, and fried rice.

I've never done that, but if I had to do that, I'd probably disassemble the maki, separating the neta from the rice and nori, cook the neta thoroughly, and sear both sides of the sheet of rice and nori.

Probably they don't. But that's where I come in. If you are serious about getting it from that shop, just let me know. I'll write to them, asking them to deliver it to you by EMS or by any other appropriate means.

No, I guess that the brand, Hou-Kou-Lin (鳳皇琳), is that of the hardware store, Kawaguchi Kanamono Ten.

I will send him another reminder, probably in a day or two, but in the meantime, if you have decided which one to buy, just let me know.

Sorry, it's a deba, not a gyuto. The webpage says the HSS chef's knife is a Damascus steel knife. Every Damascus knife is just Damascus patterned, isn't it? Real Damascus steel has never been reproduced!

And this one: http://www.aframestokyo.com/index.html which lists Shigefusa chef's knives: http://www.aframestokyo.com/shigefusainventory.html I have one question for experts: Is Damascus the same as kitaeji??

Zachary Tay: Have you checked out this webpage? http://www.geocities.com/soatoz/hamono/Shi...usa_Gyutou.html

Did anyone know that Rakuten offers this service: http://event.rakuten.co.jp/borderless/index_en.html Rakuten International Shipping Services

Now you have several options: 1. Go ahead and buy the Shigefusa Damascus gyuto, the one that you initially wanted to buy. You can always send them an inquiry, asking for detailed information, including exact specifications, right? 2. If you still want to have a Shigefusa knife, other than the one above, get the 126,000-yen, "kitaeji" gyuto from Juumi: http://www.jumi.co.jp/shop/shop-image/sfkigyu.html or the cheaper, 65,100-yen "kasumi" gyoto from Juumi: http://www.jumi.co.jp/shop/shop-image/sfgyu.html Note that neither of them is a Damascus, which means they require regular maintenance because otherwise they will rust. Kitaeji vs. kasumi: A kitaeji knife is much more expensive than a kasumi one (about twice as expensive). A kitaeji blade looks like this: http://www.thehamono.com/sigefusa/html/sig...taeji_usuba.htm Another photo: http://www.frkw.com/index068.html See the second one from the top. I have found several online stores that sell Shigefusa knives, but none of them carries Shigefuza gyuto, except Juumi's. For example, Kawaguchi Kanamono Ten carries these Shigefusa knives http://hamono.ocnk.net/product-list/163 But, no gyuto. 3. Forget about Shigefusa and buy that HSS knife, mentioned upthread, or any other gyuto you find appropriate.

That is beautiful! Hiroyuki, do you know much about Seki's knife festival in October? I've been meaning to go, but never have, and since it's my last year in Japan, it's now or never! I know they'll have knife sales, but I have no clue as to what to buy or what to look for (doing my research now). I'm just wondering if you know of good Seki-specific manufacturers who might be at festival. Any particular knife makers I should be looking out for? (OK, I know it's several months away, but I like to plan ahead!) ← Why ask me? I'm not very interested in expensive knives. Anyway, this list of manufacturers at the hamono festival last year may be useful: http://www.sekicci.or.jp/event/hamono/mise.htm which includes Kai Jirushi, Masahiro, and Misono among others.

If you are interested in this knife, here is one thing to consider: You can have the handle (high compression super water-resistant handle) replaced with a desert iron wood one. Closeup photo of the desert iron wood: http://hamono.ocnk.net/zoom/10031 You can see a whole knife with that handle here: http://blog.goo.ne.jp/1212617555/e/e39cd1e...a1e5dd6d7f6f16e (BTW, this is the blog of this hardware shop, Kawaguchi Kanamono Ten. Maybe we can post some questions here.) Has anyone ever experienced using a high speed steel (HSS) knife? It seems to be a good knife (cuts well, wear-resistant, and rust-resistant), but some say it's hard to sharpen because of its hardness.

Apparently, this Damascus steel gyuto by Shigafusa is for export only, because I can't find it in any online knife stores in Japan. Does anyone have any info on this particular knife?

OK, some important information from the webpage: 本鍛造ダマスカス鋼　鳳皇琳　パウダーハイス 牛刀210ｍｍ　木鞘付き [ＤＨＦ-210] 販売価格: 36,500円 (税込) Fully forged Damascus steel Hou-Kou-Lin powder high speed steel gyuto 210 mm, with a wooden sheath [DHF-210] Sales price: 36,500 yen (tax included) 硬度63〜64ＨＲＣ Hardness: 63-64 HRC 食器洗浄器にも対応 Dishwashable Note: Zachary Tay and I have exchanged emails for weeks, and I have suggested that he make a post here to get help.

A lot of sushi restaurants in Japan don't have chawan mushi. Or dessert. Or anything else except sushi/sashimi and some beverages. I just order the things I like--anago (bonus points if they grill it in front of you), hotate, uni, ikura, maybe amaebi. They're generally on the expensive side, but I find they're pretty good indicators of quality. My Japanese friends who are sushi connoisseurs always try the egg at a new sushi place. They say it reveals the skill of the sushi chef. I don't particularly like the egg, but I'll eat it if it's there. And if I like it, then I tend to hold the sushi chef in higher esteem. ← Tamago (egg) is no longer a good indicator of how good a sushi chef is because many sushi shops buy premade tamago at the market nowadays, as Kuitan discussed with a head sushi chef in one of the Kuitan episodes (no longer available on YouTube). Anago and kohada (gizzard shad) are still good indicators because they both require elaborate work, as I mentioned in the Local Sushi Shop in Niigata thread in the Japan Forum. *** Chawanmushi is NOT so hard to make if you just follow my instructions here in my blog. High heat for 2 min. and then low heat for 10-13 min, depending on the volume.

I received a reply from Juumi this evening, which said that he seems to have deleted your email inadvertently because he thought it was spam. He says that if you send an email again, he will respond. I would suggest sending an email to both Juumi and me, so I can help Juumi if necessary.

Thanks for the photos and your interesting descriptions! As for the ekiben, are you talking about masu zushi (or masu no sushi), where masu means trout. Images of masu zushi Even some Japanese think that crab miso is crab brain! It's not. It's crab innards, midgut gland, to be exact.

Zachary Tay: I have just sent Juumi an email asking him to make a reply to either you (if in English) or me (if in Japanese).

From what I have learned from other sites, after you have finished the noodles, you first have your bowl of soup mixed with additional dashi (which is called "soup wari (mixing)" at that ramen shop) and then you put that hot stone in your bowl, so that you can reheat the soup before finishing it off. What kind of stone it is I can't determine, but let me tell you that such a yaki ishi (grilled stone) is not an invention of that ramen shop. There is a type of nabe (one-pot dish), in which such a stone is used for heating.

I would go to a new sushi restaurant at lunchtime to have a lunch if it's open at lunchtime. If I had to go there at night, I would sit at a table and order a set meal and look at the chef carefully to see how he treats the customers sitting at the counter.