Hiroyuki

This is Every (sp?) Burger of Bourbon. Website of Bourbon: http://www.bourbon.co.jp/english/top_a_eng.html Bourbon happens to be headquartered in the prefecture I live in, Niigata. It is just one example of the chocolate and chocolate snack series of Bourbon. Other products of this series can be found here http://www.bourbon.co.jp/sei/csnack.html The package of Every Burger says Burger of white chocolate sandwiched by cocoa bicuits

See posts #11 to #13 here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry826570 (I've always thought you are a man!)

Well, I think it's a great recipe. I can never bring myself to follow that recipe, though. In Japan, there are some yoshoku restaurants that spend a whole week making curry roux. Just one example: http://www.ctv.co.jp/gourmet/shop/2000/0921/06.html (Japanese only).

I found some wooden molds such as: http://www.castella.co.jp/castella/castell3.shtml Scroll down, and you will find one below step 5. http://www.shooken.com/history.html Scroll down, and you will find one above step 3.

I did find a castella mold, with some difficulty, here http://www.kyomachiya.net/tomo/kasi/08.html (Japanese only) Scroll down, and you will see a mold with a lid with characters SEIVC on it. Caution: All the webpages below are in Japanese only. There are a number of webpages that describe a castella mold made of newspaper. Examples are: http://park2.wakwak.com/~rahna/sinb.htm http://www2.wbs.ne.jp/~ked-oa/newpage48.html http://cookpad.com/riana/index.cfm?Page=re...90407&Mode=full I also found one that describes a mold make of a tissue paper box. http://cookpad.com/cocoachi/index.cfm?Page...67214&Mode=full

How do you keep mochi from becoming moldy? This morning, I found the remaining mochi, carelessly left in the original plastic bag under the sink at room temperature, were moldy. The mochi contained citric acid, and I had assumed that they wouldn't get moldy. Fortunately, they just started to gather mold, so I scraped off the moldy portions with a knife. In 1960s, when I was small, my mother still used the traditional method of storing mochi - keeping them in water. Such mochi are called mizu mochi (lit. water mochi). They get moldy sooner or later even if stored that way. Note that mizu mochi can mean a completely different thing: http://www.tenkoudou42.com/mizumoti.htm

Thanks for your description of kanzuri. OK, I'll give it a try and report back. Besides, I can't find yuzu koshou yet...

You got me! My interest in Niigata is limited to Shiozawa and the Uonuma district only. How about nanban miso then? It's not necessarily a specialty of Niigata, though. There is a group of people (middle-aged women) making nanban miso. http://www.s-dis.org/miso.html (Japanese only) Judging from this webpage, nanban miso is a mixture of red peppers, kouji (rice malt), and miso. (I've never tasted it.)

We recieved the results of the poll and number 1 was bibimbap! 2 was curry rice and 3 was a hamburger patty. I am pretty sure that 10 years ago most Japanese didn't even know what bibimbap was..... Mia said she voted for bibimbap while Julia voted for curry rice. ← Coincidentally, my son reported that they served bibimbap as the main dish at school lunch on Thursday, as determined by the poll by the fourth graders. My son likes bibimbap.

22 years ago, Seven Eleven started selling a revolutionary rice ball - tuna-mayo rice ball! from here http://www.tbs.co.jp/hanamaru/tokumaru/050117.html Do you like this one? Now the Japanese like the tuna and mayo combination very much.

I don't think that there are any traditional recipes for onigiri, but there are several tips for making good onigiri, such as 1. Make them while the rice is still hot. A professional onirigi maker makes onigiri from rice as hot as 72 C (162 F)! 2. Refrain from holding the rice too tight. A professional onigiri maker first makes rice into a soft ball and then finishes making it into a rice ball by holding it softy only 4 times. from here http://www.ktv.co.jp/ARUARU/search/aruonigiri/onigiri4.htm (Japanese only) *** I think the following method, which uses saran wrap, is really a good one (quite similar to mine): http://www.amie.or.jp/~raintree/make/riceball7.html Another interesting topic about rice balls is their shape. My wife makes triangular ones, but there are several others. See the map of Japan here. http://allabout.co.jp/family/countrylife/c...up/CU20030126A/ Scroll down to see the map.

It is said that omusubi is often used in Eastern Japan and onigiri in Western Japan. I was born and bred in Tokyo in Eastern Japan, but I use onigiri. I found an interesting passage: Among the Japanese in Hawaii, many of whom come from Yamaguchi and Hiroshima prefectures, musubi is mainly used. from here: http://www2.plala.or.jp/kamkamkam/gimon2/no76/omusubi.htm (Japanese only)

I'm curious to know how you make rice balls. My wife makes them in the traditional way, that is, puts some water in a bowl, dips her hands in it to wet them, puts some salt on one hand, places some rice on it, and starts making a triangular-shaped rice ball. Some people make rice balls using two bowls, like this http://homepage2.nifty.com/NG/gohan/gohan04.htm (Japanese only) I personally don't like this method. (Somehow, I can't make rice balls well enough with this method.) I usually make rice balls by wrapping rice in plastic wrap. This is highly recommended for sanitation reasons. So, how do you make your onigiri?

Anybody interested in making this shiso (aka jiso) drink? http://www.nsknet.or.jp/~chrkaji/yasuko/recipe/098_e.html Me? Sorry, No.

Not that I know of. I did some google search with 桜の花漬け (pickled cherry blossom), but all that I came up with are the ones pickled with salt and vinegar. Examples: http://www.agri.pref.kanagawa.jp/nosoken/n...tuke100g001.htm http://www.odawara-tanakaya.co.jp/4_005.html http://www.kyotokanko.co.jp/shop/item/I012345N00237.html

You mean hikiwari natto, right? I am no fan of hikiwari natto. My children (8 and 5) still crave for it sometimes. According to this webpage, http://www.mizkangroup.co.jp/newsrelease/2...ews/020617.html (Japanese only) hikiwari natto is liked by homemakers and young people including small children, and it accounts for 5% of the natto market.

Chrysanthemums maybe? See posts #27 and #34 in http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=52859&st=30 See also http://www.shokoren-toyama.or.jp/~f-kanko/syokukiku/ (Japanese only) And, why not just ask your wife?

Yasuko-san's directions: http://www.nsknet.or.jp/~chrkaji/yasuko/recipe/067_e.html

OK....I hope I don't sound too dumb......I think Ive had Sakura mochi several times.... I wasn't supposed to eat the leaf too was I? (unless maybe it was some other kind of leaf, but it was a bit stiff...) ← I personally don't eat the leaf, but some people do. I found that there are Kanto and Kansai versions of sakura mochi. The leaf of the Kanto version is supposed to be eaten, so a thin leaf is used. On the other hand, that of the Kansai version is not supported to be eaten, so a thick leaf is used so that it is easy to peel off. Original: 桜の葉は食べられる？ 　 関東版の桜餅は桜の葉を食べることを前提にしているので、食べやすい薄い葉を使用しています。それに対して関西版の桜餅の葉は食べることを前提としていないので、はがしやすいように厚めの葉を使用しています。もちろん食べられますが、関西版は”食べない”のが普通です。松屋の桜の葉は食べてもはがしてもいいように、葉の厚みとしては中間くらいのものを使用しています。 from here: http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/people/matuya/...sakuramochi.htm

For one, the blossoms are used in a tea. (Sakura Cha). Sakura Tea ← Sakura cha is often served on auspicious occasions, especially after the exchange of betrothal gifts (yuino). To make sakura cha, you just put a salted cherry blossom in a cup first and then pour boiled water. I can't find a good photo of a yuino ceremony. Links to webpages describing yuino: http://www.jtb.co.jp/japannow/JTB/jtb7.html http://www.jpn-miyabi.com/Vol.6/wedding-e.html torakris or anyone else, did you have a yuino ceremony before you got married? We did (although I did'nt want to), and had sakura cha.

Very true. The Japanese are such lovers of white rice. I wish I could help you, but can't. If you start another in the Elesewhere in Asia/Pacific Forum, you may get more response.

No wonder. Here is a copy from the webpage: 旭ポンズは地元大阪でも販売している店が少ない、ツウにはかなり有名で貴重なポン酢です。 It's hard to come by even in Osaka.

this is the kind of thing I don't really understand about those urawaza (tricks), I mean is it really so difficult to hard boil the egg in water??? I once "hard-boiled" egg on a grill (with a fire, outside), I thought they might have a smokey flavor but they tasted no different than when I did them inside.... I think I prefer boiling because I know exactly how long to do them to get the texture I like. ← I tried this method of making hard-boiled eggs this morning. It didn't work at all. Only the outer part of the white turned white while the rest was still raw. What a silly urawaza (trick)!

I can't think of any. There are a number of good books on kyoudo ryouri 郷土料理 (local dishes) but books on meibutsu... How about a website on meibutsu, like this one http://www.tamezon.net/meib/

Here is a way to scale a fish without causing the scales to scatter, using a rubber spatula: Bring the rubber spatula into contact with the fish, near the tail pin, at an angle. Slowly move the spatula toward the head, keeping it in contact with the fish. This way, you won't let the scales scatter about. This is the way I learned from a well-known TV show in Japan, called Itouke no Shokutaku. Unfortunately, I have never tried this method.