Hiroyuki

Yesterday, while watching a TV program on NHK, I learned about mizu soba. 100% buckwheat noodles are boiled, rinsed, and put in a bowl , into which subsoil water is poured. It is served at Kiriya Yumemi Tei in Aizu Wakamatsu city, Fukushima prefecture. http://sobajuku.net/jyuzu/kiriya.htm I was intrigued by its simplicity.

The black rice in the photo is regular uruchi rice cooked with a fraction of black rice, right? I once got a sample of black rice and cooked with regular rice, and it was wonderful! No photo of you? I'm sure everyone is disappointed...

Follow-up stories: Note: All links in this post are in Japanese only. nanacoffee is an employee of Maruyasu Industries Co., Ltd. (German version available), the manufacturer of the Super Steamer. He got hooked on coffee through the development of the Super Steamer for coffee roasting purposes, and ended up purchasing a commercial roaster for himself to start home roasting. He has gone so far as to sell his roasted coffee beans. The following is based on of his diary (not precise translations): Dec. 11 The other day, a coffee shop in Tokyo purchased a Super Streamer, and they sent Maruyasu some sample beans, Costa Rica beans roasted in a roaster with a capacity of 5 kg (approx 10 pounds): - 1 kg, roasted with superheated steam - 1 kg, roasted without superheated steam - 4 kg, roasted with superheated steam - 4 kg, roasted without superheated steam Results of sampling by nanacoffee et al.: - Beans roasted with superheated steam are less astringent. - In particular, the 1-kg beans roasted with superheated steam have a solid state. - There is no major difference in taste between the 1- and 4-kg beans roasted with superheated steam. nanacoffee thinks that superheated steam is effective when you wish to roast beans in small quantity, for example, when you want to roast sample beans and expensive ones. Dec. 17 Later, the coffee shop sent the manufacturer other sample beans, 1-kg Guatemala beans roasted with and without superheated steam. The beans were sampled by four employees of Maruyasu. Coffee was extracted with the Matsuya method, using Kalita (Japanese brand) equipment. Results: - Beans roasted without steam: Have unpleasant flavors (all people); have strong bitterness (one person). - Beans roasted with steam: Have no unpleasant flavors (all people); taste mild at the start of drinking (all people); have a solid taste (one person) The characteristics of the beans roasted with superheated steam were fairly easy to discern than Brazil coffee beans.

At my daughter's nursery school, they will serve Christmas cakes on 22nd for oyatsu (3'clock snack) together with barley tea. Isn't this cool? (They usually serve some kind of snack together with a pack of milk for oyatsu.) At my son's elementary school, they will serve cakes (not necessarily Christmas cakes) on 21st. Each pupil can make a choice from among three types (strawberry, chocolate, and marron) and custard pudding beforehand (not on the spot on that day). He said he selected the chocolate cake and added that the chocolate cake was the most popular in his class (25 pupils) and only one selected the custard pudding. I have just made some chestnut paste for use in making a chestnut cake later this week.

For many Japanese, the mere word crepe conjures up images of senior high school girls strolling down Takeshita Doori at Harajuku while nibbling at their crepes in the late 1970s. I have learned today that crepes are still popular at Harajuku. http://www.shibukei.com/special/2003/05/23/ (Japanese only) Sorry, it is a little bit off topic.

I forgot to respond to your question you had previously posted elsewhere. Is it this show, "Burari Tochuu Gesha no Tabi"? http://www.ntv.co.jp/burari/ I sometimes watch this show and find it quite interesting like you do.

The one with shredded cabbage, canned tuna, and mayo is absolutely the best crepe I have ever had in my life. I don't care for sweet ones.

I went shopping today, but found the family pack was not sold. The regular 150-g pack was sold for 188 yen, and if I remember right, the family pack (200 g?) was about 168 yen.

What's the "Wafuu Chicken Tender" like? What makes it "wafuu?" ← On behalf of torakris, 「和風チキンテンダー」：やわらかい国内産の鶏胸肉をサクサクした衣で包んだスナック感覚の商品です。 醤油、しょうが、白ごまなどを使い和風テイストに仕上げています。 Partial translation: Soy sauce, ginger, and white sesame seeds are used to give it wafuu taste. form here http://japan.kfc.co.jp/news/news041105kfc.html Edit to add: Sounds yummy, but karaage may be more delicious...

OK, everyone. I'm sure that many of you have already decided what to do about your Christmas cake this year. My family are going to make just another one, topped with whipped cream and lots of strawberries. We're thinking of using a store-bought sponge cake, but we may change our mind to making pan cakes at home instead. And I'm thinking of making a chestnut cake too. We have a lot of chestnuts in the freezer, which my parents sent us this fall. I'm going to post a picture or two of our Christmas cake. And, of course, anyone is encouraged to do so.

Hm...., sorry I just can't remember. Will give you a reply later.

Sorry, I must have confused you. By definition, any ekisu should be, and is, natural, not artificial. The word ten'nen is used just for emphasis. As you may know, hon dashi contains MSG like any other instant dashi. The word hon (authentic or real) is deceptive! I must admit I'm like you - I use instant dashi for almost everything.

These days, whenever I buy maitake, it's this: Maitake Family Pack. It's just a collection of maitake fragments but it's less expensive than regular ones. That's why I'm tempted to buy it. I made miso soup with it this evening.

Just another note on ekisu from me too: Ekisu is sometimes preceded by ten'nen (natural), thus 天然エキス (ten'nen ekisu). Artificial is jinkou 人工 in Japanese, as in 人工甘味料 jinkou kanmiryou (artificial sweetener).

Another question: How about cheekama then?? Cheekama is short for cheese kamaboko, like these: http://www.natori.co.jp/app-natori/servlet...NRE1=3&GENRE2=1 I like them too!

Yeah, after browsing through all the pages of the website, I find the site rather biased, to say the least of it.

Yes, the same thing happens to millions of households in Japan. Ideally, the miso should be added at the last minute, although I don't practice this.

Amino acid beverages are one of the hottest items in Japan, and there are a lot of Japanese athletes who drink them. http://www.tbs.co.jp/moukari/oa20041212-mo3.html (Sorry, Japanese only) The health risks of MGS are highly exaggerated by the media. I'm not on the Ajinomoto's side, but I believe we should stick to facts. You can learn about glutamate from: http://www.glutamate.org/ A webpage of Ajinomoto on amino acids: http://www.ajinomoto.com/amino/index.html

how can you love fish roe?! Anyway, the tarako (cod roe) goes to my two kids, who love to eat it raw, the sujiko (salmon roe) goes to my wife, and kazunoko (herring roe) also goes to my wife. Poor me...

Some of my favorites, in no particular order: Daikon + satoimo Asari (little clam) Maitake Nameko + tofu Tofu + wakame Other miso-based soups that I like: Ton jiru (pork soup) Kenchin jiru (??)

I know better than to meddle in another family's affair, but I can tell you that it's a game that two can play.

Sorry to hear that, torakris. Generally, gyoniku sausage is preservative- and color fixative-free (保存料、発色剤不使用).

We have received an oseibo from a relative today. A fish roe set. I must confess I am not a huge fish roe fan, though...

I'm curious, does your husband dislike any soup that contains miso? Does he dislike sumashi jiru (clear soup) and soy sauce soup too?? Doen't he like houtou?

Has anyone discussed gyoniku sausage (fish sausage)? It happens to a favorite of mine. Left: Fish sausage cut and pan-fried with salt and pepper but with no oil Right: Fish sausage cut and pan-fried with no oil or seasoning (This is for my daughter, who can't eat spicy food yet)