Hiroyuki

Maybe you have. This is a typical souka senbei: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/happy/jollyboy/senbthis.htm Types of souka senbei: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/happy/jollyboy/senbkind.htm How to make souka senbei: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/happy/jollyboy/senbhow.htm The statue of a woman making senbei: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/happy/jollyboy/senbwhat.htm Have you?? (All links are Japanese only.)

What else?? It's difficult for me to answer. All I can think of is souka senbei... And I do like souka senbei. This site tells you that the top three specialities are 1. Souka senbei 2. Fukaya negi (leek) 3. Sayama cha (tea) http://guriuri.com/ranking/pre/page_523/Tbl224.html

torakris, Why not be the first eGulleter to try a Kaimin Katsugyo and report on it? Me? I’ll think about it, but the problem is that my wife and son don’t care much for raw fish. For a discussion of Kaimin Katsugyo, go to: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry720646 Ikezukuri is scary? I personally don’t think so. Odorigui is scary. I can’t find it in my heart to eat it. A site describing odorigui: http://www.pref.yamaguchi.jp/gyosei/kokusa...y2004/other.htm (Scroll down and read the Shirouo Dishes section.) Note that Shirouo (素魚) and Shirauo (白魚) belong to different species, and both can be served as odorigui. Maybe odorigui requires a new thread. Edit to add: Some sites like this one http://www.paw.hi-ho.ne.jp/sushimaru/21no2hitorigoto.htm (Japanese only) state that shirouo are served as odorigui but shirauo are not.

Needless to say, peanuts. Do you know how to say peanuts in Japanese? - rakkasei, spelled 落花生. The first Chinese character means fall or drop, the second flower, and the third born (as in a baby is born), suggesting how peanuts are grown underground. Boiled peanuts (yude rakkasei) have been popular recently. http://www.kawasouen.co.jp/shohin/rakkasei/satonoka.htm http://www.rakkasei.com/yude.html

In response to a question in the 'nakashoku' thread: The reason why nakashoku sounds strange to native Japanese is that it is a word with ‘yutou yomi’. IN JAPANESE (not in Chinese), almost all Chinese characters have two types of pronunciation, Japanese one (kun yomi) and Chinese-derived one (on yomi). Yutou yomi pertains to a combination of two Chinese characters the first one of which is pronounced in the Japanese way and the second of which in the Chinese-derived way. Yutou, meaning ‘hot-water pot’, is pronounced this way, hence yutou yomi (= reading). On the contrary, juubako yomi pertains to a combination of two Chinese characters pronounced the other way round; the first one is pronounced in the Chinese-derived way and the second in the Japanese way. Juubako, meaning ‘multitiered box’, is pronounced this way. 中食, if pronounced chuushoku, would be interpreted to mean ‘lunch’ (昼食, same pronunciation), and this is why it is usually pronounced nakashoku.

Is nakashoku equivalent to home meal replacement? http://www.wordspy.com/words/homemealreplacement.asp According to this site (Japanese only), the term nakashoku came into 'relatively frequent' use in the 90s. http://www.nodai.ac.jp/nyusi/campus-life/a...l13/vol013.html

Same here. I must admit that this is really the first time I have ever heard of such a strange term as nakashoku. "Nakashoku??," I thought. http://www.jekai.org/entries/aa/00/np/aa00np64.htm Maybe I've been here in this rural town for too long, or it may be simply because I don't watch TV as often as I used to.

My wife doesn't have one. She uses paper towels instead. >do other countries use them too? Good question! Let's see what Helen, smallworld, and others have to say about this! >What it does? I don't know. Too lazy and sleepy to translate. http://www.shokuiku.co.jp/mame/mame2/ma101.html

Should I be ashamed of myself for not even thinking about celerating tsukimi? I asked my wife, and she told me that her family used to eat mochi (rice cakes) on tsukimi day.

A touching story, which clearly explains why some Americans feel aversion to ketchup. But, I am not fully satisfied yet. My understanding of ketchup is that it's healthy and contains a lot of lycopene, and omuraise is far from being a mediocre dish, to say the least of it.

Three recipes of Kurihara: http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/en/event/kurihara.html

Tsukudani. I used to eat all kinds of tsukudani as a child. My favoriate was asari (little clam) no tsukudani. Now I don't eat tsukudani as much as I used to, partly because of its high salt content. A page describing tsukudani: http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/hints/tsku/tsku.html

I'm not a huge fan of hi chew (is it the correct spelling?). When I was a kid, I liked 'yogurt caramel' of Meiji Seika http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~adg30190/meijiyogurt.htm as well as this sweet, which falls into the category of dagashi (cheap confectionery?) in Japan http://www.rakuten.co.jp/nonaka/494542/527481/ (Scroll down, and you will see three photos in total.) Maybe I should start a new thread on dagashi, but I wonder if any of you are familiar with dagashi.

Oh, this is awesome. http://www.sabatini-fratelli.com/index_e.html

I have already recommended Sankin at Yotsuya, Shinjuku ward, somewhere else in the Japan Forum. The tonkatsu there is superb and I like the atmosphere of the shop, uncommon for a tonkatsu shop. http://gourmet.yahoo.co.jp/gourmet/restaur...03/P000817.html (Sorry, Japanese only) If you prefer a restaurant chain, Wako may be the right place for you. http://www.wako-group.co.jp/02shop_01restaurant-s.html (Japanese only) See also: http://www.ehills.co.jp/rp/dfw/EHILLS/mori...ako/index_e.php (English) http://www.aquacity.co.jp/en/shop116/s_rest_41-47.html (English) The second link is a page of http://www.aquacity.co.jp/en/index.html

Sorry, I made a silly mistake. Not jisan jisho but chisan chisho.

I used to make nonu yoguruto at home quite often when my children were younger. Store bought versions contain a lot of sugar, and you can make a similar one at home quite easily. Just put yogurt in a container, add sugar, stir until smooth, and add milk. (Some people seem to use a blender to mix them together, but I don't like the idea of using a blender to make such a simple drink.) This results in a much healthier version.

Sushi Sei or Suishi Say? http://www.gnavi.co.jp/gn/en/g183504h.htm If it's not the one you are searching for, I will make another search.

I forgot to explain how to remove the astringency of persimmons. The most common method is to dip only the top of persimmons in shouchu one at a time, put them in a vinyl bag, and leave them for five to seven days. The photos in the following link illustrate how to do this: http://www.shimojo.tv/gotisou/wagayanogotisou3.html A disadvantage of this method is that the persimmons become soft. The commercial method uses carbon dioxide instead of shouchu, thereby preventing them from becoming soft. *** I also forgot to mention that the hacchin gaki is a seedless variety. Really a great variety. I know I can't go back to huyu or jiroo gaki any longer.

Thanks, Mooshmouse. As many Japanese in their 40s, I have fond memories of calpis. It was definitely a summer beverage. For several years when I was a kid, almost all of the summer gifts (o-chuugen) my family received were boxes of calpis bottles. It was that popular as a summer gift. Only the undiluted type was available then; the straight type was not marketed until 1991 (due to technical problems).

I agree. In Japan, this applies to farm and marine products too. All the good ones go to Tokyo, where they sell at a premium.

Does calpis (not 'cow piss' ) in Japan go by the name of calpico in the United States?

Kaki (persimmons) In Tokyo, where I was born and bred, ama gaki (sweet persimmons) such as huyu gaki and jirou gaki are popular. Here in Niigata, astringent persimmons (sibu gaki) called hacchin gaki (八珍柿) are the most popular. Hacchin gaki with their astringency removed are called sawashi gaki (さわし柿). ‘Sawasu’ is a verb meaning to remove the astringency of persimmons. Astringent persimmons become sweeter than sweet ones when they have their astringency removed. Yesterday, I bought sawashi gaki for the first time this year. Very sweet and yummy.

Yama imo. Yama imo is often grated and mixed with flour and water to make okonomiyaki. The term yama imo (yama = mountain, imo = potato) is used to refer to three types: Naga imo (naga = long), daisho, and jinenjo (wild yama imo). 1. Naga imo Long ones are simply called naga imo. Watery and less sticky, so unsuitable for tororo. Flat ones are called ichou imo (also called yamato imo (in Kanto), busshou imo, and tororo imo). Fist-shaped ones are called tsukune imo (also called yamato imo (in Kansai)). The most sticky of the three types. 2. Daisho Tropical yam. Rarely comes on the market. 3. Jinenjo (ji-nen-jo) Native of Japan. Very sticky and tasty (and very expensive). This information is mainly from the following site: http://www.o-e-c.net/syokuzai/yamaimo.htm (Japanese only)

What I often hear here in Japan is quite the opposite. "If you waste even a single grain of rice, you will go blind." 米を一粒たりとも粗末にすると、目がつぶれる It's not much of a saying and there are a lot of other versions. Another famous legend about the importance of rice is A goddess of Kannon resides in each and every grain of rice. 米の一粒一粒には観音様が宿っている