Hiroyuki

There is a special type of tofu for making aburage. According to one site, this type of tofu is made from soy milk two to three times thinner than that for making regular momen dofu.

Well, I can never be sure of such a thing, partly because that involves trade secrets, but I guess all franchises have their own recipes. There are roux products available for business use, but I guess they are for small-size, independent restraurants. Example of a roux product for business use (1 kg): http://store.yahoo.co.jp/kani/hha00057.html

All store-bought, ready-made curry roux products contain a lot of salt and fat. *** As for curry udon, a recipe usually include curry powder, katakuriko 片栗粉, a type of starch, and dashi. http://www.betterhome.jp/kantanbimi/11-2cu.../curryudon.html But there is another recipe, which uses curry leftovers: http://allabout.co.jp/gourmet/cookingabc/c...up/CU20020217a/ This also requires katakuriko and dashi.

Then I rinse them in water and put them in a colander. They are now ready to serve.

Have Americans gone that far? All meat and no vegetables? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if you said yes...

I think that you can solve many of your technical problems with your computer by reading this thread and other ones in the eGulette Site Tips and Techniques: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=35075

This afternoon, I went out into the bushes to gather some bracken ferns. Bushes and the condo where my family live: Ferns in the bushes (sorry, I'm not a good photographer.) In about one hour or so, I gathered a handful: You have to get rid of aku (harshness) with some baking soda and boiling water: You have to wait untill tommorrow...

I wonder if the fiddleheads of ostrich fern are the only type of fern considered edible in the United States. (According to one site, this is true.) Japanese eat other types of fern such as fiddleheads of royal fern (zenmai in Japanese) and those of bracken fern (warabi in Japanese). For more, click the following: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=19952&st=30

In Japan, there are two types of maki-zushi: hoso-maki 細巻き (small-diameter rolls) and futo-maki 太巻き (large-diameter rolls). For hoso-maki: Kanpyo maki (gourd strip) rolls, kappa maki (cucumber) rolls, and tekka maki (raw tuna rolls) used to be the most common, but there are a lot others now, such as natto-maki (I, for one, don't like natto-maki although I like eating natto with plain cooked rice). For futo-maki: Common ingredients include: gourd strips, shiitake mushrooms, cucumbers, fried eggs, eels, carrots, bamboo shoots, just to name a few. Just about everything is accepted, even grilled beef, wienna sausage, and so on. I'd like you to take a look at some artistic rolls called matsuri-zushi (festival sushi) http://www.kengaku.com/main/maturi1.htm http://www.kengaku.com/main/maturi2.htm and e-maki-zushi (e = picture) http://www.town.tako.chiba.jp/azidokoro/futo.html Beautiful, aren't they? *** Do you know why cucumber rolls are called kappa maki? Kappa are imaginary human-like creatures who live in rivers. They are said to like cucumbers.

The discussion in this thread is very interesting. I'd like to hear more, especially about the vending machines. I'm not 100% sure but I think no vending machines are installed in elementary and junior high schools in Japan. (I may be wrong; things may have been changed.)

Last night, my wife made light pickles from five cucumbers. Cut cucumbers in a plastic bag: This morning, the pickles are ready to serve: I like a cabbage and cucumber combination, too. NOTE: I, for one, prefer this simple, bland taste. But I guess some people may want to add other flavors.

Today's lunch at my daughter's nursery school (for kids 0 to 5 years of age): 1. 豆腐の五目煮 Tofu simmered with various vegetables 2. 切干大根サラダ Salad with dried strips of daikon (Japanese radish) 3. かぼちゃの甘煮 Squash simmered with sugar 4. グレープフルーツ Grapefruit Oyatsu (snack served at around three o'clock): 1. 牛乳 Milk 2. みたらし団子 Mitarashi dumplings Every day, a sample of the lunch served on that day is put on display in the showcase in the hallway so the parents can take a look at it. Lunch is made right in the facilities in the schoolhouse, so I think it's hot when served.

I had made an inquiry to a tofu maker located in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, who kindly gave me a reply the other day. He dared not speak of how to make yose-dofu, because he says, "There are a variety of ideas of yose (literally, "bringing together") and "It will take a very long time to give you an accurate answer." Instead, he recommended Mame Hyaku (豆100) of Taishi (タイシ) http://www.taishi-food.co.jp/ He says, "It tastes fairly good for a big company" and "I once tried it, and it gathered together well (turned into good yose-dofu)." I accessed the site and found the product very good and impressive. So, I'd like to recommend it here although I have never tasted it before. One bottle of Mame Hyaku contains 500 ml of soy milk, and comes with a pack of 6-ml nigari, which is enough to turn the soy milk into tofu. A 350-ml bottle is also available, but does not come with a nigari pack. A box of six 500-ml bottles costs 2,100 yen including the shipping charge and the consumption tax. But even more impressive are the various soy products produced by that tofu maker himself. His name is Hiroyuki Arai (新井弘幸), coincidentally the same last name as mine (same Chinese characters too). His store, Saitamaya (埼玉屋), is located in Katsushika Ward (葛飾区) in Tokyo. http://saitamaya.net If you read this site, I'm sure you will find him a very interesting and diligent man. I guess most of you don't read Japanese, so here I post an English article of a Toyota magazine covering Saitamaya: http://saitamaya.net/toyotaindex1.htm (Click on the photo of the article, and a larger photo appears. Click on the icon that appears at the lower right corner, and the photo will get even larger.) The next time I visit Tokyo, I really would like to go to his store. お返事ありがとうございました、新井さん。いつか、お店に寄りたいと思います。 Thank you very much, Arai-san, for your reply. I'd like to drop by your store some day. *** Additional information (which I learned from a reply from Taishi): This soy milk product, Mame Hyaku, is a "whole" type (ingredients not conditioned) and pure and, therefore, it expires in eight (8) days. When delivered to you by Cool Takkyubin (truck service whereby the goods are delivered either refrigerated or frozen), the product is already two days past the date of manufacture and is suitable for drinking within five (5) days only.

And don't forget the mirin thread in Japan Forum: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=30998 This thread was started by helenjp, the starter of this thread.

You mean you don't like the fake one? I usually use a mirin fake and I'm quite satisfied with it. Anyway, you may become inclined to try the real one once in a while... As for the last question, you may find the Google eG button located near the top of the page useful. I searched for Asian pickle myself and found no threads directly related to it. I recommend that you do the same; you may find something interesting. Otherwise, it will be a good idea to start a new thread on it.

About the problem you had with your computer: Have you checked the following thread?: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=20825

Sorry, chardgirl, I didn't notice your post until torakris made a reply. Thank you, torakris, for responding. Well, you can use mirin if you don't mind the alcohol. In that case, however, children should be refrained from eating the light pickles. Another caution is not to add too much salt. Sorry, I just can't say how much you should add.

Here is a photo of some fiddleheads of ostrich fern (kogome in Japanese), which are still entirely covered with brown skins.

And here is a photo of the regular type of uchi-mame.

torakris (or someone else who has the authority), Could you delete my preceding post in this thread? Photo 1: Photo 2:

I guess that one of the dishes she serves is dashi, which really requires a lot of chopping. http://allabout.co.jp/gourmet/cookingabc/c...704a/index2.htm

Squashed soybeans!! They must be uchi-mame 打ち豆 right? I live them. Niigata people use them, too. Edit: not live them but love them.

Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. The seed contains a toxin that turns into cyanide 青酸 in your stomach. But, it won't harm your health unless you eat one hundred seeds or so. Do you know the seed is called tenjin-sama 天神様 in Japan?

I vaguely remember my mother (now 71) telling me about eating umeboshi in the way torakris described. Does anyone eat umeboshi kernels? They are said to be poisonous, but eating one or two kernels won't harm your health. My mother likes them.

I don't know what to say...