Hiroyuki

Me too. I don't want to see drunken office workers (and university students) get carried away. The ugly side of Japanese groupism...

I didn't ATTEND any parties, but my whole family enjoyed hanami on April 17, when cherry trees were in full bloom here. If I were a company employee, I would have attended a hanami party given by that company. Somehow the second link you provided did not take me to the right site, so I just read the reviews of the book in the first link. Well, do you mean you want to attend a hanami party just like the author of the book? That would be fun if you were courageous enough to present yourself in front of total strangers . But even if you just attend such a party with some friends of yours here in Japan, that will be a wonderful experience. You really should do that.

Well, I didn't mention natto tempura deliberately. Wanna know why? You'll see that if you make natto tempura yourself at home. The ordor will fill your room!! But except that odor, torakris and helenjp are right. Click the following site and scroll down, and you will see two graphs. http://www.nhk.or.jp/gatten/archive/2003q3/20030924.html The left graph shows that the foul odor decreases by deep-frying natto, while the right one shows that the fragrance increases by deep-frying. *** There are no appropriate names for that white stuff you mentioned. We may refer to it as nebaneba (ネバネバ), which refers to something sticky, nebarike, or nebari. We describe natto as ito wo hiku (糸を引く), literally, pulling strings.

Now I am fully aware of what is yose-dofu and what is not after running through dozens of sites on tofu. The recipes using a microwave oven are the simplest of all, but they make kinu(goshi)-dofu-like tofu. To make real yose-dofu, you need other recipes. So, I have another question to ask, danjou. Do you prefer yose-dofu or kinu-dofu-like hot tofu?

I'm sorry, I don't know a word of Hungarian. If you are fluent in it, could you be kind enough to give us some examples? Oh, no, I remembered. This forum is not on languages! You don't have to do that!

Is this a commentary on modern Japanese society? I'll only speculate on which one has anything to do with eating. I don't know what to say. I'd like a moderator or someone appropriate to delete any offensive remarks I have made.

Perfect Japanese. Any Japanese would be amazed at your fluency in Japanese. Omitting "to" between items sounds rather curt to me. But some Japanese may have other opinions. You know, there can no such things as the "best way" to order. Yours is really perfect--really a polite way of ordering. Some japanese, especially males, just mention the item only, not adding "wo kudasai", "wo onegaishimasu", and so on. One correction: not nigiri sushi but nigiri zushi. When preceded by certain words, sushi changes into zushi. Thus, chirashi zushi inari zushi temaki zushi If you read Japanese hiragana, this may be easier to understand: su す changes to zu ず.

Sounds very yummy. If you drink that stuff on a regular basis, you won't get sick, right?

danjou, thank you for your quick reply. What I have in mind is to actually make yose-dofu myself and give you some tips on it. Wanna know why I want to do that? I want to eat hand-made yose-dofu myself! Packs of yose-dofu are sold at supermarkets, but I can never bring myself to buy one.

I have a question to ask, danjou. Do you want to make yose-dofu from soy milk or soy beans? Thanks.

Like torakris, if you wait just a little bit longer, I think I can give you some more information. Unfortunately, the link that smallword presented explains how to make kinu-dofu (絹豆腐), not yose-dofu. (Sorry for saying this, smallworld.) Usage of the word tofu: When preceded by certain words, tofu changes into dofu. Thus, yose-dofu, kinu-dofu, momen-dofu （木綿豆腐, hard tofu). Similar changes occur with some other Japanese words as well, such as sushi. chirashi-zushi, nigiri-zushi, and so on.

I don't think there are such things as foods "traditional appropriate" for hanami. There are things called hanabi bento, though. http://www.princehotels.co.jp/yokosuka/restaurant/ha_hanami/ http://www.nadaman.co.jp/tyubo/n_spring.htm But, such bento are not available in your area, do they? I would suggest taking any foods that you like. In Japan, we have a saying, "hana yori dango" 花よりだんご, literally, dumplings rather than blossoms. The best part of hanami is in eating. Don't you think so?

I don't know for sure, but I have found a site describing that natural salmon, whether fresh or not, cannot be eaten raw unless they are frozen first, because you never know whether they have parasitic insects in them. http://www.siretoko.com/sake/sakesasimi.htm (Japanese only. All other links are in Japanese only too.) We DO eat salmon raw. And I'd like to present lu-i-be ルイベ, eaten in Hokkaido. http://www.tominagasuisan.co.jp/resip/ruibe/ruibe.htm Lu-i-be is an Ainu word meaning sashimi of frozen fish. http://www.sukoyakanet.or.jp/recipe/words/ra/ruibe.html Usually, salmon and cod are eaten as lu-i-be.

I wonder if the versions of chicken soup that many of you mention are greasy ones or bland ones, which Japanese prefer. And, if they are greasy ones, do children and elderly people eat them as well?

Moxibustion... I've never heard of such a word. Thank you, torakris (not trakris ). I only have bad memories of moxibustion, though...

Moxa, or moguza in Japanese, is used in okyu (お灸）, or moxa cautery. You apply moxa to a person's skin and burn it. It is believed to be effective to certain ailments such as a stiffed neck and certain mental problems with children such as bed-wetting. Some related photos: http://www2.plala.or.jp/baian/honmachikita/tool2.htm http://www.sennenq.co.jp/Pages/products/moxa_top.html

You mean yose-dofu 寄せ豆腐? http://www.yasudayaryokan.com/hanarikyu/kaiseki.htm The 3rd photo shows a yose-dofu dish. The following sites explain how to make yose-dofu http://www.town.yuwa.akita.jp/furusato/gyoji/yosetofu2.htm http://oshiete1.goo.ne.jp/kotaeru.php3?q=546270 The first site says that nigari or 硫酸マグネシウム　magnesium suｌfate or 塩化カルシウム calcium chloride is used.

We have three very similar terms: おかゆ okayu 雑炊 zosui おじや ojiya Most Japanese use these terms in their own way, including me. They are used almost interchangeably. I searched for the exact definitions of these terms (which means that I didn't know anything about their difference!) okayu: Made by boiling uncooked rice zosui: A dish made by mixing previously cooked rice and other ingredients with broth ojiya: Made by adding previously cooked rice to what is left of a nabe (Japanese dish using a pot) But, there is another theory: According to one source, ojiya has the same meaning as zosui, but was used by a certain type of women called nyobo (女房) at royal court.

Thank you, everyone, for your very interesting, impressive, and informative posts! I'm impressed with all of your recommendations, but I think I prefer chicken soup. I don't go for spicy food even when I am healthy, nor do my wife and children. Since I can't make chiken soup readily enough, I think that instant chicken noodles are a good substitute. I always have a stock of them at home. I, for one, like to have canned mandarin orange (mikan) when I am sick. When I was a child, my mother always bought a can for me.

My daughter, age 4, has a cold now and has little appetite. Yesterday, she wanted to eat rice porridge, or okayu in Japanese. Okayu is made by simply boiling previously cooked rice with a lot of water. It is often served with a bit of salt, pickled plums (umeboshi), soy sauce, shredded dry bonito, and so on. In Japan, someone who has a cold tends to avoid greasy food. Is this the case in your country too? What do you usually have when you have a cold? And, what do you make for your loved one when he/she has a cold? Thanks.

よもぎ Yomogi (mugwort) Yomogi is used to make kusamochi (草もち　or 草餅), so it is also called mochigusa (餅草 or もち草). Photos of yomogi: http://www.hana300.com/yomogi.html http://home.catv.ne.jp/dd/goken/ya/yomogi1.htm Photos of kusamochi http://www.rakuten.co.jp/kasyuan/443310/439452/ Yomogi is also used to make moxa. I used to make yomogi tempura when I was single.

Some basic facts about my son's elementary school lunch system Today, my son brought a school lunch letter home from school. According to the school lunch program for fiscal 2004: Cost per meal: 260 yen Subsidy from Shiozawa town and JA Shiozawa (for rice): 736,669 yen No. of personnel: 3, who make lunches for 304 people (282 students and 22 teachers and other personnel) Rice served on 4 days a week Bread served on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Fridays Noodles served on the 2nd and 4th Fridays

jrufusj and Trakris, Which 金のつぶ type do you refer to? http://www.mitsukan.co.jp/chilled/hisshukamoku/index.html Do you refer to におわなっとう, which is less stinky? *** My wife and children like ふわとろ fuwatoro, but I don't.

There are basically two types of tonkatsu: ロースかつ (roh-su katsu), which uses pork loin http://list.excite.co.jp/item/30745952 and ひれかつ (hire katsu), which uses fillet http://www.rakuten.co.jp/kodaworld/548222/566393/ I once liked hire katsu better because it is less fatty, but at present, I am totally a roh-su katsu lover.

I'm not 100% sure but I have a feeling that by "bentos", Trakris probably meant "handmade" bentos. I could introduce other types of bento such as 1) Convenience store bento http://www.ampm.jp/menu/toretatekitchen/allmenu.html 2) Takeout bento http://www.hokkahokkatei.com/higashi/menu/index.html 3) Delivery bento http://www.yagurahonten.com/ (Sorry, you have to click "今が旬！できたてお弁当ページ" below the carp streamers to view bento photos.) But they may require another thread. I hope that Trakris will come up with some suggestions.