Hiroyuki

Is it Chidorigafuchi (千鳥ヶ淵)? The photo brings back memories. I'm getting old...

BOURBON, headquarted in Niigata, produces some nice chocolate products. Their truffe is just one of them. Closeup of one piece: I checked the content of one pack (99 yen), and it contained 12 pieces. Very reasonable and very tasty!

On our way back from the hospital, we went to this ramen shop: Azumaya Honten, located in Koide, Niigata. (Honten means head office, head shop, etc.) This ramen shop is one of the few ramen shops I know that are worth mentioning here on eGullet. I had shoyu ramen: 650 yen My daughter had miso ramen: 750 yen And, my son had Azumaya tokusei (special) chashu (sp?) ramen: 900 yen All these ramen are slightly expensive even for Japanese standards. I also ordered two plates of gyoza: One for me and the other for my two children. 250 yen each. Reasonable price. Closeup of the noodles: Relatively thick, home-made noodles. Board that describes the features of their ramen: One of the fascinating features is that their ramen do not contain any MSG. The noodles are made with domestic wheat flour of finest quality. Great care goes into every ingredient of their ramen. That is why their ramen is a little more expensive than others. Interior: Used kombu: They offer used kombu to customers free of charge. We each got one.

Kome ko (rice flour) has become increasing popular these days mainly due to sudden increases in the price of wheat flour. Bread made with rice flour has also become increasing popular. Here's is one example: This particular bread is made with wheat flour plus Koshihikari rice produced in Niigata. It was much better than I had expected. Soft and mochi-mochi texture. I followed the recommendation written on the back of the package. First apply some soy sauce, toast in a toaster oven, and eat with butter. Tasted very good!

Thanks for the link! Suntry Old (aka Daruma) and Yamazaki! I get nostalgic! I haven't had them for nearly a decade! I now drink one of the cheapest shochu, happoushu, and daisan beer. Sigh.

I found it. It was Peter, not you, who posted it. For one thing, in Tokyo, sesame seed oil is used to give tempura that distinctive flavor and color. Tane (ingredients) also differ. I hear that in Kyoto, they use more vegetables as tane than in Tokyo.

Thanks for the report. I remember you recently posted a photo of your tendon somewhere in the Japan Forum, and I almost responded then. The tempura in your bowl was much lighter in color than the type of tempura I usually see in Kanto. Maybe I'm a little biased in favor of Kanto tempura, but I think that Tokyo (or Edo) is the home of tempura. I think that Kansai people will agree with on this.

Don't mind, I don't think so (although I'm not 100% sure). I admit that I was a little upset when someone here in the Japan Forum said that he was going to home-brew sake. About the 1% rule: I'm not sure but I think it's for amazake. People should at least allowed to make amazake, right? And, why the government prohibits home-brewing? That's simple. Because the government wants taxes from liquors. Maybe I should'nt mention this, but it is said that the prohibition on home-brewing started because the government was in need of money for the Japanese-Sino War.

Did Mr. Aoki say it was homemade nigori zake? Or, did he say it was doburoku? I ask this because, in Japan, no individuals are allowed to make any alcoholic beverage with an alcohol content of 1% or greater under the stupid Liquor Tax Law. Provided that the district where the restraunt is located is designated a "doburoku tokku" (tokku = special district), the owner can make doburoku if he applies for permission. Difference between nigori zake and doburoku: From here

I was curious about that restaurant, Okariba, and did some googling. Just as I imagined, the restaurant has close relationships with Shinshu (aka Nagano). First of all, the interior was decorated to resemble a hut in Shinshu. Basashi (horsemeat sashimi) comes from Matsumoto, Shinshu. from here This inobuta (cross between a wild boar and a pig) is sent directly from the inobuta ranch run by the owner's parents. The owner was once a truck and bus driver. and from here Many of the items are associated with Shinshu. (Sorry, too busy to translate them into English.)

What a fabulous meal! And bee larvae and crickets! They bring back memories. My father comes from Nagano (aka Shinshu), where people love to eat those things. Silkworm pupae, zazamushi (insects in the river), etc., etc.

Sorry, I don't know. You need to ask a Chinese.

Exactly. Put one bag of flour (which is 100 g) into a bowl, add 100 cc of water. Mix well, using a pair of cooking chopsticks or something similar. Add 400 to 500 g of chicken (two chunks) and let it sit for 10 minutes. Deep-fry in oil heated to 170C.

And, Kohan Kawauchi, the creator of Gekko Kamen 月光仮面 or Moonlight Mask, died on April 6 at 88.

Thanks for your kind words about my wife. I'm not sure if cherry salmon are native to Japan. Here is a description of them in English. It was delicious! It's less fatty than other species of salmon, and is flavorful. Cherry salmon are interesting in that if they stay in the river (freshwater) throughout their entire life, they are called yamame and if they go down the river and into the sea, they are called sakura masu. Images of yamame. Yamame (ヤマメ, 山女魚 or 山女) means female (fish) in the mountains.

Next to the candied ginger is iwanatto (lit. rock natto). It's candied beans (ama natto) plus more sugar and shaped like a sembei (rice cracker). Here is a photo. Don't confuse ama natto with natto (fermented soy beans). Ama natto is NOT fermented. Goldfish? Do you call them something likegrilled goldfish rather than grilled tai (sea bream) in Korea? That guy is selling noshi (= rolled) surume (dried squids). That woman is selling okota. It's a small version of Karumera (sp?). Karumera is a very nostalgic sweet. (I haven't had it for almost four decades!) It's also called Karume yaki, and it's made from sugar and baking soda. When I first read "okota", I thought it meant kotatsu (heating equipment used in Japan). I know that people in Kyoto call kotatsu okota. OK, Top left: Iri mame (roasted beas) tokusen (choice) Bottom left: Coffee peanuts Upper right: Rakkasei (peanuts) from Kochi Center: Ikari mame (fava beans deep-fried and salted) from Niigata(!) All 350 yen per 100 g The dried fruits are hoshi gaki (dried persimmons). The dried fish is migaki nishin (beheadded and degutted herring). I'm drunk now, and am sorry if I make any mistakes.

Yes, tama konnyaku or tama kon for short. A specialty of Yamagata. The packages explicitly say so, 山形名産. I posted some info on tama kon here. I'll respond to Peter's questions later, when I have more time.

Now I have the courage to post a photo of my Napolitan! I used about 2/3 of a 500-g ketchup tube. Other ingrediats: 4 green peppers 1/2 carrot 1/2 onion 1 pack Vienna sausage 1 can button mushrooms I added about 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbps mirin for kakushi aji (secret ingredients) for the very first time.

My first sashimi slicer: Kagemitsu(?) (景光 in Kanji） of Kaijirushi (貝印). Price: 1,970 yen (not 19,700 yen ) I teach myself how to make nigiri zushi.

I didn't have to ask anyone. One person says here that: The original tamago yaki of Edomae zushi (Edo style sushi) is made by pouring egg liquid with minced shiba shrimp, yams, etc. added to it into a rectangular tamago yaki pan and frying it. It completely differs from dashimaki tamago, which is prevalent today, in ingredients and the method of frying. It's more like datemaki or kasutera... Another says here that: My grandfather used to say, "Tamago yaki at sushi shops must have fish, shrimp, or seashells in it."Thus, it can be said that kasutera- or datemaki-style tamago yaki was a traditional neta of Edomae-style sushi, while atsuyaki- or dashimaki-style tamago yaki was not.

So, from what I read, temari are small balls made of leftover cloth as children's toys, and the temari zushi are meant to reflect that in a playful manner? Does that sound right? They actually remind me of what my friend's family would make when I was a kid, with all of us sitting around the kitchen table and clumping the seasoned rice together, then topping with whatever was at hand (usually salmon). But that was a long, long time ago........ ← Yes, it kind of sounds right, because temari is te (hand) + mari (ball). To make temari zushi, you usually use wet cloth or plastic wrap. Making nigiri zushi requires more careful handling of the shari (vinegared rice). Salted = Shio zuke (pickled in salt) 塩漬け Fish = Sakana 魚 Thus, Shio zuke no sakana 塩漬けの魚 or Sakana no shio zuke 魚の塩漬け should be OK. But, we usually say things like Shio zake or jake (salted salmon (not sake or shake) and Shio dara (salted cod) (not tara) using specific fish names. Forty years ago, when I was a kid, everything was saltier than it is today - fish, pickles, miso, umeboshi, just to name a few. Sorry, I can't make out the last two Kanji. Koto no 古都の (Old capital's) something. Strangely, sake brand lists don't contain a brand that begins with Koto no. Here's one list (Japanese only)

OK, another egg question from you. I did some googling the last time you asked a similar question; nothing relevant came up then. I did some more today, and I found this passage from the Tokyo Sushi Academy staff blog: Even today, old established sushi shops make kasutera-style (gyoku) or datemaki and are proud of it! I don't think this is necessarily true. I'll ask someone who knows about sushi better than I do.

One more thing: The piece of sushi looks more like temari zushi than nigiri zushi. Images of temari zushi As you may know, only sushi chefs, who have trained for years, can make decent nigiri zushi.

Thanks, Peter. Hotaru ika no oki zuke (firefly squids marinated in soy sauce, mirin, and sake) is very popular. Images of oki zuke Oki zuke is spelled 沖漬け. As you say, no matter what the spiecies, your ika look good. Edited to add: Hotaru ika are in season now. They are tiny now but will grow much bigger in a few months.

I'm not sure but the shellfish you thought was mirugai looks like abalone (awabi in Japanese) to me. The green on the right is nanohana (rape). Images of nanohana no ohitashi (boiled rape) The small squids: Were they firefly squids (hotaru ika in Japanese)? I posted some photos of them in my "Local Sushi Shop in Niigata" thread. The celery-looking thing: It's probably fuki. Do you remember smallworld did "itazuri" (rolling fuki with salt on the cooking board) in her foodblog? The name of the dish is wakatake ni (simmered young bamboo shoots). Images of watakake ni Ankima: Ankomo (monkfish liver), right? I'm not sure but the leaf in the grelled fish dish may be yukinoshita (Japanese only). The leaf is also good when tempura'ed.