Hiroyuki

I measured the diameter of a depression of my takoyaki pan. It was 38 mm, or 1.5 inches. Now I hope you can find a premade takoyaki mix, katsuobushi (dried bonito shavings), beni shoga (red pickled ginger), and all other necessary ingredients!

Here is an entry of katsuobushi in Wikipedia. Like Jason says, katsuo = bonito. When I was small back in 1960s, we still used katsuobushi in block form and used a special shaver to make shavings. We use the word Katsuobushi to mean both a block form and shavings. I think that katsuobushi shavings are regarded as an ingredient rather than a garnish, and often as an required ingredient in such dishes as takoyaki and konomiyaki. I don't think so.

That's strange... No dried bonito in okaka furikake?? I can't find an ingredient list for that product, but I found a list for a similar okaka furikake of the same manufacturer from here: 原材料：調味顆粒（ぶどう糖、鰹節粉、食塩、砂糖、とうもろこしでん粉、デキストリン、酵母エキス）、味付鰹削り節（鰹削り節、砂糖、食塩、酵母エキス、しいたけエキス）、海苔、酸化防止剤（ビタミンE） The list contains both dried bonito powder and savings. Didn't you find these kanji in the ingredient list of your furikake? 鰹節粉 鰹削り節 top: dried bonito powder bottom: dried bonito savings

Just curious, have you ever considered using an Aebleskiver Pan instead?

Okaka (おかか) is another name for katsuo bushi (dried bonito), but it usually means shaved katsuo bushi plus a bit of soy sauce. Okaka onigiri is very poular. Commercially available okaka furikake usually contain ingredients other than shaved katsuo bushi such as nori and sesame seeds. The recipe that prasantrin linked to calls for Shirasu (baby sardines), katsuo bushi, nori, ao-nori, toasted white sesame seeds, and seasonings.

Yes, 08.02.14 means February 12, 2008. In Japan, we usually use this format: YY.MM.DD. Judging from the official website of the manufacturer, it' a very good product!

Now I am less busy, so here I go. Here is a very brief description of a kaiseki meal served by the host at a tea ceremony. (I think it's stupid of me to talk about this type of kaiseki in detail when I haven't had a single one in my life). First the guest is served a leg-less tray called oshiki (oh-shee-kee), which contains: Rice Soup Mukozuke (sashimi, sunomono (vinegared dish), etc.) The guest first eats the rice and the soup, and then starts having mukozuke after being served sake. Then, the guest is served, in this order: minomo (simmered dish), yakimono (grilled dish), shii zakana (appetizer), hassun (food from the mountains and food from the sea placed on a hassun (8-sun) (24-cm) square cedar tray (the former being placed at an upper right position and the latter at a lower left position), yuto (scorched rice with hot water plus a bit of salt), konomono (pickles), and kashi (dessert), before tea is served. Examples of some of the dishes mentioned above can be found here: http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~kousaian/page33/page.html First photo: Rice, soup, mukozuke on an oshiki Second: Nimono Third: Yakimono Fourth: Shii zakana Fourth: Hassun As you can see, this type of kaiseki is a light meal served before tea is served. Tea is the main thing, and rice and soup are served first. In a restaurant-style kaiseki meal, sakizuke* is usually served first , and you eat it with sake, and rice and soup are served near the end, before mizugashi (aka mizumono). In short, this type of kaiseki is a meal for enjoying drinking sake. * I know from your blog that hassun is served first at Hamadaya, but at Kikunoi (Kikunoi at Akasaka, Tokyo is a two-star kyo-kaiseki (Kyoto style kaiseki) restaurant) and many other Japanese restaurants, they first serve sakizuke.

Looks like shredded daikon to me. ← Yes, it's shredded daikon, "daikon no katsura muki" in Japanese. Note that it's real "katsura muki", which is time-consuming to make and requires special cutting skills, not a fake one that can be made very easily using a special tool (mandoline?) and can be seen in many other traditional sushi shops. In addition, many traditional sushi shops purchase tamago aka gyoku (thick omelet) from a market. In this particular shop, however, they make it themselves, either by the chef or his wife. The two types shown upthread were made by the chef. I like their tamago because it's less sweet than commmercially available ones. I found some description of katsura muki in English here. *** Summary Features of this particular traditional sushi shop include: 1. Located in the mountains, according to their website (actually at a five-minute walk from Urasa station on Joetsu Shinkansen), but very enthusiastic about offering fresh fish and seafood, particularly those from Sado Island, at affordable prices. 2. Uses Koshihikari rice produced in the Uonuma district (one of the best rices in Japan). 3. Offers yakitori, chicken kara age, and other dishes not found in many other traditional sushi shops. Note that some traditional sushi shops offer sushi only. 4. Family-run, children-friendly. Casual atmosphere.

I learned from the chef's wife's blog last Thursday that the sushi shop had purchased one 6-kg kan-buri. I thought I had to go there this weekend. First, I ordered sashimi in an omakase style. I asked the chef to include kan-buri. Top, from left to right: Kan-buri (adult yellowtail caught in the winter), mebachi maguro (bigeye tuna), mizu dako (Giant Pacific octopus, Octopus dofleini) Bottom: Namban ebi aka ama ebi (sweet shrimp), takenoko mebaru aka tsuranago (rock fish, scorpion fish, Sebastes oblongus Günther), aji (Japanese jack mackerel, Japanese horse mackerel), awabi (abalone) "Takenoko mebaru" is the formal name, while "tsuranago" is the local name used in Sado Island. I was surprised at the texture of the takenoko mebaru. It was tough, and was more like that of octopus. On the other hand, raw mizu dako was tender. Kan-buri tasted like fatty tuna . Close-up of mizu dako I ordered "ma-dara to shirako no agedashi" (deep-fried Pacific cod and sperm sac in dashi soup): 600 yen. Very good! My daughter ordered the Okosama Set, as usual: 840 yen I thought my son wanted to have this, so I ordered one: Sazae no tsuboyaki (turban shell cooked in the shell) I forgot to write down the price (600 yen probably). My son ordered "jo" zushi: 1,785 yen This particular sushi shop offers four nigiri zushi selections: Nami, chu, jo, toku-jo (from the lowest to the highest). Other shops offer ume (Japanese plum), which is usually the lowest, take (bamboo), and matsu (pine). The kan-buri in the omakase sashimi platter was far from enough for three of us, so I ordered kan-buri sashimi: 800 yen Closeup of one slice: You can see how fatty it was. I thought for a very long time what sushi to order. I skipped today's sushi because most of the fish as neta (toppings) were the same as the ones I had already had as the omakase sashimi. I settled on "jo" zushi, the same one that my son ordered. 1,785 yen You can see some differences from my son's. Closeups: My son got this for free from the gentleman sitting at the counter . Two types of tamago (egg). One is plain and the other had nori (laver) and kani (crab meat) in it. I finally ordered yakitori: 525 yen It was very good, especially when you get tired of eating fish. Note that not all traditional sushi shops offer yakitori. The bill came to 9,555 yen. I thought that the kan-buri alone was worth the trip. (For those of you who don't know, I live in Snow Country, and it's been snowing for a few days in a row, and driving at night is extremely dangerous.) Made some corrections.

First of all, thank you very much for taking us on a wonderful, vicarious trip to that famous three-star restaurant. I have fully enjoyed your description and photos of the restaurant. As for your question, I think I will make a reply in a day or two. (Sorry, I'm kind of busy right now.)

I don't think that western ingredients should be banned, but I do think that at a kappo restaurant, dishes should be lightly seasoned. The rich onsen tamago-and-cheese and tartar sauces in the two dishes were surely palate-numbing. I didn't find the custard pudding was so rich, but the coffee was bitter! I forgot to mention that we were served houji cha (roasted greeen tea) together with the custard pudding with coffee. I haven't made much progress in my cooking; I've been too busy. As for my analysis, I'm glad to say that I have gotten out of the situation where the more I read, the more confused I get. Now I know that almost all sources on information about kaiseki, both in Japanese and English, are inappropriate, to say the least. Even Wikipedia is no exception. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiseki Correction: Not after but before. I know. That's especially true in urban areas. Who wants to invite guests to their cramped little houses? Another factor is that treating guests well means to serve them overwhealming number and amount of dishes. Neither. The more I learn about the initial type, "cha kaiseki", the more reluctant I become to follow it. The same goes for "kyo kaiseki" (Kyoto-style kaiseki), discussed in the book I mentioned upthread. I think I'll develop my own style of kaiseki. One element of kaiseki I can't ignore is seasonality, and I want to use ingredients in seasons (shun), and I'd like to include some hashiri (first-run ingredient?) and nanokori (ingredient slightly out of season?), if possible, to express seasonal changes. Another element I can't ignore is the variety of serving dishes. I think I have to spend some time and money on them.

Thanks for your comments. I wasn't critical of the dinner last night because I was drunk, but now that I'm sober, I tend to be somewhat critical of it. Too much Western influence, and I'm not very interested in a fusion cusine. The topping was tartar sauce, and the red ones tasted like red pepper. I was too drunk to ask the waitress what they were .

Tonight, I had dinner with relatives (ten people in total) at a kappo restaurant nearby. The dinner was not necessarily a kaiseki course, but it was somewhat similar to what I want to make on a special day. So, here are some photos of it. First, otoshi (dish that is served if you order an alcoholic drink): Horse mackerel nanban zuke Home-made sesame dofu Chinese cabbage ohitashi topped with ito togarashi (lit. thread red pepper) Kanpachi carpaccio (2 servings): Sashimi (2 servings): Nanban ebi aka ama ebi Horse mackerel Kuromutsu (Scombrops gilberti) On yasai (hot vegetables) (2 servings): Steamer with the lid removed: Dipping sauce: which contains onsen tamago and cheese. Deep-fried chicken (2 servings): Sushi (2 servings): Kinme dai (Beryx splendens) Tuna Squid topped with a bit of caviar Udon: Dessert: The waitress said it was coffee jelly (if I heard her right), but it was custard pudding with coffee, with some gold foil on top. Overall, a good value for 3,000 yen (exluding drinks) I'm thinking of holding a kaiseki party this spring, and I got some ideas from the dinner.

I was wrong. I found this comprehensive website about chado (sado), which explains in detail the difference between the two types of kaiseki. And, I'm very glad about this because I don't have to spell out everything about kaiseki.

Thanks! Now I know how foolish I was. Tuna 綱 = Rope (Tuna is more often spelled tsuna.) And, this type of arare is made with wheat flour. I like this snack, too.

I did some googling but failed to identify the product you described. tuna = tuna in English? age = deep-fried or something deep-fried arare = cracker made with glutinous rice (not regular rice)

Same here. More snow photos, please!

The other day, I learned from a magazine that I browsed in a bank that the regular price is 137 yen! I can't buy it very often.

I would buy one and make sashimi from the flesh and make buri daikon using all the trimmings (ara)! ← That's what I was thinking. I've never carved up a fish that big though. Have you? ← No, although I have no idea how big your kan-buri was. I've wanted to buy a deba for months, and that will be a good execuse for buying one, and a yanagi.

I would buy one and make sashimi from the flesh and make buri daikon using all the trimmings (ara)!

Sorry, I'm not much of a nabe fan, and I don't have a recipe. I googled "sesame soy milk nabe" in Japanese (ゴマ 豆乳 鍋 actually), I got some recipes. First two of those recipes: From http://tounabe.seesaa.net/ 4 cups (i.e. 200 ml x 4 = 800 ml) soy milk 1 cup (200 ml) water 3 tbp instant chicken soup powder 4 tbsp sesame seeds, ground 1 knob garlic The recipe says to put ground sesame seeds immediately before eating. From http://minyako.blog14.fc2.com/blog-entry-387.html 250 ml Japanese dashi 250 ml soy milk 2 tbsp miso 1 tbsp sesame paste

I'm still in the process of making a "desk study" of kaiseki. In other words, I'm still making a "kaiseki" (analysis) of kaiseki! I know I must have some real experience with kaiseki (both two types of kaiseki 懐石 and 会席) some day. This thread is going to be the only reliable source of information about kaiseki available in English. *** I used the rest of the dashi, which I made on Jan. 9, to make dipping sauce for soba: I combined it with soy sauce and mirin (well, fake mirin, to be exact) at a ratio of 4:1:1. I used it on that day (Jan. 9), which was a terrible mistake. The acute flavor of soy sauce was rather off-putting. I put the remaining dipping sauce in the fridge, and when I tasted it three days later, it tasted much milder. I used the remaining dipping sauce to make simmered daikon. I wanted to try the technique that I had learned from a famous TV show, Me Ga Ten. At Nadaman (famous Japanese restaurant), they first simmer daikon rings in "kome no togi jiru" (milky water resulting from washing uncooked rice) for 30 minutes, put them in cold water, and then simmer in soy sauce-flavored dashi for another 30 minutes. They leave the pot at room temperature for 8 hours to let the dashi seep through the daikon before serving. Me Ga Ten staff succeeded in shortening the time required to let the dashi seep through to only 1 hour by wrapping the pot in aluminum foil first, followed by newspaper and a bath towel. I first simmered daikon rings in water plus a small amount (about 1 tbsp) of rice (instead of "kome no togijiru") for 5 minutes, took them out, and put them in a pot of the remaining dipping sauce plus an equal amount of water. I simmered them for 30 minutes. Then I wrapped the pot in newspaper only (omitted the aluminum foil and the bath towel). I took out some from the pot 30 minutes later. They were in good condition, with the dashi having seeped almost through the core. I used the nibandashi (#2 dashi) to make miso soup. I didn't add additional bonito flakes (oi-gatsuo in Japanese). It was so weak that I had to add some instant dashi. Edited to add: Tonight, I made "furikake" (maybe I should call it "tsukudani"), using the used kombu and bonito flakes plus two cans of mackerel and sesame seeds.

Do you know how fake ikura is made? I googled, but couldn't find anything helpful. Kake ← Artificial ikura was first invented by Nippon Carbide Industries Co., Ltd. They accidentally succeeded in making something similar to ikura while attempting to put adhesive into microcapsules. I once watched a TV show explaining how artificial ikura was made, but unfortunately, the most important part of the technology was a trade secret. Artificial ikura has a three-layer structure just like real ikura, and is difficult to make at home. Simpler, single-layered ikura is easy to make: Just put droplets of 3% sodium alginate solution in calcium chloride solution. http://portal.nifty.com/koneta05/05/21/02/ Sorry, Japanese only. Probably you can tell how it is made by looking at the photos. All other webpages linked to below are also in Japanese only. Tanaka Laboratory in the University of Niigata has this webpage, which explains how to make three-layered ikura: http://capsule.eng.niigata-u.ac.jp/howto/ht_ikura/ Figure 1 shows the three-layer structure of artificial (and real) ikura: http://capsule.eng.niigata-u.ac.jp/howto/h...ura/ikr_mdl.jpg Small yellow circle: Salad oil Contents of the red circle: Gel Membrane: Gel made from sodium alginate You will need salad oil, beta-carotene (to color the oil), sodium alginate, coloring agent (to color the sodium alginate), and calcium chloride. Figure 3-a shows how artificial ikura is made, using two nozzles: http://capsule.eng.niigata-u.ac.jp/howto/ht_ikura/apprts.jpg Finally, Figure 6 at the bottom of the webpage shows how it is made using a single nozzle.

I just can't believe this! What gorgeous osechi! I can't even imagine how much it cost! Ise ebi (spiny lobster)! I have never associated New Year's Day with tai ... Only mochi, o-zoni, and some osechi for me...

Take it easy, rona. You said you had plenty of free time, didn't you? I meant warabi shoots. Warabi mochi is made with starch extracted from warabi roots. Warabi shoots are carcinogenic, but don't worry. Eating that amount of warabi won't do you any harm. I can't tell what the fruit is. It's kind of fuzzy in that photo. I don't like koyadofu, either. But my father, who is from Shinshu (Nagano), likes it very much. (Koyadofu is called shimi dofu in Shinshu.)