Hiroyuki

It's that time of year again! Edamame and beer! What a perfect match! I often see this new variety, kaori mame (fragrance beans), sold at the supermarket this year. I can't tell the difference between this and other varieties, though.

Congratulations, GlorifiedRice! But I must ask why you ate it with mayo when you wanted to make sure your yakisoba was oil-free. Here's a nice tip that I learned from the TV show Itoke no Shokutaku: Add 2 tbsp sake to one serving of yakisoba noodles to loosen, instead of water. This prevents the yakisoba from being soggy, and helps the seasoning adhere to the yakisoba noodles. One of the few Itoke no Shokutaku tips (urawaza) that really work. One more thing: Ketchup! That's a novel idea!

Sorry, I don't. Someone else (maybe SheenaGreena) may know. You can only use young leaves around May and June.

I ran across this video showing how to make vegetable tempura: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-vegetable-tempura I'm no expert on tempura, but even I can tell that this recipe is strange in some points, at least to native Japanese like me. 1. 250 g of flour and 150 cornflour (cornstarch in American English)? That's 37.5% cornflour. You can't get the authentic texture with that high percentage of starch. 2. Make tempura batter first and then heat the oil? This must be the other way around. 3. Add water to the flour and cornflour? You should add flour to water. 4. Grated ginger for garnish besides grated daikon? Hmm... Should I say innovative?

You haven't check this post yet? Simply with soy sauce, su miso, ponzu, etc. Kristin posted a recipe for su miso here http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1966.html I must confess that I personally don't like su miso...

no tsukemono? dame! Well it IS shiyoramen, after all. SHIO = SALT Don't other varieties have a lot less salt, say miso or tonkotsu? I didn't read the Japanese review yet, but yes, technically the only other ramenya at this level is Santouka @ the Mitsuwa, and they've only had to deal with Japanese customers for the most part. Can't wait to see what a few weeks of EV-types is going to do to the Setagaya crew ← I can't find detailed information on the salt content of each type of ramen, but I don't think the salt content significantly differs from one type to another. According to the websites below, noodle dishes (udon, soba, and ramen) are typically in the range of about 4-7% salt contents per bowl. http://www.shimouma-pha.co.jp/contents17.htm http://www.necf.jp/contents/insurance/mame/sio/chomiryo.html (Japanese only) I'm healthy now, but my father is hypertensive, so I really can't take chances.

In that case, raji and docsconz, consider not ordering those pickles the next time you eat ramen. Just consider how much salt a bowl of ramen has in it, which is at least 5 g and probably more.

Many people, whether Japanese or non-Japanese, hesitate to eat sushi with their hands for some reason or other. If you are like these people, here is a practical way to eat sushi with chopsticks (actually recommended by some sushi chefs in Japan): Turn a piece of sushi on its side with the chopsticks, pick it up with the chopsticks, and dip the tip of the neta (topping) in soy sauce. Whether to use your hands or chopsticks to eat sushi is much of a personal preference, and what should really be avoided is to separate the neta (topping) from the shari (vinegared rice), dip it in soy sauce, put it back on the shari, and eat it. I thought this was kind of a taboo until I found this: http://kotonoha.cc/no/10983 (Japanese only) To the question, When eating sushi, do you first peel off the nega, dip it in soy sauce, put it back on the shari, and eat it? more than ten percent of the 245 respondents have said yes so far. Probably the percentage is high because the respondents are mostly young people.

This review by a Japanese (in Japanese only) speaks very highly of their ramen. The ramen, at the level that can survive the ramen war in Japan, is probably the first in Manhattan. *** As for the ramen broth, do you guys all drink it up?? Don't take the movie Tampopo too seriously...

Sushi was finger food in the Edo period, but now, more Japanese eat it with chopsticks, and I am one of them. Many think that eating sushi with your hands is the way to go if you sit at the bar in a sushi shop, but still, a decent sushi chef will tell you it's up to the diner whether to use your hands or chopsticks.

Thanks for the great report, docsconz. Ramen shop specializing in shio ramen in New York!? It is often said that shio ramen is the hardest to make of the three types (shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), and miso). The red pickle is shiba zuke (eggplant pickled in salt and red perilla leaves), the green one is takana zuke, and the yellow one is takuan (daikon pickle).

I didin't know that red (aka) konnyaku is a specialty of Omi Hachiman in Shiga prefecture. Why don't you post some photos in the vegetable gardening thread here in the Japan Forum or another in the Food Tranditions & Culture Forum? But, grilled natto? Hmm..... No thanks! Natto tempura is one of my son's favorites, and my wife used to make it. Natto tempura is flavorful enough, but the smell of it while being deep-fried!

As I mentioned here, kurobuta is purebred Berkshire, but kurobuta is now not just purebred Berkshire because the pigs are raised in a special way.

What a great website! My computer doesn't type Japanese characters (kana or kanji), but it was interesting browsing through the different categories. I'll definitely be using that site again, so thanks for the pointer! Do you think kuzu manju is similar to warabimochi? I've never had kuzu manju, so I don't even know what it looks like. ← Hmm... Probably similar in that both warabimochi-ko and kuzu-ko are usually potato starch with no real warabi-ko and kuzu-ko or just a small amount of them, respectively, but they are different in that warabimochi is eaten with a mixture (usually 1:1) of kinako and sugar and kuzu-manzu has anko in it.

When I checked out the oden recipe, I was surprised that it didn't call for parboiling daikon in "kome no togi jiru" (milky water resulting from washing rice with water). Instead, it calls for heating daikon in a microwave for 6 min. Maybe I should try that recipe the next time I make oden. Thanks for the information on the fish.

Unfortunately, no information about warabimochi here.

In Japan, we have "yaki ramen" and "shiru-nashi" (broth-less) ramen. Yaki ramen images Shiru-nashi ramen images

But, only the first one, Sundae Cup Sweet Potato, is relevant to this thread...

Keep at a simmer, and you will get clear broth. Keep at a rolling boil, and you will get cloudy, tonkotsu ramen broth. It's a matter of convection, right?

Hi, jean_genie. How do you like your life in the country? I can't be of much help with your questions, as my mother is the one who makes umeboshi. (Where's Helen, by the way?) The easiest and surest way to get answers is to ask the teacher who gave them to you, right? Just in case you can't, here are some links in Japanese. http://www.geocities.jp/yamapon65/tisantisyou_umebosi.html http://www.ajiwai.com/otoko/make/umeb_fr.htm This one says that you can use the liquid to make beni shoga (red pickled ginger). http://www.tukeru.com/tukemono/recipe_50009.htm This one provides a video showing how to make umeboshi. (Click the rectangle below 動画でCHECK!! ....) All I can say is that the time is not quite right for umeboshi drying, because this is usually done in late July to eary August (after the rainy season is over), for three days. I hope you can find a Japanese friend who can help you with your questions.

I need one clarification: Do you use fried ramen noodles (you mean instant fried ramen, right?) to make yakisoba? In Japan, we use a special type of noodles, which is usually steamed. Anyway, just do what you described, and report back!

I guess I should clarify. I haven't been to every part of Japan searching for that type of dessert. But I think that most Japanese would know of it. A Google image search brings up pages and pages of such desserts. http://images.google.ca/images?q=%E3%82%B9...m=1&sa=N&tab=wi ← OK, sweets sold by the name of "sweet potato" are as popular as strawberry sponge cakes, mont blanc, and purin (Japanese custard pudding) in Japan, and it happens to be a favorite of my son's. It's only that I haven't had the marugoto type.

That type of sweet potato dessert is quite common all across Japan. ← I'm not sanrensho , and I must say that I'm not very familiar with that type. I mean, I know of it, but I haven't had it before. I can say that using skin as a container is not at all a novel idea; you can see the skins of persimmons, orange and other citrus fruits, kabocha, and other vegetables as containers. I don't think Marugoto sweet potato is a specialty of Otaru. It's only that Hokkaido is famous for its dairy products. Of course, you can make marugoto sweet potato yourself. A recipe is here. http://cookpad.com/kabotin/recipe/280651/ (Sorry, Japanese only) ← Dear Hiroyuki, You have killed me instantly letting me have the recipe in front o f me but cannot do a thing. iii ← As GlorifiedRice clarified, "sweet potato" is very easy to make. Here's one recipe (for not a marugoto but a regular one) in English: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/sweetpota...tpotatocake.htm To make a marugoto one, simply scoop out the flesh carefully after cooking the potato in a steamer or in a microwave.

I forgot to post my family's favorite everyday salads: 1. Potato salad: Calls for kewpie mayonnaise. I add 1 tsp sugar and 1 tbsp vinegar. 2. Hijiki salad: Also calls for kewpie mayo. 3. Wakame and enoki salad, mentioned upthread. 4. Daikon salad, with any of mayo, ground sesame seed dressing, umeboshi paste dressing, and ponzu.

Has anyone mentioned seaweed like wakame and hijiki and mushrooms like enoki? One example: Wakame + parboiled enoki + fake crabmeat (known as surimi in the Unites States?) + corn (which is a very popular ingredient of a salad in Japan) 1:1:0.5 mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame seed oil as a dressing Substituting citrus juice such as yuzu juice for vinegar is always a good idea. Thus, a 1:1:1 mixture of soy sauce, mirin, and yuzu juice. And, ground sesame seed dressing: 4 tbsp ground white sesame seed 2 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbps vinegar 1 tsp sugar And, finally, using umeboshi paste is also a good idea. For example, Finely chop 4-5 umeboshi. Combine with 2 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp mirin.