Hiroyuki

Sides? Pickles, simmered dishes, and what have you. My recipe of simmered kabocha is simpler, requiring no dashi. 1/4 kabocha 2 tbsp(?) sugar 2 tbsp(?) soy sauce I added the question mark because I don't bother to measure the amounts. Cut kabocha and put in a pot and add water to hitahita. "Hitahita" refers to a state where the water covers the ingredient(s) (kabocha, in this case) almost completely, but not completely. When it boils, lower the heat, and add sugar first. In 5 minutes, add soy sauce. I follow the sashisuseso order, which means sugar first, followed by salt, vinegar, soy sauce, and miso last. Cook for another 3-5 min. (for a total of 8-10 min.) Let it cool. Good luck!

In Niigata, domyoji ko (道明寺粉) is used to make sakura mochi whereas in Tokyo, joshin ko (上新粉) is used. I learned this only today. Now I know why salted cherry leaves and domyoji ko are sold side by side at the local supermarket. Domyoji ko is made by steaming mochi rice, drying it, and then coasely grinding it.

Did you get a reply from them? Today, I found salted cherry leaves sold at the local supermarket. A pack of 50 leaves costs 600 yen. Can you find them where you live?

I occasionally buy similar products, meat sauces, because my children like them. They are usually sold for 100 yen per pack, and we (a family of two adults and two children) usually use two packs per meal, so I think they are relatively cheap.

Me, either. Coco Ichi wasn't very popular when I lived in Tokyo, if I remember correctly. ("Curry no Osama" was very popular when I was a university student.) I made curry last Tuesday, and I deliberately didn't include potatoes in it for the reason you stated. We ate one half on that day, and I put the other half in the freezer. We will have it next Tuesday and see how it will taste.

Yes, we do. We call it mugicha. Shredded nori is almost a "must" in a Japanese-style spaghetti. I can also sprinkle some katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes).

Last Mondy, the famous TV show, Gacchiri Monday!!, featured CoCo Ichibanya, often abbreviated CoCo Ichi, and I learned that their curry is simmered for ten hours and is then frozen for about one week before being delivered to their restaurants. The founders, which are a married couple, say that freezing makes the curry taste better. I will try that freezing technique the next time I make curry and report back.

The rice should be scalding hot to make good onigiri. Some more details can be found here. But I don't think that the rice should be that hot to make onigiri with raw ingredients like raw tarako (cod roe). Anyway, the rice should be hot, not cold.

Hiroyuki as always you prove yourself kind and generous. I would appreciate that very much and if I can get it then I will report on it here when it arrives. I have to say the depth of this board is amazing, there are undoubtedly thousands of things I am ignorant of but almost every time I look for something here it has been covered somewhere - no matter how obscure. Only recently did I start looking at Hokkaido and never knew of Ainu cuisine, but inevitably a search here reveals discussions about just about anything. So far Sakura Cheese and Kompeito are the only things I've run into with no mention. (Edit: and I just found Kompeito.) Unpredictable? Hmm. Yes, perhaps. Though that can be a good thing and a bad thing. On the one hand being able to adapt is beneficial, on the other hand not being able to be settled can be problematic. Like a cup of water. The water needs the cup because without it - it is shapeless and will dissipate and evaporate into nothing. Yet without it's fluid nature the water would not be able to adapt so easily to so many situations. Rigidity and flexibility each have their own benefits and drawbacks. I'm doing my best to find the balance. I hope life is treating you well as you are deserving of such, and I hope their answer is yes - because I am very curious. ← Thanks for your very philosophical comments, as usual. As for me, I would say that life is a series of decisions to make. Some decions are more difficult to make than others, and it took my wife and me almost ten years to decide to have a house built here in Shiozawa. But that's totally a different story and is absolutely not food-related. I received a reply from them this morning, and just as I had expected, the answer was No "because of strict quarantine and such". Sorry to say, my passionate email letter cut no ice with them. So, what do you say? Do you want to write a letter to them yourself?

Thanks for the info on Shochu. Maybe next time I have the opportunity I will make sure I get a taste of both the Korui and the otsurui so I can compare their taste and qualities.All in the name of research of course. Coincidently, Hiroyuki, my next post contains references to a sake from Niigata which I drank in an pub which I describe like this.................. ""The place appeared to me to be an Izakaya with function rooms upstairs I believe. I don’t know the name of it but I think it might be owned by Keio. It was in a street about 3 minutes walk from Seiseki Sakuragaoka station and I was told that someone in our group of 7 had made the reservation for 5pm as that is the time that it opens." Anyone have any idea what the name of it might be or if they have website? I don’t know the name of the sake but it was from Niigata and I remember something about umi(ocean) and hachi(8).It had a white label with about 2 kanji characters in big bold black writing. I wish I knew what it was so I could buy some more of it. I have now been informed by my wife that it may have been Hakkaisan sake. Would that be right? Speaking of Niigata sake, I just finished a 180ml bottle of uonuma sake while nibbling on some of Hidemi’s homemade tamari almond and linseed mix. It was a very nice, smooth sake. I want to have some more. No more left so I decided to open another bottle which I brought back with me-Chomei Izumi from (Narita,Chiba) apparently. It was very nice too but I preferred the uonuma sake. However,I am a newcomer to sake and just starting to appreciate the different varieties and levels of quality.So please forgive my preferences if they sound strange. ← That must be Hakkaisan (八海山)! It's very, very popular in the Tokyo area. I like it, but I like Kakurei better! Have you checked out this thread, which I started in the Wine Forum? Most sake produced in Niigata are described as tanrei karakuchi (淡麗辛口), light and dry, but Aoki Brewry aims to achieve tanrei umakuchi (淡麗旨口), light and tasty. Also, have you checked out this site? Click "GOURMET LIQUOR" on the left-hand side, scroll down to "Sake brewing of Minamiuonuma", and click either 2Mbps or 500Kbps depending on your Internet connection, and a video will start, showing Hakkai Jozo (which produces Hakkaisan), Aoki Shuzo, and Takachiyo Shuzo.

Cartilage yakitori is all about the texture. I can't think of the exact equivalent in English. How do you say "korikori" in English? Simply "crunchy"?

Some clarification need here. There are two types of shochu (Japanese distilled spirit) in Japan: Korui (甲類) and otsurui (乙類). The former is cheaper, often diluted with water, citrus juice, and others to make chu-hai. The latter is also known as honkaku (authentic) shochu, and is more expensive. More details can be found here. cookaburra, I hope that your favorite sake brands include those from Niigata.

Thanks, Blether. Here's what I found about chicken cartilage: For use as yakitori, there are two types of chicken cartilage: yagen (breast cartilage) and genkotsu (knee cartilage). The four photos here show pieces of yagen, which are easy to handle. Genkotsu is hard to handle, and often served in the kara age style. The photo here shows both knee kartridge yakitori (left) and breast cartilage yakitori (right). Other two photos of yagen can be found here. This is a recipe (in Japanese) for tsukune yakitori with cartilage added (doesn't specify which type of cartilage to use).

Thanks to both of you!!. I've had Sakura Mochi and Sakura Ice Cream, the salty nature of the cherry blossom leaves actually seems as though it would go perfect with cheese - though I never would have thought about it. There is a mochi place here where I can get the salted leaves so maybe I'll go grab some and try them with a few cheeses. Hiroyuki my friend - it's good to hear from you!! What am I up to? After 7 years in Chicago it was time to go, my girlfriend got a job in Southern California so I moved out here. Checking everything out I can, the Asian population is enormous as well as there is an incredible diversity of cultures blended out here - Armenian, Peruvian, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, French, Mediterranean, Japanese - you name it it's here. Not to mention the Midwest and Southern influences. So many things I never knew existed here and so many myths and stereotypes dispelled. My girlfriend grew up in Beijing and routinely makes statements that a great deal of the food here is identical to back home. There are places in Little Tokyo in LA and out in the Valley that I think would surprise you, if you ever come this way please let me know! Anyway, still cooking, studying Chinese and Italian mostly at the moment and going back over things I've covered looking for things I've never heard of - hence Sakura Cheese. Hopefully another photo entry coming around soon - have a good start but I am always hesitant to think that the world will actually allow me to finish, I have been very lucky so far and am very grateful. ← I didn't know you had moved to Southern California... You are unpredictable. Maybe the word "settlement" is not in your dictionary. If you are serious about getting that cheese, I can send them an inquiry for you in Japanese, asking them if they are willing to ship it overseas. I think that the chances are slim, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

With some difficulty, I finally made this list: 合鴨 aigamo: Type of duck やき鳥 yakitori (also spelled 焼き鳥, 焼鳥, やきとり, and so on): Grilled chicken かわ kawa: Skin ずり zuri: Gizzard (also called 砂肝 sunagimo) かんむり kanmuri: Crown せせり seseri: Meat around the neck みち michi (lit. path, road): Oviduct? (I'm not sure.) すきみ sukimi: Meat around the neck きも kimo: Liver (also called レバー ray-bah from English) ハート hato (from English heart): Heart (better known as ハツ hatsu, which is also from English) 目ぎも megimo: Eye liver?? (what is it??) くび kubi: Neck I'm not sure how seseri, sukimi, and kubi differ from one another. さんかく sankaku (lit. triangle): Tail なんこつ nankotsu: Cartilage ささみ sasami: Fillet きんかん kinkan (lit. kumquat): Egg still in the hen like these http://store.yahoo.co.jp/suigodori/420152.html 手羽 teba: Wing せぎも segimo: Kidney 巾着 kinchaku: I can't tell what it is. ころ koro: I can't tell what it is, either. つくね tsukune: Minced chicken, with other ingredients added It took me more than one hour to make this incomplete list. Don't think that this type of translation is easy to do just because I am a native Japanese! Now, who's gonna pay me for that...

Here is a similar question (in Japanese). Among several answers, Usually, sprinkle salt, let it sit for 15 min. or so, and rinse with water. For those who don't like liver, sprinkle salt, let it sit for 15 min., rinse with water, and soak in milk for half a day. Don't worry about the seasoning. In general, there can be only two types of flavor for yakitori anyway: Tare (sauce) and shio (salt). Let me add one more thing: For native Japanese like me, yakitori is something to eat with alcohol (especially beer!!), not with rice, let alone vinegared rice. John, I will post a translation of some of the items on the menu later (probably tomorrow).

I found some closeup photos of it here. What are you up to next, sizzleteeth? John is right. According to their website, they sell it only from March through June.

As I have said several times in the Japan Forum, miso can go bad! Most contemporary miso have a low salt content of around 10%. It's a myth that miso can keep forever. If you don't use up a pack of miso soon enough, say, within six months or so, you may want to put it in the freezer rather than in the fridge.

Thank Hiroyuki, I like the Onsen Tamago recipe but the ratio for dashi, mirin and soya sauce is not stated, you have any idea? ← No, so I did some googling. One site suggests a dashi, mirin, and soy sauce ratio of 6:1:1. Others simply say to pour some 'men tsuyu' (noodle soup) concentrate. You can also simply pour some soy sauce only.

I found this online shopping site of Afternoon Tea. Corn bread? You don't mean corn bread made with cornmeal, do you?

In Japan, we have onsen tamago (yolk being harder than white), like this, which is kind to hard to make. You may need to make some experiments before you can get it right.

I didn't know that salmon belly was a delicacy..., and I don't think I have ever had it before...

Interesting. I thought that Japan was the only country in Asia in which 2007 was a year of the wild boar, not of the pig.

Shinju? I agree with the Kewpie and Hellmans. I think the reason Kewpie tastes funny to me is because it is the very thin soft plastic bottle it comes in. I think the bottle makes it go off in flavor. ← There is more to that plastic container than meets the eye. It has a multilayer structure to provide protection against oxidization, as described here (sorry, Japanese only). Interestingly, the above webpage also says that they receive comments from customers that their mayo in glass bottles tastes different from that in plastic containers. Their answer is: Rough translation: The reason is considered to be that in glass bottles, external pressure and oxygen are hard to enter, so that the mayo in them are less likely to change in flavor than mayo in plastic containers.

I'm not familiar with such procedures. The easiest way to get such a licence will be to go to the nearest koban (police box) and ask. Here is one related site: http://www.pref.osaka.jp/f_inf/te/teannai/...nnai_00811.html I guess you basically need to get a 道路占有許可 or 道路使用許可. (Are they the same thing, I don't know.)