Hiroyuki

Here is a previous thread of square watermelon in the Food Media and News Forum: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=45320&hl= According to this webpage, a square watermelon is 12,600 yen, a pyramid one 84,000 yen (not 8,400 ), and a human face one is 84,000 yen. If I remember correctly, square watermelons were first conceived to make them easier to store in the fridge. sk_ward, I appreciate your efforts. I enjoy your photos in the Japan Forum.

Torikatsu is OK, but we more often say chikin (Japanese pronunciation of chicken) katsu. Chicken katsu is good by itself. I like it.

I'm not sure what 'mint rust' is, but I think I better follow your suggestions. I'll ask some local people where I can find wild, real hakka. The problem is where I can find such people...

Another favorite of mine: Gateau Raisin of Bourbon. Shown in the photo is a "family pack" of six Gateau Rasin's and five Ganash Soft's. This is the first time I've had Ganash Soft. It was good too. I bought the pack for 298 yen.

SFG update Sep. 22 SFG box 1: Cherry tomato, 4 squares; melokhia, 1; komatsuna, 1; lettuce, 3. Komatsuna and lettuce not visible yet. SFG boxes 3, 4: Strawberry, 15 squares; cabbage 2; komatsuna 1. SFG box 2: Melokhia 1 square; komatsuna, 2; cherry tomato, 2; carrot, 1 (old), 3 (new). The planter box on the left contains broccoli.

I didn't, either. Here are the manufacuturer's instrustions on how to grow maitake in Japanese. http://www.rakuten.co.jp/drmori1/562055/487030/#539909 (Scroll up to view the instructions.) Bury the logs completely, with soil 3-5 cm deep above their top. And, here are their instructions on how to grow hiratake (oyster mushroom) in Japanese: http://www.rakuten.co.jp/drmori1/562055/487031/#540974 (Again, scroll up.) Don't bury the logs completely, but expose the top by 3-5 cm in height from the soil. I don't know why.

I was going to post about that!! WILL IT EVER FLOWER?? I've waited and waited, but now it has wilted!!

I'm not sure but I don't think so. Like many others, I associate tsukimi with dango.

Thanks for the reminder, Helen. We planted cabbage and broccoli seeds on August 1, but no lettuce seeds then because I thought it would be too early to do so. We finally planted them last week. *** We did it!! Look at the maitake! Grown from logs (buried in soil) not from sawdust beds!

The recipe you provided a link to calls for tsukune imo. I didn't know anything about it, so I googled to find that it's a type of yamaimo (yam?) and it's expensive! ← --that's too bad; I just judged from the videos and thought the grated pulp was nagaimo, which I can get a hold of in the US. I could try to use nagaimo instead, but then again, I could be asking for trouble Think I'll just stick to little rice cakes ← Wise decision. I learned from this that jinenjo (wild yam) is the most expensive, follwed by ise imo and tsukune imo, yamato imo, and naga imo.

By rolled egg omlettes, do you mean dashi maki tamago in Kansai or atsuyaki tamago in Kanto? ← Definitely the sweet version - I guess that is the Kansai version? Every now and then I will make scrambled eggs with some soy sauce and a little dash of sugar. I should look for the "Kyou mo tamago yaki" you mentioned in the egg topic and I could also try it without sugar. ← Atsuyaki tamago in Kanto is much sweeter than dashi maki tamago in Kansai, which is often made with a dash of mirin and no sugar (some recipes call for sugar, though). I guess your version is close to dashi maki, judging from the fact your parents come from Kyoto. My recipe contains no sugar or mirin!

It's no wonder, torakris, because this is the very first attempt ever made by anyone. Nihon Lift Service http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~jls/what/w1.htm (Japanese only) conceived an innovative idea for using its lift facilities at Ishiuchi Maruyama ski resort http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/resortdetail.php?resid=7 in the off season. They used a lift with 75 seats and an overall length of 800 meters to hang out premium Shiozawa-produced Koshihikari rice totaling 300 kg (50 pyou) in weight to dry in the sun. The lift was operated every two or three hours to complete the drying process in five days. Tenpi boshi (sun-dried) rice tastes better than machine-dried rice, but has become rare because it requires much more time and labor. As the name implies, the price of tenkuu mai is quite high; it starts at 17,000 yen per 10 kg, twice as high as the regular Shiozawa-produced Koshihikari rice. ← Rice harvesting has begun this week in my rice-producing district in Niigata prefecture, about one month later than in Chiba prefecture, where the same variety, Koshihikari, is grown. Tenkuu mai is dried out in the sun, as you can see from the official website of its producer, Nihon Lift Service. As you can easily guess, it's also sky-high in price - 10,000 yen per 5 kg! As of yesterday, 70% of all Tenkuu mai is already reserved for purchase, according to last night's local TV news program.

While searching, I found this product: http://www.ajitokokoro.co.jp/goods/tamagotuyu.html The name of the product: Kyou mo tamago yaki It's a dashi specifically for use in making fried eggs. Sounds attractive (it's additive-free), but I won't buy it because it contains sugar!

The recipe you provided a link to calls for tsukune imo. I didn't know anything about it, so I googled to find that it's a type of yamaimo (yam?) and it's expensive!

By rolled egg omlettes, do you mean dashi maki tamago in Kansai or atsuyaki tamago in Kanto?

Wow, great link! Wipes drool off keyboard... ← This is the website of a study group who wants to make roll kasutera a specialty of Kokura. That means that roll kasutera is not necessarily an existing specialty of the city but is rather a future specialty of it. Sorry for the misinformation.

I googled "S級グルメ" ("class S gourmet"), and got 104 hits. One blogger uses the letter S to mean fish (sakana in Japanese), and another uses it to mean seafood. I found only one site that seems to use the letter to mean special.

Are you a millionnaire?? Do tell us the details!!

I've never been to Kokura, but a quick google search reveals that roll kasutera and yaki udon are Kokura's specialties. http://www.kokura-kurukuru.com/eat/index.html http://yakiudon.sytes.net/index.html

Wow, a lot of dietary fiber! You will be pleasantly surprised in the bathroom in about eight hours or so. As they say, kai-shoku kai-ben (eat well, evacuate well) !

I had assumed that Loco Moco was a complex dish, but actually, it is essentially white rice + hamburger + fried egg + gravy sauce... at least according to this. What variations do you actually prefer? Very authentic one?

The Cake Chef recipe that I linked to does not use soaking syrup, and I don't recall soaking syrup used in the versions I've had. However, there are many variations out there and I'm sure some of them may use a syrup. http://www.cakechef.info/special/chef_waka...tte3/index.html ← I thought sanrensho was right, but when I goggled, I found a number of recipes that call for applying syrup , like this one: http://woman.excite.co.jp/kondate/regulars/283/040327_4.dcg I don't want to use syrup for my home-made cakes.

Thank you, Yung-i, for your reply and welcome to my thread! You mean you like "sake fureeku" (salmon flakes). I sometimes make it myself, but usually buy it in bottles. A favorite of mine and my two children's. And you mean you are a mayoler (sp?)?

I dislike brown rice, too. So do most Japanese. Plain cooked white rice is Japan's staple.

Seki saba seem to be transferred alive to an ikesu (tank) before being killed. I found one source in English. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/b...75947/index.htm This is one example of ikejime: Other fish such as tuna seem to be killed immediately after being caught.