Hiroyuki

This is not entirely false, but I googled and learned that a common practice is to kill fish immediately after catching them, which is called ikejime (lit. killing while alive). The statement about tea is entirely false. Vinegar can't kill parasites, either.

No way! I just want to say to them, "Be informed. Think twice before you post." Here's a nice thread in the General Food Topics forum: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=93187 I don't mean to offend anyone with this post and my previous post.

There is actually another that I can recall from my parasitology courses at university , oh so many years ago. Chlonorchis sinensis or the so-called Chinese liver fluke is usually benign if the infestation in the human host is light to moderate. Heavy infestations are more problematic. Although it is commonly called the Chinese liver fluke the parasite is prevalent all through East and Southeast Asia. Most Chinese do not eat raw fish on a regular basis. Enjoy your sashimi. ← OK, let's face it, we don't eat all fish raw. We only eat sashimi-grade flesh of a limited species of fish raw. I learned that your parasite, clonorchis sinensis, lives in freshwater fish, and we usually don't eat freshwater fish raw, except some. I admit that there are some Japanese who like to eat any fresh fish raw.

Is this a joke thread or something? Giving up eating fish because of parasites? You can easily avoid encountering parasites by avoiding buying a whole fish and buying slices of fish only, and you can easily avoid suffering from parasites by eating only sashimi-grade fish and heating all others by some means or other before eating.

*** Here is another question (not only for Cheeko but for anyone else): Do you know the phrase "gohan no tomo" (rice's companion)? Do you have any specific gohan no tomo that you like? As I stated here, my wife's gohan no tomo is nasu miso, my father's is fuki miso, and mine is the home-made mackarel furikake. As you can see, many gohan no tomo are joubi sai.

5 colored diner... I know what it means, but does the Washoku book explain that principle? I must admit I've never thought of following that principle. What is that in the big bowl on the left in your second photo? How often do you make Japanese-style meals?

I don't know how big is your MIL's family, but that sounds reasonable for a small family. But the biggest disadvantage of store-bought souzai (惣菜) or nakashoku (中食) is that they are generally either quite sweet or salty.

It took some time, but I finally found Kris's description of flour in Japan: from here

YES!! What I have learned from eGullet and elsewhere is that Japanese "short cake" is actually sponge cake.

Hiroyuki-- I'm curious: what's the connection between smoking and green tea? I mean, why did you mention them in the same breath? Just curious if it's some folklore or something I don't know about... ← No connection at all. I just implied that like a heavy smoker who constantly smokes even during work, I constantly drink green tea, making frequent trips to the toire (bathroom) .

Yep, my image concur with yours, except that a kissaten is not necessarily run by such people. I know it's great to be in Tokyo..., but I don't necessarily envy you because I can drink decent green tea and coffee at home anytime...

Any joubi sai you like, and that's the theme of this thread! Books will tell you to use different cooking techniques for three dishes, but you don't have to take this rule so seriously. Just make any joubi sai you like, and you will be happy!

That's strange. Glucomannan is a dietary fiber. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucomannan I don't marinate konnyaku. Konnyaku is usually parboiled for a few seconds before use.

I have a feeling that many of those who are not familiar with Japanese home cooking don't know exactly how ichijuu sansai (one soup and three dishes, in addition to rice) is implemented in everyday Japanese meals. Ichijuu sansai is easier to implement if you prepare joubi sai (常備菜 in Kanji). A joubi sai is a dish made so that it can keep for days and some even for weeks. Joubi sai include tsukudani, kinpira, and touza ni (当座煮 in Kanji), which is a simmered dish, often seasoned heavily so that it can keep long. Some of my favorite joubi sai are simmered hijiki and kiriboshi (cut and dried) daikon. One of my wife's favorites is nasu miso (eggplants stir-fried with miso). If you prepare one joubi sai and keep it in the fridge, all you have to do to make an ichijuu sansai meal is to: 1. Cook rice (or reheat leftover rice) 2. Make miso soup (or reheat leftover miso soup) 3. Make a shusai (main dish), such as grilled fish. 4. Make a fukusai (side dish or sub-dish?), such as a salad. Sounds easy to do, doesn't it? It actually is. So, my questions are: Do you make joubi sai regularly? What are your favorites? One more question: Do you practice ichijuu sansai?

Why, Hiroyuki, Why????!?!??!?!?! I've never done anything bad to you, and I'm sure we've never had anything close to a disagreement, and now thanks to those pictures the hair on my arms is standing up, I have goosebumps, and I may never be able to sleep again!!! That was truly disgusting. I'm never eating fish again! Or at least not a whole fish ever again. Please tell me those things can only be found in tai, so I can still eat other types of fish without feeling all creepy crawly.... ← I can console you, however. As its name implies, tainoe (sea bream's feed) is found in tai. Calm down, everyone. It's no big deal after all.

Looks good! Looks like a green version of espresso. By the "cafe culture", you mean the kissaten culture? It has been eroded, first by Doutor and now by Starbucks. But I must admit I like Doutor.

What about that one that brain-eating parasite that can be found in salmon? I'm sure everyone heard about that guy who ate salmon sashimi every day - some time later after getting severe headaches they cracked his skull open and found some evil worm parasites on his brain. Not trying to scare anyone though.... I'm just saying. I think they're actually pretty rare. I heard that wasabi could kill them. ← Are you sure?? I don't think I have heard of such a parasite... I did some googling but found none that matches your description. Are you talking about a parasite called broad fish tapeworm, broad tapeworm, or diphyllobothrium latum (don't ask me how to pronounce it) by any chance? It's not a brain-eating parasite, though.

Actually, anisakis is the virtually the only parasite that we have to watch out for. All others are harmless to humans.

Thanks for the replies! Yup, that's it. Tainoe, huh? Never heard of it or encountered one before. Anyone else? I couldn't find anything in the links about safety. Seeing as my husband and I are still alive this morning, I'll assume everything's OK. But I'm still really disturbed by the whole thing. I think I'll be stearing clear of whole fish for a while... Jgm, do mean do a search of eGullet? Will do. Tried searching the net but didn't come up with anything. ← I should have been more specific. It's a parasite, and according to another site, it seems harmless (doesn't explicitly say so) because you can easily spot and remove it.

I like okoge, too. You mean you bought that rice cooker?! It seems that your first(?) takikomi gohan came out nicely. It doesn't look soggy at all. Coincidentally, I made maitake takikomi gohan for supper yesterday. My favoriate types of mushroom in takikomi gohan are maitake and oyster mushroom. Hope you can find those where you live.

Tainoe? http://musi.s6.xrea.com/nikki16.htm http://homepage1.nifty.com/gebara/ebizukan...noe/tainoe.html

Make atsuyaki tamago once in a while. Sweetened or unsweetened, it's good!

This webpage takes a different approach. The initial high heat is the same, though. Put the donabe on high to medium heat. When it boils, turn it to low. In 5 minutes, turn it to high again, count 10 seconds, then turn off the heat. Then, wait for 20 minutes (not seconds). Anyway, don't take off the lid until the rice is cooked!

Oh, Morimoto appears in that show? You can cook rice in a donabe in 24 minutes, according to this Tameshite Gatten webpage. Iron rules for cooking rice in a donabe: 7 min. high heat, 7 min. medium, 5 min. low, turn off gas, wait for 5 min. (don't take off the lid, of course!) The initial high heat is due to the fact that a donabe is not a good heat conductor. If you use an aluminum or stainless steel pot, the initial heat should be low. Do you know the phrase, "hajime chorochoro naka papa..."? http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=700825

Thanks everyone for their replies. I think Schielke referred to glucomannan contained in konnyaku flour, not konnyaku itself. Konnyaku is 96 to 97% water plus konnyaku flour. There are no health risks associated with konnyaku, only health benefits!