growpower

Yah!! After much calling, we finally found hotel space in Kyoto for Nov. I know, I know, we are crazy to go with all the crowds, but we really wanted to see if the fall colors are as breathtaking as everyone says they are. We are night busing it, so we'll be there from morning of Nov 19th to the evening of Nov 23rd, four days. With lodging out of the way, can anyone suggest any not to miss places for eating? We have one kaisei meal scheduled with our hotel already, and probably have the budget for another fancy dinner, doesn't have to be kaisei, just japanese (prob no more than 10000Yen per person). Other than that, we are pretty much going to go cheap( no more than 2000yen per person). I hear kyoto is famous for its tofu, right? Also, if there are any not to miss places (esp the ones that are not on the usual tourist to do list, please let me know too). -thanks

Can someone tell me what the okonomiyake mix that I get at stores contain besides flour please? From what I can read of the Japanese, it seems to have flour, egg powder and a bunch of other artificial flavorings, which I am not found of. My friend gave me an Osakan style okonomiyake recipe that I love, but it uses the mix. So actually, I guess my real question is if I don't want to use the mix, what can I use in place of it, and in what proportions? I notice a lot of people are using Nagaimo, is that a requirement? Here are the ingredients from my friend's recipe if it makes any difference. Two cups of Okonomiyaki flour A cup of Japanese fish broth (or water plus Dashinomoto (instant bouillon)) Two eggs half a cabbage 1/2 bunch of green onion squid (shrimp) 1/2 cup of tenkasu (tempura crumbs) 150 gram of sliced pork 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese Okonomiyaki sauce Mayonnaise Katsuobushi (dried bonito flake) Nori (green powdered seaweed) -thanks

there goes my hopes of making some really good doughnuts then... sigh. http://www.thecookinginn.com/buttermilk/buttermilk1.html I found a receipe online for making buttermilk from scratch (scroll to the bottom of the page) although it requires fresh raw milk and sounds so tedious that I don't think I will ever attempt it... But if anyone ever gets the urge... I wonder though, torakris, would you be able to use your powdered buttermilk as a starter for making more buttermilk, meaning is Streptococcus lactis bacteria in the powdered form still active?

Hi guys: Does anyone know where I can buy buttermilk in Tokyo? I am in Takadanobaba. Popped in on couple of the local grocery stores, but wasn't able to find any. Is is just called buttermilk in katakana or something else completely? Barring that, does anyone know of a good sub for buttermilk ? -thanks

Okay, yeah it was tororo, not totoro. my bad. After reading the posts though, they've perked my interest. I am going out to buy some tonite. I am not sure on the mozuku though, it was hard to tell from the pictures. I am going to try to go to a grocery store and ask if they have any. Is it available at most supermarkets?

I've recently run into two types of seaweed I have never seen before and was hoping you guys could give me some more information about them. I had seaweed number one while staying at an osen in Himi, Toyama. It was served in a slightly citrus flavored broth with vegetables and seafood. The seaweed itself was olive green, and shaped like tiny branches. The part that really perked my interest was the fact that it was encased in a gelatin like substance. At first I thought the chef had actually dipped each piece of seaweed individually in gelatin, but my dinner table neighbor explained that it came naturally like that. Unfortuantely I forgot to ask her what it's name is. Seaweed number two I saw in grocery stores. It was labelled ととろ (totoro if I am remembering correctly). It's a varigated light green (almost stripe like) sheet. Can anyone tell me more about how to prepare it and what kind of dishes it's used it? Google searches turned up to many references to the movie my neighbor totoro for me to go through. -thanks

Mexican goods are almost impossible to get here, so I can only dream about Mexican crema... I can't find sour cream either. I was hoping to get away with mayonnaise thinned with yogurt or milk. I don't have a tortilla press, but I assume I can hand roll them out, right? I have done that before for rotis.... is a tortilla press essential or just a shorthand?

Hi there: I recently moved from CA to Tokyo, and have been going on serious fish taco withdrawal. My favorites are the ones with the batter fried fish, creamy spicy sauce and cabbage. So, this week I am going to take my first attempt at making baja fish tacos myself, and was wondering if you experts can give me some advice? I thought the recipe below (found via the wonderful internet) sounded interesting. Does anyone know why the recipe suggests that the batter needs to rest for 3 hours? Other recipes I've seen say to use the batter up quickly. This point is important to me because I will be making a large batch of them for all my friends, and any work I can do ahead of time will be really helpful. If you guys think this isn't a good recipe, or have other suggestions, please let me know. Oh, I will be making corn tortillas also as my kind friends brought me a bag of masa, so if you have tips for that, please let me know too.. -thanks ***************************************** This recipe will make about six largish tacos. * 3/4 cup flour * 1/2 tsp baking powder * 1/2 tsp crushed oregano * 1/2 tsp garlic powder * 1/2 tsp chili powder * 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper * salt & pepper as you like * 1 egg yolk * 4-6 oz beer * oil for frying * 1/2 cup mayonnaise * 1 tbsp chopped cilantro * 1/2 lime * 1 ripe avocado * 2 cups shredded cabbage * 1 lb shark filet * steamed tortillas * Lime for squeezing 1. First get all the batter ingredients together. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, beer, and egg yolk. If the mixture is too think, feel free to add a bit more beer, but don't let it get watery. It should be plenty thick to coat the fish. 2. Now cover the batter and let it sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours. You can even let it sit overnight or through the work day. As a variation you can whip an egg white into a thick froth and fold that in just before you dip the fish. This will make a deeper, lighter batter. But I actually prefer it without, which happens to be less work. But whatever you like. 3. Okay. When you're ready to start cooking the fish, heat the oil (I use peanut oil) to 375 or so. Mix the mayo, cilantro, and enough lime juice to make it "saucy." Slice the avocado. Slice the cabbage paper thin. And cut the shark into portions that will fit well in a taco after you fry them. 4. Once the oil is hot, dip the shark in the batter and get it well coated. Cook one slice at a time. Drop a slice into the oil while the batter is still dripping off and fry it for about 4-5 minutes, turning half way through. While the fish is cooking, go ahead and steam the tortillas. 5. And you're done! Grab a steamed tortilla, add a piece of fish, a couple slices of avocado, sprinkle on some cabbage, add sauce to taste, and just before you eat it, squeeze on some lime juice. Rinse. Repeat.

Palladion: I too picked up some jasamine rice from the festival. When I lived in CA, I always made my jasamine rice in a rice cooker, pretty much the same way as you make japanese rice. However, since moving here, I have yet to buy a rice cooker (short on cash), so I just steamed it (you can find pretty good directions here http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/jasrice.html, kasma also has some decent recipes), it turned out pretty good too.... _A

I am just moving into my new apartment, and I am stocking a good part of my kitchenware through the 100 yen store (and don't forget shop99! ) I've found everything from nice sushi dishes to 2 pairs of bamboo knitting needles (which would have easily cost me $8 back in the states). I have yet to buy food, I was a bit concerned about the turn over rate (and therefore the freshness) of the food. torakris, I love that white bowl with the small blue flowers. Also a slightly off topic question, I have been having trouble finding good and decently priced non-stick pans though... Anyone have suggestions as to where I can find those? It doesn't have to be 100yen -thanks _A

Can someone out there point out to me how I can tell if a piece of fish is sashimi grade in a Japanese market? Back home in the states, the sashimi grade fish was labelled as suchl But so far here in Tokyo, I have just been eyeballing it. I realize that of course there are packets of pre-sliced sashimi that would definitely qualify, but I am looking to buy a bigger block of fish for a party. Most of the fish at my local seifu look so wonderful anyway, will I be able to get away with buying just any fresh looking piece of fish? -thanks _A

I made the dive!! Day after my original post, I noticed that my japanese housemate was actually making it for lunch, so I asked her for some. Observations: 1. The taste and texture wasn't too bad for me. It was a little bit salty and sticky. The taste wasn't that different from soybeans stewed in soy sauce. I did think it was really interesting that the more you stirred it, the more sticky frothy white stuff there was (is there a name for that, btw?). 2. I wasn't too found of the smell. She had mixed it with packets of soy sauce and mustard. She gave me a little dish of it. I actually had a little bit of trouble consuming the whole thing without gagging. And I usually can down anything. My other housemate compared it to Taiwanese smelly tofu. I am not sure I agree it's as pungent as that. 3. I am not sure what brand she used, she had already taken everything out of the containers. All in all, I would probably try it again, just because. But I think I might try the fried version next time due to the smell. But I wonder since the taste isn't all that distinctive, do the people who love natto, love it because of the smell? Oh, and what's Kastuobushi that the other poster mentioned? -thanks _A

Hi all: I've never had natto before, but I figured Tokyo is probably the best place me to try it if any. However, I wanted to make sure that my first natto experience is based on what natto lovers considered to be good natto. So, can someone suggest a brand (am student, so please keep price considerations in mind)? And what's the typical way for eating it? Just with rice? -thanks _A

torakris: Can I trouble you to give train directions to the carrefour in Tokyo? I've only been to the carrefour in Chiba, but they had enough western/european ingredients at reasonable prices for me to be interested in finding one in Tokyo. I tried going to the carrefour site but didn't seen anything that showed a list of their stores, but then, my french is more than rusty. -thanks _A

Hi all: Well, I just recently moved to Tokyo, will be here for a year. I am living around Ikebukuro right now. Thanks to some of your previous posts, I was able to locate a few ethnic grocery stores. However, I still have a few questions. 1. Bones. I am used to making stock with things like pork or chicken bones. Or things like shrimp heads and shells for my fish stocks. But everywhere I look, I only see nicely cut up and packaged little pieces of meat. Where did all the bones go?? I am destined to flavor all my soups with dashi? 2. Baking. Someone told me that I should be able to buy a small oven from the dept stores since my apt doesn't have one. Can anyone suggest a place for me to get baking ingredients? I've checked out Seiyu, and baking ingredients seem to be non-existent there. 3. Cooking classes. I am interested in learning traditional japanese cooking. But something a little bit more complex than tempura or teriyaki chicken. Does anyone have suggestions for a school? I can speak some japanese (am learning more in class also), and read kanji (chinese background) if that makes a difference. -thanks _A