giantbee

A few years ago I bought a little tool to julienne carrots, gobou, daikon, etc. I use it often and it's still pretty sharp. Julienning a carrot and adding some sesame dressing is the easiest way to get my three year-old daughter to eat her vegetables! http://www.hirokoskitchen.com/hiroko/pages...ennepeeler.html

I once took a few classes in kaiseki cooking from a tea master of the Urasenke school. According to him, there are two kinds of kaiseki--both pronounced "kaiseki" but different kanji: 1) 懐石　(the kanji referred to in the Saveur article) which has its roots in shoujinryouri (精進料理, Buddhist vegetarian cooking) but is no longer strictly vegetarian; this is a light meal sometimes served before the actual tea ceremony. 2) 会席　or restaurant-style kaiseki--multiple courses using seasonal ingredients, but not linked to the tea ceremony. Many of the course names mentioned in the article (wanmori, etc.) are the same for both types of kaiseki; I assume that restaurant-style kaiseki was influenced by the aesthetics of tea kaiseki.

That looks yummy! Do you have to cook the burdock separately before sauteing it with the pork?

I recall the pine nuts in the package being much shorter than the ones in the pictures (which look like the ones I buy here). On the other hand, maybe they were just regular pine nuts cut in half--will have to check next time . . . .

You're right, I should try making it myself sometime. I did hunt down some kinshoubai recipes earlier but didn't try them because the European and Chinese pine nuts available here don't have the wonderful fragrance of the pine nuts in the kinshoubai (they don't even look like the same variety). And the pine-y taste and fragrance are what I like best about kinshoubai. If I can find a nice J pine nut source here, I'll give a home recipe a try. Does anyone know which type of pine is used for pine nuts in Japan?

One of my favorite Japanese food products is called kinshoubai （錦松梅）--I guess you would call it a furikake since it is sprinkled over rice. It is slightly moist and comes in a sealed plastic bag. It contains katsuobushi, pine nuts, and mushrooms among other things. I first received it as an omiyage and have bought it at department stores in Japan. However, it doesn't seem to be available online or anywhere in the US. So I have to ask friends visiting Japan to bring it back for me. One friend from Tokyo had never heard of it. Is it well-known or popular in Japan?

I have made fried rice only a few times (including once with pickled takana, sesame oil, sesame seeds, eggs and scallions--thanks for the suggestion, Torakris!). I have never heard of the "emulsion" method mentioned by Hiroyuki but will try that next. A friend told me that the rice should be added to the oil and other previously sauteed ingredients *before* adding the eggs, and that the eggs should be cooked separately or in a little space in the pan where the rice has been pushed aside. Does anyone make fried rice this way? Also, a friend told me that for better flavor, you should let the soy sauce sizzle in the hot oil in the pan and not add it directly onto the rice. The cookbook Shunju also suggests this technique. Anne (in Berkeley, CA) P.S. I have really enjoyed reading the posts in the eGullet Japan section and have learned a lot since discovering it a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to all the contributors!

I tried making wakame salad recently using the refrigerated salted type, and followed the recipe directions to cook it briefly and cool it before adding the seasonings. I found the result a bit too soft and slimy. Is it customary to boil wakame prior to making a salad with it? I've never had it before so perhaps it had the appropriate texture after all. Anne