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Akiko

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Everything posted by Akiko

  1. We seem to keep coming back to Furikake.. and its been said that Furikake deserves its own thread, so here it is. Furikake is "seasoning" that is created to sprinkle on rice.. to make a kind of "flavoured" rice. It comes in different forms... salmon sprinkles with nori and sesame, dried fish egg (tobiko) and nori, dried egg and nori, wasabi flavoured, shiso flavoured, what are those fish shaving things called? flavoured.. and many others. I love this on my rice... I also love the plain nori and sesame mix with butter on my rice. But just as good as a snack is microwave very buttery popcorn with furikake on it... you can also mix in some rice crackers. What are your favorite furikake flavors? What do you put it on? Akiko
  2. Funny, Sprinkles is what my niece calls Furikake, but what I'm talking about is not furikake. I think, the packet actually says, Ochazuke... I've never stopped to read it (one of those things, just always been part of your life, you never really look at it) but I am familiar with only one brand. It is in a striped packet, red, yellow, and black. It's different from Furikake in that its specifically made to be added to rice and tea... the packet is salty to give tea and rice flavor and the crunchy bits stay crunchy in tea (at least for a little while). Jinmyo are we talking about the same thing? Akiko
  3. There are also little packets that you can buy in Japanese markets for ochazuke. They usually contain, dried salmon flakes, nori, sesame seeds, etc. Very yummy on your rice with the tea poured over it. You've set me craving now... I might have to stop at the Japanese store on the way home and have that for dinner.
  4. I just got back from spending the weekend in Rome and used this thread as a guideline. What an amazing city... I don't think I've been in another city that is so impressive as far as Ancient buildings still standing on every corner. And Vatican city... I was blown away by St Peter's, the museum, and the sistine chapel. I was not blown away by the food... I love Italian food but I didn't find that I could find a great meal everywhere. But I do think the quality of their produce is amazing. The leaves to the salad, mushrooms, and the tomatoes were extraordinary. I took a bite of a tomato and though... "oh, so this is what a tomato is supposed to taste like." Tart balanced with sweet... the next time I go, I'm going to order vegetarian everything! My favorite meal was at La Rosetta. Mogsob, that antipasto crudo or what they had on the menu as Hors d'oeuerve platter was the best set of dishes that I've had since... my last meal at Jewel Bako. If anyone goes to Rome, you should definitely not miss La Rosetta, the antipasto crudo is completely seafood dishes and their fish is of extraordinary quality. They actually got a delivery while we were sitting there, everything (fish, prawns, lobster) still moving. The flavour of each dish bursts and is very well balanced. DO NOT ORDER PASTA! This was worse than just okay. And do not let them pressure you into ordering a dish of it... which is how we ended up ordering one. But do order a main course of something else seafood related. We had a swordfish that melted in our mouths. La Rosetta surprised me in that they were very french in their service. Not what I was expecting in Bella Roma! We also went to Papa Giovanni's for lunch... we were the only people in the restaurant! And yes, the service was like a loving Grandfather doting over every plate and your meal. Again, wonderful vegetables (artichokes were also unbelievably wonderful). We had pizza at ivo's in trastavere which was just okay... we ate suppli everywhere I could find it, its the first time I'd ever had it. What a wonderful, crunchy, melt in your mouth tomatoey rice ball! I did find many dishes in Rome to be overly salty... olives, pecorino cheese, air dried beef, capers... the use of these things in a lot of dishes ended up in too much salt for my palate!
  5. I love takuan... especially the one that is super crunchy with a little shiso flavour added to it. I also love fukushinzuke and can eat mounds of it with japanese curry. I also like the umeboshi with the honey in it... mmm, can sit there with the jar and eat them by themselves as if a bag of potato chips.... very hard to find that kind out side of Japan though... anyone know of a source? Akiko
  6. Akiko

    Mochi

    If you are a savory mochi lover (like me).... try butter and soy sauce... that's definitely the best! Or butter soy sauce and sprinkle some furikake on it... furikake is up there with butter, bacon, and panko in my opinion! Akiko
  7. I actually haven't seen the boxes of meltykiss available in England, yet. But when we lived in NY I used to get them at Okashi-land (I might be making that name up... its on the corner of elizabeth and hester east of the aji ichiban store) and as soon as I got home, my husband, who will tell you that he doesn't like candy or chocolate, would open one after the other until they were gone. I was lucky if I got to eat two out of the box before they were gone. Japanese chocolate is pretty amazing, If I could get my hands on them, those chocolate covered almonds would be in my pantry too... only they wouldn't last very long because they would get eaten.
  8. Japanese Rice! Along with glutinous or sweet rice are two things I use a lot... Dried seaweed salad.... dried mushrooms I think those are the things that I'd add that are in my cupboard (would love to have a pantry.. no space) that I could not cook japanese food without.
  9. Akiko

    Panko

    Anna, If your Japanese store has a bakery section, try to get a loaf of the white very thickly cut bread... yum, toast that spread some honey and butter, and you have a favorite breakfast of many Japanese.. That bread is fluffy, crisps well on the outside when you toast it, and is altogether delicious and very japanese-homey.
  10. I don't like shishamo... and raw chicken or raw horsemeat kushiyaki, I can also do without, thankyou. And I don't like big daikon chunks in my soup... its smelly and tastes bitter.... although fresh grated or julienned, I love. And no azuki bean rice please... for that matter, I don't really like sweet azuki bean paste either.... or those horrific okashi they give you at tea ceremony I love corn on my pizza! and miss pizza-la (chain that delivers) pizza.
  11. Akiko

    Dinner! 2003

    The other night I tried a Ken Hom recipe, and while it was great, I think it could be greater. Let me explain, The recipe called for Salmon filet and black truffles (you make an incision across the salmon and stuff it with the truffles, the one goes on top so you can see the truffle through the rice paper wrapper) with some chives to be wrapped in rice paper (galette de riz) and then pan fried (kind of like a big dumpling) in vegetable oil. After 3 minutes on each side you plate and brush with truffle oil. It is a really lovely, light dish... but I thought the salmon itself lacked flavor. Which made me wonder, what other tastes would marry well with Black Truffle? I'd like to marinade the salmon beforehand to give it a little more punch but keep it light. Do you think I could marinade in orange juice, salt, and lemongrass and not have clashing flavors? Or is there a better standard pairing with Black Truffles? Akiko
  12. Akiko

    Dinner! 2003

    Tokaris, Can you post the recipe for lemon coleslaw?... I love lemon.
  13. My husband insists on edamame... even though we make it at home all the time, he simply cannot get enough of the stuff. Me? I love kim chie ramen.... and hard to find outside of Japan would be Japanese pasta... spaghetti in mentaiko sauce with slivers of seaweed.... or uni cream sauce! But if the restaurant has gyoza (dumplings) or seaweed salad... I always start with that. My mom will always have saba shioyaki, or the rainbow trout
  14. Related to this, most Japanese people eat very prettily. Have you ever seen a Japanese person eat a tangerine/satsuma/clementine? They will peel the fruit like a flower so the peel comes off and becomes a basket to hold any white pieces they may then peel off the fruit... they also will spit any seeds out into their hand by making a fist and the seed immediately disappears from their mouth into the hole that is made by the circle of their thumb and forefinger... and then the seed goes into the basket. If you go out to eat with the Japanese, they will not only eat so that very little remains in their plate.. they will fold the chopstick paper to act as a "mat" to place their chopsticks on... they neatly stack plates for the waitstaff to take away.... at school lunch, kids are experts at unfolding those milk cartons so that they become flat (takes up less space in the garbage bin) or tearing the top off so that it becomes the holder for any fishbones or other parts of food that you can't eat. In my own opinion... no one can make a dish look more delicious than the Japanese eating (especially the women)... its the way they chew... and the fact that the pleasure when something tastes good is almost always expressed verbally and with enthusiasm.
  15. Akiko

    Panko

    I was in the Japanese grocery store... and lo and behold there is a type of panko that I've never seen before. What is Honey Panko (I assume it is panko with honey in it)? What would you use this for?
  16. Tokaris, You're making me want to move back to Japan. I loved school lunch...except for the disgusting milk. I'm sorry, but Japan's milk is so much more awful tasting than milk in the US or here in England... I don't know what it is but it's definitely different. My friend who is a pastry chef, went to consult in Japan and had a lot of trouble revising her creme brulee because of the difference in taste of the milk and cream... do you have this problem when you bake? Anyways, I loved that curry udon too... and the kinkan (what are those called in English?) ... and just wonderful stuff we got for lunch. I just could not stomach the milk!
  17. Tokaris, Can you describe a dish or two that Kentaro makes? I'd be interested in that, although, I have a terrible image in my head of a SMAP-ish looking Japanese 20 something year old that says "and bang those boys in the oven, easy peasy."..... although that doesn't really translate... he'd be saying something like "kakko ee" about his dishes or "um-e" - my phonetic of how Japanese men say umai. Is he like that?
  18. Akiko

    Panko

    Awbrig, that sounds wonderful! Can you share the recipe? I too, use it for anything that calls for breadcrumbs... fried eggplant, pork cutlets, salmon cakes, crabcake, and potato croquettes.. etc. I keep meaning to do fried rice balls that are coated in panko (saw a recipe for it once) but haven't gotten around to it. Tokaris, how does the texture of the nama panko differ in your finished product?
  19. Steve, how is London a more international city? The foreign investment happening here seems to be mostly Middle Eastern money... and to speak about a different "wealth" generally there are more people here of middle east and Indian background (I have no stats to produce just what I see)..of South America as part of its mix... and gives a cultural richness that we don't have here And how is this government more interested in "hipness and modernization"? Just because Tony wears Paul Smith and goes to Versace events wearing shiny burgundy suits?
  20. Akiko

    Panko

    Have we ever had a thread on the uses of panko? It really is an amazing product, up there on my list of heavenly creations like bacon and butter. ....anyone care to start one?
  21. Akiko

    Panko

    Suzanne, Your reaction is exactly how my husband reacted... And for your next foray into tonkatsu... have you ever had katsu-kare or tonkatsu with curry poured over it? It's sort of the Japanese answer for country fried steak with gravy poured over it! Very good and very filling.
  22. Akiko

    Panko

    Kikujiro, That's hysterical... how do you find these things?! Which made me think, hey, what's wrong with Bull Dog Tonkatsu sauce? I guess its kind of like the ketchup conversation we were having concerning the curry... tonkatsu would not be the same to me without the flavour of bull dog tonkatsu sauce... its kind of like deciding you are going to make your own ketchup instead of just using heinz... no offence to Jinmyo's sauce... If jinnie made it, I'm sure I'd be spooning it into my mouth straight. However, with tonkatsu give me bulldog and yellow mustard and I'm in heaven.
  23. As my husband and I were careening through Selfridges yesterday (trying to run our errands) I was waylaid by a new Japanese Cookbook. I didn't really get a chance to give it a thorough lookover but I did flip through it and it looks like it may be a good one. It's a Masterclass.... the author is Japanese but now lives in England... and I can't remember what its called, something very original, like japanese cooking! Has anyone else seen this? Or have old standards that they would like to recommend? Bad Japanese daughter that I am, I can recreate many of my mother's standby dishes but have never bought a japanese cookbook.... I'd like to educate myself in the basics. I also love those moments when you read a technique that you've been doing forever just because this is what you mom did and get to hear the bell in your head go off as you realize, "Oh, so that's what that is called." Okay, I do own the Nobu cookbook and a Madhur Jaffrey that spans all of Asia, but you can't really call those Japanese cookbooks.
  24. Ooh Tokaris, - Tell me more about that beef and natto curry.... could that possibly taste good? I'm a diehard natto fan and that actually sounds disgusting to me. My mother only made two versions... but they tasted very different. The first is the version we are all familiar with... the second got made from not the S&B or any other brand cubes, but from yellow curry powder, same beef, potatoes, onions, carrots.... and raisins. Still tasted very Japanese... but different, and yummy. Akiko
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