_john

my dairy product mashups include: cheese yakimeshi a pat of butter on toasted mochi with nori and soy sauce cheese tempura cheese mochi okonomiyaki garlic paprika shiitake stir fried in butter I'm sure there are more. I use clarified butter (ghee) as my usual cooking oil most of the time so butter makes it's appearance in many otherwise "traditional" dishes. I don’t make it at home but I really like butter ramen as well. The only place I have been able to find cheese that I consider edible is in foreign food shops. I haven’t had anything from a supermarket that I particularly enjoyed.

The great niboshi taste off: 150g water, 10g niboshi A: heads and guts B: no head but has some guts C: no head and no guts Each batch was allowed to soak for 30 minutes and then was boiled for about 10. I used three mugs in the microwave for this test. Results of the blind taste test: The winner was C, no heads and no guts. I’m not surprised after the results of the whole niboshi eating test. B had a little less of a bitter taste to it than A, if I was in a hurry I would just snap of the heads and leave whatever guts remained. A was bitter but also seemed to have more flavor for the same amount of weight as the others. The flavor of A seemed more “meaty” but the bitterness outweighed any flavor advantage in my opinion. C had a clear flavor and nice aroma. If I have the time I will definitely be removing the heads and guts. All that niboshi dashi did not go to waste, I made a tasty Korean soon dubu for dinner

Looks like I've got a project! Will make niboshi dashi twice, once complete with heads and guts, once without. Will taste, get husband to taste, and report back. ← I am going to try this tonight as I just got a bag of nice niboshi from korea town. I tried a blind taste test of the niboshi themselves and concluded that the one with head and guts had a bitter taste. I will be the only one tasting the niboshi dashi seeing as my roommate is "allergic" to fish . Imagine his shock as he watched me eat whole dried fish with a blindfold on!

It is not that I think it is bad, I just think it could be better . S&B sort of reminds me of McDonalds because their products are designed to appeal to the widest range of people and the widest range of tastes all over Japan. Thanks for the info, I will check these out and report back on my purchases (if I make any). Maybe I will attempt making it myself, but I would like to try some original varieties first.

Note: This is my personal opinion. Maybe you could ask colleagues and friends the same question, and possibly get different answers. 1. Garlic. Any dish containing garlic makes me think it's a stamina ryouri. 2. Innards. Have you ever tried horumon (hormone?) yaki? I hate most types of innards... 3. Eels. They contain a lot of vitamin A. I like them! You are going to experience natsu bate (getting weary from the summer's heat) for the first time this summer. I think the summer in Osaka is more unbearable than that in Tokyo. You may feel the need to have eels then. 4. Meat. "Meat ?," you may ask. Yes, meat! Thirty to forty years ago, when I was small, Japanese consumed less meat than they do today. I still have a tendency to regard any dish containing a lot of meat as a stamina ryouri. ← This is very interesting. For me things like meat, garlic, and eel (which has a good amount of fat) seem like "heavy" foods. I think the way stamina is used in Japanese (sutamina) has a slightly different meaning than the way it is used in English. For me raw meat, raw fish, and "fresh" things like fruit and cold salads give me instant energy. I am not sure which foods give me stamina, or enduring energy. I guess I will find out when the weather warms up.

There is a museum of oriental ceramics in Osaka but I have not yet been there. They seem to focus on non-food related ceramics but on their website you can see a few food oriented examples. There is a restaurant supply district in Osaka called doguyasuji, there are several shops there that specialize in very fine hand made pottery. When I was living in the bay area in califorina I could instantly recognize most "japanese" style pottery that people had in their homes because it was all from the same importer. In Japan it is just as easy to recognize the pottery that you can get at 100yen shops. I am very interested in fine Japanese pottery but it is quite an expensive hobby so I remain a distant appreciator rather than a patron of Japanese pottery.

where can I buy artisnal shichimi tougarashi? I would like something that is a little better quality than the usual S&B and House shichimi. I know I saw a discussion of this somewhere, and I faintly remember seeing it in a documentary. I go through a lot of shichimi (I'm a kitsune udon fanatic). I would like to get one of those little gourds or barrels that you see it in as well. Is there a certain type of store that sells/blends it?

I don't know if it has already been mentioned on this thread but the sichuan peppercorns packed in oil are simply amazing. They come in a glass jar with a light brown lid, there are a few sesame seeds floating in the oil. They are extremely powerful. I would somtimes feed guests one and watch their reactions, it was a lot of fun. I especially like how water suddenly tastes like salt water after eating one. One of my guests was amazed that I had a spice which recreated the sensation of licking a 9v battery. I keep mine in the refrigerator to maximize potency. I only seem to use them for mapo tofu but I would like to try more dishes with them.

I've tasted many different types of natto in Japan and the U.S. and as far as I can tell they are the same. I am speaking from a west coat perspective, I have had natto that is imported into LA and San Francisco, and then natto in the Kansai area of Japan. Somehow hot or warm natto is not as appealing. I have made fried rice with natto but it just slimed up all the rice and it was not that good. Maybe by washing it first it could be used in different ways, but then you would lose a lot of the flavor.

I also think that natto taste like coffee. I think that people either love natto or hate it. The first time I tried it I was hooked. To me it does not have an offensive smell, and it is hard for me to understand when people ask me not to eat it around them. Sometimes I eat natto over rice with bacon for breakfast. And when I buy the really cheap natto that does not have a package of sauce I make my own natto tare by adding a little sugar, soy sauce, and instant dashi directly into the package and mixing it up. Sometimes I will add furikake or umeboshi paste. I would totally try natto pasta. What are some famous dishes that include natto?

I have seen various stamina dishes but never tried them. What is stamina udon for example? They have this at my local station noodle stand. What ingredients are usually considered stamina ingredients?

I bought and prepared my nuka about a week ago and after making some sacrificial pickles it has now developed a nice sourness. I did something a little strange with my nukazuke that I am not sure is traditional. I took some Guinness beer, boiled out the alcohol, and used that as my initial liquid in my pickling bed. I really like the flavor of the pickles it is starting to produce, it is similar to commercial nukazuke with a a special beer undertone. What happens if you don’t stir it everyday? Sometimes I go on trips, or just don’t make it home in 24hours, will my pickle bed suffer?

thank you for your research Hiroyuki. While I was out today I stopped into the large supermarket and just happened to find koujikome in the same section as the nuka (rice bran for pickling) which I was looking for. Here is a picture of the front, as well as the instructions for making amazake (sweet sake, also known as half sake) from the kouji on the back. This is rice that is already inoculated with kouji-kin. I have not translated the instructions yet but if you were to make sake from this koji, which as Hiroyuki pointed out is illegal in Japan, it seems fairly straight forward. On the front of the package it notes that you can also make miso and sake kasu tsukemono (sake lees pickles) with this kouji, both of which are legal

does anyone know if you can buy koji-kin in stores in Japan or do you have to use mail order? I would like to try making sake at home but I haven't gotten around to it yet. This website inspired me to try making it at home: Mutsuo Hoshido's Homepage This site has information on: 　　　　How to homebrew Sake　　　 　　　　How to make your Kome-koji.　　　 　　　　How to homebrew Natto　　　　 　　　　How to homebrew Miso　　　 　　　　How to make Mirin　　　 Lot's of good info and pictures.

ive usually had this with just garlic. a few times I have seen it with chunks of korean radish. I would like to make some but my small refrigerator is already packed with various kimchi. now I know why you can buy a seperate kimchi fridge!

I only pop popcorn in ghee. I flavor the ghee with other oils such as sesame and chili oil. ulterior epicure: I never knew there were two types or popcorn. Do the names have anything to do with their popping styles? Does anyone have an opinion on those dried cobs you can buy and pop? can you pop any variety of dried corn? enquiring minds want to know.

I haven't made it yet. The ones I have eaten usually had the jalapenos split lengthwise, which gave it a good spicyness. I was going to use whole peppercorns, the fruit vinegar and whole head of garlic sound like great additions. Do you happen to have a recipe for your version?

I refrigerate my kochujang. I haven't noticed any skin formation or hardening. I also refrigerate my gochuggaru, is that strange? At the small stand where I bought it the old lady brought a small bag out of a refrigerator and told me in Japanese and English that her special gochuggaru should be refrigerated.

how about home made potato chips? When I am going to watch a movie I always make either potato chips or popcorn depending on what I have on hand. I like to toss my chips with feta and parsley. I cant seem to get my chips to be blonde and crispy at the same time, they always turn brown but are tasty anyway. I usually keep the oil at around 340°F. Any tips on making chips at home?

I hope I have the right name for this side dish. It is a popular "salsa bar" item at taquerias in California and I would like to know more about it. Is escabeche a standard brine that is used for many things or is it specific to these pickles? The ones I am familiar with are usually a mixed pickle with red skinned or yellow skinned waxy potatoes, onions, carrots, jalapenos, and bayleaf in a sour sweet brine. The potatoes appear to be partially cook, I'm wondering if this is from the brine or are they par boiled. I found this recipe but I am seeking clarification.

wow! what a great resource, thanks.

Coming from the San Franciso Bay Area to Japan there has not really been much change in how much I spend on food. Some things are more expensive here and others are cheaper, but I definitely agree that the SF bay area is in general pretty expensive. Despite the fact that it was expensive I really miss spending most of my pay check (and most of my day off) at Berkeley Bowl. I have had to adapt my shopping habits in Japan, I have to go to many more stores to get what I need because they often specialize in one thing. Today I have to go to the meat store, the vegetable store, the croquette stand, the wakame stand, and the liquor store for example. But I'm learning... Now if I could only find a jalapeno..

wow, suddenly I am thinking of all these korean and japanese approaches. nori and sea salt? kochujang butter topped, popped in sesame oil? simple sesame salt? maybe sansho? ... I need to buy some more popcorn.

I agree that learning the finer points of chopstick use takes a long time. If you are lucky enough to be able to observe someone who has been using chopsticks their whole life then you should try to learn as much as possible. Some of the more advanced techniques such as removing small pieces from a large piece of food or picking up very slippery objects requires some practice. I find Japanese chopstick easiest to use, Chinese style chop sticks can be a little difficult to use because of their length, and Korean style chopsticks are very hard to master even if you have had practice with other types. Sometimes I will challenge myself and try to pick up individual grains of uncooked rice, oily spanish peanuts, or a hard boiled egg. I used to think eating rice with chopsticks was impossible but now I wouldn't eat it any other way. Chopsticks (either the metal tipped or larger saibashi) are now an indispensable tool in food presentation for me as well.

this is really key. where I live shopping around can save you a lot of yen. I have 3 grocery stores within 10 minutes walk from my apartment so if I have time I shop at all of them. One supermarket is having a "thank you customers winter meat sale" and their chicken prices are very cheap, three chicken breasts for about 250yen.