[messing with perfection]

Ochazuke (お茶漬け) basically, it is a bowl of rice with green tea poured over it. toppings include wasabi, soy, pickled vegetables, fish (raw or cooked), sesame seeds, furikake, and/or nori (seaweed).

in our home, we eat sake (salmon) ochazuke. we love it as a snack. it is quick and easy. BUT i add cheese.

everyone tells me it is disgusting BEFORE they try it. i have won over many with my version of ochazuke. it was never my intention to ruin this dish - which is already perfect in its simplicity - I JUST LOVE CHEESE!

so my question is: what japanese dish do you "westernize"? and how do you do it?

[Eating in Kansai]

i am hoping to hear some comments on xex west in osaka.

specifically, how is the food? portion sizes? ambiance? prices?

planning a girlie dinner out and dont want anything too "romantic table for twoish" or too quiet.

thanks!

[Japanese foods--mushimono]

kaki no hoiru-mushi =foil steamed oysters

i could eat this everyday but dh says: it makes me ....errrr....to happy

6 oysters

1 naga negi (onion)

6 asatsuki (chives)

2 tbsp miso

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp milk

-wash oysters (i like salt and sieve method)

-slice negi and asatsuki

- mix miso and sugar well, add milk

put oysters & negi in foil, pour on the miso mixture. close the foil on all sides. bake in oven toaster for 10-15 minutes. sprinkle with chives before serving. if you use small oysters, i recommend reducing cooking time.

[Japanese spaghetti]

one thing i cant deal with is the squid ink pasta  - what is it called again?

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ikasumi pasta

I love ikasumi! I once had an ikasumi risotto at an okonomiyaki places, we cooked it ourselves on the teppan (griddle) and it was great..

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what about the black lips and teeth?? i think i dont like it because once i was on a date with a man who slurped his ikasumi so violently that he gave my lovely white dress a white with black paint splatter effect.

[Valentine's Day in Japan]

so what are you getting/making for your man this year?

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my husband is away so i dont have to worry about it this year. if he was here, i would make simple white chocolate with fruit and nuts (his fave) and he would give me flowers. he knows well enough that we have to celebrate all holidays commercial or otherwise in both canadian and japanese traditions .

i made a huge batch of peanut butter cookies for my former employers. they loved it as they said they get burned out on chocolates.

[Stews in Japan]

How do you eat your stew?

bread or rice?

In Japan even beef stew is often eaten with rice

I am a bread girl all the way but my husband and 3 kids insist on rice.....

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i cant find my recipe! will have to re-create it again from memory before posting it.

hubby likes rice but i am with you on the bread thing!

[Japanese spaghetti]

looks great!! i love the pictures! i will have to spend a little time working out how to do that!

my vote is definitely kani-miso spaghetti...yummy!

one thing i cant deal with is the squid ink pasta - what is it called again?

[Stews in Japan]

i have a great cream stew receipe! i will look for it today

my first attempt at cream stew was after dh requested it. it turned out pretty good but hubby had one comment - four stars (out of five), next time add corn

[what do you butter]

I love hard-boiled eggs, split in half and with a small dollop of butter on the yolk.

Often for lunch I will cut up an apple in a small dish, dot with butter and sprinkle with a little cinnamon (no sugar).

I also love a bowl of tomato soup with a pat of butter melting in the center of the bowl.

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i just found my food twin!

also, baguette with extra, extra butter, avocado and vegemite

the only thing i could think of that i wouldnt want butter on/in is : yoghurt

[the French Women's Diet: newest diet craze?]

when i was living in paris i ate very well. i really did not watch what i ate at all. i think the key is the variety in the diet. i know that i ate a lot more chocolate, cheese and bread and drank a lot more wine. whatever it was, i loved the food and did really enjoy my meals. a lot of meals were great feasts with friends, new and old. there was always lots of conversation with each course. so we did end up savouring the food and eating slower. even breakfast (espresso and chocolate croissant) in a cafe could last for a couple hours.

at the end of the day, all diets are bogus. changing the way you eat for life is what counts. if eating a variety of delicious foods is "the french ladies diet" then many of us are already there. if you scarf back nothing but cheesy poofs, "drive thru" and dont breathe between bites - then maybe this book couldnt hurt.

[Kicking caffeine]

Don't you guys get headaches?  I only drink Diet Coke as my caffeine of choice, which has way less caffeine than coffee, probably 4-5 cans per day, which I think barely equates to one cup of coffee.  Every time I try to give it up, I get these massive headaches that take DAYS to get over.  Migraine-level headaches.  Pure agony.

The only reason I try to give it up, however, is vanity.  I don't want my teeth to turn brown.  Oh, that, and for health. 

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i stopped two weeks ago and the headaches are finally going away.....

i have to say, herbal tea just isnt doing it for me though. has anyone tried "inca" or a suitable replacement (tastes like it coffee but isnt coffee?)

[Ponzu]

is asahi ponzu a kansai thing?  the shotengai near my home has it in every other shop...no kidding!

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Hi Easternsun! Welcome to eGullet! Im glad to see there is another Kansai person joining our group (My sister is living in Osaka, and I get to go visit her again this spring )

Do you think you could list a few places in Kansai (Osaka???) where you pick up your Asahi ponzu? This is on my (long) list of things to buy this spring when I come again.

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hi! springtime in japan....lovely!

you know, i am certain they have it at kansai super, kintetsu department store, and as i said, close to my house in the covered shopping a lot of different vendors carry it. look in tofu, chicken, sake shops.

keep in touch, if you cant find it when you are here, i will sort you out!

[katsuo-bushi]

this thread reminded me of the first time i had okonomiyaki. everyone kept telling me it was a "japanese pancake". when the dish was brought to the table, i remember thinking "WHAT is that stuff on the top that is still ALIVE?"

it was the katsuo-bushi!! it looks like it is floating from the heat of the okonomiyaki!

i like katsuo-bushi on tofu with a little tare...yummy!

[Japanese curry]

after reading the entire thread i was almost drooling. so thanks for the inspiration! dinner was as follows:

i shop daily and today i did not go out, so it was "whatever is in the fridge curry"

in a wok:

1/2 onion carmelized in olive oil

1 red pepper -the little ones

1 green pepper

4 shitake

1/2 package (100g) maitake

1/2 zucchini

1 tomato

then i added 2 cups of vegetable stock

three squares of s&b med. hot curry ( i always grate it before adding it)

just before serving, i added a handful of spinach

served with white rice and a salad of:

lettuce

1 sliced cucumber

2 tbsp pari pari (crunchy) soba noodles

2 tbsp pari pari jako

sprinkled with asahi ponzu

i try not too eat to many foods high on the glycemic index, therefore, no carrots or potatoes in this curry.

(i did have a small bowl of rice and i ate about three bowls of the curry)

thanks for the inspiration folks!

is anyone up for a winter stew day?

[Food questions for those living in Japan]

it looks like you can order them online

I am not familiar with these products though...

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thanks!! i didnt know about that site. wish i could read it

i will get a friend to help me out

[Chopsticks]

i looooovee chopsticks!

one thing that bugs me is when i eat in a restaurant in japan where they do not have hashi (chopsticks). especially if it is salad or pasta.

last year while in india, i ate with my right hand most of the time, but there were occasions where i knew my hands were not clean - i was all too happy to bust out my little plastic case with personalized chopsticks.

cooking with hashi is the best! beat eggs, turn fish, mix sauces - i dont think i will ever be able to go back to a fork when it comes to food prep.

i am surprised no one has mentioned the wedding hashi. someone please correct me if i am wrong - i think it is tradition to for the bride and groom of shinto ceremonies to have a special set (oranamental) that are displayed together with the sentiment that as long as the hashi are together the marriage and couple will stay together.

help me if you know more on this.

[Tipping Outside of Restaurants]

in japan, we pay no tips. nothing. and the service is phenomenal! much better than any other country i have lived in/visited.

my problem is that when i leave japan to go home (canada) or travel to other countries, i totally forget that i am supposed to tip!

it is acceptable here to buy a drink for the staff to show appreciation for good service but a tip is not expected nor would it be accepted. i think the only exception to this rule, is international hotels, which include a gratuity in the bill.

i am glad i dont have to worry about this

[The izakaya in Japan]

i have a new favourite - it might not appeal to all, as it is a macrobiotic/organic izakaya. they have a few seafood items but mainly they serve vegetarian versions of japanese favourites.

i took a break from the books last night and treated myself to dinner out.

i had gobo kinpira, negi chijimi and tempeh ankake. served with a frosty ebisu beer.

the tempeh ankake was delicious and the soup was a burnt orange colour and not too thick.

they have a deal so you can try a variety of items for a lower price than the menu states.

it is called kokoro (or kokoro something...!). midosuji line - showacho station. from the kohyo supermarket, walk one block west, it is on the southwest corner.

it is so hard to find good veggie/organic restaurants in osaka and this place does it well.

[An interface between the two languages]

Yesterday as my family was having lunch at Yoshinoya (my first time there in almost 14 years!), the man a couple chairs away (the restuarant is set up as one big sort of s shaped counter) stood and announced "gochisousama" as the way of letting the waiter know he was ready to pay his check. I have never really noticed anyone ever do that before in this kind of restaurant, of course I also don't normally frequent those kind of restaurants....

I didn't notice any of the other customers do it either though and I would probably never use it in that kind of situation, so it really just depends on the person.

I always do that!

So how do you usually ask for your check in this type of place?

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kind of a late reply to this post - we say "sumimasen, owaiso"...we are about to be finished. this gives us time to collect our things while they calculate the bill.

or sometimes, in noisier, busier establishments, a smile and the two index fingers crossed in an "x".

of course, this is in casual places.

[Food questions for those living in Japan]

i cant remember if it was at national azabu super or food magazine, but i was elated to find yves veggie products (i am from vancouver, bc where the company is located).

i dont eat meat but i do like veggie back bacon!

i have not been able to find it anywhere in kansai. i did contact the company, but they never replied to my requests for information

if anyone comes across it, i would love know where.

[Ponzu]

easternsun, welcome to egullet and the Japan Forum!!

I am really getting determined to find Asahi ponzu here in the Kanto area... though I am thinking I may have to mail order it.

What does it taste like? how does it differ from regular ponzu?

mix it with tahini you say....I might give this a try..

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thanks for the welcome...

i just taste tested both mitsukan`s ajipon and asahi ponzu. the ajipon is only here because we ran out one night mid-nabe!! horror of horrors!!

the ajipon definitely tastes more chemically to me. with asahi ponzu, the yuzu flavour just bursts in your mouth.

if you like goma (sesame) dressing then you will love the tahini/ponzu combination!

is asahi ponzu a kansai thing? the shotengai near my home has it in every other shop...no kidding!

[Ponzu]

I have been searching for that asahi ponzu everywhere and can't find it....

Yesterday I picked up a bottle of kabosu ponzu and served with some avocado slices.. yum!

The recent edition of Kyou no Ryouri (cooking magazine) has a karaage (deep fried chicken) that is marinated in pozu, I am going to give it a try this weekend.

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i found this forum while looking for the nutritional facts for asahi ponzu, so it seems like a good place to make my first post.

i cannot live with asahi ponzu, no other will do...

some suggestions as to where you might find it - small shops that sell sake and beer, tofu shops and small meat vendors.

there is currently a "price war" between the chicken shop and the tofu shop near my home! the signs keep getting bigger ! in one shop, a small bottle is 600 yen, in the other, it is 580.

i would love to buy the giant size, but i cant figure out how to fit it in my fridge

one of my favourite uses of asahi ponzu is as a salad dressing, i mix it with some tahini, a little milk and a little mayo or plain yoghurt. it is my secret weapon in getting my darling husband to eat his raw veggies!