sanrensho

You might find the CakeChef site to be a good resource for shops. Due to an emphasis on seasonality and local ingredients (reflecting the expectations of Japanese customers), I think you will find that almost all higher end pastry shops feature some unique take on European pastry. Obviously, some more than others. Good luck with your search! http://www.cakechef.info/

This is the base sourdough muffin recipe I use. It is very adaptable for various add-ins, and produces a nice tall muffin. My "go to" muffin recipe. http://www.sourdoughhome.com/blueberrymuffins.html The KA sourdough waffles are nice and chewy, but the salt needs to be reduced significantly (3/4 tsp!). http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/RecipeDisplay?RID=93

I have one small comment. Miso is basically always a paste, so I would just call it miso.

It could be your technique of course, but as K8 implies, there are too many good recipes out there (especially chiffon) to waste 4+ tries on one recipe. Generally, if a recipe doesn't work for me on the second (or first) try, I move on to another one. For a chocolate chiffon, you could try the Rose Levy Beranbaum or Flo Braker recipes. Both have turned out successfully for me. http://www.scharffenberger.com/re0203.asp

Actually, I was thinking that this thread also rightly belongs in the Japan forum. Because it really boils down to the ingredients that you have at your disposal in Japan.

I can picture this, and I am laughing. Older Japanese guy, worked vegetables all his life? Good guess?

If it were me, I'd make something like a nutella buttercream and then fill the baked cupcakes.

Like gfron1, I am intrigued by the ideas and flavor combinations, but the execution seemed a little off. For instance, the mango pudding recipe specifies 6 mangoes *corrected*, but doesn't even give a cup volume. Last time I checked, mangoes varied widely in size. If I recall correctly, the castella recipe calls for added oil. Which is just plain wrong/unnecessary. Fats are never added to castella. Call it something else. The raspberry pudding recipe doesn't call for the seeds to be strained, and the raspberry/sugar quantities seemed off. (I strained anyway.) The result was too sour and lacking in sweetness, even for my tastes. The recipe is also not particularly helpful for substitutions, and the lack of weights is a minus. Still, I am looking forward to trying more recipes from the book.

I remember when my grocer used to carry the TN cartons with 2x250g bags. As you say, the ingredients listed only the bean varieties. When they switched to the cans, TN started to list the full ingredients, and that's when I noticed that it contains butter and cocoa flavor. I had always heard rumours that TN was roasted w/butter, so the mystery was finally solved. In that respect, I guess you could call Trung Nguyen a flavoured coffee, but I don't mind.

I just found this Canadian importer for Trung Nguyen, with fairly reasonable prices. Shipping was about $9 for $15 worth of coffee, but they also have free shipping specials for 8 packs of coffee. http://www.handocoffee.com/ The site features many TN blends that I have never seen in local stores, so I'm very tempted to pull the trigger on an order. US site is here: http://www.trung-nguyen-online.com/index.html

I've never seen it sold in whole bean here in Vancouver. They did change the export packaging a few years ago, from bagged ground (two to a carton) to cans like the Cafe du Monde. At least, that is what we are getting locally. The Trung Nguyen has always been a very coarse grind, coarser than even typical for French press, which actually works perfectly with the drip pots. I would need a very good quality to grinder to get the same consistent coarse grind without dust. Some may find the Trung Nguyen to be an acquired taste, due to the flavorings. But it's the flavor I most associate with Vietnamese coffee and certainly the biggest coffee brand in Vietnam AFAIK.

There is a large Vietnamese market on Victoria, just one block south of Kingsway. I think it's called 88 Supermarket. You can't miss it, it's on the west side of Victoria. They usually have Trung Nguyen and several versions of the coffee filters. Incidentally, I've tried various other Vietnamese coffee brands as well as Cafe du Monde and I strongly prefer Trung Nguyen. Trung Nguyen does have a distinctive taste/aroma with cocoa/butter notes from using flavorings. Since coffee is a matter of personal taste, you may or may not like this.

I'd like to know as well. I haven't turned it up at any Vietnamese grocers, since there don't appear to be any Thai grocers (that I know of). I definitely have not seen it at T&T.

Thanks for posting this, I'll be sure to check them out. Is that the original Thomas Haas location?

What paper would I find this in? Cheers! ← I would check your community newspaper. We get ours in the North Shore News, Wednesday or Friday edition (sorry, I can't remember which). They usually have a pullout ad every week.

Michael's has an extensive selection of Wilton pans. Don't forget to use your 40% off coupon from the paper.

I second the recommendation for Mes Confitures. As mentioned, the combinations in that book are truly inspired.

Definitely whole wheat flour. These are both whole rye flours, the former from Hokkaido and the latter of unspecified origin, but milled by Nissin Seifun. Unfortunately, there isn't any indication of which specific whole rye it is from Nissin Seifun. The Nissin Seifun website indicates that they mill five different types of rye in 5 and 20 kg bag quantities. It could be their アーレグローブ rye, which is their coarsest. http://www.nisshin.com/company/release/details/021101_b.html I'd go with the Nissin Seifun flour to be honest, since it's likely to be the most common flour, both to source and tested for recipes. Does this mean some bread baking in your future?

I'll make sure to NEVER mention this to my kids. Both of them love ma po tofu, although we make it typically mild like in Japan.

How could anyone not like ma po tofu? (Mild for kids, of course.) There's still a good chance she will grow up to eat tofu, even if she's a picky eater.

I agree. I have never understood the association between "heat" and "spicy." I can think of few cuisines that use spices as extensively as Indian food, but not all Indian food I have had is hot, by any means. OED defines "spicy" as: 1. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of spice; of the nature of spice. 2. (As if) flavoured or fragranced with spice; pungent, aromatic; piquant.

And yet, Rose Levy Beranbaum has managed to publish pastry books that feature weights (in addition to volumes). There must be a few others as well. Or maybe RLB is one of the select few with the clout to push through weights? Anyway, I am in complete agreement that the general lack of weight measurements in North American pastry publishing is pathetic.

Yes, I've done it, there's no weeping. It isn't much different than a custard.

Maybe you can do an exchange with a kind Egullet member.

Miso can definitely go bad. I've had white mold develop on old miso. Usually you can just scrape the top layer off when this happens--much like cheese.