sanrensho

Instead of simmering the meat for hours and hours, I suggesting removing the meat after it's poached and treating the separated meat like any poached chicken. Add the bones/carcass back to the stock and keep simmering. I find it's helpful to take the separated meat and let it cool down in some of the stock to prevent it from drying out. For a Vietnamese-style chicken stock, boil your chicken or bones with a peeled onion, crushed green onions, peppercorns, and a good amount of crushed ginger. Add some fish sauce and sea salt to taste.

If you happen to need a recipe, there is one in Art of the Cake by Bruce Healy.

Kristin, this looks fantastic. Could you tell me more about the sakura powder? Is it widely available in Japan, and is it sweetened? Any info would be appreciated.

I second this recommendation. Devil's food cake or a fudge cake is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of an American-style cake. The more moist the better.

The company mentioned in the NS Outlook article is Tarragon Foods, owned by Andrea Gray-Grant (of North Van, not West Van). Link added: http://www.tarragonfoods.com/

I think you're referring to an article published in a recent North Shore Outlook. I'll dig around later to see if I can find the article. I believe that Caper's also carries the brand, so you could also phone one of their stores.

＾＾＾RLB's yellow cake recipe also does not dome. I frequently make the recipe as cupcakes and have never experienced doming. The recipe is available from the above site.

Given your parameters, I think Shinjuku first and Shibuya second are your best bets. It might be past 5:00 p.m. by the time you get into Tokyo proper, and these two options are far more interesting for an evening visit than Harajuku, IMO. More food options, too, especially in Shinjuku.

Perhaps this may be presumptuous, but have you got the logistics figured out? Unfortunately, Tokyo is not really that close to Narita Airport, so a quick hop into Tokyo proper means getting your tickets quickly and timing it so that you get onto the soonest leaving train. Then you have to navigate to get around Tokyo itself. That may cut down on your time in Tokyo quite a bit. Please ignore the above if you have this all figured out. You might also consider Shibuya and Shinjuku if you only have 5 hours.

Thanks for correcting my geography. I need to dig out my old ski resort guides. My knowledge of Japanese geography is pretty poor, and most of what I know is based on the location of ski resorts!

Is that Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort in the background? If so, I've been there once.

Bento, too! Also common in savory baked buns.

Give Ugo & Joe's (on E. Hastings) a call. They carry the Emma brand canned tomatoes, so they might have your bruschetta. I haven't seen the Emma brand around much, so that might be your best bet.

I'm less of a traditionalist than Hiroyuki, but I really prefer this type of umeboshi (low salt honey umeboshi). My kids lap them up, too.

Maybe I can lighten the load for Hiroyuki a bit. If you look carefully at Hiroyuki's cutlet in one of the middle photos, you can see that it's been sliced. So you're right that tonkatsu is always served sliced, unless the actual cutlets are very small and can be easily picked up and a bite taken out of (say, slightly larger than a chicken mcnugget).

Thanks for answering my question, Hiroyuki. I'm impressed by the variety of fruit your father grows. His neighbors must be very lucky!

I always order my deli meats (except for bacon) sliced thin. We end up buying most of our deli meats from a supermarket chain that actually has a decent selection, but I deplore the standard thickness of their cold cuts. I do notice that non-chain delis tend to consistently cut their meats thinner, so I can only conclude that the chains are trying to push thicker cuts to sell more volume. IMO, thinner slices make for a better sandwich presentation and, well, mouthfeel. Also, a good way to get just the right amount of meat in your sammie. I also don't fall into the elderly demographic.

I'd love to hear what your father grows in addition to negi, and how much he is able to consume himself.

From one translator to another, I wish the best for your wife and hope that you and your kids are able to cope through a difficult period for your family. I am sure that it will bring you even closer together as a family. I look forward to pictures of your countryside and garden.

Thanks for the tip, we checked out this place on Saturday. We ended up ordering the braised beef flank w/noodle in soup, and the "dry noodle w/special beef sauce/spicy." The soup came with generous portions of beef flank, and the large size looked enormous. Possibly even a better deal (volume-wise) than your typical large bowl of pho. Of the two, we both preferred the dry noodle. (This was our first experience with Taiwan noodle soups.) Sides were also reasonably priced and a perfect size to order a bunch of different items. We'll definitely go back again, on our way back from shopping at Crystal Mall, T&T, etc.

While not a food show per se, I did enjoy the drama-comedy series Haikei Chichiue-sama. Very tastefully done and set in a traditional ryotei in Kagurazaka, Tokyo. One of my very first jobs in Japan was in Kagurazaka, so some of the scenes brought back a lot of memories. There were quite a few shots that included the famous Gojyuban nikuman (steamed buns) found up the hill in Kagurazaka. I certainly ingested my share of them when I worked in the area. The buns are huge. http://www.50ban.com/

It sounds like a creme mousseline (pastry cream mixed with BC) or a variation thereof. Definitely not something that this Canadian associates with "American buttercream." The latter has been the subject of hot debate in the past, revolving around the confectioners sugar/milk/butter recipe that Mukki described.

I don't know if it's a congee mix, but it looks like you could cook it as a rice. We use a similar rice mix that also has beans in it, and cook it on the regular rice setting. However, we give it an extra long soak (CORRECTION: overnight or 8-9 hours) due to the beans. The mix we use is quite tasty. (EDIT: I corrected the soaking time after double-checking with my wife.) You may have to adjust the water to achieve the desired firmness.

I make mascarpone all the time from heavy whipping cream. The process is extremely easy and the results keep for close to a week in the fridge. You need to start it the day before to allow for draining. It's been awhile since I bought commercial mascarpone, so I can't provide a direct comparison with store-bought mascarpone. I'll have to buy a tub one of these days for comparison purposes. I started making mascarpone because of lack of availability in my immediate neighborhood, and the price. I agree that cream cheese is not a great sub for mascarpone in tiramisu. I do like some of the tiramisu variations that only use whipped cream as a filling, especially when I want something really light. I've loosely followed David Rocco's Lemon Tiramisu recipe and would definitely make it again. http://www.davidrocco.com/cookbook/villama...ontiramisu.html Here's a separate thread on making mascarpone: Homemade mascarpone

Mung beans, no?