sanrensho

I'd give Angel Seafoods a call, although I can't recall ever seeing it there.

I've been happy with my lemon buttercream (mainly lemon juice + extract for boost), but I'll give it a try one of these days.

^^^I love that second photo. Thanks for posting it. It's truly amazing what you can find in the nooks and crannies of Tokyo.

I would suggest the same (using cellophane) but placing the cupcakes on a paper plate to further protect the cupcakes. Although it does create more waste. Is there any way you can have the cupcakes arranged artfully on a plate, than bagged/packaged to order? That's the way mine were sold at our last bake sale. This would preserve the look of your cupcakes up to the crucial sell point. Then you could dispense with the extra paper plate.

Simply add lemon juice and/or extract to taste. The other way I know of is to fold in lemon curd, which I personally haven't done.

How about kiwi jam?

Hmm, all these comments have me thinking that I should pick one up as a "first knife" present for my oldest daughter, who is turning eight. Maybe it will further jump-start her interest in cooking.

Just for clarification, the manufacturer is Kershaw and the name of the line is "Pure Komachi." I've just now realized that Kershaw is the overseas name for Kai Cutlery, which is a major brand in Japan. I've seen those knives before and wouldn't hesitate to buy them for casual use. Kai is a very trusted name in Japan. Here's a link to the Kershaw site (look under "Kitchen Cutlery" for the Pure Komachi line): http://www.kershawknives.com/large.htm

As far as the crystallization you're referring to, did you get the syrup to a high enough temp? RLB also advises against stirring after the syrup comes to a boil, to prevent crystallization.

What exactly went wrong? I've made both RLB's classic and neoclassic BCs and didn't experience any problems. Perhaps the more experienced Egulleters can help troubleshoot what went wrong.

John: Thanks for jogging my memory, I remember that now. What do you use as a starter? I assume you're using binchotan? Hiroyuki: Would you say that's the most popular type of grill (it looks like a portable camping grill to me)? Do most of your neighbours have some type of outdoor grill that they use semi-regularly? I'm really curious about this, as I lived in the 23 wards of Tokyo during my entire time in Japan--not really a hotbed for home BBQ culture.

I'd like to see what everybody is using for their BBQ/grilling. Shichirin? Weber kettle? Gas grill (freestanding)? I see that these options are available in Japan, but I sure as heck don't recall anyone owning a BBQ when I lived there. Are they more popular now? If so, which type? Are we talking camping/outdoors equipment put to home use?

Rodney, if you like red bean paste then you might try locating some amanatto (Japanese candied beans--commonly available from Japanese grocers), and adding a moderate amount to the green tea sponge/chiffon batter. The small amanatto made from azuki beans would be ideal. I find that the amanatto adds some textural interest to the green tea cake. (The version I made was a green tea sponge based on an RLB recipe, not the CakeChef one.) Amanatto image

^^^Perhaps a green tea whipped cream--using matcha whisked into a small amount of hot water, then cooled before whipping with the cream. However, you will lose the nice white contrast against the matcha cake. Traditionally, I would suggest an an (sweetened red bean paste) whipped cream, but a lot of North Americans might not like it. Most other flavorings I can think of would overwhelm the delicate matcha taste.

Rodney, I'm assuming you've made the above cake? And you liked it?

100 parts whipping cream (45%), 5.5 parts granulated sugar, 8 parts green tea liqueur (100:5.5:8).

Well, the ratio for that recipe is 50 grams of matcha to 800 grams of rice flour. I would try modifying your favorite chiffon cake recipe with approximately the same ratio of matcha-to-flour as a starting point. (Subtract the matcha from the total amount of flour called for in your recipe.) Your personal taste will decide whether you want more or less matcha in the end product. Also, the recipe uses a a green tea liqueur in the chantilly to up the matcha flavor quotient. This is probably a good idea.

Does anybody know of a local source for ume or Japanese apricot? These are hard green apricot/plums used for pickling, or in my case, to make Japanese plum wine (umeshu). My wife recently brought me some that was made by her mother, and I'm rapidly getting addicted to the stuff. Has anybody seen it at H Mart (Hanahreum)?

Does it give gram weight equivalents for all ingredients?

I guess my point was that it isn't easy to find good examples of those types of breads, or a decent bagel, outside of the major metropolitan areas. There was a good point made about Japanese versions of other dishes showing a lighter touch, which certainly applies to the treatment of Western pastries. Reasonable portion size is another plus. OTOH, I was never a big fan of savory baked goods featuring globs of mayonnaise and corn/tuna, etc. Since nobody has mentioned it, my vote also goes to castella cake and Japanese (souffle) cheesecakes.

One that comes to mind is plain white Pullman sandwich bread. Sure, Japan tends to be short on certain types of artisan breads such as rye breads and sourdoughs, but the plain old white Pullman loaf tends to be uniformly good.

Most of the gyoza cooking methods you mention are fairly common in Japan--including deep-frying (popular in kids bentos!), suigyouza and as wontons in soup (with or without noodles). As well, there are gyoza specialty restaurants with more filling variations than you can shake a stick at. I've also had xiaolong bao and (I believe) xiaolong tang bao in Japan. Many Japanese are probably familiar with these, although I forget what they call them in Japan. Shanghai buns, I think?

Do we have to give out scores? I pick Iron Chef #1. The avocado cream pretty much had me and the tartlet w/mint ice-cream sealed the deal. I'm guessing that Lorna is behind Curtain No. 1.

No suggestions for restaurants but good luck with your treatment, and congratulations on the baby! I'm sure you'll baking up a storm again in no time!

OK, I did a little Googling and there are two techniques you can use. For the tall version that I linked to, you would cut out most of the inside of the loaf and cube it (neatly). You could probably leave 1/4 or 1/3 of the bottom uncubed if you want. Some instructions suggest drizzling the cubed bread (and perhaps the inside of the loaf) with honey at that point. Other instructions say to just reassemble, then drizzle honey and slather butter into the cracks. Like in the pictorial below. http://www.yrph.com/rest/recipe/02.html For just a thick sliced version, you would just make cuts into the bread and slather with honey/butter. Some recipes suggest topping with ice cream (!)/fruit/compote, and maple syrup is also mentioned in place of honey. I've only had the simple honey toast version.