sanrensho

Still waiting for some comments on how it tasted. Between the baby breath and constant smell of damp breast milk (not to mention the, um, baby waste product from ingesting breast milk), I can say I had zero urge to get my share of the milk.

Hiroyuki will confirm, but it's very likely 350g total. Japanese recipes often specify a ground mixture of pork and beef (as one ingredient). Plus 700g is a huge amount for a typical Japanese recipe. Enough to feed a family of eight.

Firstly, I find it really confusing to deal with volume measurements and percentages, rather than metric weights and baker's percentages. However, I can tell you that I add similar amounts of whole wheat to my sourdough bread without any adjustment to the amount of water or kneading time. (Roughly 4:1 white to WW.) Now, if you're talking about a 50% whole wheat bread (baker's percentage--50% of flour or 1/2 whole wheat), that would probably require some adjustment of water. For a "light" WW of 20% (baker's percentage), I'm inclined to say that none or minimal adjustment may be needed. If you're current formula is working fine, I would just simply start adding WW in gradual increments. The handling of the dough and baked results will tell you if you need to adjust for water. I say just do it/try it.

You could try a Japanese market. I know that condensed milk has been sold in tubes there for a long time. A bigger market should have some.

It's "bibimbap." I would simply take it as a sign that you're pushing the right buttons. That and the weather!

I just noticed you're from Hawaii--it's been way too long since I last visited. Sniff. I could really use an apple banana now. The chopped amanatto stays intact but becomes a bit softer. It adds a bit of textural (and visual) interest to cakes and fillings, and of course pairs superbly with matcha. I think of them much like I do chocolate chips or raisins, so there are lots of possibilities in wafuu-style desserts. I don't have a recipe for the matcha azuki muffin yet. I think I will end up doctoring my usual sourdough muffin recipe--which is my current favorite muffin recipe. Hopefully the sourdough won't be too overpowering for the matcha. (I always have a lot of sourdough on hand from baking bread.) http://www.sourdoughhome.com/blueberrymuffins.html Thanks for posting the amanatto recipe. I look forward to trying it.

I mostly bake them in chiffon cakes (matcha, etc.), but I wouldn't hesitate to put them in a pound cake as well. I also chop them and throw them into chantilly cream or other creams for filling rolls (matcha azuki roll), etc. The brand I can get imported here is Inada Mame. They were selling the same brand in Matsumoto for about 125 yen per page (100-130g per package). Available in a couple of varieties including the standard azuki and kuromame, etc. I just had some out of the freezer, and they actually taste pretty good that way. And actually, that reminds me, I should make a matcha-azuki muffin sometime soon.

I'm interested too! Although I don't find it be that expensive, maybe Torakris is talking about the good stuff. (I use mine for baking only.)

If you like short grain Japonica varieties, you might like the haigamai (such as Tamaki Haigamai) rices that are partially polished with only the bran removed. There is also a Sukoyaka Genmai (Japanese brown rice) that actually seems like it is partially polished as well. Both can be found in Japanese or Korean markets. Our daily rice is generally a 50/50 blend of white rice and Sukoyaka Genmai or haigamai. Although I personally prefer a lower ratio of genmai/haigamai (25-35%). This makes a nice alternative to white rice with good texture.

Plain vanilla. Or matcha. All are commonly combined with sesame/red bean flavors in Japanese pastry, and I would think Korean and Chinese pastry too. If matcha is too Japanese for your Korean/Chinese theme, then another type of tea such as jasmine. Other ideas are caramel or kokuto (Japanese black sugar). Pear would also match well, as would chestnut. A subtle flavoring of yuzu or other citrus would also punch up the flavor combination. I would lean away from buttercream for a lighter frosting.

-Bread from Transylvania Bakery -Cinnamon sugar bagels from Mont Royal -Thomas Haas chocolates

General Egullet inspiration: I really, really miss Wendy DeBord's posts. I would say she was a huge inspiration when I started getting seriously into baking. So many demos and tips along the way. We miss you Wendy.

I nuke 'em for 30-60 seconds. They are very easy to microplane at that point. The juice is still slushy but easy to extract and strain. No worries about juice flying during juicing. In fact, I think I need to stock on another bag of organic lemons this week...

One storage tip that has saved my bacon numerous times is freezing lemons (courtesy of Peter the Eater). I would never have thought of this. Now I buy bags of organic lemons and freeze them for grating or juicing when I'm out of lemons. My version of the Lepard sourdough in one of the tutorials is also now my daily bread. Thank you Dan.

If I had to do a large volume, I suppose I would cut the lemons in half, then make angled cuts to remove the tough center part. Then slice into wedges and flick out any seeds.

I always cut into wedges, chop off the center (white) part, and flick out the seeds with a knife or other utensil. I do this with naval orange wedges too (not the seed part), as it makes the wedges easier to eat.

Thanks for the info, Anna!

^^^When I was living there, I spent 95% of my time in the Kanto/Tokyo area, and I think I only had the Kansai style during that entire time. I wouldn't be surprised if the Kansai style is much more prevalent throughout Japan. It seems like it is easier to make, especially homemade.

Can you tell us about the usability of the Salton unit? I think Canadian Tire had them on sale for about $60 this week, which puts it at half the quoted price for the Eurodib unit. Is the Salton unit still usable as an everyday cooktop, or is it a major step down from the Eurodib? Thanks!

Looks like France did not enter a team. http://www.pastrychampionship.com/2008scores.html Some photos here: http://www.pastryprofiles.com/competitioncorner.htm

There is a picture of chunou sauce here, Bulldog (probably the best known brand) describes it as blending the piquancy of their worcestershire sauce and the sweetness mildness of their tonkatsu sauce. If you can find tonkatsu sauce, you could use or doctor that.

Too late I'm sure, but we purchased ours at Don Quijote (locations throughout Japan) for about 1,500 yen, although I'm sure you can find one at any well-stocked housewares store.

I just wanted to post a belated update on the idea of doing a pasta-making party for kids. (Increasingly veering off the topic of the thread title, I know.) We ended up doing this for my 7-year old's birthday party last June. I simplified the actual pasta-making by making a couple of batches of pasta dough the night before. During the party, we had the kids take turns rolling out sheets on a hand machine and cutting them into tagliatelle. One kid alternately holding the pasta and the other cranking. We had a pot of boiling salted water ready on a stovetop propane burner (cassette type). When each pair of kids was finished making their pasta, they brought it over to the table to cook their pasta. The kids were literally fighting to get their turns at the pasta rolling machine. And most of the kids loved the noodles. Although we had made a marinara sauce, most asked for their noodles plain, which was a big surprise for me. (I thought it was weird, actually.) Many came back for seconds and even thirds, sauce or no. One girl made a point of telling me they were "the best noodles ever," which was gratifying to hear. As far as I know, only one out of 10+ kids had ever made (rolled) fresh pasta before. Anyway, I wouldn't hesitate to do this again as an activity for a kids party. It was a lot of fun, and much less work than the bread and pizza-making.

I recently made coffee jelly for a small dinner party with some neighbors. I used a strong brew using medium roast beans. ("True" medium roast, not burnt Starbucks medium roast.) The strength was just about right. Topped the coffee jelly with a maple kanten jelly and poured in some kahlua cream. No one in attendance had ever had coffee jelly before, but it went over well.

Doutor...natsukashii. Without Doutor iced coffee, I wouldn't have survived my first outside sales job in Japan (sweltering heat).