ojisan

I save used cooking oil in a plastic tub for use as charcoal starter when I BBQ. Dampen a wadded up paper towel with oil and put under the charcoal chimney. Better than plain newspaper as there is no ash or burnt paper residue.

What's the difference between the 5200 and the Professional/CIA versions?

Why you don't need a 3 hp blender: http://www.vitamix.com/household/infocenter/3horsepower.asp

It refers to common folklore that you shouldn't have a glass of single malt Scotch in one hand while wielding a gyuto in the other.

See what happens? He's already slipping into the dark side....

An xlnt wealth of info is Chad Ward's book "An Edge in the Kitchen: http://www.amazon.com/Edge-Kitchen-Ultimat..._pr_product_top The knifeforums.com site has a wealth of info, but it's daunting to wade thru it, and can be confusing to read between the lines of posts by some of the (opinionated) knife geeks. Having said that, knifeforums.com is where I got my education (including trading posts w/ Mr. Ward), and they are a friendly and forgiving group. Before then, I thought my Dexter cleaver was God's gift to cooking; I now own REALLY good knives (all Japanese-made and all inexpensive) and have even foisted more onto my children as birthday & Xmas gifts. FWIW, I've purchased all my knives from the aforementioned japanesechefsknife.com (internet commerce at its finest), but Korin also has a solid reputation.

Brands seem to come and go. You might want to refer to a book such as Andoh's Washoku for descriptions of what you should be looking for. Also read the label ingredients for things that don't belong there. Having said that, I'll mention that good mirin is hard to find - most are just sake and corn syrup. You'll probably want several shoyus - an inexpensive one like Kikkoman (Costco) for marinades etc., and an artisanal brand for sashimi etc. For everyday usukuchi, Yamasa is reliable. Note that shoyus made in the US contain preservatives. To start, you'll probably want two basic misos - aka and shiro, and they should contain only water, soybeans and salt. I've had ongoing good luck with Yamabuki. Rather than buying bottled dipping sauces such as ponzu or tosa (with questionable added ingredients), I'd suggest making your own using the simple recipes in Shizuo Tsuji's books. You can't go too wrong with buying whatever brand is on sale at Mitsuwa. Get on their mailing list for the weekly sale flyers.

I was curious to see a thread about Japanese yogurt, and wondered - what could it be? Shoyu yogurt? Miso yogurt? Takuan yogurt? After reading the posts, it would seem that it's probably yogurt with certain added flavorings. And so, I'm surprised that more folks in Japan don't make their own yogurt - it's easy to make and you can control what goes into it. Although you really don't need an appliance, it does make it easier - I've been making my own, using this gadget: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...KX0DER&v=glance and then straining it to various consistencies using this (somewhat pricey) gadget: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisipro-Donvier-Yog.../ref=pd_sim_k_2 I use a basic starter with no added thickeners (Trader Joe's Greek Style Plain) which has only: - cultured pasteurized milk, cream and nonfat milk - s. thermophilus - l. bulgaricus - lacidophilus - bifidus and I add flavorings afterwards. I use garlic a lot (great for dips) so I guess takuan wouldn't be too weird after all....

FWIW, the Christopher Ranch pre-peeled 3 lb. tubs of garlic at Costco (in Santa Cruz): - organically grown - grown in California

The local Costco sells tubs of pre-peeled garlic from Christopher Ranch in nearby Gilroy. Has anyone used it, and what are the actual differences between this and fresh heads that you peel yourself? What, if anything, do you lose? Also, does anyone know how they peel them - blanched maybe? My thought was to puree a bunch and freeze it flat in a zip bag.

If the Baby Kahuna has the same burner and output as the Big Kahuna, go for it. I wouldn't recommend the kit with a 22" wok; I have the Big Kahuna and 16" - 18" carbon steel is ideal.

Great pics! I'm curious about the costs of each of the meals....

I was trying to figure out how to describe what it is about CI that gives me the "eh" feeling. Don't need to anymore as I'm pretty much says what I was trying to figure out. ← Kinda like Consumer's Reports - very detailed info on the trees, but blind to the forest.

Will we be seeing a review of it after you've broken it in?

Marlene - What kind of smoker is that?

Do you use whole niboshi, or do you behead & gut them? If cleaned, is the 45g weight of the whole niboshi, or the after cleaning weight?

I find that I cook out of Tsuji's "Practical Japanese Cooking" together with his older Simple Art. Practical was published much later, in '86, and similar dishes cut back on the sweetness. If you're not familiar w/ this book, every page is filled w/ color photos. FWIW, I just bought a used copy from Amazon for under $7.

Google "tripolyphosphate" and then let your seafood supplier know what you think about this.

Isn't this how breakfast diners make hashbrown taters?

Considering how popular ramen is, I'm puzzled as to the unavailability of ramen noodles. At my "local" market (Mitsuwa in San Jose), the dried noodle aisle is filled with all kinds of udon, soba and somen - but NO ramen. The refrigerated noodle section has ramen "meals" - the packages all include seasoning packets - not noodles-only. The local ramen restaurants use fresh packaged noodles, so they're buying them locally somewhere, and I'm wondering if they're using generic Chinese egg noodles, such as those made by New Hong Kong Noodle Company based in San Francisco. Hopefully someone will post a good recipe for making ramen noodles from scratch....

This is when I wish I had a thermal cooking pot. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...KX0DER&v=glance

Maybe a better question would be: If you have a thermal cooking pot, how often do you actually use it? Or is it stored with the fondue set that you also never use?

Bump Has anyone come across a technique/recipe book for using a thermal pot? Or link to info?

Is there any such thing as a tempura restaurant in California any more? I remember back in the day there was such a place in L.A., li'l Tokyo (Tokyo Kaikan?). I'm dating myself here....

That's not a propane burner - it's a tableside butane burner, suitable for hotpot or sukiyaki. This is what I use: http://www.amazon.com/Eastman-Outdoors-Big...94653695&sr=8-1