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ojisan

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Posts posted by ojisan

  1. Say, I read somewhere on this site (if I wasn't misunderstanding the post) that it's not good to use glass something-or-other on Japanese knives? Would this have refered to a honing stone or a sharpening stone of some sort?

    Thanks,

    Starkman

    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.

  2. One more question...

    per doughery's statement, "If you're not familiar with Japanese sharpening stones . . . ," I take it the stones with which one sharpens Japanese knives (be they single or dougle bevelled) are NOT the same as ones with which western knives are sharpened?

    Thanks again.

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

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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....

  6. 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.

  7. I use a skillet on my gas stove, but always wonder what I might be missing in the way of wok hei.  Also, I'm short, and even working in a skillet, my arm gets tired pointing my elbow in the 1 or 2 o'clock position for the entire time.

    Mr. Care suggested that we consider getting an outside wok.  He saw the Eastman wok kit (about $200), but further research found the Eastman  Baby Kahuna (only $60).  They both have 65,000 BTUs and adjustable legs.  (I haven't done an in-depth comparison of the burners--they may be essentially identical.)

    Does anyone have experience with these or any of the similar products?

    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.

  8. Somehow everything in CI seems sanitized, americanized, systematized.....the whole mag is far too stiflingly whitebread and rigid; it reads like a '50s home-ec publication to me.

    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.

  9. I fired up our new smoker over the weekend.  We only did one rack of ribs (hey there were only two of us). There's the water pan and below that the cast iron holder for the wood chips.

    gallery_6080_205_29148.jpg

    gallery_6080_205_132539.jpg

    gallery_6080_205_65941.jpg

    It was incredibly easy to maintain the temp on this.  We started it out at 200 to see how it would hold.  No problems.  We bumped it to 240 for the remainder of the time. 

    I can easily see doing cold smoking in this.  Bacon, here I come. :biggrin:

    Marlene -

    What kind of smoker is that?

  10. 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.

  11. 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....

  12. Would you guys recommend a little burner like this?

    Burner

    I just don't really want to have to go outside to cook, it rains a lot here.

    Surprisingly, my wok has returned to normal when I was cooking with it today. I really don't know what was going on with it, but I guess I will switch to flame anyways.

    Thanks.

    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

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