SheenaGreena

is kasu sake lees? I'm going to the japanese grocery store this saturday (it's teeny tiny) and I'll look for it there. I appreciate all the suggestions.....I don't know what to start first? mayo with umeboshi, and miso, yum! mackerel with kasu? yum!

ahhhh, simple with an elegant presentation. I love that

these preparations sound fantastic, thanks everyone. jason, tell me more about marinating mackerel in vinegar? Do I have to cook it afterwards? eta: hiroyuki, do you think that adding ginger to the simmered mackerel helps to get rid of the fishy smell? I find that the main problem of cooking mackerel in my one bedroom apt, is the smell. I don't mind it, but my god it stays in the kitchen FOR HOURS. And when my boyfriend comes home and smells it, he makes this special "mackerel" face

I'm trying to eat more japanese food, because 1) korean food is too difficult and time consuming for me (yes it's true) 2) it's really healthy 3) most importantly, it tastes delicious!!!!! I have a pretty decent general knowledge of japanese food, however when it comes to preparing fish japanese or korean style...I just rub it with salt and grill it. Are there any other popular japanese preparations when it comes to fish? I eat a lot (A LOT) of mackerel...so please keep this in mind. I love the oily taste of mackerel...I think I would consider it one of my favorite types of fish to eat. How about other types of fish like salmon, milk fish, tilapia (gag), etc. <-------these are the types of fish that I can buy in the area

I think the japanese do something similar, but koreans like to put gobo in kimbap. I have seen a japanese preparation that uses pickled gobo in maki rolls.

melting ice cream cake? whatever it is, I'll eat it

I soak them overnight. In the morning rinse and squeeze, tear them into strips and THEN rub salt into the roots and rinse and squeeze again. And then season. ← you don't cook them? how do you shred them? I find that shredding them with a pointy toothpick works really well.

duk or dduk or ddukk......all spellings will do (: anyone know how to properly make toraji? Ever;y time I make it it comes out really bitter. My mom told me I have to rub it with salt and squeeze the water out, but after I do that it still comes out gross.

that leaf looks like a curled up lily pad....but I dont know if you can eat that

I always buy a bag of bean sprouts (usually a lb or more), forget about them for 2 -3 days, and have to throw them out bc they are all wet and gross. I think bean sprouts spoiler quicker than any other veggies I have cooked with - asian or european. Is there a easier way to keep them from spoiling rather than cooking them all off at once? eta: thanks ah leung for the great list. I haven't been to the grocery store in a while and the next time I go, I'll be sure to buy some of those veggies that last the longest. squash can last FOREVER. My mother has a pumpkin thats a year old..and I swear to god she just keeps it for decoration. She leaves it on the kitchen floor and surprisingly enough not in the basement where I'm sure it could keep for another year or so

like torakris says, look for a really stiff and not floppy gobo...and try to get ones without dried out ends. The gobo here is always dried out at the ends so I have to cut off about an inch on each end. I do a really great korean gobo panchan preparation which is just julienned gobo stir fried and sprinkled with salt. Its so simple, but tastes really great and goes well with a bowl of hot rice.

elie, I noticed that you used green mango as opposed to green papaya....does that mean that the green mango was full ripened? I understand that a green papaya is an unripened version and I have no idea where to find one, however I can find green mangos everywhere. Green mangoes have yellowish orange flesh, correct?

just a warning out there, don't get kombucha confused with kombucha (seaweed tea) like I did. I was very confused when I read this thread

I have an over abundance of garlic and onions, does anyone have any good recipes that pickles either one? I'd like both to be combined or shine by themselves in a good pickle recipe. I'd also prefer not to pickle my garlic in miso, because that takes too long.....I'm looking for something that takes less than a week (preferably something that requires overnight pickling)

they make really good hot dogs over there, especially their chili dog and the one topped off with mac n cheese mmmmmmmm yummy. Unfortunately never went there when the sox are playing. my favorite hot dog is one served on a buttered new england roll with spicy brown mustard and dill pickle spear wedged in between dog and bun.

whoa, I forgot all about that panchan. I haven't had that since I was a wee lass, and I think i'm going to whip some up for lunch. That stuff is fantastic, and you're right about leaving it 25% uncooked. It's crunchiness is key.

those are some weird looking rice cakes! I'm a fan of old school ddeok like those greasy moon shaped ddeok dumplings that are stuffed with sesame seeds. I also like the sticky rice (left whole) thats been mixed with brown sugar and studded with chestnuts, jujubes, pinenuts, raisins, oh my! I am not a big fan of western style desserts (don't like sweet, but adore savoury) so korean style mochi or ddeok is a great alternative

that's korean melon? korean melon is usually striped w/ yellow and white, shaped like a really fat cucumber and pretty sweet. I have never seen melons like that in korea. HOWEVER, the inside looks very similar to the interior of the korean melons that I have eaten. too bad your wasn't so good, because we call korean melons, korean honeydews because of their sweetness at least your horses got a nice treat (:

some serve straight up gochujang from the container with bibimbap (thats how I like it) or they make a mixture of gochujang with vinegar and sugar or one or the other. I have heard of koreans making homemade daengjang but never gochujang and I wonder why? It seems as though the latter would be easier

I don't know if this is true for all korean rice cakes, but I know that some are called "mochi" just like the japanese call them. you can make mochi at home, but I don't know how difficult it is without a rice cake maker (it kneads and mixes the dough for a long time).

I have never heard of anything like that, but it sounds kinda like simmered potatoes in soy sauce and a little bit of sugar (if you want sweetness). However that technique makes the potatoes mushy and not crispy.

just to let everyone know, I'm not dead however, ive been feeling pretty crappy lately, have been busy, yadda yadda, etc etc this week my mom's fixing up some good ol beef intestines and I'll try to do a pictorial on that if anyone wants.

hiroyuki, am I the only one who does that with shirataki?

wow, my mother and I find korean food and soul food to be very similar as well. We also love to eat collard, mustard, kale, turnip, etc greens with our korean food. watermelon is one of my favorite fruits too. I like to cut a large one in half, and sit and eat it with a spoon all by myself. Is watermelon expensive in china? I know that it costs a ton in korea, and I remember my family paying around $30 for one for my grandparents once.

How interesting. My parents call each other Kent's mom/dad, though this is not common in China. ← I wonder why they do that? I think they may do the same in japan, but I am not really sure ← We don't. Calling a woman any of her children's names + no (= 's) + mama or okaasan is quite common, though. ← so it's not necessarily the oldest? OK, I give up....what is it? Can you describe a little more what the texture of the dried squid is like? After toasting, is it completely dry and crisp, or is it more like beef jerky? What is it like after boiling briefly? Hope your mouth is healed! I've been enjoying this.thread immensely... And I want my mommy! (even though I'm quite certain she's never cooked Korean food in her life ) ← nope, my mouth isn't healed. I actually got 2 more in the same side of my mouth. You know my mom said that you get them from not getting enough sleep. I didn't believe her, but all this week I've been surviving on 5 hours of sleep a night so she may be right. oh, my mom has never made chicken wings like that. I may ask her to try it out though. Maybe we could do it together. ahhh, I thought laksa might be malaysian, thanks guys.... Laksa is indeed Malaysian. ← Yoonhi's betting on patjuk (sweet red bean gruel). Is she going to put in rice ball dumplings? ← I thought it was patjook too. I found out though, that its boiled adzuki beans for stuffing into homemade mochi. I got really excited, because she hasn't made homemade red bean mochi in a long long time. My mom is the best (: She also made homemade mugwort rice cakes that I forgot to take a photo of and I also forgot to take them to work today for a snack. However I did pack myself some shirataki noodles, wasabi, cucumbers, and some noodle soup base. I'm going to make myself my own bastardized version of soba noodles (or whatever they are called). I'm sure all the japanese hate me bc I'm using shirataki as opposed to buckwheat....but I'm trying to watch my weight. Sorry!