jkim

I'm pretty sure the second picture is ho bak nip... do you have it steamed/boiled as ssam with se woo jut or dwenjang jji ge? does it have a slightly bitter taste?

Does this always cause a bitter taste? I've had a bad sour taste in my mouth after I eat anything the past 2 - 3 weeks.

The whole point of eating nu roong ji is for the "go so han" flavour... not sure how that translates to english. If you add salt, soy or any other additives, you mask this flavour, as it is very subtle. You should avoid eating red kim chi with nu roong ji as well for the full effect. I guess it's an acquired taste. Fried nu roong ji, on the other hand, is a sweet dessert that Sheena is referring to.

Thanks Hiroyuki. that was exactly what I was asking about. So basically, melt some chicken skin over low heat to extract the juices, discard. Stirfry mince chicken in the oil. Add mirin and soy. Plate over rice 1/2 and 1/2 with scrambled egg? Sounds really simple. Are there any specialty places for this in Japan? ← I watched the whole episode and realized that you were referring to that multi-tiered box (juubako in Japanese) that the lady brought with her later in the episode. The pink food is called denbu (floss made from white-fleshed fish) and the green food is probably boiled spinach. The lady said that using chicken skin oil would make the soboro tastier. If you don't have any chicken skin available, simply pan-fry minced chicken. I don't think there are any places famous for that particular dish. ← Thanks again. What does denbu taste like? How is it made? It's so very colorful... the box.

Thanks Hiroyuki. that was exactly what I was asking about. So basically, melt some chicken skin over low heat to extract the juices, discard. Stirfry mince chicken in the oil. Add mirin and soy. Plate over rice 1/2 and 1/2 with scrambled egg? Sounds really simple. Are there any specialty places for this in Japan?

what's SMAP? If I could take a look at it I could tell you. wow i just finished watching teppan shojo akane and I hated it ): so boring and such a terrible ending. For now I'll watch korean food dramas until more subtitled osen comes out ← Well I may be biased but I haven't seen a good Korean one to date. Gourmet was the best one to date and that was lack luster. The old goong jung yo ri ones were really boring. And goong jung yo ri tastes bad anyway... all bland flavours. I liked Teppan, maybe because horikita is so hot... but Teppan was a comic book made drama, and although I never read the comic book, I thought it was very well made, retaining that comiccy feel to it...

Another Horikita episode... 070625 episode of SMAP... I couldn't find a subtitled feed, so I have no idea what they are saying. Is that Kimchi soup? And why are they spooning it over the burger? If not, then what is it? Do they say what the recipes for those food is?

1. The episode of Kurosagi is ep. 9. Tsurara (Horikita) and the grandma discuss cooking and later is revealed that the senpai's grandmother is actually a food writer or something. 2. No. I know each and every region of the world has their own specialties and delicacies. What I am asking is whether the specialties that were mentioned in Teppan Shojo Akane are accurate for Japan and thus can be used as a guide when visiting? Or that they are fictional and I should look elsewhere to find the regional specialties? Those that were mentioned (from memory) are as follows: Shimonoseki - fugu. Hokkaido - crab and potato. Akashi - bream. Yokohama - lobster. Where is your city? and when it is famous for rice, what dish would be best in having that will be memorable for that particular rice?

Hi, I will be visiting Shanghai for a week for a holiday. I have heard many food safety horror stories for China. People are reported to be sick after eating in China. Apparently, some people even died. I don't really want to die, so I would like to ask for recommendations of safe places to eat for foreigners. I am cost consciencious, so cannot afford to eat at the really expensive restaurants everyday of my trip. I will probably go to an expensive restaurant once or twice during the trip, but no more. Where can I find food that is safe to eat, and yet tastes good and will be memorable? Also, I have heard that some people take medicine before eating in order to avoid the food complication issues that may occur. What is this medicine and where can I get it? Thank you in advance for all the replies.

Well I've recently become a fan of a Japanese actress called Horikita. So I've been watching all her stuff I can get my hands on. What has this got to do with food? During this, I came across 2 shows: Kurosagi Teppan Shojo Akane Kurosagi Well... I am really curious, in the episode between Horikita (Tsurara) and senpai no obaachan? what the bento is? They talk about cooking in chicken skin oil, but cooking what in it? It looks like rice but is it? What else would go in that? What are the other colorful elements? Teppan Shojo Akane Well, she (Akane/Horikita) goes around the country a lot, using different ingredients. Is this a true reflection of Japan? (i.e. is crabs and potatoes really better in Hokkaido, and bream better in Akashi) If I were to go on a culinary trip, should these ingredients be the focus of my tasting in each region?

BTW I've actually had black chicken as a roast.

Can people recommend good Victorian Wineries and Farm Restaurants, within 100km of CBD Melbourne, to have a Saturday lunch with the family? I would like many recommendations, since it is a late Christmas/end of year booking, and thus most will likely be full at many places on the dates desired. I want really good food, but the folks will probably be interested in the view and other things to do kind of stuff.

From what I can see, Andrew has described the traditional heuk sam gye tang, the korean chicken soup. The black bird sam gye tang is usually much more expensive than its white counterpart, and is said to have medicinal and stamina providing properties. I guess thats what all Asians say about all delicacies...

Recently, my company had an end of year function at Sails on the Bay. Well... I know food isn't everything when people choose restaurants, but I gotta say that I wasn't impressed. The atmosphere and service were better than fine. Being on the beachfront, with large full-height windows, the view is very pleasant, bar the occasional teenager being a smart arse and throwing sand balls at the window. The waiter was very knowledgeable with his wine and I had great wine... yes... the only edibles that was great was the wine. What really ruined it was the food. They offer a 3 course editable menu, with several alternatives for each course. I had the pork bellies, steak, and cake. My wife had the tuna, trout and white chocolate. Of course I tasted all of my wife's dishes too. The pork bellies were very dry, and extremely average. There was nothing special about them, and my back yard Korean BBQ pork bellies were superior. My wife's tuna was nothing special either. Seared ultra rare tuna, served with wasabi mayonaise. Nothing that couldn't be done at home, and would have been appreciated more as just sashimi, rather than fake sashimi done bad. It's really hard to do a bad steak. As steaks go, the quality of the meat is usually the determining factor. But the steak here was bad as steaks go. Yes... an $88 /ph restaurant was using inferior quality meat. Either that, or the chef was really bad and managed to somehow ruin good quality meat to that tasting the same as Coles or Safeway $10 / kg "smart buy" steaks. Maybe I am a bit biased against lean cuts such as sirloins... but then I recall The Point doing a really great steak with sirloin, so I doubt that's the case. If my steak was bad, then my wife's trout was worse. The fish and the sauce all didn't really work to make a memorable or even an enjoyable meal. It was the same old same old bland cream sauce on cooked fillet thing. We finished everything and pretended to enjoy for political motives (since the big boss chose the joint), but definitely will not return for the food. The dessert was somewhat the highlight of the food section, being only marginally acceptable. Well... I gotta admit the white chocolate was quite good, but I don't know if that was because I was so disappointed at the previous 2 courses, that average quality impressed me, or because it was genuinely good. My almond and lemon cake was not very nice though.

The soupy bulgogi is usually done (in Korea, at-least) in a Dduk Bae Gi... a black ceramic pot, and not a frying pan. Frying pan / skillet is actually considered the worst choice when cooking bulgogi, and just a "convenient alternative" when nothing better is available. It is called Dduk Bae Gi Bul Go Gi, but is also often called the slang "dduk bul". Usually dduk bul will have ingredients not often seen with the bbq counterpart: i.e. mushrooms, spring onions, even poached or boiled eggs! Best way to cook the "dry bul go gi* is by using the grated "wide" tongs (tongs that sort of resemble 2 tennis racquets stuck together at the top/opposite side of the handle), to dip it into the charcoal or wood fire and grill directly in contact with the fire. Subsequent alternatives include (in order): grill on a weber, grill on the dome thing, using the oven grill, and last would be the frying pan.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. That was great! Now I can't wait until Jan / Feb to try them out! Since I'll be in Japan for (minimum 1 week, maximum 18 days), I can try all the suggestions here + many more!

So any suggestions?

It will be sort of a late honeymoon - no kids, just me and the wife. I have no idea what area of Tokyo I will be in, or what area of Japan (other than Tokyo) are must visit places. I have heard that Osaka and Kyoto are the not to miss cities other than Tokyo. I just bought air tickets and didn't think about anything else in my impulsive decision. On my arrival and departure dates I will not be able to do much other than eat dinner and sleep (29 jan 6:30pm arrival, 16 feb 8am? departure). I am thinking of staying near Azabu east? upon arrival (i saw a decent 3 night accom package so am considering it; if it is a good place to stay. I can eat anything bar bugs... and indian food. I have eaten Japanese quite a lot in Australian Japanese restaurants. I'm not sure what else exists apart from what they sell here and in Korea. I have tried everything there was to offer. I'm quite adventurous. The most I would spend on a single meal may be about man en per head - and that will only be 2 dinners throughout the entire trip. The rest of the time, I intend on dining at cheaper establishments such as those seen on TV - i.e. sushi trolley carts and such.

For about 2 weeks, I will be going to japan in early February. What are the *must eat* and *must see* attractions of Japan? Of course I do have budgetary constraints, so I will most likely avoid expensive avantgard cuisine. My current plan is to stay in Tokyo for 5 of those days (1 day upon arrival at narita, 1 day upon departure from narita, and another 3 days on either side - 2 of which will be spent at disneyland). I have no other plan than this vague plan... I won't be moving off the main island, but do hope to visit various cities, so suggestions from various places on the main island are welcome. Also, I don't speak Japanese... at all. How much of a problem will this be?

From wiki: Rigor mortis is very important in meat technology. The onset of rigor mortis and its resolution partially determines the tenderness of meat. If the post-slaughter meat is immediately chilled to 15 °C, a phenomenon known as cold shortening occurs, where the muscle shrinks to a third of its original size. This will lead to the loss of water from the meat along with many of the vitamins, minerals, and water soluble proteins. The loss of water makes the meat hard and interferes with the manufacturing of several meat products like cutlet and sausage. Cold shortening is caused by the release of stored calcium ions from the sarcoplasmic reticulum of muscle fibers in response to the cold stimulus. The calcium ions trigger powerful muscle contraction aided by ATP molecules. To prevent cold shortening, a process known as electrical stimulation is carried out, especially in beef carcass, immediately after slaughter and skinning. In this process, the carcass is stimulated with alternating current, causing it to contract and relax, which depletes the ATP reserve from the carcass and prevents cold shortening.

No. I don't think so. I think it would be a variant on kim chi bok keum, although it's not uncommon to see Koreans doing the exact thing you're describing. And kim chi bok keum has almost the same flavours as the bbq favourite of many koreans that you describe: stirfry onion, garlic, ginger and pork... add kim chi when pork fat has melted... serve with almost raw (poached for 2 seconds in boiling salt water) tofu as du bu kim chi.

I've always cooked sausages in a skillet, with a dash of oil, garlic and onions, pre-heating the pan to high heat, searing 3 sides, then letting it sit on the 4th side, reducing the heat to medium-low and letting cook for 20-30 minutes. Wow so many of you use water? Is it normal to use water for sausages? The only sausage I use water to cook is franks, and even then, I prefer grilled w/ oil to boiled.

I'm not sure you've ever had good pajori then. Good pajori can replace the sesame oil completely; and also the ssamjang as well. Just meat, a slice of raw garlic, and 4 - 6 strands of what can be referred to simply as spring onion salad in a perilla leaf, and voila... heaven in a wrap. As I've said before, I don't know about japan, but the pajori at the restaurants in Australia are terrible. Actually, all Korean restaurants in Melbourne are terrible (as are many of the Korean restaurants in Sydney). Yea, sticking to Japanese brands are a safe bet I reckon. As for regions, there are dishes with region names in the dish name. (i.e. chun cheon gim bab, an dong jjim dalk, pyong yang neng myun, etc) Other than that, I couldn't tell you. I've never been to the north, and know very little about their post-war culture. I know that certain dish names have different meaning in the north and south though... For example, shik hye... (south) refers to a desert drink of rice and sugar; (north) the rice drink in question is referred to as dan sool, and the north shik hye is a raw ray(?) + veges + spices dish.

Apart from manufacturing quality, not that I know of. A lot of Koreans use Chinese and/or Japanese sesame oil. Our family prefer to use some japanese brands (white tin can with black and red writing), and then korean ottogi or chungjungwon, and then the various chinese brands, due to mfg quality. If we find a good quality chinese brand that is cheap and that doesn't have concerns about food safety like most chinese foods these days, we will have no problems in using it. Problem is... there's so many food poisons in various china imports in recent news, that we are very hesitant to use any ingredients at all coming from china.

Wow... you don't like kket nip? o_O I love that stuff. I can't have korean bbq without it. I even had kketnip, avocado & asparagus kim bab for lunch today! I noted the absence of mention of spring onions? Don't you have pajori with your meat? Pajori is really easy to make. I don't know about Japan, but I have noticed a lot of bbq restaurants in Australia omit pajori, or make bad ones in small portions, but it's quite easy and simple to make at home. The absence of either kketnip OR pajori ruins a great k.bbq for me. important things when making pajori is: * wash and dry your spring onions before chopping - pref dry in fridge so it's cold. Can add sliced white onion rings to add a bit more variety. * use little sauce to lots of spring onions... I would usually use about 4 tablespoons of sauce on a big 4L bowl full of spring onions. * only apply the sauce at the last minute to retain the crispness. I prepare the sauce in a small bowl or bottle about 30 mins before eating, and then mix sauce into the spring onions while cooking the meat.