torakris

While most of our trip will consist of us partaking of cheap foods , I would like to have one nice hanjeongsik meal. I don't want it to cost too much, no more than 60,000KRW per person (there are 5 of us) of course the cheaper the better.. So basically where can we go to get the biggest bang for our buck? A couple questions in general Is it Ok to take kids? (mine will be ages 8-12) Can you order courses of different prices or does everyone at the table need to order the same one? Are lunches cheaper? Should we plan on a lunch instead of a dinner?

I love salty, crunchy foods and can easily eat an entire bag by myself. When i get a craving and there is no one to share the bag with I take a celery stick and spread miso on it. It completely satisfies my salty, crunchy craving and it keeps the inches off my hips. Miso-cucumbers is another favorite, I often do this for dinner when I need an extra dish quickly. I mix the miso with a little mayo for easier dipping and milder flavor.

This sounds like kiritampo, it is a specialty of Akita. That bento is so cool! I really need to find one. I hope we are going to see more pictures...

I just saw this in the store: Curry nabe Not sure what I think, how different is this really from curry rice?

Another thing to look forward to in Korea!! Roasted chestnuts! The only places I see them in Japan are in Yokohama's China Town and at rest areas on the freeway. Don't forget to check out the Takikomi thread. There are a lot of recipes there. I often make takikomi with sticky rice by using 1/2 cup of sticky rice with 2 1/2 cups of regular rice, I find this gives me the best texture. I am usually too lazy to season the chicken when I add it to takikomi but my MIL often gently simmers it in some dashi-soy-sake-mirin before adding it to the rice cooker.

Actually, inari is one of the few items at a sushi restaurant that you don't need to apply soy sauce to. While there is nothing wrong with it and I am sure that some Japanese do it as well, inari is usually just eaten as is. I am making inari for lunch today, I will be cheating though as I use pre-seasoned aburage (tofu-pocket). Here is a nice step by step picture guide if you really want to try making them.

Next week (10/21) Pepsi will debut a new yogurt flavor. Pepsi White

Thanks again! That is considerably cheaper. melonpan, the ones I was looking at were for bibimbap, like this. I didn't realize they had smaller ones for only cooking rice..

Here is a picture of my daughter's bento today to show how the frozen foods are used. I try to limit the "instant" foods to 1-2 per bento and try to add 1 to 3 homemade dishes. I don't want to look like a completely lazy mom... I had two slices of omelet (leftover from yesterday's bento that I was going to add but my daughter said there was no space and asked to eat it for breakfast. The shrimp gratin in the corner is completely frozen and should be defrosted by lunch time. The other foods are the sweet and soup pork and a spinach with sesame sauce.

They finally brought it back! Pumpkin stew roux Back in the early '90's I fell in love with a pumpkin stew mix that I always purchased at a Japanese market in the US, when I moved to Japan in 1995 I was surprised to discover it wasn't on the shelves here. I can't remember which company put it out before but I am happy to see Glico has put out a version. I only hope it isn't just here for the Halloween season..... Now if they would bring back the green pea stew one as well.

Thank you! Do you know about how much the dolsots cost? They are in the 2000-3000 yen per piece range ($20-$30) her in Japan. I am assuming they will be cheaper in Korea but if there isn't much of a price difference I may as well get them here. I want to get 5 of them and that is going to be one pretty heavy suitcase! ooohh, hoddeok stampers! I am definitely going to keep my eyes open for these.

Most definitely inari (inarizushi), this one one of my favorite foods and I often have a pack of this for lunch. This is a picture from a while ago (with some kara-age, fried chicken) This is their most common form though occasionally you may find them stuffed with other things as well as the rice. Lots of pictures. Edited to add this is not a dessert despite the slight sweetness.

Beside food products, I am also hoping to buy various items on my upcoming trip to Seoul. Specifically I am looking for dolsot bowls, metal chopsticks/spoons and Korean style ceramic bowls. I'm not looking for anything fancy just everyday kinds of bowls/utensils. Where would be the best kind of place to pick these things up. Any other recommendations of cooking items I should check out while I am there?

Tell me more about street food in Korea, Seoul in particular. For my upcoming trip the things I really want to try are hoddeok ddeokbokki waffles, that look like this those french fry covered hot dogs mentioned up thread Also I am not familiar with the yache twigim (fried veggies) that maryeats mentions, can you tell me more. Are there any other streets foods that I shouldn't miss? Where are the best places to find them? Are they only out at certain times of day? Any specific shops you can recommend?

To continue on with the frozen bento foods.. Did you really think that was all I had?? I stocked up 2 weeks ago when a local supermarket had all their frozen foods 50% off. These are the more Asian type foods: top from left to right: sweet and sour pork (with carrots and pineapple), deep fried tofu balls with shrimp, hijiki (type of seaweed) and 5 vegetables*, Korean style kalbi beef with a dollop of mayo in the center bottom left to right: shrimp with a chili sauce, cheese filled hamburgers (these probably should have gone with the western style foods), tonkatsu with a sesame-miso sauce All can be heated up in the microwave but that one with the asterisk * can be placed into the bento frozen and it will defrost in 3 hours.

I guess I have kid's bentos on my mind,not that my daughter wouldn't love that.... I put frittatas quite a bit, the really work wonderful in a bento. Maggie's example of a "western" bento just got me thinking, just when is a bento no longer a bento? When does it just become a packed lunch? What exactly is it that makes a bento a bento? It isn't necessarily the rice, the Japanese-ness, or even the box... Why does Maggie's example have me thinking, "but that just wouldn't be a bento any more".

As embarrassing as it is I am going to show you the bento products in my freezer, these are almost all for my 12 year old daughter who takes a bento to school every day. I also make my husband's bento but almost never but these items inside. The western style products top from left to right: German potato, kabocha (Japanese squash) gratin, corn creamy croquette* bottom left to right: shrimp gratin*, Scotch egg, chicken nuggets shaped like drumsticks Except for the Scotch egg these can all be heated in the microwave, the Scotch egg is heated in a hot water bath. Those with the asterisk * can be placed into the bento without heating, they will defrost in about 3 hours--just in time for lunch.

Maggie, Like melonpan said there is no problem with western foods in bentos, many a kid has gone to school with chicken nuggets and french fries in their bento. The important thing is that they taste good cold or at room temperature (and also can be held at that temp for a couple hours safely). I personally find cold french fries disgusting ( and don' think they go well with rice) but they are a very common addition to children's bentos.

This was actually one of the simpler bentos... and also remember the Sports Day bentos are only once a year. Those are my favorite sausages they are parsley-lemon, I buy the 3 pack at Costco because they are really cheap but you can find them at bigger supermarkets. There is also a fried garlic version that is really nice. Since I have moved here I have had to readjust my thinking of sausages, they are quite a different product in the US. The onigiri were just grilled salmon, I struggled for a while to come up with something more Mediterranean but that was the closest I could get.

I can't believe I have posted to this thread for over 2 years, there have been a lot of potato chips in that time! This one didn't have as much flavor as I expected, Salt and Sesame Oil

I found this chirashi picture in my imageGullet album and it doesn't look like I ever posted it... It was very good by the way, with salmon, broccoli rabe and egg

I had high hopes for this one but was disappointed: Mint Julep Soda

This was an incredible chirashi, especially considering it came froｍ　a supermarket. 598 yen ($6)

This was a really good bento, hard to believe it came from a convenience store. 580 yen (less than $6)

This year's Sports day bento Sort of a Mediterranean twist this year with albondigas, caponata and balsamic roasted asparagus wrapped in prosciutto.