torakris

My recipe is quite similar, I make a quick cucumber kimchi that can be eaten the day it is made, it just has a fresher flavor. It is best at a bout day 2 and keep for about a week. the recipe can be doubled or tripled, this is about a 4 person recipe. 4 Japanese cucumbers (or about 10 oz of the thinnest you can find), cut them lengthwise into quarters or sixths if they are larger, and then cut tehm to about 2 inch lengths. Salt them with 2% of their weight in salt. About a heaping teaspoon for this amount. Toss them and let sit for about 30 minutes. Drain them in a colander and squeeze them well to get rid of all the liquid. mix them with 1/4 of an apple, grated (Asian pears work well too) julienned or finely sliced scallions 1 teaspoon of coarse chile powder 1 teaspoon of fine chile powder ( I prefer a combination of the two) 1 teaspoon of grated garlic 1 Tablespoon of ginger juice pinch of sugar let this sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, then refrigerate.

the only thing I could find was this... it isn't very precise though. Maybe try it in the same proportions I give for nigari?

Thank you!! I tried searching for a menu and came up empty..... it was called somlah machoo

I would love to see the recipe! I have never eaten strawberry bread but it sounds so good and we are currently in the middle of strawberry season here and they a quite cheap.

Yesterday I was reading in Bittman's How to Cook Everything that you can roast the beets and leave them wrapped in the foil and then refrigerate them for days until needed. Has anyone tried this? How long would they keep? I want to try two different salad like dishes (on different days) with these and it would be easier if I could just cook them at one time. He also said you could freeze them but he didn't say how... before or after cooking? cut or left whole?

Last summer in Boston one of my favorite meals was at wonderful restaurant called the Wonder Spice Cafe. I fell in love with this soup I ate and can't stop thinking about it, I have been trying to recreate it at home but it is missing something. It doesn't help that I don't have a name for it..... It had a perfect balance of all the different flavors (sweet, sour, salty and a bit of heat) and had pineapple and tomato, as well as garlic (I think) and cilantro for garnish. They served 3 variations--shrimp, chicken and I think fish? Does anyone know what I am talking about? anyone have a recipe?

I love seared tuna and make it frequently. One of my favorites was I sauce I made with coconut milk and Thai green curry paste, I also added keffir lime lleaves and lemon grass for extra wonderful fragrance. I spponed a bit of the sauce on the plate and then fanned the sliced, seared tuna on top. One thing I have found that adds an extra dimemnsion to seared tuna in marinating it in ponzu (a Japanese citrus and soy based sauce) for at least two hours. As I have 5 mouths to feed and tuna can be expensive (my 9 year old would eat a whole block if I let her), I often combine it with some kind of leaves to make it more of a salad. Last week I made this the tuna was marinated in a yuzu-ponzu (yuzu is a Japanese citrus), seared, combined with mizuna leaves and red onions and then dressed with a simple dressing of equal amounts of rice vinegar, mirin, and soy sauce. To the dressing I always add some kick, this time I added yuzu-koshou a wonderful product of yuzu and green chiles in a paste form. But I sometimes make the dressing with wasabi as well.

I went to the convenience store at 6:00am to get some milk for my morning coffee and these caught my eye tandoori chicken and bossam/possam (wrapped) kimchi flavored potato chips, I almost forgot to buy the milk....

OKAYAMA PREFECTURE (region = Chugoku) http://www.pref.okayama.jp/kikaku/kokusai/.../momotarou.html to discuss the foods of Okayama go to this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=64557

I was thinking about the feathery leaves but lat night as I was trying to get to sleep I started thinking that there must be something I can do with the stalks as well. I am going to try the air drying tip! and I am getting lots of good ideas for the fronds too.

This is a really incredible site, it gives the English, hangul (Korean writing) and the Korean pronunciation. If you click on the English word it gives a description of the dish, the average heat level and price and often a picture as well.

3/29: 鮒のてっぱい funa no teppai Like the funamame we looked at yesterday this is a speciality of Kagawa. Slices of funa are dressed in white miso sauce. funa no teppai

all these choices..... I may have to divide those beets into 3 meals I remember reading things about the bad beet stains, if I prepare them tonight it might just blend in with easter egg dye that is still on my fingers.

I hate beets. well, I thought I hated beets. then this summer I had pickled beets at my aunt's house and they were wonderful. Fresh beets are hard to come by in Japan, so in my quest to learn to love beets I have bought these water packed (pre-cooked) ones and tried them in soups, salds, etc and hated everything I made. Yesterday I found some fresh beets at a really good price, I want to try roasting them but have never even touched fresh beets before..... what do I do?

My mother hated fennel, so it was one of those vegetables I never tasted until I was in my 20's. I love it now but have only bought it twice in my 10 years in Japan because it is really hard to come by. Actually the second time was yesterday. What can I do with the fronds? Most fennel recipes call for you to reserve a couple tablespoons for garnish, but it seems like such a waste to throw the rest away. Is there anything to do with just the fronds? maybe I can pull two meals out of this.

here is one with a negi (scallion) sauce this one has grated daikon and an ume dressing this one is dressed with a green "chutney" --the chutney includes mitsuba (trefoil) celery and shishito...... and one with a thickened gobo sauce

3/28: 鮒豆　ふなまめ　　ふな豆　　　鮒まめ funamame funa (crusian carp) mame (beans and in this case daizu--dried soy beans) the funa is first cooked (usually grilled), and often left to sit overnight, it is then simmered together with the beans in a soy based sauce. funamame

My favorite kara-age was the one dipped in ponzu and then covered with a very egg-y (as in boiled eggs) tartar sauce. I really want to replicate this at home but am scared of messing it up and then having nothing for dinner... I have a recipe for one that is covered with Thai sweet chile sauce. what about flavorings before cooking? A local betnoya-san has a yuzu-koshou kara-age that I keep thinking I am going to make at home and never get around to. My ex's mother made the best kara-age with a marinade of soy, sake, ketchup, oyster sauce, honey, sesame oil and lots of ginger and garlic. Those were so good!

I am taking the day off today, beside the fact that it is Easter it also happens to be my birthday.... we are off to a brunch of Easter ham and roast leg of lamb. See you tomorrow!

I crisped it so it would be easier to crumble, but I think it also did help the flavor and help it to hold its shape. I was worried that it would sort of melt into the soup, but it didn't at all. Just to be on the safe side I added it just before I served it but it was fine, even held up overnight and reheated again for my husband's bento this morning. I definitely reccomend it.

donburi night last night! buta no teriyaki-don (teriyaki pork rice bowl) I sauteed some pieces of pork (seasoned only with salt and pepper) then added some teriyaki sauce (my version that I posted in the teriyaki sauce thread), simmered it a bit. Then I remved the pieces, thinly sliced them, and added them back to the pan to coat them with the sauce, cooking it a bit more. In the donburi bowl I placed some cooked rice, shredded lettuce, the slices of teriyaki pork and then topped it with some karashi-mayo. The karashi-mayo was made by mixing some karashi (Japanese mustard) with mayo to taste and then thinned with some water to make it easier to drizzle.

I didn't have too much in the way of vegetables last night and I really wanted to make a miso soup, sooo.... onions and nori (laver)-- the kind used for rolling sushi I "crisped up" the nori by waving it over a gas flame, then crumbled it into the soup My miso soup hating husband loved this version and requested I make it again. I really love onions in miso soup....

3/26: funazushi this dish of fermented funa (most properly the nigorobuna from Lake Biwa) can be written a couple different ways funa can be written as ふな　　鮒　　フナ　　 the zushi part can be written as ずし　　　　寿司　　　　鮨　　 and they can be put together in different ways and you would still be right.... 鮒寿司　though will get you the most hits at yahoo Japan A special kind of crucian carp ('Nigoro-buna' ) an indigenous species to the lake (Lake Biwa), caught in April - May is salted and stored for about one to three years to fermented and ready to eat. First, scales of the fish are scraped off, and gills are removed, then all intestines are taken away under through the gill cover. Next, pure salt is fully stuffed into inside of the fish body. Lastly the fish and salt are placed in layers in a bucket and kept under weights for several months. After this first process, the salt is washed out completely and fish is dried for a day. In the next process, cooked rice is stuffed into inside the fish and again fish and rice are kept in layers under salt, water and weights for about another year or more for full fermentation and maturation. more, with pictures, from here

all I can say is WOW! some of the most gorgeous bentos I have seen....

Furaibo is supposedly the store that created them.... some great pictures, scroll to the bottom * I have actually come across and been to the shop that claims to be the origin of Tebasaki or "deep-fried chicken-wings coated with a japanese sweet sauce, and then sprinkled with sesame seed". The Nagoya tebasaki tastes sweeter than the Tokyo version, but the locals claim it tastes better. The place itself is quite tiny, unassuming ( for a place that lays claim to the discovery and invention of such a famous food), and quite wonderful. I would go more often if i could find the damn place again. :-)) I am waiting for my compass M to get here, and show me the way. :-)) So once again Ladies and Gentlemen, the place's name is FURAIBO. It's definitely worth a visit. It's between Sakae and Shin Sakae Station, quite close by the CBS TV station. I hope it you find it amongst all the other Furaibo chains.... from this blog Furaibo homepage and their directions on the proper way to eat tebasaki just click on 次へ　to see the next picture