torakris

This site has some nice tips on manners when you are in Japan, the whole first section deals with food.

patti, gorgeous pictures!! I have made that same recipe (but with beef) and really enjoyed it.

Don't women love to talk about their births... Add me to the group that never event hought about food during my labors, of course I also went into labor less than hour after a huge meal with all 3 kids. Pizza for the first, steak for the second and sweet and sour pork for the third, the longest I was in labor was 5 hours so I guess I didn't have time to get hungry again. after the births all I wanted was sour patch kids (a sour-sweet gummy snack), it is my favorite food in the world and unfortunately not available in Japan so I settled for M&M's my second favorite food.... My wonderful husband brought a bag of M&M's every time he came to visit (in Japan it is a 6 day stay for a normal birth....)

but I want to eat the real stuff!!!

It's just a way to distribute the flour mix over the chicken quickly & evenly rather than rolling the chix pieces around itn a pie plate or the like. In addition to the ziplocks mentioned above you can use a large tupperware type container, and shake about in that instead. And if it's clear you get the advantage of seeing how well you've coated your chix as you go. basically you just need something you can shake about, without throwing flour all over your kitchen, that will fit pieces of chicken in it nicely. ← But what is the brown bag for after the chicken is cooked? Way up thread Marlene said: Place cooked chicken in doubled brown paper sacks with the bottoms lined with paper towels. EDIT: I see Brooks was answering my question while I was slowly pecking at my keyboard.....

I was going to cover this word early but I forgot.... 3/14: くずたたき kuzu-tataki This is similar to otoshi/yubiki/chiri in that s is cooked by being simmered in hot water, the difference is that in kuzu-tataki it is first coated with a light dusting of kudzu-ko/kuzu-ko (kudzu starch). Kudzu-ko isn't a common ingedient in homes nowadays and is often replaced with katakuriko (a potato starch). Hamo kuzu-tataki is often added to clear soups. soup with hamo kuzu-tataki

3lbs is about the size they sell at Costco (for about $15....) and someone is going to teach me how to cut it up right? I think I cut up a whole chicken once about 15 years ago..... panko, hmmm...

SR flour = self rising? brown paper sacks? like the ones the ones from a supermarket? Those are REALLY hard to find in Japan.... What does this do? can it be skipped? when do you eat it?

and I still haven't gotten to the curry..... It is on the menu for later this week though. Fried chicken, I don't think I have eaten home cooked fried chicken for over 20 years actually probably closer to 25..... I have vague memories of helping my mother by shaking chicken pieces in a brown bag filled with flour while she juggled two skillets of hot oil on the stove. I think she switched to baking because it was just easier with 8 kids to feed.... I have never made fried chicken before, but I do make karaage, the Japanese version. I may have to make a trip to Costco to get chicken with the bones still in, what size chicken should I be looking for? any recipes that don't use buttermilk? There is no buttermilk in Japan.

Some more tips about eating in restaurants. There is no tipping in Japan! a 5% consumption tax is added to everything purchased in this country included food, as of 4/1/2004 the price must reflect that 5%. So the price you see is the price you will pay, sometimes you will see 2 prices listed, the lower price is that without the consumption tax and the higher is with the tax included. This can make figuring out your bill pretty easy. One thing to remember is that the more expensive the restaurant the more likely there will be a 10-15% service charge as well. This is often pointed out on the menu but just as often only in Japanese. Most medium range priced restaurants do not have service charges.

FOODS FROM TUNISIA Couscous online store also sells olive oil, harissa, tahini, tangines, etc

the matcha souffle I have had was not very sweet, like most Japanese desserts, just enough to counteract the bitterness.

Hana yori dango. ← Hana yori dango " If I have to choose, I'd take food before flowers." Proverb that expresses the priority people give to things that are real and tangible in contrast to those that are abstract and difficult to grasp. and more on hanami here So esssentially they are more interested in the food and parties than the flowers themselves...........

The Key to a Long Life Is What You Eat One reason why life spans are long in Japan is the food. The traditional diet is basically a recipe for long life. What types of food and what combinations of ingredients help people live longer? Here we examine Japanese traditional cuisine to discover some secrets to extending life.

Great Nipponia article on how the plastic foods are made. Tons of great pictures!

3/13: ハモ皮 hamo kawa This is the skin of the hamo and is delicious all on its own, it can be deep fried or even panfried, it can be eaten alone or added to dishes. It is often mixed with cucumbers in a vinegar dressing (hamokyuu). deep fried hamo skin hamokyuu

seems like I am pretty late coming back into this thread.... Reading the menu, the main suggestions I would have for keeping in with the Japanese theme would be edamame instead of green peas and shiitake for the porcini but I notice that you already are considering that... Maybe something with kabocha? roasted chunks instead of the mash? mashed kabacha? kabocha mash swirled in with the mash? To my very non-professional eyes it just seems a bit lopsided, it needs a couple more Japanese ingredients. I also like the idea of a matcha souffle, I have seen it done here before.

Those sound right..... Have you ever tried not refrigerating it? maybe the coldness is doing something?

There are more French restaurants than you can imagine and also there are many places that do a sort of fusion though they don't actually call it that.... Are you looking for more fusion ideas or French dishes that go well with Japanese dishes?

Japanese food and more!

This site lists current events/flower blooming/etc all around Kyoto, including information on seasonal food tours (look under seasonal courses).

3/12: はもきゅう　　hamokyuu はもざく hamozaku these are both terms for a popular dish of hamo and cucumbers served with a vinegar dressing hamokyuu/hamozaku

smallworld, I have never had this problem.... I just drizzle the water in a circular pattern making sure I hit every part when I pour it in. Are you pouring it in 2 parts with about 5 minutes inbetween? I find that the first pour leaves most of the top dry, but minutes later when I pour in the second part I can easily saturate the top. I don't cover it, nor do I refrigerate and the top is never dry in the morning.

this site can give you an idea of what to expect in terms of prices in Tokyo

to get the best possible food you need to travel all over Japan to save some money, (click on rail) check out this page for information on all the different railway passes available, under other rail passes there are a variety of local passes that good even for just one day if you are moving around a lot, even in the same area, I recommend these, I use them all the time...