torakris

wow, what a spread! I guess no meal in Hawaii is complete without a macaroni salad....

word for 1/2: ロール rouru (roe-rue) This si from the English word "roll", a common iwashi preparation is to remove teh backbone and flatten it out then stuff it with something and roll it up. The finished product can then be fried, sauteed or baked. Here is one variation were the iwashi is filled with a curry powder flavored potato and mixed vegetable mix and then deep fried: http://www.maruha.co.jp/recipe/recipe_deta...p?recipe_id=936

I had a favorite family run izakaya just down the street from my house but it closed 2 years ago. My favorite dishes were a chicken karaage that was soaked in ponzu sauce and topped with a tartar sauce and a daikon and kaiware salad with a miso dressing that I have never been able to duplicate....

We had a lovely brunch at my inlaws house yesterday with the following osechi feast, alsmost everything was bought at Costco..... The sashimi platter, my FIL slices this all up on his own salmon and squid on the left, katsuo, maguro and taco (octopus) on the right various traditional dishes that no one but me ate.... and my meatloaf contribution after the meal we feasted on peanut M&M's for dessert and then proceeded outside to have a snowball fight followed by a trip to Toys 'R' Us for the kids to spend their otoshidama (cash gift) from their grandparents.

ozouni for 2005 same as my MIL always makes it, a clear broth with beef, daikon, carrots, gobo and garnished with mitsuba and naruto and buried deep in the bottom one grilled piece of mochi. I could eat this every day

not exactly castella but here are some recipes in English that include a matcha chiffon cake and a matcha tiramisu.... http://www.o-cha.net/english/kitchen/index.html

Here are a bunch of recipes using matcha (in Japanese) including matcha castella and pound cake: http://www.alulu.com/koyamaen/tp12_11.html more matcha castella recipes: http://anies.net/menu/omake_04.html http://allabout.co.jp/gourmet/cookingabc/c...040615A/?FM=rss (this one is made in a rice cooker) One of my resolutions for the new year is to do more baking and desserts, maybe I will join you on a quest for the perfect matcha castella!

居酒屋 izakaya This is a Japanese style bar that serves various small dishes along with an equally extensive drink menu. Izakayas can be large chains (and there are a lot of these) or they can be tiny one person run shops with only 3or 4 seats. To learn a bit more about izakaya and see a sample menu look here: http://greggman.com/japan/izakaya.htm Do you have any favorite izakayas? What are some of your favorite menu items?

we had two kinds of toshikoshi soba, nishin (herring) soba and shrimp tempura soba and we had some pickled Chinese cabbage and eggplants eaten in front of the tv watching the 3 hour long Doraemon special.... it just doesn't feel like new years eve if we aren't in front of the tv....

Hiroyuki, Do you always serve the topping and the noodles separately? I was planning on being frugal but ended up spending 300 yen ($3) a piece on pre-cooked shrimp tempura and store bought pickles. The Tokyo area got dumped with snow and almost every freeway in the city and out of it was closed, so everyone was on the local roads and the 15 minute trip from the movie theatre to my house took 1 and 1/2 hours!! I wasn't in any mood for cooking.....

[Moderator's note: The original topic, Daily Nihongo, became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Daily Nihongo (2003 - 2004)] word for 1/1 明けましておめでとうござます akemashite omedetou gozaimasu (ah-kay-mah-she-tay oh-may-day-toe goh-zai-mah- sue) This is the New Years greeting, it basically means "Happy New Year" this is what you should say to any acquaintances, friends or family members the first time you see them after the new year. You will still hear it being said about a week later. If it is too much of a mouthful you could shorten it slightly to just akemashite omedetou.

Almost every pizza place seems to have a version of a hawaiian pizza with pineapple and often corn as well I LOVE pineapple on my pizza and that is how I often make it at home......

We did have some snow in Yokohama on Weds but it didn't stick much Those pictures were taken at Fuji Safari Park at the base of Mt. Fuji, they got dumped on the day before we went, it was absolutely gorgeous.

We will be going over to my inlaws house to enjoy osechi tomorrow and this morning I called to see if there was something I should make, my MIL requested a meatloaf....... I think it will be an interesting meal.. looking forward to pictures from everyone's meals!!

went to a crepe shop yesterday.... their menu a closer up view (and yes those are corn flakes under the ice cream) our choices, Hide has the strawberry, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce Mia has the cheese cake one (it looks like a slice of brie) and mine was a hot one with apples and cinnamon, no cream Julia had the shop's speciality with cookies and cream ice cream, strawberries bananas and cream My husband's was just cream and caramel sauce

Toshikoshi soba (年越しそば), translates as soba for crossing the years or crossing into a new year. This is often eaten at midnight on December 31 either at home or in a noddle shop and the Japanese believe that: (1)It is thought that soba is a bringer of good luck, family fortunes, and longevity because soba is physically long. (2) On the contrary, since soba is easy to bite, it is also considered to forget and sever any carryover of hardship and disaster that may have happened during the year. (3)The third opinion is believed that soba collects fortunes; During the Edo period , a gold and silver craftsmen used balls made of kneaded buckwheat (=soba) to collect splattered gold and silver pieces in the working area, and burned the ball over hibachi (= Japanese heating appliance using charcoal as fuel) to catch residue gold and silver pieces. from http://www.jpn-miyabi.com/Vol.12/toshikoshi-e.html My family doesn't wait until midnight, we are all long asleep , rather we will eat it for dinner. What kind of soba will you be eating tonight?

12/31: iwashi kabayaki is also a very popular canned product: http://www.kobe-ya.co.th/product_info.php?products_id=105& [Moderator's note: This fine tutorial continues here: Daily Nihongo (2005 - )]

They are made by UHA Mikakuto, the same people who gave us shigekix! here is their English page: http://www.uha-mikakuto.co.jp/english/frame/e01.html I found them at a supermarket in Yokohama....

I have never had sunagimo deep fried before, love it as yakitori and raw.....

word for 12/30: いわしのかば焼き iwashi no kabayaki You may be familiar with the word kabayaki from the popular way to serve eel in Japan, unagi kabayaki. In both cases the fish are brushed with a slightly sweetened soy based sauce and then grilled, or often as in the case of iwashi, cooked in a fry pan. iwashi no kabayaki: http://www.jf-net.ne.jp/jf-net/syun/cook/i...e_kabayaki.html

I think Rachel answered it well, it is used mostly as a side dish or maybe for adding to soups or breads. I also make a couple of salsa like dishes with it. The corn on the cob here is really hit or miss, you never know when you are going to get a good one and price doesn't seem to make a difference, some of the more expensive ones I have splurged on have been the worst. It isn't much different than buying in a supermarket in the US. Growing up in Ohio we used to buy our corn off the back of pick-up trucks for like 12 -15 for $1 and it was good! I miss that really fresh corn..... corn on the cob in Japan is rarely served piping hot (the way I like it) rather it was probably boiled (over boiled) hours before and is generally cold by the time you get to it and because of the price it is probably broken into thirds. Except for the soy sauce grilled corn at roadside sides I have never seen corn on the cob served whole.....

karei karaage is one of my favorites to order at an izakaya: http://www.hanasou.jp/hanasou-menu1-menu6-ryouri26.jpg along with nankotsu age (deep fried chicken cartilage): http://img.store.yahoo.co.jp/I/oukoku_1822_709660

some hints for successful agemono: http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/hints...mon/agemon.html

I could really go for some tempura right now, especially sweet potato or kabocha.....

Actually those buns are just for this particular burger, and the bun is quite good. The special sauce is also special to this burger and it is sort of mayo and grainy mustard mix, it has a nice kick that I like.