torakris

The niboshi (baby sardines) were used as the stock, I simmered them in water for about 15 minutes then added the satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato) and simmered until soft (less than 10 minutes) and then added the miso. I used an aka-miso (red miso) but it was more of a medium brown color, so it was a very light red... These particular niboshi are quite small so I didn't remove the heads and guts, the bones are still there but they are so soft you don't even know you are eating them. My 4 year old son actually eats these niboshi straight from the package like a snack, they are boiled before being dried so the bones had softened but the fish are so small you probably wouldn't have a problem anyway...

no christmas cakes in our house..... We got togther with some friends yesterday and made a whole bunch of gingerbread men though..... I was at Costco yesterday (Christmas Eve) and in their cake corner the only thing they were selling were Christmas cakes, normally they have sheet cakes, cheesecakes, variety cakes, etc. Almost every cart I went past had one inside they were selling them for 1500 yen ($15) -- they only had one kind-- and they were much bigger than any Christmas cake I had ever seen in Japan. They were also taking orders for their roasted chickens and a huge line was at the pizza take out counter....

the characters you see are　甘辛　amakara and this is a very popular food descriptor. 甘　ama from amai or sweet and 辛　kara from karai or spicy, but in Japan karai doesn't always refer to a chile kind of heat it can also refer to salty-heat. So when you see foods referred to as amakara they are actually sweet-salty.

thank you! I will give these a try.

here is one of my favorite recipes when I have it on hand I toss a large handful of blanched shirasu in with the grated daikon: My favorite recipe for grated daikon (I make this a lot!) Japanese spinach salad (sorry, I am not very creative with names) Boil until tender 1 bunch of spinach rinse under cold water, drain sqeezing out excess water, and season with a sprinkling of mirin, soy sauce, and dashi (if you don't have the mirin or dashi don't worry about it.) remove the seeds (and skin if you like), then dice 1 tomato grate enough daikon to equal 1 cup (about 1/3 to 1/2 a daikon) this should be a very fine grating, similar to grated ginger drain off the excess liquid, I place it into a cheesecloth and wring it out gently. In a bowl stir together 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar 1 Tablespoon sugar stir until dissolved, then add the chopped tomato and grated daikon and mix gently. Place the spinach into a shallow bowl or a dish with sloping sides and place the daikon, tomato mixture on top. Serve. copied from the daikon thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=15648

There are also hundreds of variations of shirasu gohan. You could simply mix the cooked rice with some shirasu/chirimen or add other things like sesame seeds, nori, ginger,etc you could make a quick furikake like topping by sauteing the shirasu/chirimen with some seasonings (soy/sake/mirin/etc) maybe adding some other ingredients like chopped up daikon or turnip leaves, mushrooms, etc and then either top the rice with it or mix it togther. then there are the donburi style dishes top the rice with softly scrambled eggs and shirasu/chirimen or maybe a combination of nori, grated daikon and shirasu drizzles with a bit of soy sauce...

how about a nice bowl of chirashi pasta? http://www.geocities.jp/muuchan01/pasta/shirasu.jpg

I am going over to my friends house this afternoon and I promised her I would teach her how to make gingerbread cookies. Two years ago I made the thick and chewy ones from Cook's Illustrated (these were really good) and I assumed I pulled it out of their Best recipe book, but checking just a little while ago shows that it was probably pulled off their website. I am no longer a member.... A search for gingerbread cookie threads here give me mostly houses or a Martha Stewart recipe that everyone was saying is a little on the hard side but good as decorations. We are just going to be eating these, not using them as decorations. Anyone have a good recipe for soft and delicious gingerbread cookies? EDIT: just to clarify I am talking about gingerbread men cookies, not cake like ones. We are going to roll them out, cut out the shapes, bake, frost and eat....

curry and kimchi.... I think I remember a picture of skchai eating this somewhere, I think I need to give it a try.

thanks champong? There is a dish of Chinese origin here in Japan pronounced champon, I wonder if it is the same? It can look something like this: http://www.machidabisoh.com/pekin/pekin%89...%9C/champon.jpg

word for 12/24: たたみいわし tatami iwashi (tah-tah-me ee-wah-she) Tatami iwashi are sheets of dried tiny iwashi、 ｔhese can be lightly broken up and added to dishes, used as garnish or eaten as is. tatami iwashi: http://img3.dena.ne.jp/ex32/cb/1/686929/4/4278740_1.jpg pictures of the process of making tatami iwashi: http://www.kurisan.jp/koramu/iwasinoko.htm scroll down to where it says たたみいわし near the upper middle of the page

is there any soy sauce/tare (dressing) or karashi (hot mustard) added? egg? That really sounds good I might give it a try...

I love shigekix too! here is their homepage with all of their variations: http://www.shigekix.com/item.html my favorite is grape and I like the soda (blue one) flavor as well. I have never had a difficult time finding them here in Yokohama, there are usually a couple varieties in stock anywhere I go.

the kids and I are eating this this morning. I don't normally care for milky candies, but these cocoa flavored ones are really good!

and this: http://homepage.mac.com/funayama/iBlogs/C1...21/E1012094157/ karin jam

I was talking to a friend about karin and she mentioned karinshu 花梨酒 (karin liquor). I found this recipe: http://www.oh-media.com/pc-seminar/shironeya/karin.htm

this is sort of a combination product that I really love, it has two thicknesses for julienne, a slice and a grater and they all snap onto the top of the box, so the food falls inside. It also has a finger guard so you don't slice of the tips of your fingers. I rarely use the slicer or the fatter julienne as I have gotten pretty good with a knife but I use the grater for daikon,apples, ginger etc and the really fine julienne I just can't do with a knife. This set cost about 1500 yen ($15) in Japan.

I made a wonderful salad with hijiki last night, I was planning on taking a picture but forgot.... I rehydrated some hijiki and mixed it with one julienned cucumber, then I made a dressing of equal parts canola oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce and about a quarter of an onion very finely minced (I soaked this in cold water for a bit before adding). I mixed everything together and added a handlful of toasted sliced almonds. I adapted it a bit from a recipe I had in a Japanese cookbook and it really turned out great, the combination of hijiki and almonds was a surprise but they work really well together and I will be making it again!

I look at this one in the stores all of the time but just can't bring myself to buy it. http://www.kyoto-wel.com/item/IS81133N00105.html henshin yude tamago transformable boiled egg (sorry for the bad translation, but what else would you call this??) You but the boiled egg into the mold, push it closed, wait a couple minutes and voila the egg has transformed from an oval into a heart, star or bear!

since we are talking about birthdays.... My daughter Julia turned 7 on 12/20 and had a party with a couple friends complete with a castle cake!

word for 12/23 天皇誕生日　てんのうたんじょうび tennou tanjyoubi The Emperor’s Birthday (Tenno meaning emperor and Tanjoubi meaning birthday) is a national holiday in Japan and is celebrated on the birthday of the reigning emperor. Emperor Akihito inherited the throne when his father Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, so since 1990 Emperor Akihito’s birthday, December 23rd, has been a national holiday. Emperor Akihito is the 125th descendant of Japan’s first emperor, Jimmu, who acceded to the throne in 660 B.C

In the sukiyaki thread ( http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=57978 ) Rachel asked about making the carrot flowers and I showed her this picture not that I ever use these.... here is another gadget I picked up a while ago that I rarely use any more either it is a nori (laver) punch to for cutting out shapes what are some of your favorite Japanese gadgets?

Japchae and shirataki noodles are different, the shirataki noodles aren't made with sweet potatoes rather the konnyaku tuber, the same one you make konnyaku with. I have never used mirin in sukiyaki, but I don't see why you can't. Those matsutake sound almost too cheap....

the Japanese use these sorry it is a bit blurry....

Sounds like yours is in the Kansai style, doesn't it? ← I actually learned it from my ex-boyfriend's mother, though they lived in Tokyo she was originally from Kyushu..... My MIL makes it with dashi and I don't really care for it...