torakris

I think Helen nailed it, it is really a name/textural problem for me. I love satsumage/chikuwa/kamaboko....

I was the bank around lunchtime paying my husband's $90 parking ticket when I noticed a big sign in the window of the AM/PM (convenience store) across the street announcing the new Gyukaku bentos. For those who might not know, Gyukaku is a very famous yakiniku (Korean style grilled beef) restaurant that is all over Japan and also spreading to many parts of the world. They had a bibimbap and a donburi (rice bowl) with pork belly and also a couple salads. I went for the bibimbap that came with a soft boiled egg. after heating it in the microwave it wasn't bad. The rice was packed in pretty tightly and the bowl was quite shallow so mixing it was a little difficult. I also could have used a little more kojuchang.....

I am not a big fan of fish sausages and think I have only eaten them once...

my husband prefers western style soups like minestrone or pureed vegetable soups. He will eat houtou if I make it but would never request it... He likes miso, actually for the past 3 months that is the only onigiri he is requesting for his breakfast everyday (I make an onigiri for him to eat at work everyday). just a plain onigiri with a spoonful of miso inside...

My copy of The Gourmet Cookbook just arrived and I picked up another Japanese one, I had been doing so well....

word for 12/15: にぼしだし　煮干だし niboshi dashi Niboshi dashi is a Japanse stock made with niboshi. There is some discussion of this in the dashi thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=21765&st=0 a recipe for niboshi dashi: http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/hints/dashi/dashi.html scroll down it is the 4th one

My husband doesn't really like miso soup (and yes he was born and raised in Japan... ) so I would only make it a couple times a year. Now with 3 kids to feed as well (and the kids love it) I make it more often, usually when I am needing one more dish to round out the meal. It is usually a last minute thing and toss in whatever is on hand. Last night I made it with bacon and sliced onions. What did you make last night? any favorites? unusual combinations?

We had a discussion on msg in foods and reading the labels but I can't remember where..... to look for msg on food labels to want to look for this: 調味料（アミノ酸） 調味料 (choumiryou) are flavoring enhancers and you may see a couple things following in parantheses if it says アミノ酸 (aminosan) which are amino acids it is probably msg.

Hiroyuki how did you know the word for today before I posted it..... 12/14: にぼし 煮干し niboshi (knee-boe-she) small dried sardines Niboshi are baby sardines that have been boiled in salted water and then dried, you can find them in various sizes and various names including: * Katakuchi-Niboshi (Katakuchi means Katakuchi-Iwashi and Japanese Anchovy is Katakuchi-Iwashi in Japanese) * Dashi-Jako (Dashi means soup stock and Jako means small fish. We take soup stock for miso-soup from Niboshi) * Iriko (Iri means boiled one and Ko means something small one) * Iriboshi (Iri means boiled one and Boshi means dried one. So, Iriboshi means boiled and dried one) * Jako (Jako means small fish) To see a VERY detailed process of the making of niboshi look here (all in English and with pictures!) http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~fy7y-hys/dsf_15.htm niboshi: http://www.jhg.co.jp/recipes/images/niboshi.jpg

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getart...n20041214a1.htm Rice genome is decoded; now expect new varieties to crop up From the Japan Times: Researcher Takuji Sasaki of the National Institute of Agrobiological Science and head of the Japanese team in the international effort, said Monday that scientists from 10 economies completed mapping some 370 million out of 390 million base pairs -- or 95 percent of the genome -- with an accuracy of 99.99 percent. Analysts say they expect the research to contribute to the identification of useful genetic functions and lead to rapid improvement of crop varieties and an increase in food production. The results could also be used for production of new varieties of maize and wheat that have similar features in their genetic maps to rice. I am interested to see what comes of this...

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getart...n20041214f1.htm Sake trendy abroad but hard sell here to young from the Japan Times: Japan consumed 889,271 kiloliters worth of sake in fiscal 2002, down from 1,368,831 kl in 1992 and almost half the volume they gulped down in 1973, when consumption peaked at around 1,656,000 kl, Finance Ministry figures show. Countless reasons have been cited for sake's sagging popularity, ranging from the longtime production of sugared and artificially flavored low-grade sake, to the recent shochu and wine booms, the latter characterized by the brisk sales of Beaujolais Nouveau, and the fading gift-giving culture. But the biggest problem could be sake's image as an old man's drink, said Masafumi Masuda, a journalist who decried the industry's decline in his book published in September.

I have never used ago dashi, occasionally I have seen recipes that called for it, but I haven't been able to find it. Though I admit I wasn't looking REALLY hard....

That sentence is a perfect example of how these words are used in everyday language, I could imagine myself or someone else saying this exact sentence and I wouldn't think a thing about it. You must have pretty big pieces of kabocha to simmer them kotokoto for 10 minutes, I simmer them at a kotokoto simmer/boil for only about 5...

Amazon marketplace has it for 100yen ($1), I might get it too.....

that explains a lot.... occasionally I would see recipes for kayaku gohan and when I would ask what it was they say takikomi, so I had though it was just a kind of takikomi gohan.

wow! I am leaving in about 30 minutes for my son's oyuugi-kai (called a seikatsu happyo-kai at his school though) I know we won't be getting anything like that......

word for 12/13: 目刺し mezashi (may-zah-she) This is another type of dried fish for which iwashi is very popular. These are also dried whole but different from the maruboshi in that they are strung up by their eyes. Me (pronounced may) means eye and zashi is from the verb sasu which means to pierce or stab. They are often sold still strung together. iwashi no mezashi: http://www.takasei.com/My%20Pictures/mezashi.jpg

word for 12/12: 丸干し maruboshi maru describes something round or a circle or a ring, and boshi is from hoshi to dry out and put together as maruboshi it describes whole semi dried fish. Many times himono/hoshimono (semi-dried fish) are split open before being dried, when dried in the maruboshi style they are kept whole and then are ususally grilled before eating. Iwashi are some of the most popular fish to be found in this style. iwashi no maruboshi: http://www.99kankou.com/tokusan/img/maruboshi.jpg

This morning my kids an I attended a yaki imo (fire roasted sweet potato) event put on by the local kodomo kai (neighborhood children's group). They set up 3 fires at a local park and cooked a couple hundred satsumaimo, there were probably about 100 kids that showed up. A view of two of the fires pulling the satsumaimo out of the fire with rakes and sticks enjoying their yaki imo Mia and Julia

word for 12/11: なめろう namerou Iwashi great prepared in the namerou style, this is when the raw flesh is minced up (sometimes I have seen larger chunks or even slices though) and mixed with minced negi (scallion) and shouga (ginger) and miso. This is great with a bowl of hot rice! iwashi no namerou: http://www.agri.pref.chiba.jp/nourinsui/12...i/pic/sa1-1.jpg たたき tataki Tataki is very similar to namerou, the fraw flesh is minced up with various seasonings except the miso is left out. iwashi no tataki: http://www.jetanuki.com/inside/izakaya/images/DSC05971.JPG

about how big was that roast? and could we use sake for the rice wine?

heavy! I did it too lightly thinking it would be too strong but it ended up being too weak... But also I used the hachimitsu (honey) umeboshi that are sweeter and not as salty.

12/10: Iwashi is wonderful eaten as sashimi or sushi, iwashi sushi: http://www.hapima.com/sh/gurume/img/exp/st...ushi/iwashi.jpg iwashi sashimi: http://www.ukemochi.com/menu/menu1/iwasi/iwasi.html if you notice they always seem to be served with ginger as it helps counteract the fishy taste.

only sembei for your dog? no osechi ryouri? http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=29751

a bit more on ameyokocho/ameyoko if you have never been there before: http://club.nokia.co.jp/tokyoq/weekly_upda...le/ameyoko.html