torakris

wow!

If you want some of the best prices (department stores can be pricey) get to Ameyokocho at Ueno station、just 11 minutes away from Ginza on the Ginza line, Iw as just there on Sunday....

another panko thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=19&t=15296 with shrimp you say... http://www.bc9.ne.jp/~seseragi/mneu/ippinn...i/ebi_furai.jpg ebi-fry, yummm!

Actally sekihan isn't considered a takikomi gohan, sekihan is jsut sekihan I don7t think it really has a category... But I am sure we can all look the other way.....

where do you find this stuff!!?? waiting to hear more.

for lunch I made umeboshi and garlic fried rice it was actually quite good...

12/8: There are 3 main types of iwashi you will find in Japan マイワシ maiwashi "true" sardine, Japanese sardine or spotlined sardine, the most popular one http://www.zukan-bouz.com/nisin/maiwasi.image/maiwasi.jpg ウルメイワシ urume iwashi big eye sardine or round herring http://www.zukan-bouz.com/nisin/urumeiwasi.../urumeiwasi.jpg カタクチイワシ katakuchi iwashi Japanese anchovy http://www.zukan-bouz.com/nisin/katakuti.image/katakuti.jpg

Ume no Hana is quite a famous chain and in Japan, a chain is not necessarily a bad thing and they can be very good. The kaiseki lunches have 4 courses ranging from 1,500 to 2,500 yen (about $15 to $25), I think I am going to go for the 2,000 ($20) one. Their dinner prices start at 2,800 yen ($28) and go up to 7,000 ($70). The lunch prices are really quite reasonable, we tend to only eat lunch out as prices are jacked up for the dinner menus that are often the exact same food.....

here is one article I found: http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/faq/mercuryfish/ mostly about swordfish, shark, marlin and tuna the previous link had some other fish but they weren't very popular outside of Japan....

sorry, I merged the hijiki talk into the seaweed thread, it starts here: dangers of hijiki http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=636909 and the dangerous fish was in the middle of the Daily Nihongo thread, however the link seems to be dead now, I will try to find another one.

Last night I was watching a tv show and they were making Shanghai gyouza, with thick skins, and they described the finished product as pari pari (giving a nice a crunch when it is bitten into) and mochi mochi (chewy in a good way).

Thanks I am going to give it a try! I am sure the kids will love it. I have to agree about that book, it was one of my first cookbooks on Japanese food and I used it almost daily, but I was never really happy with the results, I then discovered some other books and passed that one on to my sister, who I am sure has never used it...

Daiso. A Daiso 100-yen shop is the only 100-yen shop we have here in Shiozawa... ← only Daiso?? In less than 10 minutes I can drive to between 10 and 15 100yen shops and none are the same company....

word for 12/7: いわし　　イワシ　　鰯 iwashi (ee-wah-she) sardine http://www.zukan-bouz.com/nisin/maiwasi.image/maiwasi.jpg

I see this almost daily here in Japan, as a foreigner I often get handed an English menu in restaurants or many restaurants have menus written in both Japanese and English, some of the translations are so funny I can't stop laughing. I have often thought about offering my service (for a fee of course) to help them fix their menu. Though it wasn't a menu, the other day I passed by a truck that said "Flesh Meat" on the side of it, I think they misspelled fresh..... On the other side of the world I have actually run across menus/recipes that say saki, the word is sake and it is pronounce (sah-kay). I can understand the mispronunciation, but the misspelling?

nope. But the thing is in Japan raw fish is an everyday food that is always of very high quality. I think the warnings outside of Japan make sense because depending on where you live the quality could be suspect. If you have access to really fresh fish there shouldn't be a problem. I am really glad I had all 3 pregnancies in Japan because I suffered from horrible morning sickness and for some reason could stand the the thought of cooked foods..... I lived on raw fish and raw beef....

uiro: http://www.aichi-kanko.jp/j-heartland/nagoya/s_4.html http://www.aichi-kanko.jp/english/regional/9.html never had it....

a great article (with lists of restaurants to check out) about Aichi's culinary history: http://www2.aia.pref.aichi.jp/voice/no17/17_feature.html

I would just grill them and dip them in soy sauce, yum!

I try to have a weekly plan as we are on a tight budget and planning really does save a lot of money. I use the supermarket flyers to figure out what is on sale and work my meals around that food, I try not to shop more than twice a week, so they first days after shopping are when I use the things that will spoil quickly and the root vegetables get saved for the end of the week. We only get paid once a month, so that first week is when we splurge a little and by the last week I am digging around to the back of the cupboards. I often make of lists of things I want to make and then when the ingredients go on sale I put it on my menu, or else I buy whatever is cheap and then brainstorm with cookbooks. Twice a week now my kids have activities they take us out of the house from 4:30 to 6:00, so on those two days now I plan meals that can either be prepared beforehand or very quickly when we get home.

I love the thick noodles called kishimen, here is a picture: http://www1.kcn.ne.jp/~katonoid/gourmet/na...ge/nago-025.jpg along with another meibutsu, tenmusu (rice balls with tempura shrimp inside)

AICHI PREFECTURE (region = Chubu) Aichi is also considered part of the Tokai region with Shizuoka and Gifu The city of Nagoya is located in Aichi prefecture http://www.aichi-kanko.jp/english/regional/ Nagoya http://www.ncvb.or.jp/kankou_e/mei_b1.html To discuss the foods of Aichi and Nagoya look here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=56896

Who can think of Nagoya with out thinking of miso? what are some of your favorite foods from this area? take a look here for some special dishes: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...55entry780855

This is when being a foreigner helps! because they don't expect you to. Seiza is no problem for me, actually I have been sitting seiza style my whole life, though I never knew it had a name.... It may sound strange but since I was a child it was how I ate my meals, but I was doing it in a chair, I still do it to this day. I even sit in my chair at my computer seiza style at least half of the time.... for more information on the seiza style of sitting: http://www.furyu.com/archives/issue6/Seiza.html

I have been to a couple kaiseki in my life. Including what I consider the "ultimate" kaiseki experience, the kind of place were each group of guests is seated in their own little "house" and all the "houses" are connected with stone walkways and bridges and is situated in a gorgeous place with lush greenery, streams and waterfalls. I have also enjyed kaiseki style meals at various onsens and mini-kaiseki at various restaurants. A friend and I are planning a lunch trip this week to Ume no Hana, a tofu and yuba restaurant that serves mini kaiseki for lunch, we have been planning this for 2 years since it opened.... I will take lots of pictures! Ume no Hana: http://www.umenohana.co.jp/e/ume/index.html and pictures of their lunch mini kaiseki: http://www.umenohana.co.jp/ume/menu.php?no=000&kind=lunch