torakris

kaburazushi! http://w2223.nsk.ne.jp/matusita/kabura2.htm buri (yellowtail) sandwiched between two sliced of kabu (turnip)

ISHIKAWA PREFECTURE (region = Chubu) also considered part of the Hokuriku region (with Toyama and Fukui) http://www.hot-ishikawa.jp/f-lang/english/...ku/e_mikaku.htm to discuss the foods of Ishikawa go here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=55889

What are some of your favorite foods from Ishikawa Prefecture? take a look here for a link: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...08entry769008

word for 11/20: にしんそば nishin soba (nee-sheen sew-bah) This is bowl of soba that is topped with a slightly sweet simmered nishin and is a very popular dish in the Kyoto area. nishin soba: http://www.soba-udon.com/menu/em_nishin.htm

ok, Hiroyuki, so why do the Japanese eat strawberry shortcakes on Christmas Eve? and when you were a child did you think Colonel Sanders (from KFC) was Santa Claus?

Beside buying your oden from a conbini (convenience stores) another popular way to buy it is an a pack that just needs to be heated like this this is a one person serving cosisting of 7 different pieces including my favorites daikon and egg in a wonderfully seasoned broth. You place the pack into some boiling water to heat it up and then dump the contents into a pan and simmer for a bit and then you have a wonderful meal of oden.

I was watching the news this morning and they said now 16 people have died including one man in his 20's...

if are interested in learning more about convenience stores in Japan, check out this previous thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=22261

word for 11/19: 昆布巻き konbu maki (cone-boo mah-key) These are nishin that are rolled in konbu (kelp), tied with strips of kampyo (dried gourd) and then simmered in a soy based sauce. You might find this dish on tables as part of the osechi (New Year's) meal. It is also one of my favorites. konbu maki: http://www.ogurakonbu.com/photo1/konbumaki.jpg

last night I grilled some yuzu flavored tsunagimo (gizzards) I marinated the gizzards with yuzu slices as well as some juice, with soy, mirin, sake, garlic and dried chiles, then grilled them and topped them with yuzu zest! the picture looked clearer when I took it.....

my most recent nimono gomokumame this is soybeans with 5 flavors (五目豆), however I guess mine should be called sanmokumame, since I only had 3 additional flavors..... I added carrots, renkon (lotus root) and konbu, other additions could include shiitake, gobo and konnyaku.

eggs, or more specifically egg yolks, can be used to make a variety of sauces. To make a miso-egg yolk sauce great for topping steamed vegetables mix together: 1 egg yolk 3/4 cup white miso 2 T sake 1 T mirin 1 tsp sugar (I often make this with out sake when I have a really nice --high alcohol content--mirin with a good flavor like an aged one, adding just a bit of sugar to taste) Place all of the ingredients in a double boiler and blend well until creamy, this can keep refrigerated for a week or two. Blend with dashi if needed for a more sauce like consistency, or add some karashi (mustard), vinegar, dashi and soy to taste for a "nuta" dressing. Nuta is a dressed dish of some type of sashimi and scallions. You can also flavor it with yuzu peel, sesame seeds or sansho powder...

yes that too! Although it is not an official holiday the Japanese tend to celebrate Christmas, especially in a commercial way. The Japanese celebrate Christmas Eve by eating a 'Christmas Cake' which the father of the family purchases on his way home from work (or his wife does in the case where he has to work on Christmas Eve). Stores all over carry versions of this Christmas cake and drop the price of it drastically on December 25th in order to sell everything out by the 26th. This has resulted in a rather interesting expression in which young girls are referred to as a 'Christmas cakes': marriageable until their 25th birthday and requiring heavy discounts to get married after their 25th birthdays. from: http://tanutech.com/japan/jxmas.html though I have to admit it isn't a phrase that is heard that much any more....

I am really with smallworld on this one, Japanese sweets blow the socks off anything from North America..... That being said though I have never eaten Christmas cake, I am a Christmas cookie girl. I do find it interesting though that my Japanese friends are always shocked to hear Americans don't eat strawberry shortcake on Christmas, they all assume it is an American thing for some reason....

Does matcha have a season? I have been noticing an abundance of matcha flavored items in the stores recently, I mean really an unusual number. So it got me thinking, does matcha have a shun (season)? I also found this: Matcha is grown primarily in the Uji area, southwest of Kyoto. The young tea leaves are picked in early May and lightly steamed to prevent any fermentation. This allows the tea to retain its beautiful green color. Then the tea leaves are dried. Traditionally, at this point, the leaves would be stored in chatsubo/tea jars and allowed to season until November, at which time they can be stone-ground as needed. from: http://www.matchaandmore.com/whatismatcha.htm So is it matcha season?

For my convenient eats lunch this week, I decided to go to Natural Lawson (a "new" type of convenience store supposedly aimed at health-concious shoppers). This opened up about 2 years ago at the station near my house but I haven't made it in yet because there is absolutely no parking anywhere near it. I had this idea of a health foods convenience store, and sure enough upon walking in my eye catches the shelf of cookbooks next to all familiar magazines. Cookbooks are unusual in a convenience store and even more unusual is that they were all in the macrobiotic style focused on whole grains, tofu, vegetables,etc. Walking the aisles I see the familair conbini items snack foods, staples, etc but included among the staples are packs of hijiki, koya-dofu (dried tofu) and other various dried products I had never seen in a convenience store before. I had visions of bentos with brown rice, various pickles, fish and dried vegetable dishes and wow was I dissapointed! Not only were the bentos the same as any other convenince store in the country they actually looked worse! I finally decided on this These looked the most appetizing to me.... and I have to admit they were pretty good, on the left is a BLT with cheese on black sesame bread and on the right is a sandwich with chicken pastrami and marinated onion/carrot/bell peppers with lettuce and cucumbers as well.

found this today matcha flavored kit kat very, very good!

I bought it! and ate it!

Melonpan, actually strawberry season in Japan starts in December and runs to early spring!! there are no strawberries here in summer. So it is a very seasonal thing to have strawberries on your cake....

and for anyone who wants to try to make their own Japanese Christmas cake, a recipe, in English http://husky1.stmarys.ca/~hwoo/ppb.html

Kentucky Fried Chicken Christmas 2004: http://www.kfc.co.jp/xmas2004/index.html this year they are selling a whole roast chicken, I have never seen this before..., stuffed with mushrooms and parmasean cheese for only 5250 yen ($50)

Looks like KFC has some competition this year! Mos burger (hamburger chain) is currently taking orders for their Christmas chicken packs! http://www.mos.co.jp/spotlight/041029/xmas.html

word for 11/18: ニシン御殿 nishin goten herring mansion Otaru (Hokkaido) enjoyed a bountiful share of herring from the Meiji (1868 - 1912) to the Taisho (1912 - 1926) era. Fishery owners competed by having extravagant homes built for themselves. These residences which were used for fish processing as well were nicknamed Nishin Goten (Herring Mansion). The largest existing Nishin Goten took 7 years to build and was completed in 1897 in Tomari-mura Village. The building which was moved to Shukutsu in Otaru became the first residential building to be designated as Hokkaido's tangible cultural asset. Material used for this home consists of Hokkaido fir and Tohoku region cypress wood. The power and wealth of the fishermen during the height of the herring era is reflected in the amount of wood used for the historic residence which is enough to supply construction of 20 standard houses. The mansion is now open to the public and displays tools used during the time as well as references and photographs. from here: http://www.infocreate.co.jp/hometown/otaru/midoko-e.html with a picture

I was looking for something else and came upon this picture: http://www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/iser/people...CT01/sld024.htm titled: Migaki nishin -- herring carcasses I mean I guess they are a carcass, but it isn't exactly the most appetizing name....

I am with snallworld on this one! I am not a fruitcake fan!! Hiroyuki, guess you missed this thread on Kentucky fried chicken and strawberry shortcakes: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...st=0&p=444245