torakris

word for 9/27: 寿司　鮨　すし sushi Yeah, I know, everyone already knows what sushi is by now, but I ran across this gorgeous picture of aji sushi and just had to post it. Aji makes an incredible sushi... http://www.noge-sushi.com/okonomi/okonomi-aji.jpg

SAITAMA PREFECTURE (region= Kanto) http://www.sainokuni-kanko.jp/english/specialties/sp.html to discuss the foods of Saitama go to this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=52222

What else is Saitama known for? look here for some links: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...76entry723876

I actually don't understand the people being scared of ikizukuri, I never even gave it a thought the first time I ate it. I mean it IS dead. Now odorigui is something I haven't had a chance to try and am not actively searching out places to try it...... That kaimin katsugyo idea is very interesting, however I don't think I have the skills to prepare the fish myself. I wish my kids didn't like sashimi so much, it gets expensive! Just tonight my oldest daughter (age 8) ate an entire block of maguro by herself!!

unfortunately we didn't really follow a recipe.... I made it with 3 Japanese friends as part of a huge buffet for a going away party for another friend. It wasn't much different than what was described above, we were using 2 kgs of thighs so we added large splashes of soy sauce and sake then we grated some ginger (juice only)and some garlic then added salt and pepper. They were deep fried in canola oil and coated with equal parts of flour and katakuriko (potato starch). I deep fried them at a medium high temp until they turned a nice color, there were too many to do the double frying method.

karaage for 30 people.....

from today's daily nihongo: 活き造り　　活き作り　生き造り　　生き作り ikizukuri 活け作り　活け造り　　生け作り　　生け造り ikezukuri 活造り　　活作り　　生造り　　生作り ikizukuri or ikezukuri or heck anything you feel like calling it! Do you really need this many ways to write one word! ikizukuri/ikezukuri is one ofthe biggest fears of foreigners in Japan, "live" sashimi, this is the fish that just seconds before was swimming around in the tank and is now twitching on your dish. I personally love this dish an order it whenever I see it on the menu. and montrealfood.com (http://www.montrealfood.com/sushi4.html ) put it better than I could: Ikezukuri or literally "live masterpiece" requires the highest skill in preparing raw fish. A live fish is selected from the restaurant's fish tank; in some restaurants, the diner himself makes the selection. The chef then prepares it by slicing the meat off one side of the backbone. The sashimi is then placed amongst a seaweed garnish and carefully arranged against the carcass, which still trembling, is set bowed as if it magically jumped out of the water and onto your plate. Ikezukuri is without a doubt the chef d'oeuvre of freshness. Ever eaten it? Want to try it? No way in hell?

words for 9/26: 活き造り　　活き作り　生き造り　　生き作り ikizukuri 活け作り　活け造り　　生け作り　　生け造り ikezukuri 活造り　　活作り　　生造り　　生作り ikizukuri or ikezukuri or heck anything you feel like calling it! Do you really need this many ways to write one word! ikizukuri/ikezukuri is one ofthe biggest fears of foreigners in Japan, "live" sashimi, this is the fish that just seconds before was swimming around in the tank and is now twitching on your dish. I personally love this dish an order it whenever I see it on the menu, aji is probably one of the more popular fish you will see on the ikizukuri menu. ikizukuri: http://www.saturn.sannet.ne.jp/awajihinode...g/ikizukuri.jpg

A-1 sauce, who would have thought? thanks for all that info!

The best place to get tsukudani would be izakaya style places, they are a good otsumami or food to nibble on while drinking.

It still sounds like zosui, this is made with rice that has been previously cooked and then added to some type of stock, it can be soupy or thicker depending on preference and can be as simple as just egg or a variety of ingredients. Egg in some form is very popular as is some type of seafood, occasionally meats and some type of garnish. If it is much creamier and more risoto like it is probably okayu (rice gruel).

these probably don't count as Chiba local foods, but since Disneyland IS located in Chiba.... http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdl/jap...oods/okasi.html

CHIBA PREFECTURE (region= Kanto) http://www.kanko.chuo.chiba.jp/e/chiba/out_sangyo-e.html Narita City http://www.city.narita.chiba.jp/english/welcome/special/ to the discuss the foods of Chiba please go here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=52153

Chiba prefecture apaprently has the name "kitchen of Edo" because it has been a main production for fresh foods for the capital since old times. here are some links to local foods from Chiba: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...01entry723301 What do you look for on your visits there?

actually some Japanese recipes call for mizu-ame which is a thick sweet sryup, thicker and sweeter than corn sryup. a quick look on the internet says that traditionaly it was a malt sryup but now is made with potatoes or sweet potatoes. I have some on hand and I will give it a try, need to get the beans first though....

word for 9/25: ゼイゴ zeigo (zay-goh) All of the fish in the aji family have a grouping of hard scales that run horizontally by the tail, this is called zeigo and on mature aji needs to be removed beofre cooking. removing the zeigo: http://qpchan.cocolog-nifty.com/qpchan/200...0306_121732.jpg

In a thread on cooking Korean style black beans, I posted a similar Japanese recipe for black beans and one of the ingredients is a nail! Supposedly it adds gloss to the beans.... http://www.nsknet.or.jp/~chrkaji/yasuko/recipe/007_e.html I have heard of this before but admit to never trying it, I have always made my beans with out it. Has anyone ever run across a recipe that had one ingredient you just felt weird about adding? Anyone regularly cook with non-food items?

do you think they could be made with out the malt sryup? I don't think I will be able to get that without a trip to a the very far away Korean market. Any substitutes? I really want to try the Korean version...... I have never added a nail by the way...

word for 9/24: シマアジ shima aji Like the rest of the aji this fish is at its best in summer and it is found mostly in southern Japan. I found a couple English names for it including striped jack, guelly jack and white trevally... the shima aji: http://www.impfoods.com/img/items/ShimaAjiNZ.jpg

I am a big tsukudani fan. unfortunately my, born and raised in Tokyo, husband doesn't care for them...

I just found this: They ensure that the heat is evenly distributed and reduce the tendency of liquid to boil with large bubbles. This reduces the mechanical stress on the food and keeps fragile ingredients in their original shape. from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otoshi_buta

I have used paper towels to soak up the aku (scum) that forms on some dishes but never thought to use as a drop lid.... you could kill two birds with one stone. In a pinch I have used either foil or parchment/cooking paper.

buying pre-made sozai has been quite popular in many urban areas for quite a while now, 15 yeras ago my ex-boyfriends mother used to buy almost every dinner at the basement of Takashimaya (department store). This is a trend that is definitely on te up though. Department store sozai can be very pricey and it is actually cheaper for me to take my family of 5 out to eat! I have never used them for dinner, but I often buy a lunch just for myself. I have started noticing trends in cooking magazines/cookbooks on cooking with convenience store foods, they buy sozai from the convenince stores and then sort of tweak it. As convenience stores are cheaper they tend to be more popular with the younger crowd. I have also noticed that in recent years all of the supermarkets in my area have redone/expanded their sozai sections and are now othering a much wider selection. the only things I really buy from here are corroke, when I have had a busy day and just need one more thing for the table or some kind of tempura when I just want a piece or two to stick on some noodles.

according to this site (in English): http://www.kyoeifood.co.jp/e/index-e.html which has pictures of the process, they actually make loaves of what looks like Japanese shoku-pan (everyday white bread) and then smash it. I am not sure if this is how all manufacturers make it though...

maybe zosui? http://www6.plala.or.jp/totorono/images/shop/menu/zosui.JPG