torakris

word for 9/7: ねぎはまち negihamachi (neh-ghee-hah-mah-chee) This is the combination of negi (Japanese bunching scallions) and hamachi that is popular at sushi bars. http://austinsushi.com/columns/kb/lg/benihana4.jpg

ume gum has been one of my favorites for almost 15 years now! I also wish the flavor would last more than 3 minutes, I can eat the whole pack in 10 minutes! of course maybe that is what the gum makers want.....

two weeks for refrigerated dashi seems quite long, most recipes I have seen say only 2 to 3 days...

I am a falafel freak! soft , very soft pita is a must, however good pita doesn't seem to be available in Japan so I have turned to making falafel salads. I crumble up the falafel in large chunks and place it on a bed of lettuce with cucmbers, tomatoes, jalapenos and a thinnish yogurt-tahini dressing.

more wasting of food in Japan! From today's newspaper: Tokiko Kobayashi, 71, who had just finished harvesting half her crop, sighed: ``The remaining half is all gone. Maybe I can salvage some cabbage, but ash is stuck between the leaves of my lettuce and Chinese cabbages. I can't sell them.'' This is the second stroke of bad luck for Gunma Prefecture cabbage farmers this summer. Fearing falling prices due to overproduction, they had just finished destroying 3,030 tons of cabbage. the article can be found here: http://www.asahi.com/english/nation/TKY200409030151.html

pompollo, you might be interested in this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=31843&st=0

I was just watching a show a couple days ago and they were showing how to eat fish so you are left with nothing more than a head, tail and a backbone, looks something like this: http://homepage1.nifty.com/hueno/yoidore/200309/SANY0008.JPG Most Japanese I know do this perfectly but I guess some people need to be reminded... Since I am bumping this thread back up, I also wanted to make the comment that the Japanese use many techniques (mostly deep frying or simmering) for fish so as to make the bones soft enough to eat so that there is no waste at all.

9/3: ハマチ hamachi (Kansai term) イナダ inada (Kanto term) These are both words for the young adult buri, usually about 35cm to 60cm in length. sorry about the erratic posting, I have been having some MAJOR computer problems.....

Wow, all that for only 1.50! great deal. I love menchi/any katsu sandwiches. KFC here has one of a chicken katsu that is dipped in this wonderful sweet-spicy tonkatsu like sauce....

If it is your own recipe please include it in recipegullet! that way everyone has easy and printable access to it. recipegullet: http://recipes.egullet.com/main.php

Japanese cucumbers are quite small both shorter and thinner than the seedless ones you can buy in the US. One large seedless cucumber would be about the same as 2 to 3 Japanese cucumbers, neither of those two recipes really needs exact amounts, they are easily adjustable depending on how many you are feeding.

YAMAGATA PREFECTURE (region = Tohoku) http://www.pref.yamagata.jp/sr/guide_bk/srygb005.html http://www.marujyu.com/jp/html/ymgt/meibutu.html http://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/sight_s3/fo_yg.html to discuss your favorite foods, go to the Yamagata thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=19&t=50409

Yamagata really has some great food! I have yet to meet a Yamagata meibutsu I don't love. My MIL makes yearly treks to Yamagata to get some of the best sakuranbo (Japanese cherries) in Japan. My family is also currently addicted to another speciality their shio nattou! What are some of your favorites? check out the meibutsu thread to learn more: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry703162

We are making the move slowly into fall here, last night we grilled some sanma (saury pike) and this morning's breakfast included nashi (freshly picked from the orchard next to our house! )

9/1: Warasa/meijiro don't show up much in either stores or cookbooks, actually I don't believe I have ever seen them before. They are a popular fish to be caught during sport fishing though! Whatt is one of the best ways to prepare a fish you just pulled out of the water? Sashimi of course! warasa sashimi (the pink stuff): http://okiturihonpo.que.ne.jp/warasa.975.jpg

phish, first off I want to welcome you to egullet and the Japan forum!! secondly is it the regular rice vinegar or the seasoned type? The seasoned type which is for making sushi rice includes the addition of sugar and salt. I recommend the unseasoned type so you can control the seasonings. Also sushi rice doesn't take well to refrigeration and really should be made no more than a couple hours in advance and kept at room temp. As to what to do with it, it is more of a question of what can't you do with it? Since it is much milder tasting than most other vinegars it can be used almost anywhere. I use it in salad dressings, soups, marinades, pickles, sauces, etc. here are two recipes using rice vinegar from our egullet recipe database (recipeGullet): Pork and Cucumber salad http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r336.html Cucumber pickles with ginger http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r1041.html

word for 8/31: we have established the word buri as the Japanese word for the big adult yellowtail, about 80 cm and bigger, let's slowly go through the smaller sizes. ワラサ warasa (the term used in Kanto) メジロ mejiro (the term used in Kansai) this is the adult yellowtail at about 60cm long

I have been on a nimono rampage! Last night we had a beef and baby bok choy shigure-ni. Shigure refers to autumn rains and this simmered dish made with ginger, soy mirin and sugar reminds one of the dark color of autumn rains.

I made a kinpira last night with eryngii mushrooms, very enjoyable!

..No, so be sure to let us know what happens when *you* try it! Ok, last night I had a goya salad! This white goya is slightly less bitter than its green counterpart, but if you don't like the regular goya you won't like this one either... I mixed it with a cucumber and some cilantro then dressed it with nampla, lime and sugar, a squirt of sriracha made it even better, it was quite adicting and I could have made a main dish out of it maybe with some fish or chicken added.

those look great! About long will they keep for?

MIYAGI PREFECTURE (region= Tohoku) http://www.miyagitheme.jp/taste/index.htm http://www.kankou-miyagi.net/cgi-bin/ss_ca...ntry=eng&flag=0 --Matsushuima City http://www.town.matsushima.miyagi.jp/engli...de/spe/spe.html To discuss the foods of Miyagi go to this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=19&t=50314

If you ever find yourself with more than you can eat. I will happily take some off your hands!

If you are having problems reading the menu maybe this can help: http://www.japaninyourpalm.com/

I just ran across this: http://www.laptoplunches.com/products.html#LaptopLunch Japanese bento style insulated lunchboxes available in the US