torakris

I start thinking about this every time I am getting ready for my trip back to the US. Are there any foods that you really miss that are either to expensive to buy,difficult to find or impossible to find in Japan? For me the biggest thing is sandwiches, these were a staple lunch item for me for almost 25 years, I miss the variety of breads and deli meats and cheeses. could really go for some goood ham or turkey breast with swiss cheese on a couple slices of pumperknickel........ also yellow peaches reasonably priced berries sweet potatoes

We have mentioned shochu in various threads, but now it deserves its own! Great article on the popularity of this liquor: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getart...l20040530x1.htm "For years, many nihonshu brewers were trying to sell their shochu licenses," Tominaga said. "But no one wanted to buy them because the drink was so unpopular. Shochu had a strong image of being a cheap drink for lower-class people and alcoholics." and now It's not only its price and taste that's behind this trend. "Shochu is actually good for your health," said Tojo, "and it's this health benefit that's had the biggest influence on the boom."

word for 6/5: 切れ kire This means a cut or a a slice (from the verb to cut, kiru 切る), and this is the most common way to see kajiki sold in the supermarket. Looks something like this: 2 kire (futa-kire) 2 pieces of makajiki This is used not only for fish but other things that are served in slices, like cakes, etc EDITED for picture

Jaypm51, welcome to egullet and the Japan board! I never thought of throwing ika (squid) in there, but I often make a roll with ume paste and shiso. Ume and shiso is an incredible combination.

There is no need to boil salted wakame. You can washi it and place it in a strainer and pour boiling water over it and washi it again or you could wash it and place it in a bowl of water for 5 to 10 minutes and then wash until the saltiness is either gone or to your taste.

I had it once with a mixture of th two, but never with just barley. I just saw on tv a couple nights back this guy was making something he called soba ochazuke. He added the typical ochazuke toppings to some freshly boiled soba served in its boiling liquid....

I wish I could remember exactly, unfortunately that restaurant has closed. It looked like the chicken thighs were deep fried and then dipped into a ponzu style sauce, they were quite wet, but not soggy. They were then generously topped with a tartar sauce like sauce....

Have you ever eaten your umeboshi dipped in sugar? I had this at an onsen (hot spring) a little while back, when we arrived a "snack" was set out of hot tea and two bowls, one with umeboshi and one with brown sugar. My MIL told me this was a common treat for visitors to onsens, though I am not sure it was particular to that area or not. It was quite good though....

CAUTION: Let me tell you what I would or would not say in these particular situations. 1. In this situation, I would NOT say いただきます to the waiter REGARDLESS OF WHETHER I AM ALONE OR WITH SOMEONE ELSE. 2. In this situation, I would or would not say いただきます to the itamae when he serves the first pair. Whether I would say it depends on a variety of factors. EDIT: I guess you are puzzled. I'm thinking about how best I can answer your question. In situation 1, you wouldn't need either an itadakimasu or gouchisousamadeshita. In situation 2, I would only say itadakimasu if I had some type of rapport with the guy behind the counter or if it was a really tiny place (just a couple seats) as that feels more "homey". I would however say a gochisousamadeshita as I left though. In a restaurant eating WITH other people, the itadakimasu is said more to the people at the table than the waitresses/chefs. It is more like a "I am going to start eating now" While not really necessary to be said in a restaurant, itakimasu should ALWAYS be said when partaking of food in someone's home, anything from a full course meal to a cup of tea or even a pocky stick. It can also be used instead of a thank you, when someone offers you food. For example if someone says "would you like a pocky stick?" you could answer "itadakimasu" and you will have covered three things with one word. No need to say yes, or thank you and itadakimasu will suffice.

word for 6/4: 注意 chuui (choo-ee) This meaning "warning" and I am using this word today because there is currently a waning or chuui out about eating swordfish and marlin bceause of high mercury levels. More information here: http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/62565 These are good characters to remember if you ever come to Japan, you will see them everywhere!

Though Black cod does taste great, in Japan you will find this preparation used on a wide variety of fish including salmon, flounder/brill, spanish mackeral, etc.. For the yuzu miso, the way to make it the most intense is to add lots of grated yuzu rind.

I would also like to stress this last part of what Hiroyuki said. when someone else pays for your meal or you eat at their house a gochisousamadeshita is a requirement, this is said instead of arigatou (Thank you). Think of it as a special way to say thank you for food! When I eat with my in-laws, we will say it either at the table or as we are leaving the restaurant, we then say it again either as we leave their house or make the final separation for the evening, even if it is sometime later.

That is interesting I have never head that before....

When eating a meal in someone's house or in a small restaurant you should also finish the meal with gouchisosamadeshita. From Daily Nihongo: word for 4/27: ごちそうさまでした gochisousamadeshita (pronounced just like it looks) This means "It was a feast" or simply is thanks for the meal. This should be said after every meal, to show thanks for the meal just eaten. As with itadakimasu this is said in group unison at school when everyone has finished. This can be said to the person who prepared the meal (at a home or in a restaurant) to the person who paid for the meal, if you had been treated, and to no one in general as sort of an announcement that you have finshed eating. It is often shortened to gochisosama in more informal instances. Oishii is often seen as the feminine way to say deliciouswhile umai is the more slang masculine way, and while you will tend to hear more men say oishii than women say umai, they are used by both sexes.

The place of origin should be posted somewhere, either on the package or on the little sgn at the store that shows the price and other information. If you buy them from my co-op catalogue they even have pictures of the farmer who grew them!

Alex, I have had the same problems with the mealy apples and it really gets frutrating because I am a crispy apple person. I just recently bought these wonderful fuji apples from my co-op, they were smaller than the typical Japanese apple and said on the package they to be eaten skin and all out of hand. I found that interesting in a country where everyone peels their apples and then slices them before eating. There were damn good apples though, unfortunately I was only able to purchase two bags before they disappeared.

A little bit on apples from the Daily Nihongo thread ふじりんご fuji ringo (foo-jee-rhingo) Fuji apple This is considered the King of apples in Japan and sales account fot 51% of the apple market. Available most of teh year the Fuji is a cross between a Kokkou and Delicious apples. The Fuji: http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...ple/fuji.h2.jpg つがる tsugaru The tsugaru apple, a cross between the golden delicious and kougyoku apples, entered the markets in the mid 70's and is currently the #2 apple in the country. It is an early season apple appearing in late August and continuing through winter. This is my favorite. biggrin.gif tsugaru apple http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...pple/apple4.jpg 紅玉　こうぎょく kougyoku (koe-gyo-koo) One of the first apples in Japan, this came from New York and is excellent for eating out of hand as well as for cooking. kougyoku: http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...pple/apple6.jpg 世界一　　せかいいち sekaiichi (say-kye-ee-chee) Sekai means world and ichi means one or first, so these apples are called "best in the world". Aomori-ken (prefecture) is famous for these apples that are a cross between delicious and golden delicious. On the market since the mid 70's these are some of teh biggest apples around, they average at about 400-600 grams (about 1 lb) but can be as big as 1 kg (over 2lbs)! http://images.egullet.com/u6134/i3091.jpg ジョナゴールド jyonagoorudo (jyo-nah-goh-rhue-doe) Joni-Gold This apple, a cross between the golden delicious and the kougyoku, appeared on the markets in the early 70's. picture: http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...pple/apple8.jpg 王林　　おうりん ourin (oh-rheen) If you see a green apple in Japan it is probably this. The ourin has been in Japan for close to 50 years and despite its resemblance to the the Granny Smith apple it is not tart at all. ourin: http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...ple/apple10.jpg 千秋 senshuu (sen-shoe) This is a great eating apple from Akita prefecture, with a nice balance of sweet and tart. It can be hard to find though. picture: http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...pple/apple5.jpg 北斗　　ほくと hokuto (hoe-koo-toe) This is a larger than average sized apple from Aomori prefecture, it was created in the early 80's as the cross of a Fuji. http://image.www.rakuten.co.jp/syokutaku/img1053812209.jpeg むつ mutsu (moo-tsu) These are some of the oldest apples in Japan and are mostly from Aomori prefecture. They come in two colors red and yellow and they are very noticable in the stores because there are no other colors really like them. The red is actually more of a pink and the yellow is really yellow. The picture I found doesn't really show them at their best colors sad.gif : http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...pple/apple9.jpg NOTE* don't try to impress someone while speaking by adding the honorable "o" to the beginning of this word, because then you will be talking about diapers.....omutsu biggrin.gif クラブりんご kuraburingo (koo-rah-boo-rheen-goh) crabapples, there are a couple different types in Japan we will look at them over the next couple days. ヒメりんご This crabapple is rarely seen in stores, its most popular use is more making ringo-ame (apple-candy) or candied apples. These are popular during festivals when they are sold from stands: Here is a great picture of both the stand and the candied apple: http://enenen-web.hp.infoseek.co.jp/eat0ringo.htm アルプス乙女 arupusu otome (ah-rhue-pooh-sue-oh-toe-may) This is the most popular crabapple for eating out of hand, these ping pong ball sized apples start appearing on supermarket shelves around October. http://www.tsuji.ac.jp/hp/zai/gif/arupu.gif

6/2: two more popular types of kajiki: クロカワ　（黒皮）　or クロカジキ kurokawa or kurokajiki kurokawa actually means black skinned and in English this fish is often called blue marlin. This has a whitish flesh and makes great sashimi. A popular fish for sport fishing. シロカワ　（白皮）　or 　シロカジキ　 shirokawa or shirokajiki This means white skinned, though in English it is referred to as black marlin.... This is the biggest of the marlins and has a semi-fatty reddish flesh and is very popular as miso-zuke (marinated in miso). miso-zuke shirokawa: http://www.yajirushi.co.jp/misokasu.html

I'll be Costco cookin'..... Kristin in Yokohama, Japan

Smallworld, I am so with you on this one!

maybe this can help: http://web-japan.org/trends/feature/fea040415.html

the Hokkaido foods thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=19824&st=0

July? Definitely Hokkaido.... the weather is better, the scenery is better, the seafood is better.... if I was going to Kansai, I would pass right by Nagoya, Osaka and Kyoto and go straight to Nara.....

WOW! That is what I was looking for!! Thank you

6/1: Let's talk about those kajiki now! In Japan it can be confusing to buy and cook kajiki because many stores and recipes don't specify which kind and the tastes and textures can be different. To confuse matters even more, they are often referred to as kajiki-maguro even though they are not related to the tuna. The 3 most popular types in Japan are マカジキ makajiki known in English as the blue marlin, striped marlin, billfish and a couple other names, this has a reddish pink flesh. It 's shun (season) in Japan is during the winter, though imports make it available all year round. メカジキ　　mekajiki Known in English as the broadbill swordfish this has light pink to almost white flesh. Similar to the makajiki the best season is winter, but again imports keep the stores stocked all year round. This is a huge fish growing up to over 4 meters, almost twice the size of the makajiki. バショウカジキ bashou kajiki This is called the Pacific sailfish or banana sailfish in English. With its distinctive large, colorful, sail-like dorsal fin, its ability to make impressive leaps out of the water, and its amazing speed, it one of the most recognized member of the billfish and it is also highly sought after during recreational fishing. pictures of all three: http://rgmjapan.tripod.com/SUSHIGALLERY03.html