torakris

You think that is bad? You should see the mark up on American stuff in Japan!

I guess those are the ones that flopped.....

I really wanted to do a class on tofu because it is really an incredible food and it is amazing how many times I hear "eeewww tofu...". There are thousands of ways to prepare it and I really want people to give it a try I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

I just ran across this: http://www.kikkoman.co.jp/products/lineup/41018.html It is a spread for toast that tastes like apple pie.....

I just ran across this: http://www.sbfoods.co.jp/products/newprd/s...402/07761_L.jpg perfect for the person who has a phobia of eating foods that are not perfctly round......

Today, I found them selling for 168 yen each, including 5% consumption tax, at a local supermarket. That seems to be the average price in my area too. Occasionally I have seen them on sale for about 118 to 148 yen.

I haven't even noticed that flavor, I will pay attention next time I go to the store. Pocky G is still my favorite too.

word for 5/28: 開き hiraki (he-rah-key) The word hiraki comes from the verb hiraku which means to open. This is a popular style of himono (hoshimono) or semi-dried fish. The fish is opened up flat and then dried. Kamasu no hiraki is a very popular way of eating teh smaller kamasu. kamasu no hiraki: http://www.koshiki.jp/tokusan/kamasu-hiraki.html

I little while ago I went to a wonderful Japanese style oganic/natural foods buffet restaurant with some friends, one of my favorite dishes was a poato salad they made with mayo and umeboshi. I tried recreating this at home the other night and it turned out quite well, I used kewpie mayo instead of making my own (wasn't sure of the quality of my eggs) and a couple umeboshi smashed to a paste. The restaurant had added shiso as well, but I new that doing that would mean that none of my children would touch it. Next time I am going to make the mayo form scratch and add some chopped up karikari ume as well as I am pretty sure the restaurant version had these.

Because of the ridiculously high price of 100% ground beef in Japan, I often BBQ hamburgers that are a pork and beef mix. It isn't bad and makes a decent burger but personally I prefer the taste of 100% beef. I also like to eat my burger very rare and I am not comfortable doing that with ground pork. EDIT: A mix of meats make an incrdible meatloaf though, way better than one with beef only.....

word for 5/27: カマス　　かます kamasu (kah-mah-sue) There are two types of kamasu in Japan: アカカマス aka-kamasu, aka means red and this fish has a red tinge to it, known as red barracuda in English it can be found from Tokyo Bay and south, it tastes best in early winter an averages about 50cm in length. ヤマトカマス yamato-kamasu, known as Japanese barracuda in English is smaller than the aka-kamasu at only about 30 cm. It is fished off the coast of Southern Japan and is in season from summer to early fall. both fish (aka-kamasu on top, yamato-kamasu under it): http://www.zukan-bouz.com/suzuki/boramoku/...mage/hikaku.jpg

Japan Duty Free homepage: http://www.japan-dutyfree.com/x010.asp?BLD...=300&NM=&PAGE=1 sorry only in Japanese, seems to only list western style liquors, I am not sure if this is their entire selection of what is available in the stores though....

word for 5/26: メダイ medai (may-die) The fish is related to the ebodai and it is also referred to as butterfish in English (same as ebodai), but I have also found it called raftfish or medusafish. The medai is found off the coast of central and southern Japan and is at its best during the fall and winter months. This fish can grow to over 1 meter long and is a popular fish to be caught during recreational fishing. Like the ebodai it is very versatile and can be eaten as sashimi, shio-yaki, teriyaki or simmered. medai: http://www.zukan-bouz.com/suzuki/ibodai/me...image/medai.jpg

Is that an American date or a Japanese date? On Japanese labels the year often comes first, so that could be April 3, 2004..... like Hiroyuki said if it doesn't taste bad and there is no mold, it should be fine. I have had miso go off on me with out molding, it just had a very off taste to it. In that case I would definitely dump it.

yes, they are all Japanese pronunciations of English terms, some of them are actually words that English speakers use, like ice cream, but sometimes they are English words that the Japanese just give new meanings to. Do we have ice milk and lacto ice products in the US?

there are a lot of differing opinions on this and I think it also depends on the type of miso. Every tub/bag of miso I have ever bought in Japan has an expiration date on it, normally anywhere from about 3 months to a year.

I have to admit it took me a very loooong time to realize there were different types of ice cream here in Japan. I had always assumed that all ice cream was created equal..... I have been buying the lacto ice almost exclusively since I have been here because it is way cheaper than the premium ice creams. I normally buy what ever is in the biggest tub and the cheapest price, I rarely go for brand. I normally get vanilla since that is normally what is available in the largest size. The lack of variety and the high price of ice cream (and ice milk and lacto ice) prevents me from buying ice cream here as much as I would like too. Ice cream is one of the things I look foward to the most on my trips back to the US!

from the Daily Nihongo thread: we are going to leave the adjectives alone for a moment and talk about hamburgers, two new threads today got me thinking about this. So for 5/14 we will discuss the difference between ハンバーグ　hambaagu (hahm-bah-goo) ハンバーガー hambaagaa (hahm-baah-gaah) hambaagu is a hamburger patty usually made with onions, bread crumbs, eggs, liguids, etc it is served steak style with no bun. At most restaurants in Japan this will be the only hamburger on the menu. You usually have a choice of a multitude of sauces to top it with. hambaagaa is a good old hamburger with a bun, in Japan these are usually only available at fast food restarants. Not even Denny's or Big Boy offer them (though they are available at places like Hard Rock cafe and Friday's). So when you are trying to order a hamburger pay special attention to that last syllable or you could find yourself with the wrong dish!

There is a discussion of Fran and another Pocky like snack around here somewhere.... I have to admit to not caring Fran as much.....

The newest Pocky: http://www.glico.co.jp/pocky/lineup/index.htm crushed strawberry, cocnut milk, and orange-chocolate I tried the orange-chocolate the other day and it was quite good!

I think I am figuring this out! At this website: http://www.jfb-inc.jp/karamenmise.htm they mention that while tsukemen in Tokyo tends to be cold noodles with hot broth, the Hiroshima style tsukemen is cold noodles and cold broth. The hot broth ones I am assuming then are the Tokyo style and the thicker more sauce like ones are Hiroshima style, these are the ones I am more familiar with for some reason. I think it s the Hiroshima style ones that pop up here in the summer especially on lunch menus geared towards women , I have to admit that I have only been in 3 ramen shops in 14 years in Japan! and Yoshinoya once!

I often stuff medium sized squid with a mixture of Chinese greens, chiles, black beans, ginger,etc, then steam them in a bamboo steamer for 7 to 8 minutes and they come out wonderfully tender.... When doing it Japanese style I usually braise them for more like 40 minutes....

5/25: Ebodai are a really versatile fish can be used in almost any preparation. You will see them as sashimi, sauteed and deep fried, but they seem to be most common in the semi-dried form: http://www.zukan-bouz.com/suzuki/ibodai/ib...age/ibodaid.jpg or simmered: http://www.zukan-bouz.com/suzuki/ibodai/ib...age/ibodaic.jpg

You read it right! Sorry, I have only had tsukemen "sauce" served in small bowls and there was never anything to drink at the end and normally it was so strong tasting that it wasn't really just drinkable....

So does anyone know how you would eat the tsukemen in those pictures that have the very large bowls of soup? Just dip it like you would do from the smaller bowls? I assume you drink the soup afterwards?