torakris

word for 5/1: ゴールデンウィーク goorudenuiiku (goh-rhue-den-wee-koo) Golden Week This is a close to week long holiday that starts on April 29 (Green Day) and runs through May 5 (Boy's Day), here is some more information from Japan-guide.com: * April 29 Green Day (Midori no hi): April 29 used to be the birthday of Emperor Showa who died in the year 1989. After his death, the day was changed into a national holiday for environment and nature since the emperor loved nature. * May 3 Constitution Day (Kenpo kinenbi): On this day in 1947, the new post war constitution was put into effect. * May 4 "Between Day" (Kokumin no kyujitsu): A recently introduced, national holiday to make the Golden Week a continuous holiday. * May 5 Children's Day (Kodomo no hi): The Boy's Festival (Tango no Sekku) is celebrated on this day. Families pray for the health and future success of their sons by hanging up carp streamers and displaying samurai dolls, both symbolizing strength, power and success in life. The Girl's Festival, by the way, is celebrated on March 3. Curious as to waht the Japanese do during their Golden Week? Here is a survey: http://www.japan-guide.com/topic/0005.html

Many sushi places do make their own "sauces" just like danjou described, hereis a recipe for one: http://www.keepcookin.com/recipes/chefs/kumma/kumma01.html scroll to the bottom of the page

Is this a commentary on modern Japanese society? I'll only speculate on which one has anything to do with eating. I don't know what to say. I'd like a moderator or someone appropriate to delete any offensive remarks I have made. I don't think there is anything offensive here, it is just a good example of how the meaning can change by shortening or lengthening the stress on the vowel. I have really noticed that this is one problem that foreigners (myself included) seem to have the most problems.....

I have noticed that, too. I'm going to learn more about them to give all of you some useful information. I have been studying tofu a lot in preparation for the eGCI cooking class on tofu and other soy products. The main difference between yose-dofu and regular tofu is that yosedofu does not use a mold, the technique for making them is basically the same, yose-dofu is just eaten at an earlier stage in the process. This tofu is sometimes also referred to as oboro-dofu, but sometimes you will see them listed as two different types. In general neither of these uses a mold. Yose-dofu is the one that is becoming very popular to make now at home, all you need to do is mix the nigari with soy milk and pop it into the microwave. zaru-dofu, on the other hand, is this same kind of tofu that is then scooped into a zaru (a basket like colander) an left to drain naturally. If it comes in a basket it is zaru-dofu. The eGCI class will focus on the process of making tofu from the dried bean stage as well as recipes for all of the by products including soy milk, okara, yuba, etc and then descriptions of the vrious types of tofu along with recipes for all.

I forgot yesterday was a national holiday and I didn't teach you about it!! So the word for 4/30 is: 緑の日 みどりの日 midori no hi (me-doe-rhee noh hee) Midori means green and thus this often translated as Green or Greenery Day and it occurs on April 29. Until 1988 it was observed as Emperor Showa's birthday. The name was chosen to commemorate Emperor Showa who was an expert in the fields of biology and botany and was interested in preserving the environment.

Here is a picture of one type of bibimba no moto: https://www.websuite.ne.jp/aquarius/ec/youk...04&GOODS_NO=251 it looks like a mix of kochujang, sesame oil and sesame seeds.... I also saw quite a few references to a retort pack type of bibimba no moto but unfortunately couldn't find any pictures. In either case I think it would taste a hundred times better if you just made your own!

It is quite a common to see salmon sashimi in Japan now, though it is a newer face in the world of sushi. Most of what you will see is king salmon though, the more common Japanese sake (salmon) is not commonly used for sashimi and is normally sold salted and meant to be cooked.

if you wait just a little bit longer there is going to be a soy product and tofu making class coming up very soon in the eGCI.....

here is some information on moxibustion in English: http://www.findarticles.com/g2603/0005/260...icle.jhtml?cf=0

smallworld you might know this better as moxibustion

word for4/29: さば照焼 saba teriyaki (sah-bah tay-rhee-yah-key) This is another saba in a can product, and like the name says it is in a teriyaki sauce. Looks like this here are some pictures of some more saba in a can products: http://www.nichiro.co.jp/products/prod01-05.html

That sounds probably like it was nigari used. Was the tofu eaten straight from the pot immediately or was it placed in bamboo like strainers?

I like the fuwatoro on in the reddish box.

This is one of my favorite types as well. If you don't like natto on your first try, don't give up! It took me a couple of years to learn to love the stuff! My favorite way of eating it is with steaming hot white rice, mix the natto with scallions, soy, karashi (mustard), katsuo-bushi and an egg yolk. Though I love natto like this I can't stand it in soups, deep fried dishes, fried rice, etc.....

funny, at one time all I would eat was rosu-katsu, now I am definitely a hire-katsu person!!

word for 4/28: さばの水煮 saba no mizuni (sah-bah noh me-zoo-knee) This is one type of canned saba, mizuni simply means water boiled/simmered and this is cooked saba canned in water with just salt. Hiroyuki gives a recipe for majo no furikake (a topping for rice) using saba no mizuni at the end of the furikake thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=16722&st=0 looks like this

Tuessday dinner for 5 kids and no husband: fried rice shumai salted edamame ice cream for dessert

I agree with Hiroyuki, eki-ben can sometimes be ridicilously overpriced (often 2 to 4 times the price of a convenience store bento) and while sometimes they are quite good, they do tend to be heavily salted, even to my taste and I like heavily seasoned foods. I rarely ride trains, but you can now find eki-ben often at special displays in the depachika (department store basements).....

Salted seaweed needs to be washed well and then soaked to rid it of the excess salt. Wash it well under running water sort of rubbing it together, then soak it in water for 15 to 20 minutes. Taste it to see if it is too salty, occasionally it might need to be rubbed under the water a liittle more. It is now ready to be used, it can be added to soups, made into salds, it is even good in quick stirfries. I love seaweeds salads, I mix a couple of varieties of seawed together and then dress it with a simple "wafu" (Japanese style dressing) made with oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar and embellished with what ever I am feeling like at the moment. Maybe a couple drops of sesame oil and some freshyly toasted and crushed sesame seeds, of some smashed up umeboshi (pickled plums), or maybe with a lot of shredded shiso and maybe some myoga or ginger as well.

Smallworld gave great directions! It would really depend on where in Tokyo you are located, the Minami-machi location will be about 35 minutes on an express train from Shibuya (straight down the Denentoshi line).... I second the use of hyperdia.com, I use it every time I ride the trains!!

I was under the impression that this thread would be a place where people could just ask a question that wasn't pertaining to any thread. For example if someone had lunch at a Japanese friend's house and was served a dish with myoga in it and maybe the Japanese friend couldn't explain what they was then they could come to this thread and ask, "what is myoga?". It is a kind of question that doesn't really need a whole thread about it and the person may not be able to find a relevant in the Japan Forum pages, it would just need a simple answer and then would be over. For answering questions about things like pronunciations or other things that appear already in an existing thread I feel it is better to answer in that thread, most people will not think to look over here for the answer and it could be a lot of work, and quite confusing to readers if we just start pulling various words out of threads on a daily basis and listing them here. Just my opinion.....

word for 4/27: 鯖のへしこ saba no heshiko This is a speciality of Fukui Prefecture and is saba that has been "pickled" in salt and rice bran often for a year or two. It can be eaten sashimi style, or as a topping with pressed sushi, with ochazuke or any way you feel like if you can get used to the taste..... More about it with a picture of the whole fish: http://www.kansai.gr.jp/culture/syoku/umiy.../fukui01_e.html some nice close-ups of the sashimi slices: http://www.rakuten.co.jp/tamuraya/565601/648096/ scroll down just a bit for better pictures

here is a really nice okonomiyaki paget hat I just recently discovered: http://www.eat-japan.com/food/recipe/volume9.html

Yellow truffle, Glad you enjoyed it! Sounds better than the very simple on I made on Sunday night..... Just one question, do you mean monjya-yaki (when you say manja)?

Kazuo, welcome to egullet and the Japan Forum! and an extremely informative post to boot!! Hope to hear more.