torakris

word for 2/20: there is another kind of saba available in Japan ノルウェーサバ noruuee saba (noh-rhue-whe-eh sah-bah) Translated directly this Norway saba, so saba from Norway, it is called this even when it isn't specifically from Norway just anywhere in the vicinity.... It is occasionally referred to as タイセイヨウマサバ taiseiyou masaba, or Atlantic saba. Importation started over 10 years ago and has increased every year, except for a couple times a year most of the saba in the stores will be Norway saba. Norway saba is easily noticable because of the dark lines on the upper part of the body. For pictures of the three types of saba look here: http://www.zukan-bouz.com/saba/saba.html masaba Norway saba goma saba

lunch BBQ leftovers grilled samna (saury pike Korean style BBQ'd beef with lettuce leaves tomato salad shibazuke pickles Japanese rice and brown rice mixed with 5 grain mix

There are two varieties of saba caught in Japanese waters words for 4/19: マサバ masaba (mah-sah-bah) this is the fattier of the two and is caught in the colder waters of the North, in some parts of Japan it is referred to as hirasaba. ゴマサバ gomasaba (goh-mah-sah-bah) You may remeber from a previous lesson that goma refers to sesame seeds, this is called goma saba because of the the black sesame seed like dots that cover its belly. Goma saba is found in the warmer waters of the South and is milder and less fatty, if you see mackeral sushi fresh, not of the vinegared or salted type) it will most likely be this variety. In some parts of Japan this fish is called marusaba, maru meaing round, because it is rounder in shape than the masaba.

I guess the amount of rice served depends on the area? The lunch my children eat is what is served at every public elementary school in the city of Yokohama. The menu is decided by nutrionists for the city and all the schools serve the same food. When my husband when to school in Tokyo in the mid '70's he said it was almost entirely bread, the only time rice was served was when they had curry rice. Your school is decided by the district you live in, it is almost impossible (at least in my area) to get into a different public school. One thing I really like about Japan is you don't really have the "good" neighborhoods and "bad" neighborhoods like you see in the US. Here it is actually quite common to see a $3 million house standing right next to a very old apartment building though most tends to be quite middle class. Many of the richer kids will go into private schools which despite their incredibly high tuition serves no hot lunches, almost all private schools are bentos daily.

No, no. The school lunch at my son's school costs 254 yen per meal. As for Torakris's child, it is 220 yen, according to Torakris's previous post. sorry I should also have mentioned that we pay the same amount every month regardless of how many lunches are eaten that month, so the $34 is probably the average taken from over the year. They did tell us the exact amount per lunch but I have forgotten, I will find out again when I go to sample the lunch next month, because the mothers have to pay for the food the day that we eat it.

I have to admit like Hiroyuki I prefer the taste of white rice. I have also avoided brown rice up until recently because I just couldn't afford it, it was quite a bit more expensive than the cheap white rice I have normally bought. Though I do have some now I rarely use it just by itself, I normally mix it with white rice and maybe som other grains. It is starting to be more popular here, but I don't know anyone who eats it large amounts of it, except for one American friend of mine (who eats it exclusively) but she also still insists on margarine over butter....

especially preparing a Japanese bento..... This is really a great help to mothers and my kids love the food. My super picky oldest daughter has also learned to love natto, she still won't eat it at home but she eats all of it at school.

Hiroyuki, Looking back at your menu I noticed that you have rice almost everyday, is this the average? At our school is set up to have bread 3 times a week and rice only twice. Most of the rice is either haiga gohan (rice with the germ still attached) or mugi gohan (barley rice), this month they have only one day of "white" rice and then one day with bamboo shoot (takenoko) rice.

HHmmmm... I am not sure about if there is government funding or not. I pay 3700yen ($34) per child a month and I am not sure if that is all food costs or aloso goes to pay the 4 women responsible for making all the food. Our food is all made in house for just under 1000 kids.

from what I know the katakana liver (rebaa) refers to shokuyou (食用） or the kind of liver that is eaten. When you are just referring to the organ itself, more in medical terms it is kanzou (肝臓). If you asked for that in a supermarket or restaurant though they might give you a very strange look.....

In a completely unrelated search I found a complete English translation of the paper that was posted above by Hiroyuki: http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/wp/other/councils/mercury/

liver....

here are some pictures of various types of kujira (whale) dishes: http://www.suigeitei.co.jp/kujiraryouri-right.html click on the picture for it to enlarge

a picture of shiro (white) liver sashimi (left): http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g621500/menu1.htm

here is a picture of liver sashimi (left) http://www.media-cafe.com/owner/royal/royal.html This is th type of liver sashimi I was referring to, but if you go to a yakitori shop you can get shiro rebaa sashimi 白レバー刺身　which are raw chicken livers. I have yet to taste these, the taste is described as similar to foie gras.

Saturday dinner beef cheeks slowly brasied with onions and red wine then simmered with black beans tomatoes with Mexican oregano, ancho chile powder and a couple other spices corn bread with whole corn added roasted cauliflower

the recent talk on instant ochazuke, made me crave it... So yesterday for lunch ochazuke with nowazana (type of green) ochazuke no moto (flavor packet) with some shibazuke pickles and wasabi

word for 4/18: サバ　　鯖 saba mackeral

forgot to add it is also available at many supermarkets, look for liver already sliced and marked as sashimi-you 刺身用.

レバー刺身　rebaa sashimi　or レバーさし rebaa sashi can be found at almost any yakiniku restaurant and many izakayas. It is made with beef liver and served with a special dipping sauce, it is incredible!!

Here is a little bit more about the warning Hiroyuki posted to but in English: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/EF28Dh03.html Most of the fish mentioned with the highest levels, whales and sharks aren't fish that the Japanese partake of that often. The two more common fish mentioned, the mekajiki (type of swordfish) and kinmedai (large eyed type of sea bream) are recommended to eat less than 2 times a week. Of course this is very recent information. I have had 3 pregnancies in Japan and the only things they warn us about is alcohol, cigarettes, lowering your sugar and sweets intake and trying to eat more lean meats. I have never been told to avoid anything else.This was a good thing as I craved raw foods during all my pregnancies and lived on sushi, yuke (raw beef), and liver sashimi.... I think the warning in the US, is just that, a warning to be careful, improperly stored, handled or prepared fish can make you sick and served in the raw state you are even more susceptible. I would have no qualms about eating siushi in the US as long as Iw as sure of the freshness of the fish.

not all places have those options, it depends on where you live. Currently in Yokohama no jr. high schools offer hot lunches they are all bring your own bento, hopefully this will change by the time my daughter hits jr.high in 4 years!

My kids in Yokohama are also starting off the year with some of the kids favorite foods it seems: hamburger patty (with liver added) with a tomato sauce and bun, german potatoes, jellied fruit dessert, milk raisin roll, panko'd deep fried salmon, Chinese style salad with harusame noodles, cabbage, cucumbers, and carrots, peach compote, milk spaghetti with meat sauce, rolls, corn salad (with cabbage and cucumbers), milk pork curry, barley rice, kiriboshi (dried) daikon and cucumber salad, milk chilli con carne (with soy beans and macaroni), shokupan (white bread), cabbage salad and fruit with yogurt, milk

on the bento thread Hiroyuki posted his son's elementary school lunch from a school in Niigata prefecture: This is a quick translation. I don't know how to say some of the foods, dishes, and types of cooking in English. *** This week's menu at my son's school (April 12 to 16): Mon: Fruit cocktail, boiled spring cabbage with sesame seeds, pork curry and rice with fukujin zuke, milk Tues: "Entrance congratulations" school lunch Potato salad, chicken kara-age, eggdrop soup, azuki bean rice with sesame and salt, milk Weds: Kirizai (natto with nozawana finely chopped, katsuo bushi, sesame seeds, and other ingredients), sawara (Japanese spanish mackerel) grilled with salt, tofu dumpling soup, white rice, grapefruit juice Thurs: Namuru (?, Korean dish), Sasakama (type of fish sausage) no isobe-age, "self onigiri" (white rice mixed with yukari (akajizo) to be made into a rice ball by each pupil) with nori, soybean isoni (what's that? (磯煮)), milk Fri: Daikon salad, cup meat pie (what's that?), banana, bread with strawberry jam, eye-of-scallop soup, milk *** The school lunch costs 254 yen per day.

I was going through some old Japanese cooking magazines last night and ran across some very Japanese pastas mizuna a type of green) and aburage (deep fried tofu pockets) seasoned with konbu (kelp) and yuzu (a type of citrus) and of course EVOO a dish called ochazuke spaghetti made with spaghetti and various tsukemono (pickles) as well as bancha (type of tea) and arare (puffed rice pellets-- a common topping for ochazuke) and of course the EVOO