torakris

Sanuki udon, originally from Kagawa prefecture, is rising in popularity all over Japan, here is a little history of the noodles, the rise of the current "boom" and possible plans of the chainstore Hanamaru on expanding to New York: http://www.jinjapan.org/trends/society/soc040116.html

Saturday dinner: zucchini frittata fresh sardine filets sauteed in EVOO and drizzled with lemon juice avocado salad Japanese rice

I made the kids happy last night: meatloaf mashed potatoes sauteed zucchini, red peppers, onions Costco apple pie for dessert

Ｉ　ｌｏｖｅｄ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｃｌａｓｓ！ I can't wait to try some of them especially the last one with the chicken livers. One quick question, is a dessert spoon equal to 2 teaspoons? (I think I remember reading that somewhere....)

word for 3/13: 大トロ ootoro (oh-toe-rhoe) Probably the most prized of all the cuts of fish for sushi and it comes from the lower belly of te tuna. Ootoro can further be classified into two types: shimofuri, which translates as "falling frost", this refers to ootoro that has the fat evenly distributed throughout, like this: http://aikij.com/tuna/fresh/ootoro-haramo.htm dandara is the type of ootoro that has strips of fat running through the cut, like this: http://aikij.com/tuna/fresh/ootoro.htm

Thanks for the offer, I should be fine with everything else until my trip back to the US in July. The Kosher salt was the the most difficult thing to live without, I spent the past month scouring every International market in Tokyo and Yokohama!

but kris - what was for dessert? It was supposed to be Costco apple pie, but the kids all fell asleep, so I am saving it for tonight.

Thursday dinner: two kinds of pizza from Costco.

I FOUND KOSHER SALT IN JAPAN!!! On my trip to the Tamasakai branch (Tokyo) of Costco yetserday I found it on the shelves for the first time. I actually had tears in my eyes when I saw it and my Japanese friends couldn't understand why. I have been out of Kosher salt for 1 whole month now and two weeks ago when my mom asked if I wanted her to bring anything for me when she and my dad come to visit later this month, I said the only thing I wanted was kosher salt.....

word for 3/12: トロ　　とろ toro (toe-rhoe) The cut of tuna referred to as toro is the cut from the belly of the fish and this is further divided into two types the ootoro and the chuutoro. Toro is the Japanese word for "melt" and that is exactly what happens to the flesh when it hits your tongue. Though this is the most prized part of the tuna today it hasn't always been this way, it is only in the past 80 years that this fatty cut has risen in popularity in Japan. Saturday and Sunday we will discuss the ootro and chuutoro in more detail. otanoshimi.... (I am looking forward to it)

Oh my God, these are some of the most wonderful things on earth!!! A friend's husband brought them back from a business trip to Amsterdam and she gave me a box. I cried as I ate the last one thinking I would never find them again, but lo and behold an International supermarket in Tokyo has a nice supply on their shelves and they make their way into my cart everytime.

I was quite surprised, in a dissapointed way, by this article. From the title I was expecting to read about some incredible finds in Tokyo at really low prices. She was basically discussing lunches and $25 for lunch here is damn expensive! She must have spent the rest of her trip in Japan eating at restaurants in hotels to make these prices she quoted seem cheap. She should have ventured a little deeper into Tokyo and then she would have really found great food at incredible prices. The average lunch price here is about $10 but I have eaten some great food for half that. If I had to fork out $25 a day for lunch, I'd be living on the street......

word for 3/11: we have covered the main tuna varieties eaten in Japan, now let's talk about the cuts and some of the ways to eat them. 赤身 akami The akami is the deep red cut of tuna that has almost no fat. the characters for this consist of 赤　(aka) which means red and 身 (mi) which refers to body but in the case of animals I think of it more as flesh. So we can call it the red flesh of the tuna. Half of a tuna's body will consist of this akami and thus it is probably the most commonly eaten sushi on the planet! In this picture, the deep red sashimi is the tuna akami (this was my breakfast for New Year's Day )

well it is just like it sounds, in this case I marinated the chicken thighs in a little soy and sake (while preparing the other ingredients) and then cut the nagaimo into chunks and soaked them in a little acidulated water. The simmering sauce was a dashi, soy and mirin, brought to a simmer and then kept warm. I then deep fried the nagaimo first until they just barely colored and then set aside, then the chicken (coated with a little potato starch) at a higher temp until they were nice and golden, I then added both of them to the sauce, brought it back to a simmer and then let them gently simmer for just a couple minutes.

Tuesday dinner: chicken thigh and nagaimo (mountain yam) age-ni (age-ni is a technique commonly used in Japan where the foods are first deep fried and then simmered) green beans goma-ae (sesame dressing) matsumaezuke (this is one of my husband's favorite foods and I make a damn good version) this is made with thinly sliced konbu (kelp), kazunoko (herring roe), dried squid (my version uses fresh sashimi style squid), and carrots shibazuke a deep pink pickled vegetables mostly eggplant and cucumbers, this was a bought product Japanese rice

lots of croutons and anchovies in both the dressing and in the salad itself.....

In the US I often found it in Japanese markets where it is called renkon, besides being in the fresh form, it was also sold sliced and waterpacked and sometimes frozen.

word for 3/10: ビンチョウマグロ　（びんちょうまぐろ）　binchou maguro (bean-cho) ビンナガマグロ　　 binnaga maguro (bean-nah-gah) トンボマグロ　　（とんぼあぐろ） tonbo maguro (tone-boe) These are all ways to refer to the Albacore or white tuna. In Japan (like the rest of the world) it is most commonly found in cans, though recently it has seen some popularity in the sushi /sashimi market. Its very soft texture makes it diffilcult to cut and the mild flavor of it's light pink flesh will most likely prevent it from being a star at the sushi bars.

Newest addition to the McDonald's menu, the fish McDippers, sort of like fish nuggets with a choice of tartar sauce or sweet chile sauce: http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/sales/promotion_new_h_f.html

Monday dinner: a potato and sauteed chicken thigh casserole with a quickly made tomato sauce , topped with mozzarella and baked sauteed spinach and red peppers baguette and butter

word for 3/9: 目鉢マグロ　　or メバチマグロ　　or めばちまぐろ mebachi maguro (may-bah-chee-mah-goo-rhoe) Big eye tuna This is the one that is currently in season and about 80% of the tuna at the supermarkets right now is mebachi.

I gagged on both natto and uni the first couple times too, now I can't live with out them... Somethings really do grow on you. I find kauzunoko quite bland alone but I love that pop-py crunch that it has, it is really great in matsumae-zuke.

Sometimes I feel like I am eating on a different planet from everyone else... Daughter Mia (age 8) insisted that I make her favorite meal since I spent the day shopping with daughter Julia (age 6) buying new clothes and other essentials for her start at elemantary school, the new school year starts April 1st. black bean and ground beef burritos with cheddar cheese, salsa, guacamole, lettuce and hot sauce I was going to make a chocolate pudding cake for dessert, but I discovered my children had eaten all of my (fairly expensive) bittersweet chocolate.

I love kabocha and it is the only squash I buy, Ok it is actually the only squash you can really find in Japan so I don't have much of a choice. But it is a great squash. It tends to be drier than other squashes and doesn't take as well to the cut in half and roast in the oven treatment that I like to do with acorn squashes, it is great in soups and cut up in chunks and roasted. Like Paula said it goes great with couscous after being roasted, I have two favorite recipes for this (both from Donna Hay) and one also includes green beans and a minty yogurt dressing, the other is with snow peas and a harisssa based dressing. Kabocha is also great on the BBQ, thinly slice it and rub with salt, pepper and EVOO and grill until tender, I do a similar version indoor with a griddle pan and top it with some ponzu (or a mix of some soy and some citrus). And of course the most common preparation for it in Japan, the dish of simmered kabocha: http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r339.html

word for 3/8: キハダマグロ kihada maguro (key-hah-dah-mah-goo-rhoe) Yellow fin tuna, this also commonly referred to as ahi which is the Hawaiian name.