torakris

Good question to which I have no idea. I know there is a lot of cod imported into the country but exactly how much of the market I have no idea. Here is an interesting chart that shows coutries that Japan imports fish/seafood from and what specific ones: http://www.jinjapan.org/nipponia/nipponia2.../feature03.html

Thanks everyone for reading the blog and thanks to Helen for helping me along! and for an update, it looks like Julia does have a very mild case of the mumps.......

actually it does taste pretty good, not what you would expect it to taste like. Here is a picture of shirako (cod sperm sacs) in one of its most common preparations, served with a ponzu type sauce and grated daikon, this is really good stuff, one you get past the texture http://www.mynet.ne.jp/yonehati/gazou/shirako.jpg

well in Japan there is fransu pan ("French bread") to mean any long thin loaf. Fransu being the Japanese pronunciation of France and pan being the word they use for bread. There is also a French dressing here but very different from what is in the US. There is also amerikan cohi (American coffee) which tastes like dirty water..... the Japanese too made up some strange words for foods, kabocha (their big squash) is named after Cambodia because that was the path it took to get to Japan and their name for poato is jagaimo. Imo is the Japanese word for most tubers and Jaga is from Jakarta.....

word for 1/6: 甘夏　あまなつ amanatsu (ah-mah-nah-tsu) This is one of the varieties of the natsu (or summer) mikan. Its name means "sweet summer" and it has a refreshing taste sweet with some sour tones. It is a very popular citrus fruit here and is available from February through June with a peak around April. amanatsu http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...its/amanat2.jpg

I will try to find some pictures of some of the foods we are talking about so everyone can appreciate them better!!! ika no shiokara (squid fermented in its own guts)

I have to admit that probably the only food in this country that I would turn down is sanma (saury pike) smeared with its bitter guts.......... I don't think I will ever aquire a taste for it, but the kama or collars now that is a completely different story. I can't get enough of those!

we may see more Japanese food in this thread than in mine! and no cofffee???? how do you live????

A new years food blog by torakris: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=34074&hl=

word for 1/5 八朔　はっさく hassaku (hah-sah-koo) Similar to an orange in appearance, this is not of the mikan family and has been in Japan for almost as long. It has a thick skin which can be difficult to peel and a sweet slightly sour flesh. Season runs February to April. hassaku http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/images/ve...ure/hassak2.jpg

A food diary of a man eating his way around Japan for 8 days, some really great pictures: http://mattw.de/japan00/

A thread in the Spain forum ( http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=34432&hl= ) made me realize just how much of the seafood/fish eaten in Japan is the stuff that is probably trashed in other countries. The Japanese hate to waste any part of the animal and fish is no exception. A trip to a supermarket in Japan will reveal the passion the Japanese have for the normally garbaged fish parts. The roe or eggs from almost any fish are considered a delicacy, they are sold still in the sacks (like tarako= cod roe, mentaiko= cod roe seasoned with chile, kazunoko, herring roe, etc) or they are sold with the eggs all separated (ikura= salmon roe, tobiko= flying fish roe, etc) or they are sold still attached to the fish ( shishamo= pregnant smelt, ko-mochi karei= flounder with egg sacs still attached). Then there are other popular dishes like shirako (cod sperm sacs) and the livers of fish like the monkfish (ankimo) and eel (unagi no kimo) that is often served skewered and grilled or in a clear soup. Crab innards (kani miso) are used as sushi toppings, added to sauces and sucked straight from the shells, other fish are fermented with their innards like the popular food shiokara, most commonly seen as squid (ika no shiokara) or bonito (katsuo no shiokara). Some fish are grilled with the innards intact and enjoyed while eating the fish, sanma (saury pike) is normally eaten this way and sometimes the innards are removed, mashed to a paste, rubbed all over the outside of the fish and then grilled. other parts of the fish enjoyed in Japan incluse the head (atama), eyeballs (medama), the skin (kawa), fins (hire) and bones (hone). Any favorites?

The Japanese hate to waste any part of the animal and fish is no exception. A trip to a supermarket in Japan will reveal the passion the Japanese have for the normally garbaged fish parts. The roe or eggs from almost any fish are considered a delicacy, they are sold still in the sacks (like tarako= cod roe, mentaiko= cod roe seasoned with chile, kazunoko, herring roe, etc) or they are sold with the eggs all separated (ikura= salmon roe, tobiko= flying fish roe, etc) or they are sold still attached to the fish ( shishamo= pregnant smelt, ko-mochi karei= flounder with egg sacs still attached). Then there are other popular dishes like shirako (cod sperm sacs) and the livers of fish like the monkfish (ankimo) and eel (unagi no kimo) that is often served skewered and grilled or in a clear soup. Crab innards (kani miso) are used as sushi toppings, added to sauces and sucked straight from the shells, other fish are fermented with their innards like the popular food shiokara, most commonly seen as squid (ika no shiokara) or bonito (katsuo no shiokara). Some fish are grilled with the innards intact and enjoyed while eating the fish, sanma (saury pike) is normally eaten this way and sometimes the innards are removed, mashed to a paste, rubbed all over the outside of the fish and then grilled. other parts of the fish enjoyed in Japan incluse the head (atama), eyeballs (medama), the skin (kawa), fins (hire) and bones (hone).

looking foward to it! Don't worry about the spelling anything will be better than what was in my blog.... I too, think faster than I type.

I found this http://www.survivaliq.com/survival/edible-...-screw-pine.htm probably the fruit of the screw pine, I have never seen (or heard of this before) looks like it is from South Asia.

I use a lot of eggs in mine, for two medium sized ones I use 2 to 3 eggs 1/3 cup flour 1/3 cup rice flour 2/3 cup ice water If you don't have rice flour, you can use all flour, these are estimates, you want it to be like a pancake batter on the thin to medium side, so adjust the amounts accordingly. I love nira (garlic chives) in it, but I don't know about their availability in the US, I also normally add soem kind of meat (usually pork) or seafood and they are good with a variety of vegetables, especially kimchee. If I make kimchee one then I just use the simple soy-vinegar dipping sauce. The one I made yesterday was thicker than I normally make because I was too lazy to make 2 and just made one big one, they are better a little bit thinner. I also cook it in sesame oil.

What about credit cards? I can't imagine the ATM's being closed for 3 days in the US. the ATM hours here are awful! Most are only open something like 8 to 5, some have extended hours to maybe 8 or 9 and it was only last year that they opened some in convenience stores (up until then they were pretty much only in bank lobbies, though you could find some in the really large stores and amusement park places). The annoying thing is the amchines aren't compatible with all teh banks, I can't just use my bank card in any machine..... I avoid the banks whenever possible because it takes forever for everything and don't even think about going to a bank on the 25th or 26 of the month, because the 25th is payday for like 90% of the country (the Japanese only get paid once a month) and everyone is in the bank either depositing the paycheck (a lot of people still get paid with an envelope filled with cash) or transfering the money to pay their bills which are all due by the end of the month. Thankfully my husband gets paid on the 10th and I can avoid the rush..... The machines closing for holidays is not unusual and since most Japnese keep incredible amounts of cash in their home it normally isn't a problem......

Since Mayhaw Man can't do it, I tag Hillvalley since they were the last one to post before I read it this morning! what do you say?

well this should be my last dinner of the blog tonight's dinner is probably the most typical of how we eat, sort of a mix of Asian dishes depending on what's in the house or was on sale at the store. This dinner cost us under $4 for 5 people. braised bean curd kabocha salad with pine nuts pa'jon (these are called chijimi in Japan) Korean scallion pancakes, these ones were made with the nira (garlic chives) and negi (Japanese leeks) leftover from making the kimchee. They are served with a dipping sauce made of soy, vinegar, sugar, sesame seeds and kochujang (Korean spicy bean paste) and the kimchee I have been trying to get a hold of Mayhaw Man for a Louisiana blog but he doesn't seem to be around, if I don't hear from him soon I may have to tag someone else.....

One restaurant that my whole family really likes is Bamiyan. This is a Chinese chain that has great prices and decent food. For the longest time they had a sweet and sour pork dish that was served with bamboo shoots and shiitake in a basalmic sauce and I was addicted to it, but it seems to have disappeared..... Bamiyan menu (Japanese only but click on any of teh lines on the left to see pictures of the food, then click on the picture to see it enlarged) http://www.skylark.co.jp/cgi-bin/menu.cgi?gyoutai=BM My other favorite is a Japanese style restaurant by the same group (Skylark) called Aiya, it is sort of like a mini kaiseki but with incredible prices and surprisingly good food. Aiya menu (same as above , click on the lines at the left) http://www.skylark.co.jp/cgi-bin/topmenu/m....cgi?gyoutai=AY

According to this informal survey http://www.japan-guide.com/topic/0109.html Family restaurants top the list for most frequently visited restaurants. The results come as no surprise to me as these kind of restaurants have something for everybody at a reasonable price. At Denny's, Royal Host, Skylark, etc you can choose from menus featuring western, Japanese, or other Asian style dishes. Other family restaurants are mosre focused dealing with one type of cuisine, noodles, Chines, yakiniku, etc. What are some of your favorite family restaurant chains and do you have any favorite dishes?

oh and I forgot to mention that for most of the early to mid 80's, I was the biggest Wham! fan They decorated my bedroom wall (along with smaller pictures of Duran Duran) and I swore one day I was going to marry Andrew Ridgeley, the other half of Wham!

John Denver and the Carpenters are what my parents used to listen to, so the songs are almost imprinted onto my brain! You should have heard me belting out Rhinestone Cowboy (Glen Campbell), another one of my dad's favorites, at karaoke a couple days ago. For some reaon I never got into Johnny Cash or Barry Manilow....... I also went through Pink Floyd phases, Eagles phases, Heavy metal like Anthrax and Slayer phases and Beach Boy phases, these were all in the mid to late 80's and had a lot to do with my current male interest.... I am still hooked on the Eagles though....

words for 1/3 and 1/4 橙　だいだい daidai (die-die) 葉付きみかん happa tsuki mikan These two citrus fruits are used more for decorations at New Years than for actually eating. Daidai is very sour and is not eaten straight, rather it is more common to find it made into a marmalade or used in ponzu sauce. Happa tsuki mikan are a type of very small mikan that are sold with the leaves still attached and that is what the name means. Happa are leaves and tsuki means with, so it is mikan with leaves. You will only see these in the stores in the days (weeks) leading up to New Years Day and they will be used as decoration in homes. daidai http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/images/ve...ure/daidai1.jpg happa tsuki mikan http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/images/ve...ure/daidai2.jpg

I like all kinds of music, but i tend to go through these phases of just listening to one song over and over (until my kids tell me to stop!). Currently it is the Uncle Cracker song, before this it was Complicated by Avril Lavigne and before that it was Shaggy's Angel. I really love Japanese music too, all time favorites include anything by Kawamura Ryuichi (but only his solo stuff not when he is part of Luna Sea), anything by Fujii Fumiya (especially his song Another Orion which is my favorite to do at karaoke), A new one I really like is Moriyama Naotarou and his song Sakura (this is probably the best song I have heard in 10 years in Japan) and also Hirai Ken and his grandfather's clock song. I am also a big fan of Yazawa Eikichi though he hasn't done much recently. I don't really care for a lot of the music in the US now, I am an 80's child and my two favorite groups are probably Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, though you are just as likely to find me listening to Celine Dion, Enya or John Denver and the Carpenters......