torakris

Here is a great piece about how to find a good sushi restaurant and warning signs for bad ones: http://cime.redirectme.net/~ciurana/musing...html#l_choosing Sushi may seem simple, form some rice into a log, smear on some wasabi and throw some fish on top, but it is actually a technique that takes years of practice, from get the perfect balance of flavors in the rice to getting the perfect form with out too much handling, to the perfect thickness and size of the fish. Like everyone else I hate to sound racist, but I have never had better than decent sushi from a non-Japanese and the absolute best is from those who train in Japan. I really feel that one of the best indicators outside of Japan is a restaurant with a high Japanese clientele and menus in Japanese.

Do you always make it by hand? Have you tried whizzing it up in a blender or food processor? Is there much of a difference in the end product? Because I have a suribachi I tend to it in there, I aslo use it as a serving dish, so there is one less thing to wash up! I avoid using my blender and food processor because they are kept in a cupboard and are a pain to pull out and clean and then store again.

Thursday dinner with 2 extra kids so I went the nabe route: chicken stock (homemade! ) with chicken meatballs and Chinese cabbage Japanese leeks shiitake carrots baby bok choy dipped into ponzu and grated daikon radish Japanese rice

one of my longtime favorites is the snack food called colon, I just can't bring myself to eat it.....

Squeat I am loving this blog! at the same time it is making me incredibly jealous! I don't think I have access to anything you list at the farmer's market............ I think on my next trip to the US I am going to stop off at my Uncle's house in San Francisco for a bit, he has always been saying I should stop by.......

word for 11/14: ‚ç‚Á‚«‚傤 rakkyou (rah-kkyo) A member of the lily family they look like a cross between garlic and onions and the taste is also a cross of the two. Introduced into Japan from China in the 10th century, they have been prepared in almost one way for centuries and that is pickles. The most common flavor of rakkyo pickles is either salt or a sour brine with some chiles added fro kick, they are also sometimes pickled in soy sauce and more recently red wine has become very popular. A little while back I found them pickled with cranberries, this was a great combination! The pickles are served with other tsukemono with rice and are the traditional garnish for a plate of curry rice. Every June the stores are filled with 1 to 3 kg bags of rakkyou, some still with the dirt from the field, some washed and peeled, already for pickle making. some nice pictures of rakkyou, straight from the field and as pickles: http://www.c-food.co.jp/shop/cart_rakkyou.html

I think I will try this! Whenever I buy moyashi they never seem to last for more then a day, they start to get slimy. Maybe putting them in a tupperware container with water will make them last longer. They are on sale this Sunday for \10 (about $.09) a bag and I wanted to pick up a couple bags, but can't use them all in one day! any other storage tips?

at this hour? It is 5:00pm here I know, I know I should be working on dinner instead of sitting at the computer

forgot to add sometimes the chile is not used and instead they are sprinkled with sesame seeds, sometimes I have seen both.....

Maggie, that sounds a lot like kinpira to me, I just started a kinpira thread, look here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...ST&f=19&t=31225

Kinpira is one of my favorite dishes and the best thing is you can kinpira almost any vegetable (except the greens, save those for the goma-ae). The most popular is probably gobo (burdock root) or a mixture of gobo and carrots, but I have had kinpira of just carrots, celery, renkon (lotus root), daikon peels, kabocha, eryingii mushrooms, etc, sometimes they have some beef added but usually they are with out. The recipes can vary slightly for each vegetable but the common ingredients to all are usually sesame oil, red pepper and soy, some add mirin, some add sake, some add sugar, I have even seen dashi in the ingredient list. I usually heat the oil in a frypan toss in a chopped up dried chile add the vegetable and sautee until just crisp, then add the "sauce" usually a splash of soy and sake, sometimes a pinch of sugar and depending on the vegetable a splash of mirin at the end. What are some of your favorite kinpira variations? recipes?

Perlows, I am glad you enjoyed it! It is really a wonderful dish that is really easy to make but every tinks would be very difficult. Even in Japan most people don't make their own, they either buy it already made (and is already mixed with a vegetable) or else they buy a sauce mix to pour on the vegetable, neither taste as good as homemade!

Good question! They are really hard to find in Japan, at least in my area I have never seen them in the stores and my friend told me that as well, her mother usually gets them from a nearby farmer. I don't know popular they are out in the countryside though.....

This sounds like it could a type of otsumami, a small sncak to nibble on while drinking alcohol. These are often given to customers when their alcohol is served, usually in a small dish that may contain about 2 to 4 bites. It can be anything from dried foods to stirfried foods to simmered foods to salads and varies from restaurant to restaurant and season to season, it can also vary according to the type of alcohol you order. Though they seem like a free dish (since you don't specifically order it) in most restauants in Japan you will be charged for them. here is an otsumami thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...446&hl=otsumami

Weds dinner: zucchini fritatta kabocha gratin with carmelized onions, parmasean cheese and panko

I have a group of 3 other friends and we all swap cookbooks, living in Japan we don't have access to the books at a library and buying books is usually done sight unseen and can get expensive. We never have had problems, it is sort of an unwritten rule that any damage caused means that person is responsible for a replacement. This happened the first time I lent a book to one of these friends, one of her sons tore out a couple pages, she told me about it and said she would find me a new copy, I said it was ok that I have a lot of books with loose pages and it wasn't a big deal. She insisted on buying me a new copy, it took close to 6 month and cost her about $60 (for a $15 book) because it was out of print. I would never lend to anyone outside of this group though......

word for 11/13: ‚à‚₵ moyashi bean sprouts Bean sprouts are very popular in Japan, they are probably one of the cheapest things you can buy in this country! A pack sells for anywhere from \38 to \98 (depending on the type) (about $.35 to $.90) and sales at stores in my neighborhood have them for \10 (about $.09). There is a a wide selection and some stores have 5 or more types, they are generally divided into 2 types the moyashi, which have a a small greenish-yellowish sprout and comes from the mung bean, and the mamemoyashi “¤‚à‚₵ which have a large yellow bean and are from soy beans. Moyashi are used mostly in stirfries, salads and dressed dishes. the plain old moyashi: http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/images/ve...ure/moyash3.jpg a former thread on "to trim or not to trim": http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...9689&hl=moyashi

the konnyaku I am describing will look like this: http://www.pak2.ein-g.co.jp/asp/kondate/ko...ondate.asp?ID=3

I have actually recieved this homemade konnyaku 3 times now! It is really hard to believe the 2 are the same the flavor is actually quite different even though they are both hard gelatin like masses. The ones I have recieved are white and shaped into a mishapened thick rectangle, the flavor is hard to describe and the word "fresher" is the only thing that comes to mind. The flavor is more subtle and I think it is used best in dishes where it could really be noticed such as konnyaku sashimi or salad style preparations. I will save the supermarket stuff for oden and the likes. The little balls are great, sometimes they are packaged with 3 different colors, orange, green and white, since my kids are still small I don't buy them instead sometimes I pick up the blocks and cut them into rectangles about a 1/4 inch thick, cut a 1 inch slash in the middle and then push one end through it and it makes a prety twisty shape, the kids actually love to make these.

Tuesday night: ground beef and black bean burritos with avocado slices red onion salsa black olives

I just told my mother that all I want for Christmas is the toast-n-serve magic bag!

One of my favorite (and very economical) lunches or late is a block of cold tofu with some sliced cucumbers all topped with a Thai style sweet-chile sauce.

word for 11/12: ƒuƒƒbƒRƒŠ[ burokkorii (boo-roh-kkoh-ree) broccoli A popular vegetable in Japan, this is used in a variety of ways. Always boiled first (never eaten raw) it is served as a side to a piece of meat in a western style preparation (usually in a trio of vegetables with potatoes and either carrots or corn). It is also used in dressed dishes, salads, deep fried, stirfried, in soups and to add a touch of "green-ness" to braised dishes or stews.

hhhhmmmmm....... good question! In my opinion the fresh stuff is just..... well.....fresher You can get some very good stuff in packages in Japan but the fresher the better, saying that though I have to admit that 90% of the tofu I buy is packaged stuff from the supermarket, becasue they are cheaper and more convenient (two bonuses for me at this stage in my life). Usually when I buy the fresh stuff (and it recquires a trip to a tofu shop) I use it for hiyayakko, so the freshness can really shine. There is more of a difference in flavor than texture, it is all a matter of taste and varies depending on what kind of tofu you are eating. How long they last also depends on the type of tofu ad how it was packaged, I have bought tofu in Japan with expiration dates anywhere from 2 to 11 days after manufacture. I would recommend uses the fresh stuff as soon as possible, so it doesn't lose its "freshness". As to storing, I store the tofu in the tub it comes in until I use it, if for some odd reason I don't use all of it I will place it in a piece of tupperware with water to cover and use it as soon as possible. I have never stored fresh tofu since I normally use it on the day of purchase. Which is better for miso soup? Again all a matter or preference, I prefer the silken packaged pieces for this, but who knows some day maybe when I am not on a serious budget I may purchse all of my tofu from a tofu shop!