torakris

Yeah I am pretty sure they were the Japanized version of corn dogs, this was the first time I had ever seen them with sryup, they are a common staple in convenience stores where they are normally served with ketchup. I have seen recipes for homemade version using a hot cake mix though............

Monday night: beef stew, simmered for 5 hours with boiled potatoes and sauteed mushrooms tossed in at the very end homemade bread carrot and butter rice dessert: ice cream

word for 10/7: のびる nobiru (noh-bee-rue) A member of the allium family, I can't find any information as to an English name. It looks something like a spring onion with a good amount of white and a small bulb on the end. I have seen the bulbs in sizes from tiny ovals to perfectly round circles about 1 inch in diameter. It has a fragrance that is a cross between garlic and nira (garlic chives) and normally only the white part is eaten. It can be eaten raw usually dipped into miso or briefly boiled and used in ohitashi or a dressed dish. nobiru: http://soneta.hmc6.net/r-nobiru-nuta.htm

Kellog's (Japan) has just come out with a matcha flavored cereal: http://www.kellogg.co.jp/whatsnew.html

I too have become interested in this and so today at the grocery store I found it and bought it. It is quite expensive, 180 grams costs \700 (about $6.50) in comparison plain white sugar would cost between \20 and \40 for the same amount. It says to use it with mochi, bread or dango (rice balls) or to sprinkle it on grapefruits and strawberries or to use it to sweeten your coffee or tea. Today I ran across a recipe for it in a new magazine, it is for a type of Japanese confection made with egg yolks and yuzu rind. It really has a wonderful taste, similar to that of brown sugar but much more refined and smooth, it is ground into a very fine powder with a texture maybe similar to a very fine pastry flour. I think I will try it on some grapefruit!

don't worry there are plenty of us here! I am a stay at home mom with 3 young kids and am living on a budget that would make most people cringe and in one of the most expensive cities in the world! I like to think that I eat fairly well. Bruce, did you actually try the Japnese dried fish? it is really some good stuff!

I like to think I eat both healthy and well. I have to admit though I have never had a weight or any other kind of health problems so I have never needed to go on any kind of "diets". what works for me and my family is moderation, nothing is not allowed but we eat "the not very good for you stuff" every once in a while and not in huge amounts. I feel that Asian cuisines are great for you and taste great to boot, if you avoid the deep fried stuff and the oily stir fries. Asian cuisines in general tend to use higher propotions of vegetables to meat, less oil, and preparations like steaming. Southeast Asian salads for example are dressed simply with nampla lime juice and a little sugar and then spiked with chiles and handfuls of herbs, I can't imagine what could be better for you! Then there is kimchi and sushi............

Sunday dinner: very productive day yesterday, my husband built a new shelf for my kitchen! and I cleaned up the backyard, getting rid of old plants and putting in new ones (kumquats and sudachi), cutting the grass, trimming bushes, etc, etc and while we were doing all of this we had a pork belly smoking away.......... smoked pork belly sliced and dipped in a salt, pepper and lime juice mixture Vietnamese deep fried spring rolls eaten with a carrot and cucumber "pickle" and wrapped in lettuce leaves Jasmine rice dessert: ice cream

word for 10/6: つくし tsukushi (tsu-koo-shee) Called horsetail in English it looks something like a stalk of white asparagus with a couple groupings of of brown "fringe" which are removed before eating. It mostly commonly used in dressed dishes like goma-ae, tsukudani and even in stirfries and tamago-toji. tsukushi: http://arakifoods.kir.jp/zukan/tukusi.htm

Saturday night: oden kamaboko with sakura ebi and wasabi joyu Japanese rice Mommy fell asleep before dessert so one one got any!

word for 10/5: たらの芽 taranome (tah-rah-noh-may) These are the shoots of the angelica tree (aralia elata) called taranoki in Japanese. These are msotly commonly served as tempura or in dressed dishes especially with either a sesame or walnut sauce. taranome: http://arakifoods.kir.jp/zukan/taranome.htm

Friday night: linguine with red and orange peppers, red onions, tomatoes (canned) and basalmic vinegar roasted baby kabochas dessert: hazelnut wafer cookies

Add one more for me and one on the way! I just got Vatch's Southeast Asian Salads by Vatcharin Bhumichitr, haven't tried it yet but it looks gorgeous.

word for 10/4: ふきのとう fukinotou (foo-key-noh-toe) the bud of the butterbur plant also known as coltsfoot. The actual plant itself is referred to as fuki in Japanese and is eaten as well. The buds appear in early spring and the plant continues to grow often to several feet tall and is eaten through early summer. The stems of the pant are most commonly used in simmered dishes or tsukudani and the leaves can be chopped and added to simmered dishes. The buds are wonderful as a tempura or grilled with miso and also also used in simmered dishes, soups and ohitashi. the fuki plant (and recipe): http://www004.upp.so-net.ne.jp/ichi/p9707803.htm the bud: http://www.pref.kagawa.jp/eizo/vol003/en/5...5ki/haru/06.htm

Japan actually has a wide variety in daikon sizes, though most of them never see store shelves away from where they were grown. Nearly all of the small sized daikon are are the karami (spicy) variety and are not really suitable for braising, soups and pickles, I think they are trying to market a regular everyday daikon in a mini size. I have seen mini kabochas around for a little while now and actually ate some last night, but I am curious to see the hakusai and gobo.

TON-JIRU (BUTA-JIRU) Soup with pork This recipe calls for either water or dashi. In these types of soups, filled with a variety of flavors including miso, a lot of Japanese cooks don't feel a dashi is needed. This is also an instance where I feel it is fine to substitute a good instant product as well. 100 g (4 to 8 oz) thinly sliced pork, the fattier the better any of the ingredients listed above in any amount that you like about 4 to 5 cups of water or dashi 3 T of miso (Normally brown miso or a mix. White miso or red miso are rarely used alone in these soups). Sesame oil or other oil 1. Heat the sesame oil (in the pan you will use for the soup) over medium high heat, add the pork and cook until it just loses its pinkness. Add the heartier vegetables and cook for a couple minutes without browning. If they start to brown turn down the heat. 2. Add the dashi or water, bring to a boil then turn the heat down so that the soup is just at a simmer. Simmer until the vegetables are just tender (this will depend on the size you cut them into, so try to cut them uniformly). Skim when necessary. 3. Next add the ingredients that require little cooking (tofu products, etc). 4. Place the instant miso into a bowl and add a cup or two of the simmering liquid to dissolve it. Once it is completely dissolved, carefully pour it back into the soup. 5. Taste and adjust, adding more miso if needed. To add more miso always place it into a cup and add some of the simmering liquid, stirring it well to make sure it is completely dissolved. Adding it directly to the soup can occasionally result in a mouthful of undissolved miso. 6. Pour into the individual bowls and garnish with "green-ness" if wanted, and pass the shichimi or sanshou at the table Keywords: Soup, Japanese, eGCI ( RG695 )

UNAGI OKOWA (Rice with eel) Okowa is a type of rice dish that uses a mix of regular Japanese short grain rice and mochi-gome (Japanese sticky rice). Traditionally it is steamed in a bamboo basket, but it can also be made in a rice cooker or in a pot on the stove 200 cc Japanese short grain rice (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) 200 cc Japanese sticky rice (mochi-gome) (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) 1 piece of unagi kabayaki (purchased), cut into bite size pieces, sauce packet reserved 10 leaves of shiso, shredded 1 sheet of nori, ripped into small pieces 450 ml water (1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) 4 T sake 1 T mirin 1 T soy sauce Sesame seeds (toasted ) for garnish Sanshou 1. Combine the two types of rice and wash and set aside (following the directions above). 2. After the rice has rested, place it into the rice cooker with the water, 2 tablespoons sake, mirin and soy sauce, give it a stir and turn on the rice cooker (set for white rice if applicable). If using a pan (a 3 to 4 quart saucepan is best), add the ingredients and cover the pan. Place over a medium high heat and bring to a boil. Let it boil for about one minute and then turn the heat to low for 10 to 13 minutes. 3. After the rice is cooked (by either method), let it rest for at least 10 minutes. 4. Place the unagi onto a microwave safe dish, sprinkle with the sake and warm in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. 5. Add the unagi and its "juices" to the pot of rice along with, the shiso, nori, sesame seeds, and reserved pack of kabayaki sauce (about 1 to 2 tablespoons) and mix very gently. 6. Allow the guests to sprinkle additional sesame seeds and sanshou as wanted. Keywords: Japanese, eGCI, Rice ( RG694 )

Sounds like my kitchen! Though my refrigerator is definitely smaller and I only have 3 cooking sufaces on my stove top (which is a bonus since most Japanese homes only have 2!) and my oven is the size of an average microwave in the US. My one counter is exactly 2 feet by 2 feet. I cook for 5 everyday, it just takes a lot of planning and constant washing because there is no place to stack things, alaso my floor gets a lot of use!

Here is the article: http://www.asahi.com/money/topics/TKY200309300358.html (Japanese only) Japanese supermarket Jusco will start selling mini daikon this month. The daikon which are half the size of their counteparts are being targeted at those who prepare who live alone or prepare one person meals. Until now many large vegetables were often sold cut in half or even quarters, but growing mini vegetables can save on the cost involved in the cuttting and wrapping of the vegetables as well as giving them a longer shelf life. Jusco plans at the end of October to bring into the market mini hakusai (Chinese cabbage) that are just 1/4 of the average size. Other vegetables being planned for in the future include gobo (burdock root) and kabocha (Japanese squash).

wasanbon now has its own thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...ST&f=19&t=28869

I decided to separate this from the salt thread so it doesn't get lost in there! I found a very interesting site all about this stuff including how it is made and its uses, look here: http://www.wasanbon.co.jp/wasanbon/index.html

I am feeding a friend's kids while she is at a conference in Paris for the next 8 days, so we will be enjoying lots of kid friendly foods, last night: chicken teriyaki buttered corn baby leaf lettuce with smoked salmon, red onions and red peppers more tako-wasabi (tako being the Japanese word for octopus! ) Japanese rice

word for 10/3: 山菜 sansai (sahn-sah-ee) This is a collective term that translates as mountain vegetable. We have discussed a couple of these already, udo and the ferns like kogomi and warabi but there are a couple more that those outside of Japan might be unfamiliar with and thus the next couple days will be devoted to the sansai. by the way, sansai when written this way 三歳　or this way 三才 means three years old.

we even had a whole thread just about horse meat! http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...5&hl=horse+meat

horse meat sashimi referred to in Japanese as ba-sashimi or basashi for short is quite good. Though most popular in the Kyushu and Shinshu areas it can be found all over Japan and it makes fairly regular appearances at supermakets in my area (Yokohama/Tokyo) all sliced up and ready to be eaten! picture: http://www3.tky.3web.ne.jp/~edjacob/food.html