torakris

word for 9/2: オクラ okura (oh-koo-rah) okra The Japanese love okra and they love it because of it sliminess, see the word sliminess has such a bad connotation to it, the Japanese refer to it as neba-neba which actually has a nice ring to it and makes it sound like a good thing! The Jaapnese often to prepare so as to maximize the neba-neba quality sometimes even going so far as to mix it with other neba-neba foods such as natto and yamaimo or nagaimo (mountain yams) to have a complete neba-neba experience. Always blanched before being eaten it is a regular addition to salad bars and in homes is popular in salads, dressed dishes, soups, stews, fried dishes and is often sliced and used as a garnish.

to find the Japanese types in a store here are the characters to look for: momen 木綿 (cotton or firm tofu) kinu-goshi 絹ごし (silken or soft tofu) and just to make sure you are really getting tofu, the characters for tofu look like this: 豆腐

the tofu skin you are referring to is called yuba and this wonderful product really deserves its own thread! Cotton tofu refers to a certain type of tofu. In Japan there are two basic tofus: momen-goshi, often just called momen (the Japanese word for cotton), is made by placing the tofu curds onto cotton cloths in the molds and allowing the water to drain away. This produces a firm tofu with very noticable cloth marks on it. kinu-goshi, kinu being the Japanese word for silk, is softer and much more delicate. It is made with a thicker milk and very little of the excess water is drained, it is not wrapped at all and the term silken refers to its texture. I have know idea of how they make the stuff in those boxes!

What are some of your favorite types of kamaboko? and what are some of your favorite uses? for more information including types and recipes look here: http://home.earthlink.net/~marutama/facts.htm#facts

could these be kumquats? can't wait to hear more!

the chigae thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...T&f=21&t=22771&

I think you’re thinking of Azaka’s Market. The ribs were pork ribs, frozen, sawed crosswise into 1/4" slices, thawed, and marinated in a soy sauce-sugar marinade. They sold them as Korean short ribs. Yes, it is Azuka! I asked my husband the moment he stepped in the door! We had BBQ's close to nightly, my husband (then boyfriend) worked for a dive shop and we often partied with the customers , no BBQ was ever complete without Azuka ribs............. I went out last night with some friends to a new Hawaiian restaurant that opened nearby and was soooo disappointed, the owner is a Japanese guy who has traveled to the Islands 3 times but never actually lived there . It was all plate lunch style with macaroni salad (one bite full and not even close to the stuff they make in Hawaii) with 5 (frozen) french fries and the entrees which were so non-descript they could have been from any country. The only thing that made it look Hawaiian was the orchid on the dish............

It is interesting that they say that water pepper leaves aren't used traditionally in any Asian cuisine, because they are in Japan. From the daily nihongo thread: word for 7/19: g‚½‚Å@@@‚ׂɂ½‚Å beni tade (beh-nee-tah-day) Tiny purple leaves from the water pepper plant, they have a peppery flavor and are a common garnish with sashimi and tofu as well. They look like miniature, purple versions of kaiware. picture: http://www.toshin.co.jp/cook/99_12/hotate/#3 We also have tade-su, a vinegar made from the water pepper leaves that is quite popular. I have been curious about this lack of import ban in Japan because they ban everything:angry: and the only information I could find on the Japanese web is about the ban in the US! I just checked the package I bought here in Japan and it lists China as place or origin............ hhhmmmmm.............

word for 8/31: おかひじき okahijiki (oh-kah-hee-jee-key) This is referred to land seaweed in English becasue it grows on the land (oka) and resembles hijiki a type of seaweed. It has a nice crunch and is used mostly in dressed salads after a quick parboiling. We have already had a thread just on this topic, look there for some great pictures and more information. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...T&f=19&t=24979&

Hey! some non-Japanese do this too! I also put it on yakisoba and takoyaki (they all essentially taste the same), it has to be Japanese mayo though

and the day we left Hawaii to move to Japan we had our last bowl of saimin just minutes before we boarded the plane!

I get craving for loco moco with a big helping of macaroni salad on the side! maui ribs and the famous (in Maui at least) ribs from a store that closed just after I left in 1995, and I can not for the life of me remember this stores name, it was on South Kihei road, ocean side.... will have to ask my husband when he gets home. I used to live in Kihei with my husband while he worked at a dive shop.

I think we have a winner. my husband will be so proud!

Tried the smoked beef sandwich yesterday and it wasn't bad as far as fast food sanswiches go, but i probably won't be ordering it again. A quick look at their website shows another new burger, the veggie corroke (croquette) burger with potatoes and 5 other vegetables, but for someone reason it is not available in the Kanto (Tokyo) area......... EDITED as well because it is no longer available

I noticed a bunch of breast remarks popping up all over the boards today and have linked them back to this thread! So jealousy--oops curiosity brought me over, no cleavage spills here because I have no cleavage but I am a notorious spiller, I have eliminated spills on my clothes while cooking by wearing my husband's clothes! then let him figure out where that stain came from.................. my most devastating spill was the summer of 1982, I was 12 years old and babysitting for a neighbors three kids. I was wearing my brand new white Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, that took a lot of babysitting money to save up for. While opening a can of tuna fish for lunch, I somehow managed to spill all of the oil onto my upper right thigh, the pants were ruined. I still cry while I think about it.

I have to agree that Kosher salt is not always easy to find. On my last trip to Cleveland (which is NOT a tiny city in the middle of nowhere) I had to go to 6 stores, including Wal-Mart, before I found it. I even went to a Jewish grocery, the one right in front of the Hebrew Academy figuring they would have it , they had a buch of salt with the kosher mark on it but none of it was "kosher" salt. I finally found it at a trendy, upscale market, ok I knew all the time that it was there because my little brother is a stocker at the store and he told me they have it, I was just looking for it cheaper............

oh I could go on for pages about the Japanese twisted sense of condiment usage! eggs and ketchup taken to a higher level in the dish call omu-raise (omelette rice) which consist of stirfried rice seasoned with ketchup (lots of ketchup) covered with scrambled eggs and topped with more ketchup. They also can't decide wether to go the American route or European route with french fries and serve both mayo and ketchup, ying yang style in a small saucer, so the customer can mix the two together of course this is a country that puts scrambled eggs, corn and mayo on pizza, serves maple syrup with corn dogs, covers pancakes with chocolate sauce and will put any edible substance into a rice ball. Then there is my husband who often has a snack of a bowl of hot rice topped with mayo, butter, and soy.................................

word for 8/30: いんげん ingen (een-ghen) green bean this is also referred to as sayaingen and in the kansai and Tokai areas it is called sandomame 三度豆 which means three time bean because it can be grown a couple times in one year. There are a couple varieties available in Japan and recently one called morocco-ingen (a long flat bean) is becoming popular. Green beans are popular as ingredients in dressed salads, simmered dishes, sautees, and tempura, they are often seen as a garnish adding a nice green color to a dish.

never had it. so I can't comment. Ok leaving the thread now..........

and here I thougth ghim was something new and exciting!

Thursday dinner: unagi okowa (sticky rice with eel) nanohana goma-ae (broccoli rabe with sesame sauce) kimchee miso soup with daikon and soramame (like fava beans)

You know, Korean for nori. Except we crisp it up and make it salty. Yum --actually I know about the 9 grain bap and such, but I never had it like this. Very light, with little black crunchy grains in it. I wonder if it was that restaurant that had a special rice cooking guy or something, it was so good. oh! duh! I always spelled it kim (the Japanese pronunciation) someone really needs to sit down and decide on ONE way to write romanized Korean words.

I think I have seen this before (in Korean cookbooks I have bought in Japan) it is a mixture of rices, grains and beans, usually with mochi rice, so that it makes it quite sticky. I have seen some recipes heavier on the beans and others heavier on the grains. I have no idea of the name and have not noticed it any restaurants (of course if I don't know the name......... ) what is ghim?

what she said! there is just something about a BLT that really hits the spot.

Glad to know I am not the only one who shops the reduced for quick sale bin! Great blog Suzanne!