torakris

the newest Hi-Chu Valencia Orange, it is quite good though I really miss my lime flavored one...

Is frog sashimi eaten in Japan? Is it a speciality of a particular region? I would love to try it. I have only ever found frog legs here, frozen at that, and only in 2 large international supermarkets. I have never seen fresh/live frogs for sale... Please include pictures after you do figure it out!

What a beautiful family! I can't wait to hear about more of your adventures!!

I assume by "dry" noodles you are referring to zaru soba/udon. It will look like this. Just ask for zaru soba (buckwheat noodles) or zaru udon (thicker flour noodles), any shop will be able to prepare this for you even if you don't see it on the menu. As the both the noodles and soup are served cold I have seen some smaller places remove it from the menu during the winter.

The 25th anniversary edition of this just came out recently, though I haven't actually seen a copy in a store (I've only seen ads for it in the paper). ← Best there is! ← I used to have a huge collection of Japanese cookbooks (in English) I have slowly given almost all of them away. This one will be on my shelf forever. I would love to see the 25th anniversary edition, I wonder if they have changed anything...

The Japanese aren't big users of tomato paste so for years I have been buying tubes of Amore double concentrate on trips to the US. Two months ago I discovered a wonderful tomato paste put out by the big tomato product company here, Kagome. The paste comes in 1 tablespoon (well 18g) packs, 6 or so packs to a box at about 120 yen (US$1). Cheaper than the tube, more expensive than the can but there is no waste and it is incredibly easy to use. The packs look like this:

The Japanese aren't big users of tomato paste so for years I have been buying tubes of Amore double concentrate on trips to the US. Two months ago I discovered a wonderful tomato paste put out by the big tomato product company here, Kagome. The paste comes in 1 tablespoon (well 18g) packs, 6 or so packs to a box at about 120 yen (US$1). Cheaper than the tube, more expensive than the can but there is no waste and it is incredibly easy to use. The packs look like this:

Correct! It is currently the favorite of both daughters. Hide (my son) only eats yukari.

I just recently placed an order for 245 people at a French pastry shop owned by a friend of mine, the next day my friend stopped by with a little thank you present from here shop.

My 5th grade daughter went on a field trip this week and she made up a list of everything she wanted in her bento. The finished product

Special Hina Matsuri (Girl's Day) kamaboko

For yesterday's Hina Matsuri I made a simple chirashizushi with a packaged mix , nanohana (broccoli rabe), egg shreds, maguro and scallops.

For yesterday's Hina Matsuri I picked up some special Hina Masturi kamaboko. and served it with a simple chirashizushi

Ok, it isn't a burger shop but I had to show this burger from Muscle Park. It is called a Monster Burger and is in the shape of a tobibako (like the vaulting horse used in gymnastics). For those with smaller appetites there is a smaller version simply named Tobibako Burger. It says it is enough for 3 people but at only 17cm (7 inches) in height I am pretty sure I could finish it off myself. That is if I could bring myself to enjoy cucumbers on a hamburger (along with gobo-burdock root).....

When I first saw that picture all I could think was... nandato?!?!?! How do you eat with a scallion??? ← You use the negi to scoop up the noodles, the guys on the tv both said it was a lot easier than they thought it would be and they didn't seem to be having any problem. The page I linked to says you you should be nibbling at the negi while you eat but I didn't notice the guys doing that on the program.

A little while ago at a friend's house I was served these wonderful yatsuhashi. They were the hard type and half coated with chocolate in three flavors: strawberry, macha and regular chocolate. They were wonderful! I definitely recommend them if you can get your hands on them.

The kids left the tv on this morning when they left for school and I found myself watching one of those morning shows. Today they had two "talents" traveling to the town of Oochijuku in Fukushima prefecture and I was intrigued by a soba they were eating. The soba called Takato soba is a specialty (meibutsu) of the town. While it doesn't look too much different from regular soba topped with grated daikon and katsuo bushi, it is eaten with a negi (Japanese scallion) instead of chopsticks.

The kids left the tv on this morning when they left for school and I found myself watching one of those morning shows. Today they had two "talents" traveling to the town of Oochijuku in Fukushima prefecture and I was intrigued by a soba they were eating. The soba called Takato soba is a specialty (meibutsu) of the town. While it doesn't look too much different from regular soba topped with grated daikon and katsuo bushi, it is eaten with a negi (Japanese scallion) instead of chopsticks.

Hi 6kitten, welcome to eGullet and the Japan forum! My recipe for stewed kabocha is right here!

I think because the fact that most of these sauce packets are sold in one and two person serving, they are aiming at a younger or even a much older market of either singles or couples. It is pretty much a convenient food for those who don't feel like cooking. If you are only cooking for one, it is much cheaper (and easier clean up as well)to pick up this packaged uni sauce than to go the store for fresh uni and cream and half most of it left over.

Maybe I am becoming too Japanese but I think it would be best with a nice sprinkling of shredded nori. A quick search on of Japanese pages pulls up a couple blogs in which almost everyone comments that it is quite good. One person described it as salty but also said it would go well with sake. It is quite a bit cheaper here, in the 200 to 250 yen range ($1.70 to $2)

I have to admit to have never eating Coco Ichi curry... Just one word of note to those who are about to toss their curry into the freezer, do it before you add potatoes and carrots. I have learned from experience that these do not freeze well in curry, the carrots fare a little better than the potatoes though..

I rarely eat Japanese prepared pasta sauces but have been served them on occasion, they really run the gamut from inedibly awful to not half bad... I have never tried this product you are referring to though. The package says they use real uni in the sauce but I just wonder how much. namafumi uni kurimu sauce namafumi　 nama means raw/fresh fumi refers to a taste or a flavor kurimu is cream So essentially it is a cream sauce with the flavor of fresh uni but I guess you will need to be the judge of that.

Helen, I just bought a 6L one here a couple months ago and find it is perfect for my family. I doubt you can get anything bigger here without a serious search. I make mostly stew type meals or use it for poaching and I have more than enough room in the pan. It you plan on making large amounts of stock or such you might want even bigger. Then of course where would you store it?

It is sold as harasu ハラス, usually written in katana. It can be preceded by sake (or shake depending on your pronunciation) 、which is the word for salmon. Sometimes it is also specified by type of salmon, サーモン saamon ususally means king salmon and you can also find other types like 紅鮭 benizake sockeye/red salmon.