torakris

word for 6/1: 単品 tanpin (tahn-peen) tan means single and pin (hin or shina) means article or item, so it means a single item not much different from yesterday's word of ippin. They are normally used on different types of menus though. ippin is more more common at general restaurants and izakaya style places where there is a very wide and diverse menu. tanpin is seen more with sushi places (especially delivery) and fast food. These are places where people tend mostly to order from "sets". another difference is that unlike ippin, the word tanpin is often spoken when placing the order, to clarify that the single item not the set is wanted. So for example if I am at McDonald's and I want a big nac set for me but just a single hamburger for my soon, I would order my set then add ハンバーガー一個単品で hambaagaa ikko tanpinde

hahaha...those are cute! I really like the egg molds. Think they would poach an egg into that shape? hahaha good laugh. The egg presses are really neat, you hard boil an egg stick it inside, push, and voila! star shaped egg.

I will never forget in college when my ex-boyfriend (also Japanese) told a friend of ours that wasabi was a special type of green chocolate (his mother had just sent a tube in a care package from Japan). The guy bought it!

The otoshi buta is truely wonderful, I wonder why it hasn't caught on anywhere esle? I use a metal one that is adjustable, it can fit the smallest pan into the biggest wok, it can also be used for steaming so it get double duty! In Japan they also sell otoshi buta papers, these are pre-cut circles of a special kind of paper that not only are used to keep the food submerged but they also collect the oil and skum that collects at the top.

Umami is actually a taste sensation that has to do with certain chemicals present in the foods. Not all foods have umami no matter how fresh they are. High in umami foods are red wines, cheeses, mushrooms, etc. Like in said it is best translated as some type of savoriness. the folowing is from my post on the daily nihongo thread: word for 5/5: ‚¤‚Ü‚Ý umami (oo-mah-mee) there is no direct translation for this taste sensation which means something along the lines of "savoriness" or even "tastiness". It is difficult to describe, but foods like wine, soy sauce, mushrooms, aged cheese, etc are very high on the umami list. for more information look here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4459306,00.html Japanese food (I think we are also talking mostly kaiseki style here) is very refined and the emphasis on freshness and presentation is taken to the highest level, and the Japanese sure know how to play the umami for all it is worth!

I am enjoying it! No disappointment from me!

iced coffe I think I am starting to see a thread here egullet = iced coffee for me anyway!

My God, that is sinful. But then again, theres things in the US which are easily accessible that are obscenely expensive in Japan... I guess there has to be some balance in the world. Yes $5 for one small yellow zucchini is extremely sinful!

yes, I am! A friend once mixed it with ketchup (instead of regular horseradich) for a shrimp cocktail and it was really good. My husband eats his yakitori (salt only, no sauce) with a smear of wasabi and squeeze of lemon. One udon shop that I occasionally frequent, serves the noodes with the entire rhizome and a grater and you can great your own for either the noodle or sashimi.

wow! looks great, that is on my menu for next week along with the tandoori cornish hens!

here are some more cute bentos: http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/miikachan/ you need to scroll to the middle

oh say, wasabi and peanut butter (from the thread on foods that don't go together but taste good, sorry forgot the exact name of the thread)

iced coffee, just finished a bowl of granola

Friday dinner: now I am scaping the crumbs out of the corners of the refrigerator: flounder mirin-zuke (this was a pre-seasoned fish pulled out of the freezer and defrosted before grilling) creamy vegetable soup (this was actually made by my FIL yesterday) and was quite good, lots of bacon. simmered kabocha red wine rakkyo (small pickled onions) Japanese rice dessert: popsicles

love it? hate it? any unusual uses for it?

I love chicken sandwiches of all types, but breast meat is a must!! The problem with making them at home is that it is really hard to find decent bread here. One of my favorites in Japan is at KFC, it is called the wafu chicken-katsu sandwich, wafu meaning Japanese style and chicken katsu is a breaded and deep fried chicken cutlet (similar to tonkatsu which is pork) it is then dipped in this sticky sweet slightly spicy tonkatsu sauce like sauce, then topped with shredded cabbage and a dollop of amyo. Yumm..................

word for 5/31: 一品 ippin (ip-peen) this is sort of like a la carte and often is the same foods that you can eat with the teishoku, but all sold separately. At izakaya style restaurants, most of the menu will consist of ippin. It is quite a common menu heading.

sparrowgrass thanks for the laugh! No I have another problem, I have been so busy with egullet that I have neglected to pay attention as to what is going on in the world (Ok Japan) and I just found out we are supposed to get smacked with a typhoon either tonight or tomorrow. Any suggestions for helping the garden survive? It is protected on 3 sides by bushes and a wall, but i have the zucchini and beans in the ground this year last year they were in planters and I could pull them to a more sheltered area. We were pretty lucky last year, but this year they seem to be starting early, typhoon season runs June to September here. Earthquakes are year round!

I guess that would be the easiest wouldn't it?

thurs dinner: cleaning out the refrigerator ground pork and bamboo shoots stirfried with bulgoki seasonings wraped in lettuce and ekoma (beefsteak) leaves, smeared with kochujang Korean style cold cucumber and wakame soup with lots of young ginger Japanese rice red wine rakkyo

breakfast (as usual) iced coffee and a bowl of swiettwiet, a German cereal similar to Sugar Smacks but not so sweet.

you aren't going to share it?

I was doing some weeding yesterday and discovered I have lost my first zucchini to blossom rot!

word for 5/30: 定食 teishoku (tae-shoh-koo) these are "set" meals that include a main dish, rice, soup, and pickles, sometimes a salad, sometimes another small side dish and usually some hot tea. These are very popular lunches and can usually be had for quite a good price. they are often referred to by the name of the main dish, so for example: tonkatsu teishoku (breaded pork cutlet） shogayaki teishoku (pork stirfry with a ginger sauce) ebi furai teishoku (deep fried panko coated shrimp) here are some pictures of very typical teishoku: http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~mohso/kyoz...ING/TEISHOK.HTM

I make it exactly as Magaret does! I believe this is the most common way, the konbu should never be boiled! You want to bring it to a boil slowly though, so that the konbu has enoough time to release its flavor, so set it over a lowish heat. The katsuo flakes can be boiled for just second ady more then that and they will become to strong and bitter. carrots?