torakris

and how can I forget the japanese cherry-- sakuranbo!!

Thanks! That sounds right. Just to lazy to go look it up!

Bigfoot, thanks for the recommendation! My husband and I have an anniversary coming up next month and are looking for a place to go. That recipe sounds incredible and i just happen to have a pack of phyllo in the freezer! Eagerly awaiting the recipe!

Japanese fruits are some of the best I have ever eaten, of courser they have the price tag to go with it! huge, dark purple, juicy grapes melons that are so soft they fall apart at the touch of your fork the nashi in Japan can't even be compared to the ones sold abroad I have also discovered new fruits like biwa, anyone know what this is?

Anyone have recipes to go with any of these dishes? Embarrassed to admit I have never been to a Greek restaurant and my only tastes have been from some Greek style fast food places in food courts at malls! My husband (then boyfriend) promised to take me to a greek restaurant on our last day before leaving Maui to move to Japan, but upon stopping at the ATM to withdrawl money for the meal, we discovered we only had $2 left to our names. We went back to our apartment and he made me dinner: sauteed whole canned tomatoes seasoned with soy sauce and served over rice, the only things left in the apartment! I still never forget that meal!

My garden is slowly expanding, last weekend saw additions of basil oregano cherry tomatoes swiss chard bell peppers (red, yellow, orange) shishito (Japanese green slightly spicy peppers)

Weds dinner: unagi kabayaki (eel grilled with a soy based sauce) mizuna and crab style tsurumi fish cakes salad with cucumbers and myoga (ginger buds?) tossed with a sesame dressing simmered kabocha (http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r339.html ) dessert: more ice cream

I had dinner once at the table next to Michael Bolton, does that count as something?

Yuk gae jang is one of the most comforting foods I can think of! Jin is right, start off with some simple miso soups. The Koreans make some great clear soups komtang (oxtail soup) tongtae kuk (clear fish soup) miyeok kuk (chicken and wakame soup) kiyeok nengkuk (cold cucumber and wakame soup) this last one is one of my favorites and I make all summer long. I will try to get my recipe posted. By the way, WELCOME!!

sansai are really incredible, they can be quite difficult to find in stores (though cultivating them is becoming more common) thus they are pretty much a restaurant speciality (unless you live in the mountains!!). Each area of Japan has their own varieties and their own ways of preparing them.

DONE! http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...T&f=19&t=20046&

As Jin commanded! Favorite fruits?

In Japan dessert after a meal normally means a piece of fruit, sweets (wether Japanese or Western style) are rarely eaten. Wagashi traditonally were part of the tea ceremony, but today are eaten along with regular teas both green and black. Wagashi are broken down into 3 general types: NAMAGASHI "raw" confections, these need to be quite soon after making because they don't preserve well. This can include fresh jellies as well as some of the mochi/bean combinations. Examples: ohagi (an oval shaped rice ball coated with red bean paste) and sakura mochi (a pink tinged, red bean paste filled rice ball wrapped in a salt preserved cherry leaf or topped with a salt preserved cherry blossom) HAN-NAMAGASHI "half or semi-raw", these can last a little longer the the raw ones and examples can include mizu-yokan (jelly made from red beans) and manju (steamed buns filled with red bean paste, sesame paste, or some other local speciality) and dorayaki (pancakes filled with red or white beans, custards, etc). HIGASHI "dry" confections, these would consist of things closer to Western style candies, as well senbei (rice crackers), though they are not normally considered sweets. What are some of your favorite wagashi?

Smallworld I agree completely with you! Japanese pies are the worst! I used to think I liked American desserts until I moved to Japan, now when ever I go back to the US, I can't touch them! They seem so sickly sweet.

I really love donburis, I love the contrast of the hot white rice with a highly seasoned (spicy or salty) topping, or else with seafood, partucularly uni or ikura. There is a wonderful kamameshi restaurant by our house that my husband and I used to frequent quite a bit.

Here are some nice pictures of various sansai: http://www.geocities.jp/wakabayashi3990701...1/esansai1.html

I definitely think takenoko (bamboo shoots) are the most popular and really signify spring here. Then there are the sansai ( mountain vegetables): taranome: angelica tree shoots urui: hosta shoots fukinoto: unopened buds of butterbur (fuki) kogomi: fiddleheads warabi: bracken koshiabura: not sure of the English name udo: not sure of English name then there are the "spring" fish: Tai (sea bream) sawara (Spanish mackeral) and we can't forget the soramame (fava beans) and very soon we will be smelling the roasting of the new green tea leaves!

Isn't it the crushing of the seeds that makes the sauce bitter, so if they aren't crushed during the process.... Is it possible that some varieties of tomatoes have seeds that are more bitter then others? I have never noticed bitterness in the pasta coked by myself, my mother or my grandmother.

I am too lazy, I mean busy! to seed and peel tomatoes. My Italian mother nor Grandmother do it either, I am not sure of their reasons though

Yesterday I bought a new soy sauce, it is called shijimi shoyu and is made with shijimi extract, katsuo, and konbu. Shijimi are tiny (fingernail sized) freshwater clams that are quite popular in miso soup. It has a great "seaofod", mostly konbu flavor that I think would be a great match with sashimi, it also has a nice clean salt kick but in no way is it salty. I don't think I would use it in simmered foods, its subtleties would be lost, definitely much better as a dipping sauce/topping.

Tuesday dinner: fusilli with a bacon-wild mushroom-cream sauce tomato and arugula salad dessert: ice cream

I have been working on a tiramisu for a while now and have finally found my favorite. It is quick and simple, i will try to post it later today. I have worked it out so that is uses the entire carton/tub of the products as they are found in Japan (250 grams marscapone, 200ml cream,etc), so they might not work as "simply" in other parts of the world. I also don't drink much alcohol and don't like heavy on the alcohol desserts, so my version is made with just espresso and occasionally a splash of amaretto.

From my post on the dinner thread about a month ago: Dessert: I had wanted to make strawberry shortcakes, but had no desire after dinner to even whip a quick scone recipe, so i improvised and ended up with a cross with tiramisu. I macerated some straberries with sugar, then lined lady fingers up in a casserole and poured the strawberries on top and placed in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. I then whipped up some cream with sugar and vanilla and spread it on top and topped with some cocoa (I wanted to shave some choclate but didn't have any in the house). We ate typical Yamaguchi style, sitting on the floor with 5 spoons! biggrin.gif Next time (and there will definitely be a next time!) I will use more strawberries! Strawberry season is just ending in Japan, I Can't figure out why it runs from December to April here!

Shun no mono (seasonal foods) for haru (spring) what are some Jpanese foods that remind you of spring?

Grilled rice balls (with soy or miso) and grilled mochi brushed with soy and wrapped in nori are some of the most comforting snacks!