torakris
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Posts posted by torakris
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ochazuke= a bowl of rice over which hot tea is poured and then consumed (as fast as possible
)embellishments can vary from shredded seaweed to ahndful of sea urchin and everything in between.This is daughter #1's favorite breakfast.
I usually prepare a simple version for myself with either umeboshi ( pickled plums) or mentaiko (spicy cod roe?)
My husband makes his with salmon flakes, umeboshi and wasabi (Japanese green horseradish)
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One interesting note about the bright yellow takuan sold in the US (don't know about other countries) is that they are rarely dyed that color in Japan. Now they are much more commonly sold with out dyes.
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Yes kyuuri no Q chan (this is a cucumber that is sliced then pickled often with sort of a green- brown dye added, these are very cheap pickles popular with kids) is still around, maybe I am keeping them in business!
My husband doesn't really care for any types of tsukemono/oshinko (generic names for a variety of Japnese pickles), but I can't eat curry rice with out my fujinzuke( a mixture of various veggies, cuke, daikon, lotus root, eggplat dyed a deep red) and rakkyo (tiny pickled onions, usually a sweet & spicy flavor but also salt or soy sauce). I also keep benishoga (pickled ginger dyed deep pink and julienned) in the house at all times to go on okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake), yakisoba (stir fried noodles), or Chinese cold noodles (hiyashi chukka).
I love the pickle section of Japanese dept stores and can walk around all day sampling things, once I splurged and spent something like $15 on this little tub of pickled garlic (that I scarfed down in about 2 minutes!)
I rarely make pickles (except kimchi but that isn't Japanese anyway) because my husband doesn't care for it, but I make a wonderful daikon and yuzu (Japanese citron?) pickle that never makes it to the dinner table because daughter #2 and I snack on it all day long!
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While we're on this topic, anyone have some good recipes for oshinko?
What kind of oshinko are you thinking about?
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For me I am a takuan (pickled daikon) freak. I could make a meal just of rice and takuan.
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Anybody who has been to Asia: Have you ever seen an egg roll there? Or is this purely a Chinese-American thing?
In neither Japan nor Hong Kong have I seen what I grew up with as an egg roll.
The ones over here are the thin very crispy ones referred to as spring rolls or harumaki in Japanese.
Haru=spring maki=roll
Every now and then I get a craving for one of those big thick ones with unidentifiable fillings dipped into that gloppy sweet and sour sauce.
I had such a craving for these while I was pregnant with #3 that I tried on numerous attempts to imatate that red glop and to no avail.
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Kristin, so how does Mom make them? Whose Mom?
Like my mom, of course!
cabbage leaves stuffed with beef and rice mixture seasoned with worchestire sauce, Coleman's mustard, sauteed onions, S and P placed in a casserole and covered with a can of condensed tomato soup mixed with 3/4 can of water.
She probably got the recipe off a soup can, but I can't eat stuffed cabbage any other way.
Had dinner with friends on Saturday so no cooking.
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Friday night:
Stuffed cabbage (made the way mom makes them!)
green bean and hard boiled egg salad (tweaking the recipe from a couple of days ago)
dessert was lemon jello made by daughter Julia age 5
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Kristin, how easy is it to procure good Italian deli items in Japan? What city are you in?
I am in a Yokohama "suburb" on the Tokyo border. I can get "downtown" to either city in less the 30 minutes.
I just recently discovered a grocery called Nissin World Market (near Azabu juban station, Tokyo) it used to be an import meat market and has expanded to groceries. The deli is pretty much solely Italian style meats with various types of each.
This store is were I picked up the veal for my osso buco (already pre cut in 1 inch pieces) I also picked up some cornish hens, duck legs (and a jar of goose fat), and some Italian sausages. All of these meats are impossible to find almost anywhere else.
The store clientel is about 80% foreign as it is located in the area where a lot of the embassies are and also where most of the ex-pat community lives.
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Thursday Night;
Osso buco (Thanks to everyone for their help!)
--Great recipe from Marcella Hazan, will definetly be repeating it
polenta
tomato/mozarella/basil salad
small antipasto plate of olives, mortadella, prosciutto, cheeses
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My osso buco is simmering as I type. I used Marcell's recipe and am doing it on the stove.
I still ahve about 30 minutes to decide whether to do the polento or risotto.
decisions, decisions....
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stirfried garlic stems with dried shrimp and sake
That's something I've never heard of. Does it taste intensely of garlic, or is it more subtle?
These are absolutely wonderful and they are quite popular in Asia, I am not sure why they haven't caught on in the West yet.
They are solid, green stems from a type a garlic about a foot in length.
They taste of garlic but with slight vegetal tones and in no way pungent and overpowering rather a smooth flavor that I am sure even those not very fond of garlic would enjoy.
They are quite strong if eaten raw (I have never seen them prepared this way) and are normally stirfried.
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Thanks for the help everyone!
Osso buco is on the menu for tonight, still debating whether to go the polenta or risotto route.
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dessert was chocolate ice cream
torakris -
does Japanese ice cream differ from American ice cream in any noticeable way, such as butterfat content, flavors, sweeteness, etc?
thanks
Paul
Actually most of the "Japanese" ice cream is actually called icemilk, and it is just that, iced milk and most of it is not very not.
The Japanese also only have 4 basic flavors, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and green tea.
They do have Haagen Daaz here and it is leaps and bounds better than the Japanese stuff.
The thing I really hate is that the containers are so small, most ice cream is sold in 250 ml (about 1 cup) containers for individual servings, although some sell in 500ml and very occasionaly larger.
They do make some decent bars/popsicle type ice creams, last night we had chocolate bars filled with chunks of nama choco (literal translation is raw chocolate) anyone familiar with melty kiss might know what I am talking about.
They were quite good.
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I have to agree with Donna Hay books, the pictures are absolutely mouthwatering and there are pictures of absolutely every recipe listed.
I have found this true of most Australian books and of Japanese (in Japanese) books, I buy these just for the pictures.
By the way after reading this thread I went and one clicked the Shunju book, I ahd been wanting it for a while and............ like I need another cookbook!
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Still cleaning out the fridge, I refuse to buy anymore food until Sunday!
white fish (that what the label actually said: white fish) panko-ed and deep fried
stirfried garlic stems with dried shrimp and sake
noodle salad with shredded carrots, slice red onion, nira (garlic chives) dressed with nampla. lime, sugar and sriracha
dessert was chocolate ice cream
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With respect to Jinmyo's noble efforts, grapeseed oil and lime zest wouldn't even come close to the sensation of Sichuan peppercorns.
I thought that Jin meant she combines the grapeseed oil with the peppercorns and lime zest.
Jin, I would love to try this (apparently there is no ban on them in Japan and have a nice bag of them) coulsd you be a little more specific with amounts and method for making?
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Amazing. The low price and that they came from Essex. And I should mention that the price in Paris was for a kilo and in Chicago a pound. Just amazing. I wonder how they've come to be such a common and cheap item here in Europe and not in the States? I never even had a fresh one until just a few years ago - from Florida. Thanks again for the info.
Does anyone know the "season" for lychees?
They are hit or miss in the Japanese supermarkets (in Japan) yet they are a staple in salad bars through out the country.
EDIT:
I should have looked at the link before posting my question
they seem to be produced all year long.
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I think I ignored this thread when it first startd because I thought I would never find veal shanks in Japan, well lo and behold I did, and I was about to start a new thread when I searched and found this one just a week old!
Here is my problem
I was planning to use the recipe from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking but she call for the shanks to be braised in the oven. My oven is the size of a microwave and no stove top pan I own can fit into it. Would it be better to braise the entire thing on the stove and if so would there be a time adjustment? or should I transfer it to a casserole and cook it like that in the oven. By casserole I mean a 9 inch square pyrex baking dish.
Aas I was looking at recipes I ran across one in Lynne Rosetto Kasper's The Italian Copuntry Table and it calls for the additions of dried porcini, fresh mushrooms, anchovies, sugar snap peas and fava beans using sage and rosemary as the herbs.
This sounds great but i think I want to try a "regular " version first. Anyone every try this Kasper version?
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It was clean out the refrigerator night:
takkalbi (not sure of the correct spelling of this Korean dish since I am translating it from Japanese)
--a one pot dish into which I put: chicken thighs, napa cabbage, onion, Japanese leeks, carrots, garlic chives
--seasoning consists of: kojuchang, garlic, grated onion, soy, sesame, etc
--tossed some tteok (Korean style rice cakes ) in at the end
green bean and (slightly under) hard boiled egg salad dressed with EVOO, rice vinegar, red onion, S and P
dessert was marron (chestnut) charlotte that a friend had brought over.
there was only enough for one person, so I hid in the kitchen and devoured it by myself!
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Okay here comes an unbelievably stupid question.
I bought frozen lychees a little while ago, canthese be eaten the same "sorbet" style?
I guess I could just give it a try myself.
I bought them because i wanted to try a lychee soup in Nigella Lawson's Forever summer and then was torn between that and a recipe in one of Jamie Oliver's books with marinated grilled squid and some type leaf salad with lychees.
I ended up never making either
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I once received a box of mochi as a gift. They were wrapped in some type of leaf ( I think bamboo) and it was half moon shaped with red bean filling. The flavor was by far more delicate than the average mochi. And I think it was made by monks. I can't remember the name. Can anyone help me out?
Oh there are lots of those.
Think of mochi in Japan like cookies in the US, more varieties than you can imagine.
The ones I think you are talking about are quite popular, but were probably a meibutsu (local specialty).
Some of my favorite come out at hanami (cherry blossom viewing season) and are flavoresd with cherry blossom and wrapped in a green edible leaf.
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Grilled aji (sorry forgot the English name of this fish)
Spanish mackerel. Also called horse mackerel.
I thought Spanish mackerel was sawara. Or does that just apply to sushi/sashimi. Or am I completely off base?
--m.
I have no idea what sawara is in English, but it isn't the same as aji. It is very white in color more like cod.
Guess it is time to pull out the dictionary.
ochazuke
in Japan: Cooking & Baking
Posted · Edited by torakris (log)
For those who REALLY like ochazuke:
http://www.rotemdesignstudio.com/cgi-bin/s...op.cgi/ochazuke
For a nice picture and a simple recipe :
http://www.syngenta.com/en/day_in_life/ochazuke.asp