torakris

I was hoping someone would answer this question for him! I want to know too!! Please do some research on the east side as well.

I definitely recommend Ukai Toriyama, I have been there twice and will be taking my parents there when they come this spring. It is a wonderful kaiseki experience in a gorgeous setting but with out the typical kaiseki prices. Fuchu isn't too far from either Tokyo or Yokohama. Do you know what train line you will be on? EDITED to add Ukai Toriyama's Japanese homepage a nice English review with pictures

Dear Hirayuki Actually I was replying (rather late) to this post by Torakris from June 2005. So it looks like if the rice is seasoned sushi rice, it automatically becomes chirashi zushi. Therefore I think that ALL donburi use unseasoned rice. Also, because donburi means "bowl", let's discuss the actual bowls at least a bit. ← Kaitenzushi, As far as I know ALL donburis do use unseasoned rice, I have never eaten one that was seasoned. I have learned in my life though to avoid using words like all, always, never, etc because it seems there is always an exception to every rule. This is why I wrote my original post the way I did. Let's talk about the bowls! I have donburi bowls which are about twice the size of a regular rice bowl. Before I had those I used ramen bowls. Sometimes I use deepish square bowls which are slightly larger than than donburi bowls. If you do a donburi image search you will see a variety of bowls are used, in various sizes and even shapes, some even have lids.

MOS is moving away from burgers as they introduce a new rice line-up, including a salad rice (taco rice, an Okinawan speciality) and soup rices (tomato pot au feu, soy milk chowder, chicken curry). click for pictures

I made this before I went to bed and chilled them. Yummy snack, Kristin. I ate a few chunks with a sandwich (healthier then Chips) ← I am glad you enjoyed it, this is still one of my favorite foods. I now make it extra lemon-y by tossing in the the lemon half as well after squeezing it.

I think omuraisu would be a favorite food of kids in ANY culture.

That looks the same as the amount I usually eat. In our house we usually eat about one pack per bowl of rice. EDIT my kids were really into veggie tales about 2 years ago but have since moved on to shows like Hannah Montana...

Please butt in at any time! Especially if you willbe posting recipes that look as good as you just did. After a while I tend to get into a daikon rut as I have always found myself cooking it in Japanese or Korean styles. I am going to try the one you posted. I also have a nice chunk of lamb in the freezer that screaming to be made into an nice Indian curry.

The picture looks great! I would eat it, that being said I really don't care fo hikiwari natto. Try the whole bean next time. It is definitely an acquired taste.

According to Wikipedia: Daikon is very low in food energy. A 3 ounce (85 g) serving contains only 18 calories (75 kJ) and provides 34 percent of the RDA for vitamin C. Rich in vitamin C, daikon contains active enzymes that aid digestion, particularly of starchy foods.

Is there a major abundance of daikon this year?!? I have been given 3 just in the past week, a neighbor was just leaving them in front of people's doors because she was given a box by a relative after being given 2 boxes by the same relative last week. Even one of my local supermarkets has them on sale for 50 yen a piece today. I am actually sick of daikon and would be happy if I never saw another one this winter, but Hiroyuki that dish does look good!

ChryZ, what is in the sauce? It looks beautiful! My 10 year old daughter just made me scroll back up so she could see it again!

I have never eaten (or seen) this dish either. Could it have been a tartar sauce on top? most Japanese mae their tartar sauce very chunky with eggs. I found this very simple recipe of salmon being sauteed in butter and topped with a tartar sauce.

Interesting! a whole page of wikipedia on tamago kake gohan. Maybe I should I have my husband read it because he makes his wrong if that is the proper way. He cracks the egg open right on top of the rice and then pours on the soy sauce and then mixes it. He also adds mayo and sometimes butter as well...

Yup! At least I could a month ago--the last time I bought them. They also had the berry mix, a mango mix, and just blueberries. I have noticed that the frozen fruit section keeps getting smaller, though, so it wouldn't surprise me if they phased out the strawberries eventually. Which flour were you getting? At my costco, they only had some kind of mixed flour for the last few years. I think it was called Flour friend or something like that. Just recently (a few months ago), they started carrying bread flour or cake flour, each in 3 kg boxes. They aren't any cheaper than what you can get in the grocery store on sale, though. They also have sugar, but again, not any cheaper than supermarket prices. ← I am jealous, I don't think I have seen the only strawberry bags of frozen fruit at my Costco in over a year... That flour is the one I used to buy, it was 2kg and cost just over 200 yen, Japanese supermarket flour costs about 200yen for only 1kg. Those new bags they have are 600yen for the 3kg, so again 200yen per 1kg.. Costco sugar are been really high for almost a year now I used to be able to get it at 140yen for 1kg. I am going to be making some really expensive Christmas cookies this year.

Even at Costco? That's where I get my frozen strawberries (and cranberries, too!). But it's more expensive than Y88 for 500g! Why can't we get prices like that in Kansai? ← Can you get just frozen strawberries at Costco?? At the one by me it is a berry mix. I just picked up my bag of frozen cranberries (this is going to last me forever!) and am planning on making a cranberry coffee cake. Now to find some cheap flour and sugar... Costco no longer sells the flour I had been using for over 2 years. and granulated sugar prices are incredibly high.

Just a quick note to let everyone know you shouldn't waste your 100 yen on the new adzuki (read bean) KitKat. It was quite gross... I have a picture I will put up later.

NOTE: topics have been merged. GlorifiedRice, I would definitely give some of the suggestions a try. I have made wonderful dashis without katsuo-bushi. Just kombu, just niboshi, dried shiitake soaking water, etc. If it is for miso soup you can often get away with no dashi at all if you have strong flavored ingredients. I never use dashi for ton-jiru, miso soup with pork and many different vegetables.

NOTE: I have merged the two satsumaimo threads. Most of the supermarkets near my house sell the two types (beni-azuma and kintoki) all the time and at similar prices to what Hiroyuki showed. I always buy the bags of beni-azuma as they are much cheaper. The taste can be hit or miss, sometimes they are incredibly sweet and sometimes they have no flavor at all... During satsumaimo season some of the supermarkets stock a couple other varieties, including orange flesh ones and the purple Okinawan ones.

My parents have only been twice so far, but my dad has officially retired and they plan on visiting more often. They will be coming again this upcoming spring break. Japanese daughter? I have yet to hear them say that. Bibimbap is one of favorite dishes, sometimes I think I picked the wrong Asian country to live in. Check out the bibimbap cook-off for some great pictures and ideas. Japanese food courts are very similar to American ones but they tend to be smaller (have less restaurants). There will almost always be a McDonald's and usually a ramen and takoyaki shop, the other shops will vary depending on the place. Two weeks ago I have some really good (and cheap) sanuki udon at a food court while my son munched on a hamburger from the McDonalds.

That's not necessarily true. I find it hard to explain their difference in brief. Maybe some other time... ← This was the way I also differentiated between the two words, I am also looking froward to your explanation. Damn you guys post a lot! I spent the past two weeks out with a case of pneumonia and I am really trying to catch up on the posts here...

The best prices on dried fruit can be found either at Costco (huge bags though) or Tomizawa, I am fortunate to live close by to both shops... I think something has happened to all of the frozen strawberries in Japan. Up until a year ago there were at any supermarket and I regularly bought at a nearby Gyomu Supa for 88yen for a 500g bag. Last month I was trying to make strawberry smoothies for my cooking class and could not find a single frozen stawberry!

I went to 3 stores and couldn't find monkfish!! I saw it two weeks ago.... maybe it is a little early in the season? I think I will page through and pick a recipe that I have the ingredients for. The pictures are beautiful, by the way!

Suzy, Thanks! That is what I was thinking, the water will probably make a difference. I noticed the recipe I used was almost the same as yours except for the addition of water.

HELP!! I made a haupia pudding a couple days ago but I couldn't get it right. The recipe I had called for 3 cups of coconut milk 6 T cornstarch 6T sugar It was too soft, more pudding like and had to be eaten with a spoon. How long should I refrigerate it? I only chilled it for 5 hours, was that too short? Also after putting it in the pan should I cover it? I didn't and it got that film on it. I want it to look like the picture on Reid's site... I notice most recipe call for some water and his recipe has a bit more cornstarch. I am using coconut milk as I have no access to fresh coconuts here.