torakris

It has been 3 years since anyone added to this thread! I made a really nice aemono with cucumbers and daikon with a peanut-rayu (chile oil) dressing. From the May 2006 3 pun Cooking magazine.

This was too beautiful to pass up! too bad it tasted like crap.... If you enjoy fake banana taste you may enjoy this one. But isn't the packaging pretty? I think I may keep the box.....

I merged this thread with the one in the Japan forum so for those of you who are new to the thread you might want to scroll up to see all the yummy konnyaku pictures! Onigiri, konnyaku can be added to okonomiyaki but it is more commonly added to negi yaki (like okonomiyaki but scallions instead of cabbage). Here is a picture of one I ate recently, it is hard to see but the grey stuff is konnyaku.

I am coming in very late to this thread... I can't believe anyone would choose cake over pie! Give me pie any day, I could easily live without cake. Not any of those "cream" pies though, fruit and only fruit!

Just a note to let everyone know I split the talk of rice in the soup into it's own thread because I thought it was an interesting topic as well and don't want to to get lost. Rice in the soup bowl thread

For ajitsuke 味付け半熟卵 hanjuku tamago, you don't cook the egg any further of the yolk will harden. The peeled eggs are placed into a bag/bowl/tupperware with the seasonings for anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight. Much longer and they will become too salty. A simple recipe is equal amounts of soy sauce, sake and mirin with a pinch of dashi powder and some sliced garlic. In a pinch they could be marinated in tsuyu.

This is great news! To get from my parent's house to anywhere I have to drive past a BP.

瓢亭卵 Hyotei tamago is essentially the same as hanjuku tamago, it is considered a Kyoto meibutsu (speciality food) made famous by the restaurant Hyotei, where the recipe has been supposedly handed down for generations. Until the typical hanjuku tamago this one is usually eaten as a dish on it's own with just a drizzle of soy sauce.

Yes it does sound liek hanjuku tamago 半熟卵, these are used mostly for noodles dishes like ramen but they also find their way into salads quite a bit. I looked up a couple recipes and they were about the same except for a variation in the initial boiling time but that could be because of the size of the egg? 1. Bring a pot of water (enough to cover the eggs) to a boil over high heat and then carefully place the eggs inside. Bring back to a boil and lower the heat to medium, boil for 4 to 7 minutes--one recipe said 4, one said 5 and one said 7..... 2. Turn the heat off and let sit for one minute. 3. Place the egg either in ice water or under cold running water for a couple of minutes to cool it down a bit, then peel and eat!

If you look around a bit you will see some products labeled 無添加調味料 mutenka choumiryou These are additive free products and I have seen them popping up more and more, but I am unsure of the availibility of them out of Japan. Ｈｅｒｅ　ｉｓ　ｏｎｅ　ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ They still are not a staple prodcut on supermarket shelves here though....

This article gives some good information about binchotan, including some other uses for it that are very popular in Japan.

I found these last week: "spring salt" flavor with nanohana (like broccoli rabe)..... This has got to be a first.

I am always on the look out for quick but good lunches for myself when the kids are in school. Last week I picked up this: Cold tan tan men with a spicy sauce and nikumiso, you can add anything you want to it. I found the noodles to not quite be enough for my appetite so the second time I added a large handful of bean sprouts.

I made a wonderful shin-gobo (new spring gobo) and mitsuba last night. The recipe was from the May edition of 3 pun cooking (3 minute cooking) magazine. After blanching the gobo it was mixed with a dressing of canola oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, minced garlic and dried chile.

Last night I made a nabanzuke with wakasagi (Japanese smelts). I used katakuriko (potato) starch instead of flour for the deep frying because a book recommended it but I didn't care for it. What do you usually use to deep fry for nanbanzuke?

Caribou! I forgot about them, there is one in the Cedar-Green Heinen's, I think there was one in the Shaker Heinen's as well. I always walked past but never gave tehm a try. I had a really good cup of coffee at the West Side Market last year, I had no idea of the name of the shop though, it was sort in a back corner. This may have been it.

The Caspian Sea yogurt had a major boom here a couple years back na dthen sort of disappeared, now with the new general yogurt boom it has been back on most supermarket shelves. I had it going for a couple months back then, maybe I will give it a go again. I really liked it.

There is where my biggest problem come in. Not only does miso run the gamut from super sweet white to super salty red but even the all purpose brown one can be wildly different. Most recipes just say miso, not specifying a type but I am sure the proportions would be quite different if you used a white miso instead of red. I am going to give some of these recipes a try.

I am going to spending a month in Cleveland this summer and am a coffee addict. my mother doesn't touch the stuff and my dad only drinks instant. 2 years ago the beginning of my trip I picked up a Toddy cold brew system (to take back to Japan) and last summer I convinced my brother to pick one up (now at his house in Michigan though). I know after a couple mornings of instant coffee I will be craving something good. Last summer I picked up iced coffees at both Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks.... Is there anything better? sit in or take out

I really like Izakaya food but never really thought of it as a place to go with a family, but last weekend we decided to give one a try taking our 3 kids (ages 10, 8, and 5). We have quite a few Izakaya chains in our area and we picked Doma Doma. I was very pleased we will be going back. The price was equivalent to what we pay for a dinner at a typical "family restaurant" but they food was much better. With 5 people eating we were also able to get a variety (about 10 small dishes) and a enjoy a little bit of everything. I especially liked Doma Doma's amaebi (sweet shrimp) yukhwe, as well as their tuna kama-yaki (grilled collar), their platter of fresh vegeatbles with dipping sauces contained some of the sweetest cabbage I have ever eaten.

JasonTrue's latest picture of a nagaimo dengaku (in the nagaimo thread) reminded me that I suck at making miso based sauces..... I have tried various recipes for things like dengaku and nikumiso but I have never been really satisfied with the taste, I have yet to find one that I would like to make again. Anyone have any killer recipes for miso based sauces?

Jason, that really is mouthwatering! I am going to give that a try. Speaking of tuna and maguro... one year for our new year's osechi I took thick sticks of nagaimo and wrapped them with pieces of smoked salmon, they were then sprinkle with olive oil, lemon juice and asalt and pepper. The sliminess was barely noticeable.

There are tons of yogurt sauces out there mostly fruit flavored sugar... Like this and like this.

Yogurt is one of the current health fad foods in Japan at the moment and I have noticed more and more interesting flavors coming onto the market. Last week I picked up a ume (green plum) yogurt that was wonderful.　Each cup contained a whole green plum. I just recently noticed Nakazawa has entered the yogurt market with a tomato honey yogurt. they also have a rhubarb one and a pomegranate one. A couple times I have been tempted to try this marshmallow yogurt but I haven't yet. Aloe yogurt is probably one of the most popular currently of the flavored yogurts. What are your favorite yogurts in Japan? What unusual ones have you run across?

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have never been able to do this right...