torakris

This is what I always thought too. here in Japan the non-dolsot version is by far the more popular. Some places will offer both though. I guess I prefer it more at room temperature, the dolsot version are always too hot to eat. When I make it at home I even let teh rice cool down a bit in the bowls before I top it.

Hide is home for lunch on Weds and from a little while ago we made Weds lunch curry day. We both eat some kind of instant curry.... I just dump the pack into the tupperware the leftover rice was in and heat it up. Susan, I can't tell you how happy I am to see your tupperware lunch! These were the curries we had today: mine is the kerala curry and Hide is the beef curry (our co-op's brand)

lunch for the rabbits it is difficult to see but it is cabbage and apple slices, the apples were soaked in salted water to prevent discoloration.... I can't possibly be remembered as the mother who fed the rabbits brown apples, can I?

For me the biggest difference between the Japanese and Korean ramen are the noodles. The Korean ones are thicker and have more flavor, they are also so good you can eat them as a snack straight from the package (before cooking them). As to flavor the Japanese ones offer more variety, the Korean ones seems to come in just one flavor: spicy. Of course this is just what is available in Japan, they may have a bigger selection in Korea. As I mentioned in my last post I didn't care for this brand as much as others I have had, the soup was just lacking flavor.

this particular brand didn't, some of the Korean ones I buy do as do some of the Japanese ones. This was my first time to buy this particular Korean brand and I didn't like it as much as ones I have eaten in the past.

You don't need it all, plenty of variations on bibimbap are served in just regular bowls. I never use a dolsot at home and I rarely order that version in restaurants as I prefer te non-dolsot version.

Well I never did get to eat breakfast this morning... I hid my coconut bagels (from yesterday's co-op order) away so I could eat them when the children weren't here but I cam home just before 9:00 from taking Hide to school forgetting I had a student coming at 9:00am today! My regular class is at 10am on Weds and I thought I would have to eat, get in a quick workout and shower before my class. I got in nothing. I taught straight through until 11:30 when I picked up Hide. I was starving my then...

Forgot to add that I have been nursing an iced coffee for about an hour now.... The kid have eaten a couple slices of the walnut raisin bread from yesterday and I will eat breakfast after I take Hide to school.

My family really loves cream stew so in the cooler months it gets made at least once a month. I usually add some pureed kabocha to give it color and a nice flavor but I am saving my kabocha for later in the week. I use it only for stew and have never tried soups with it. I make clam/cod chowders quite a bit but I make it from scratch and have never thought to use this packaged roux. One time I tried to make the cream stew from scratch without the roux and it just didn't taste the same, probably the msg.

let's hope none of these show up in my blog....

Yes we do, we still go at least once a month. Our next trip is sceduled for 10/18 just in time for us to pick up pumpkins and candy for our 2nd annual halloween party!

not in traditional cooking, but in everday home cooking it is used quite a bit. The Japanese curry rice is almost always started with a very similar block of roux as is beef stew and a dish that is called hashed beef, that is sort of like a stroganoff. Another very similar convenience product here are demi glace sauce and white sauce (like bechamel) in cans and retort pack. The line-up from Heinz Japan

Sorry Susan, I must have sent the bad weather over there... This morning as well as yesterday is just as you describe. I just checked the weather forecast and it currently looks like rain everyday except for Friday. This is not good as we have a couple outdoor activities planned. I am so jealous of your farmer's market, I can't wait to see your dinner tonight. Those young ginger roots are great, they are very popular in Japan though we normally eat them raw instead of in cooking. I like to scrape of the skin, then put them (leaves and all) into a glass of ice water to chill their bite and then I eat them by dipping the root in miso dip. here is a picture of a dish we had at a restaurant a little while back

I did do good with that tempura'd zucchini blossom, didn't I? I don't do a whole lot of frying, but I haven't decided all of my menus for the week yet so it may make its way into the plan. Things I brought back from Cleveland were too many to remember. I did get some nice things during my visit to Amish coutry like maple sryup, various spices, etc. Then I bought other things thata re hard to find here: instant espresso, double concentrate tomato paste in a tube, rapid rise yeast, wheat bran, etc.

I never really look at ingredient lists on these kinds of prepared foods, you know 'what you don't know can't hurt you...', but I have pulled the box out of the trash and these are the ingredients: beef fat, flour, pork fat, suagr, powdered milk, salt, cheese, spices, chicken stock, yeast extract, kelp extract, onion paste, mushroom paste, vegetable stock, then the rest conssits of various amino acids (probably msg), preservatives, flavorings and colorings. The Japanese love cream! It is quite expensive here though 200ml (3/4 cup) is about $4. Besides the obvious dessert uses it is often added to stews (both cream and beef) and soups as well as cream based sauces for western dishes.

I am definitely in on this one! and I know I can't mess this one up...

It is a good ole kabocha. The roux is a really nice convenience product that tastes pretty good, of course it is probably full of things that aren't very good for you. It should be available in your local Asian market!

As I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner I had a sudden craving, for iced tea. Not the good stuff, but the powdered Nestea version. Luckily I have to have a large container (from Costco) in the house as my husband likes to drink it at work, so I made up a large glass. I rarely tough this stuff, I wonder where that craving came from... It is time for me to head off to bed, it is approaching 9:00pm.... Susan should be getting up soon!

Since my friend introduced me to the recipe about 2 years ago, I have been making one version or another quite often. It is really a wonderful quick bread that can be thrown together at the last minute, unlike yeasted breads. I really need to learn more about htis bread, I see a new thread in the making!

I have always thought that it was a take on chowder. ← I guess I always thought of chowders as seafood, of course I did use salmon... Chicken seems to be the most common protein in the cream stews of Japan, but I find chicken to be too bland especially in combination with potatoes.

I have to admit I really don't know where cream stew (also called white stew in Japan) comes from, my mother never made it and the first time I ever ate it was in Japan. In Japan it is made with a purchased roux, that looks like this sort of looks like white chocolate, doesn't it? The vegetables are sauteed, then water is added and they are simmered until tender. The heat is turned off and the cubes of roux are added and mixed well, it is then brought back to a gentle simmer and after a bit milk is added. I add the salmon and spinach at the very end just before serving.

The prep for Tuesday's dinner with local foods. Considering the size of Japan almost anything grown in Japan could be considered local. Yokohama is in Kanagawa Prefecture which isn't really known for its farming and I had a hard time finding really local products in the co-op catalogue this week. So I went with some foods that were as close as I could get but that are also in season. It is salmon season in Japan, most of the year we get frozen farmed salmon from places like Chile but now we can get Japanese wild salmon so I chose salmon for dinner tonight. Along with some nice fall spinach we have the makings of a nice (and easy) meal. Cream stew! I like to eat my stew with bread, though the rest of my family likes it with rice. I was craving caraway seeds and didn't feel like working with a yeasted bread so I made an Irish soda bread. I must admit I have never eaten an Irish soda bread other than the ones I have made so I actually have no idea what they are supposed to taste like. I use the recipe from The Best Recipe (Cook's Illustrated's book) that an Irish friend recommended. I really like their oatmeal and walnut version but today I wanted the caraway one. The recipe actually is for both raisins and caraway but my husband will not eat raisins so I leave them out. I also don't have buttermilk so I used sour milk and I was short on butter so I added some Crisco. As I shaped it and placed it on a baking sheet I gave the recipe one last glance and realized I had forgotten to add the cream of tartar. Oops... oh well. It came out ok. The final dish: cream stew with salmon, onions, potato and spinach EDITED to fix the pictures....

snack #2 bamboo root shaped chocolates, my son's friend brought these over and I stole 3 when no one was looking..

3 o'clock has come and it is time for the afterschool snack. today I pulled out another gift brought back from China, I have no idea what this is but it sort of tastes like a butterfinger... (without the chocolate) I have also had quite a bit more water since I last wrote.

I pick Hide up from pre-school at 2:00pm. today he was a little bit more exuberant than usual. It took me a couple of minutes to notice the special yellow patch pinned to his suspenders. this patch with a picture of a rabbit means that tomorrow is his turn for usagi-toban　(essentially "rabbit duty"). This means I have to make lunch for the rabbits tomorrow...luckily they are not very picky some cabbage and carrots will suffice.