torakris

yeas price ranges would be very helpful, even Rona and I have quite different ideas... For me a splurge in over 6,000 ($60) a person and average (dinner) 1500 to 3000. Under 1500 ($15) is cheap.... Rona it looks like you eat much better than I do!

is there anything you absolutely can not eat? Anything thing you absolutely must try?

I always reheat it. Because it's so juicy, it tends to get soggy when it cools. A couple of minutes in the toaster oven and it's as good as new! I noticed that the seafood pizza is also gone from the Costco here. The frozen drinks seem to be seasonal, too. Right now it's mango, but it used to be mixed berry. ← yeah I noticed that mango drink and was very tempted. I also noticed they now have a vanilla and matcha swirl soft cream... A couple months ago, when they changed the pizzas to square, they had all three kinds (mix, seafood and cheese) but now the seafood does seem to be gone. Their sweet potato cake is really good though as is their orange flavored swiss roll....

I should actually be more specific and say that I want the recipe for oxtail soup that they serve at Nazo's in Wailuku (Maui). But if anyone can get me close I would be more than happy. I have tried making it a couple times and something is missing.. There is definitely star anise, scallions and quite a bit of ginger (including extra served on the table). This is the only oxtail soup I ever ate in Hawaii so am not sure how the taste compares to other places. When I was living in Maui my husband and I were there at least once a week and it has been way too long since we have been back. I did find this description of it in this blog. (you need to scroll down a bit)

I am please to report that my beloved bulgogi bake is back at Costco!! It disappeared last fall, I assume because of the lack of cheap American beef. It was still missing at the beginning of July, but last week it was back! Gone was the chicken bake (no tears shed for that! I though it was horrible!), though. Here's a picture of the inside of a bulgogi bake. There's quite a bit of meat in it, and it's very juicy. If you haven't already tried it, you really much. While the priciest of Costco food offerings (Y399) it's at least 2 meals worth of food! ← I never realized it was gone! I was just there on Thursday and my friend ordered it for her lunch. I really like them but they are just too big for me to eat a whole one. Do you re-heat it?

hiyayakko topped with blanched okra and myouga

It turns out we are will be going out this weekend so I made up some yaki-udon on Friday! Udon are my favorite of the Japanese noodles and yaki-udon is very similar to yakisoba except with udon noodles. i usually make a very simple one with just soy sauce and a large handful of katsuo-bushi (bonito flakes). I found this package of yaki-udon on sale and decided to give it a try. (note the sale sticker ) I added what I had in the house, pork, cabbage, onions and carrots and topped it with beni-shoga and katsuo flakes it had this extra seasoning pack with butter flavor, I was going to leave it out... I really wish I had. butter and yakisoba.....eeewww

I finally picked up some sujiko and made ikura for the first time ever! I poured hot water over them to remove them from the skins and then rinsed them a couple of tiems to remove all the stubborn parts. I marinated them with soy, mirin and sake in a 3:1:1 ratio. I tasted them this morning and the mirin adds jsut a touch of sweetness, I really like these! The webiste I pulled the recipe from said they are best eaten 3 to 5 days after making them so ikura-don is on the menu for Monday. the nama sujiko the ikura marinating

How long did you keep them in the sauce? Also remember that there are two main kinds of ikura, shiozuke (made with just salt) and shoyu-zuke (made with a sauce like you made). The shoyu-zuke ones I buy tend to have a darker hue than the almost neon like shiozuke.

gobo flavored snack don't waste your money...

not as good as the tandoori ones, but not bad: Spicy Indian curry flavor I didn't really care for these onion gratin soup ones....

This is one of my favorite recipes! Vinegar is used quite a bit in Japanese cooking. In simmered dishes (especially with chicken), in nanbanzuke--the Japanese version of escabeche and even in stirfried dishes. The latest health rage in Japan is drinking vinear, especially black vinegar. The Japanese black vinegar is quite mellow in comparison to its Chinese counterpart. I even saw a black vinegar yogurt... For the longest time one of my favorite dishes was a sweet and sour pork made with bamboo shoots and shiitake with balsamic vinegar, then the restaurant stopped serving it...

Rona, This one item I have yet to find here.... I just picked up a bottle in the US and brought it back with me. Sorry not to be much help. It wasn't that easy to find in stores in Cleveland either, I finally ordered it online from The Spice House. Azian, pomegranate molasses is used in Middle Eastern cooking and can be used with meats, beans, even salads and desserts. It adds a tangy-tart flavor. It is a very thick syrup and is different from grenadine syrup used for cocktails as this tends to have other added flavorings.

9/8: 鮭フレーク sake (shake) fureeku (pronounced foo-ray-koo) flaked salmon This is a very common convenience food that can be found in smal glass jars almost anywhere. The most popular way of using it is probably in onigiri (rice balls) but it has a variety of cooking applications. It is quite moist and also lightly seasoned. sake fureeku

I was really scared to use flour. According to Mario's book: As you work, dust the pasta sheet with a tiny pinch of flour only if it seems to be sticking- too much flour will dry out the dough. My dough was really sticking to everything! it would get stuck to other pieces ofdough and there was no way to pull them apart. After getting a little more liberal with the flour it still was sticking... I like the idea of blaming it on the weather

let's talk about the dough....and the flour.... There is no all-purpose flour in Japan, it is either "strong" (bread flour with a protein content of 11% or higher) or "weak" (basically cake flour, they use it for tempura, that is a protein content of 8% or lower). The only flour I had in the house was a bread flour with 13.8% protein and a "weak" flour with 8%, I went with the weak stuff. COuld this have been part of my mistake? Also I know there are some foods you just can't mess with on humid days, is this one of them? It was an extremely humid day on Sunday as a typhoon was approaching. The same typhoon that is currently re-arranging my backyard....

This summer I was on a search for good cutting board and I ended up with the Epicurean. I wouldn't trade it for anything, I really love it. It comes in a variety of sizes and thicknesses and the price won't break the bank.

I wouldn't have used my version for anything more than a jam, it was quite sweet almost candy like. Hiroyuki's version though looks like a good chutney type, especially with the addition of yuzu.

I second this opinion! The first dinner I cooked for my family when I arrived in the US was tonkatsu and it was requested over and over again. But once was enough, standing in a kitchen with no air conditioning over hot oil trying to make tonkatsu for 15 to 20 people ....

As long as it tastes good... My nine year old daughter was just looking over my shoulder and commented that it looked delicious! So now you have the Japanese kid stamp of approval, congratulations!

beautiful! So how did the cream taste? could you taste the jam?

9/6: スモークサーモン sumooku saamon smoked salmon If you see this on a menu or in the store, it will most likely be of the cold smoked type. Though quite a bit is imported, the Japanese also make their own. smoked salmon

9/5: 燻製 kunsei smoked When you see salmon referred to as kunsei it is usually hot smoked. kunsei

teepee that is a great site! I have never seen a book on Japanese pastries/breads in English and searching on the net doesn't turn up anything either. Maybe if you have something in mind that you want to try we could help out.

Oh no! I just won one on eBay, and now I'm scared. my kitchen was a disaster today after making muffins - I'm sure pasta will be an adventure for sure! ← Run, Danielle, Run! Run very quickly now while you still have a chance!!