huiray

BTW, the previous post links to just Season 1 of Kodoku no Gurume (English subtitled). Season 2 was released in 2012 also,while Season 3 was aired in 2013. Here are the links for Season 2 and 3 (also English-subtitled) from the same website: http://www.gooddrama.net/japanese-drama/kodoku-no-gurume-season-2 http://www.gooddrama.net/japanese-drama/kodoku-no-gurume-season-3 Note: "Playlist 1" encompasses the full episode but is in two parts, one needs to click on "Part 2" in the link just above the video frame to go on to the second half of the episode. Here is another site for English-subtitled Season 3, starting with episode 1 (navigation arrows above the vid frame for going on to the following episodes): http://www.chia-anime.com/drama/watch/japanese-drama/kodoku-no-gurume-season-3/episode-1 I like this series, even if it is more of a "food-documentary" than a true drama. It shows slices of everyday modern Japanese life, with good food as a focus (of course!) but in everyday places such as everyday folks would encounter and enjoy. The sections at the end of every episode where the manga author Qusumi visits the actual restaurants shown in each episode and chats with the owners/management is also nice, IMO. ETA: The DVDs are available from A**zon but one should note the Zone region, which will vary from Region 2 (USA incompatible) to 'all regions'.

Keith_W, I dye the julienned taro before deep frying. Whatever food coloring dyes you have will do. The taro is shredded/julienned (I use an Oxo mandoline) (this one) without washing (i.e. kept fairly dry) then the dyed strips (tossed by hand after applying the dye to distribute the dye) are left to air-dry further (an hour or two) before deep-frying. No, the color does not bleed - it actually intensifies on deep-frying.

NPR article on C&W: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/02/14/172019116/fried-chicken-and-waffles-the-dish-the-south-denied-as-its-own

NYE dinner: Top sirloin cap, spiced rice, romaine lettuce. NYD dinner: Yee Sang. Fuller description here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/146451-dinner-2013-part-6/page-6?p=1947655#entry1947655

New Year's Eve: Top Sirloin Cap (pan-seared, oven-finished); Rice (toasted cumin seeds, oil, smashed garlic, (green) cardamom pods, dried basil, sea salt, Basmati rice, water); Romaine lettuce (oiled-water-blanched; oyster sauce, black pepper). ----------------------------- New Year's Day: Yee Sang (魚生). Raw salmon & raw tuna (both sushi grade), daikon, carrot, cucumber, deep fried taro yam (dyed red & green), pink pomelo, pickled rakkyo, pickled ginger, toasted sesame seeds, white pepper, five-spice powder, deep-fried wonton skin strips, fresh lime juice, coriander leaves (no stems), scallions; all tossed together with sauce (plum sauce, sesame oil, fresh lime juice). I forgot to put in the customary crushed peanuts (which I had prepared). Pic before tossing: See here for a pic of a similar previous assembly of this dish after tossing: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143989-lunch-whatd-ya-have-2012/page-6#entry1909399 See here for some comments about the dish: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/137686-salad/page-6#entry1910133

Do you have anything against instant noodles/ramen? If not, simply cook a pack of it and gussy it up with eggs (poached in situ), whatever stray meats and veggies you have on hand. Voilà! Instant meal. Do you eat/cook rice? If so, you are likely to have leftover rice around. Fried rice with whatever strikes your fancy is fast and easy. Plain celery, eggs scrambled in situ and maybe scallions (loads) fried rice make one of the simplest and most satisfying meals for me especially when I am under the weather or just plumb tired. Or even just scrambled eggs (the less-than-a-minute-marbled-scrambled-type) with rice and chilli sauce. BTW, in my opinion Marcella Hazan's simple tomato sauce (tomatoes - canned or fresh; butter; half an onion; salt; simmer) with pasta of your choice is a thing of absolute beauty and simplicity.

Don't forget squid, cuttlefish and octopus also!

Pork skin can also be cooked such that it is remarkably like cartilage in mouth feel. Any number of dishes using pork belly, for example, including many dishes in the Chinese, SE Asian, Peranakan traditions, can be stopped short of full completion so that the skin on the pork belly slices will be somewhat chewy, just like what cartilage would feel like. :-) ETA: I suppose that would be a more, uh, substantial step ("pork") for you though because of what you have said about your background.

Runoo, What about tripe and intestines? Certainly tripe is not an unknown ingredient in Mexican cuisine, for one (menudo, anyone?)...i.e. in a cuisine that is not E/SE Asian. ;-) Those would also be "chewy" in the sense that they have *definite* texture and "spring-back". Something to consider. BTW, one can buy big, ropey beef tendons (I have some in my freezer too, if you would like a pic let me know) of the sort that would probably have been used in that Taiwanese restaurant dish you mentioned and definitely of the sort that would be used in Vietnamese phở. (I use them in my home-made phở too) You might experiment braising them with beef/lamb shins/shanks or in similar ways. :-)

Runoo, you're welcome. Assuming you are in the Cary, NC area (i.e. the Research Triangle area in NC) I know there are various Vietnamese restaurants around there that serve phở. Since you say you have only had beef tendon at a Taiwanese restaurant I somehow suspect you might not have had this dish (phở) before? If so, it might be an idea to sample this dish and ask for "special pho" (or Phở Đặc Biệt) which will have the full panoply of ingredients in it including beef tendon. :-) If you have eaten this before, then please excuse me. ETA: Actually, come to think of it (and maybe broadening the discussion a wee bit further too) the beef meatballs in Phở Đặc Biệt would, if they are any good, be of the "springy" sort, with the characteristics favored by E/SE Asian folks (of Han-type ancestry) which would be "springy" with some "bite" to it, a sort of "spring-back" when one chomps into it. Something which is called "song hou" in Cantonese. This might in a sense be considered "chewy", albeit of a somewhat different characteristic than that of cartilage - but is not completely dissimilar. Fish balls and pork balls in these cuisines, when properly made, would also have this "springiness" characteristic and vendors and makers of such meat balls would be prized based on their achievement of pleasant "springiness" - that does not become excessive so as to be considered "tough" instead, that is! ETA2: In fact, beef balls are often made WITH TENDON incorporated into the meat mixture. These can be found in Chinese/E-SE Asian groceries, and are quite popular in the relevant cuisines too, versus just beef meat balls. They would certainly provide a bit of "chewiness" for you! ETA3: Here's a picture of a pack of these beef-with-tendon balls [Venus brand] I have in my freezer:

I like beef shins too, especially the whole boneless ones. I get them from full-service butchers or my Chinese grocery. I usually cut them up into rounds of my liking that day then stew/braise them in whatever style I am in the mood for - European/Western style or Chinese/SE Asian style, with appropriate condiments and spices - usually till they are meltingly tender, cartilage & tendons and all. Yum. I'm sure one could stop short of the tendons becoming as tender so that they retain some chewiness if one desired. Personally, I don't really like it when tendons are not cooked till soft (and gelatinous when eaten) and tend to put aside tendons that are chewy and resistant to my teeth...I guess it takes all kinds to make the world go round. :-) Beef shanks (as they are usually called), bone-in, sliced into rounds as frequently found all over in Western-type supermarkets and butchers etc as of course you know - are treated similarly by me. I imagine you think of the tendons in shin/shank to be encompassed in the term "beef tendon" when you described what you were after, as suggested by your comment regarding lamb shanks - I would encourage/promote that line of thought in your case! :-) When you do go after beef tendons ("in desperation") what sort do you chew on?

Pickled Cabbage Flavor Instant Vermicelli (sour tasting) (老壇酸菜方便粉絲) [白家 brand] (this one; pack of 5) with leafy celery, pressed tongue & 3 hard-boiled eggs.

Couple of recent lunches. --------------------------- • Short-tied Knackwurst, barrel Sauerkraut w/ its juices, sautéed sliced shallots, caraway seeds, salt, rice vinegar, rice wine/ryori-shu. ---------------------------- • More of the Knackwurst + Sauerkraut. (no pic) • "Cantonese Pan-fried Noodles" w/ mixed ingredients, from a local Chinese take-out joint well-liked by the general population. Sad to say, I found it too gloopy (wow, talk about corn-starch overload) and barely edible, notwithstanding its appealing look in the photo. Pan-fried? Uh, there was no crunch to it at all. The fake krab was also "off". ---------------------------- • Hainanese Chicken Rice. Small Bell & Evans chicken, salt-rubbed/exfoliated. Smashed ginger/scallions/salt etc poach. Poaching stock w/ chopped Taiwan Bok Choy (a slender form of wong nga pak / Napa cabbage). Rice cooked w/ sautéed shallots, ginger, garlic, pandan leaves (didn't particularly care for the last item, really). Three sauces: 1) ginger-scallions-sea salt-hot oil; 2) chopped garlic sautéed in veggie oil & quenched w/ sang chow (Pearl River) + water + rice wine; 3) Lingham's (sweet) Hot Sauce + Mae Ploy (Thai-type sweet chilli sauce) + fresh lime juice + rice vinegar.

Welcome! Just as an aside, tendon when properly done as a food item in its own right is NOT supposed to be chewy, at least in the E/SE Asian traditions. Instead, it is supposed to be stewed/braised/whatever so that it is practically melts (or at least yields meltingly) in one's mouth. ;-) Ditto chicken feet done properly, such as well-made "Phoenix Claws" in Chinese dim-sum, where it retains its texture but is soft and yielding nevertheless. :-) Just sayin'.

Early breakfast today: "Instant Noodles Artificial Hot & Sour Shrimp Flavor" [Dragonfly] w/ leafy celery leaves & stems, Dodge City Salami & Prosciutto Rosa [both from Goose the Market].

I do both. That last entry of mine I poached the eggs separately then added them to the whole shebang; but more commonly I will poach the eggs in the developing mixture in a single pot.

:-) Come on over.

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144211-breakfast-2013/page-16?p=1944688#entry1944688 (scroll down) http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144211-breakfast-2013/page-15?p=1941136#entry1941136 http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144211-breakfast-2013/page-11?p=1930020#entry1930020 ...and so on. I've posted about poached eggs in soup in other threads too, I think.

An excellent gurume dorama, from 2012: http://www.gooddrama.net/japanese-drama/kodoku-no-gurume Excellent series, with commentary by the manga author on which the series is based, visiting the actual restaurants the series is filmed in towards the end of each episode after the "drama" part ends. A look atl restaurants/eating places/eateries which are typically NOT tourist traps and how such places are. Wonderful food and commentary, with all sorts of Japanese, Japanese-fusion, Western-influenced food, etc etc shown. Vignettes into modern Japanese society and its mores, too.

I find the notion of using specific types of rice for specific cuisines to be unconvincing. Jasmine rice (for example) for E/SE asian cuisines, Basmati (for example) for Indian/S Asian cuisines...and never the twain shall meet...is for the birds. I myself prefer relatively non-sticking rice for any meal of mine, whichever cuisine is involved, and thus usually use Basmati for almost all my Chinese-type meals, for example. I do use Jasmine, sticky Japanese-type (e.g. Hitomebore) rices & etc on occasion and as I find myself in the mood for; but I return to Basmati-types more frequently than not. Very specific types of dishes might call for very specific types of rice (Arborio for risotto, for example) but even there I find - for myself - that it is not an inviolable rule. The tastes of them do vary - but that is but one component in the overall profile of my meals. Oh - yes, I rarely buy rice from Western-type supermarkets or places like Kalustyans. (In fact, I've never bought rice from places equivalent to Kalustyan's or Fresh Mart or Whole Foods etc etc) I've bought my rice from Indian or Pakistani or Chinese/E-SE Asian groceries basically always. [p.s. USAmerican "long grain" rice I find to be, um, not a preferred type]

Early breakfast today. • Sau Tao Noodle King Wonton Flavor (生麵皇鮮蝦雲吞味) noodles [this one]; w/ lots of chopped scallions & 2 poached eggs. • Coarse Braunschweiger [Claus’] w/ semolina bread [Amelia’s]. (no picture)

Several lunches from recent days. -------------------------- • Pan-fried King Oyster mushroom slices; w/ just salt & pepper. • Lotus root soup. With pork short-cut spare ribs, garlic, Chinese jujubes (lam jou variety), Honey jujubes, Goji berries (kei chee), raw peanuts, dried cuttlefish, sea salt. ------------------------- • Bak Kut Teh (Herbal Hoklo-Canto variety) w/ fried tofu puffs. • Gai Lan, stir-fried w/ garlic & a sauce mixture of aged Kimlan soy sauce, Morita ryori-shu, Kimlan luscious soy sauce, sesame oil [Dragonfly], oyster sauce [LKK], white pepper. • Yau Char Kwai (youtiao; Chinese crullers). • White rice (Basmati), cooked w/ fresh deep-fried shallots and shallot oil, garnished w/ fried shallots. -------------------------- • Fresh broad linguine [Nicole-Taylor’s]; tossed w/ a sauce of unsalted butter, chopped walnuts, gorgonzola dolci (melted in), heavy/whipping cream. Dressed w/ parsley florets. Had seconds and thirds; ate the whole pan of it, carb coma ensued. Zzzzz. -------------------------- • Leftover seared/roast picanha, sliced. • Boiled fresh fingerlings. • Leftover salad (Spinach, Napa cabbage, Shunkyo radish, oil & vinegar, salt, pepper) -------------------------- • Fresh pork sausage (schnecken; [Claus’]) pan-fried then sautéed with the remainder of the bamboo shoots mixture from dinner the previous day, plus a bit more Szechuan-type “nga choy” (suimiyacai). • Black rice noodles (黑米面/黑米麵) [Havista] [actual Chinese brand: 五穀豐牌]. • More “Choy Kon Tong”, cooked the previous day and left at RT (covered pot), now deeper in flavor.

Various recent dinners. ---------------------- Late dinner • Picanha (top sirloin cap), pan-seared then finished in the oven. [i left it in the pan for longer than I should have]. • Pan-fried yellow, orange, red sliced carrots. • Spinach, Napa cabbage, Shunkyo radish salad; dressed w/ oil, vinegar & black pepper. ---------------------- Dinner • Salmon fillet, marinated w/ ryori-shu, mirin, lime juice, black pepper, Shaohsing wine, vegetable oil; steamed in the marinade & sliced scallions, ginger, button mushrooms. • Soup of pork spare ribs (short-cut), fresh Chinese mushrooms ("far koo" variety), snow fungus (rehydrated), sliced young daikon, garlic, chicken stock. • White rice. ----------------------- Simple late dinner, no cooking involved. • Zungenwurst, coarse Braunschweiger, pressed tongue, peppered beef [all from Claus’ German Sausage & Meats]. • Dill pickles, marinated mushrooms [both commercial]. Semolina bread [Amelia’s], butter. ------------------------ Dinner • Spring bamboo shoots [Yes! brand] stir-fried/sautéed w/ “mui choy” (Fukien-style preserved/pickled mustard greens) ‘shoots’, Taiwanese flavor (梅菜笋台湾风味 / 梅菜筍台灣風味), garlic, veggie oil, a bit of Szechuan-type “nga choy” (Suimiyacai variety; 碎米芽菜); eaten w/ “min sin” (misua; Fuzhou flour vermicelli; 福州麵線). Dressed w/ chopped scallions. • “Choy Kon Tong” (dehydrated cole soup; w/ beef pieces, chicken pieces, pork spare rib pieces, dried cuttlefish, Chinese jujubes, rehydrated dried Chinese mushrooms (“far koo” variety).

Today: Claus' German Sausage & Meats: • Pressed tongue • Zungenwurst • Peppered beef • Coarse Braunschweiger • Short-tied Knackwurst • Fresh pork Schnecken sausages • Barrel Sauerkraut Amelia's: • Semolina bread Goose the Market: • Dodge City Salami • La Quercia Prosciutto Rosa

Well, I for one would "fourth" the idea of a salad course before your dessert, even if you say you have planned for a salad in the cold-starters stage. Perhaps a different salad combination - a light greens one, with a light (very light) dressing, or a fruit-based one - a raspberry-type, maybe?. I for one would be for more vegetables in one's meal. The creme fraiche mousse, to me, is simply another dessert - so it becomes a dessert before dessert. (Full acknowledgement - I do not particularly care for desserts anyway, personally, and seldom - nay, RARELY - have dessert or any sweet thing in my meals whether dining out or at home. (You did ask for feedback)) (I hope that dessert you described is *one* dessert, on one plate, and not multiple desserts - if I were one of your diners, that is what I would hope, anyway. :-) )