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How was the konnyaku? Wonder if it's available in the U.S.

These are fantastic ways of eating tofu, but probably not acceptable to a vegan. Bonito flakes are definitely out, as is the dashi/tsuyu that accompanies soba noodles, as is (usually) honey. For cooking some Japanese tofu dishes, kombu dashi is a decent alternative, I think.

is it not gone? Oops, must be. Haven't been there in several years -- pretty good place, though. It's still there. Just ate there the other day.

chilled silken tofu with fresh thinly sliced napa cabbage kimchi, splash of shoyu. ingen no goma ae (green beans with a sesame dressing). gobo kinpira (quick soy-sake-sugar saute of burdock root). brussels sprouts roasted with ginger, shoyu, dressed afterwards with sesame oil and a crunch of salt. shiitake wrapped in foil with a pat of butter, splash of shoyu, glug of sake, sprinkle of salt, tossed in 400 oven for a bit. squeezed with lemon afterwards. japanese rice. clementines for dessert.

I would try asking some other Japanese ex-pats or people who work at Japanese companies - my company actually gets two video services that come to the office every week, and they also take requests. I don't know a whole lot about the Japanese population in London, but I'd bet there are enough people to warrant a few video stores. Also, is there any Japanese TV at all? Over here we get Fujisankei on cable, and while I've never seen any Dochi no Ryori show being broadcasted, they might have some info on how to get ahold of tapes. Maybe?

I don't know where you are, but in New York you can rent the tapes. Tokyo Video, Akean Video, and Midnight Video are a few Japanese video rental stores in the area. They usually only have recent releases, but they can get pretty much anything you request, don't ask me how. I love this show too, by the way. Definitely the most entertaining of all the recent Japanese cooking shows, I think.

Tuesday The last of this weekend's borscht. I thought I'd had enough, but now that it's gone... Shaved brussels sprouts with mustard seeds and dijon. Roasted turnips, golden and red. One stray Yukon Gold tossed in for good measure. Olive oil, thyme, s&p. Challah, first attempt from Bread Baker's Apprentice. Some sort of salad, ubiquitous mesclun, I didn't make or eat. Mattei 2001 Barbera, been showing up quite a bit lately around here.

I used to live right next door to that Kua'aina in Aoyama, and I agree with the good reviews. It is pretty small and it does get crowded, though.

Oh, I used to love this stuff. Still do, actually, although I don't drink it as much anymore. Should I be ashamed? My favorite was always Kirin's Gogo no Koucha milk tea. I used to drink this after lunch at school all the time - milk tea or else ko-hi gyunyu (coffee milk). You know, it totally never occured to me that canned milk tea and coffee are weird. Are they really?

Also: champon, Nagasaki's famous dish. Medium thick noodles in a thick seafood soup. Nagasaki is also famous for Shippoku food, a course meal served banquet style with a lot of Chinese dishes and influence.

I was really surprised the first time I ate Chinese food in Japan as well. Until now, though, I was under the impression that it's closer to authentic Chinese food than what's usually available in the US, but perhaps that's not the case? I think there's a difference, though, between Japanese style Chinese food and Chinese restaurant food in Japan. The food at Chinese restaurants in Japan always seemed a lot lighter than Chinese food in the US. Mabo dofu is probably my favorite Japanified Chinese dish - I ate it first in Japan, and really hated it the first time I ordered it from a Chinese restaurant. I also like nira-tama soup (chive egg) a lot, although I'm not sure if that's really coming from Chinese food. Does ramen count? Shu mai? Now I have an incredible craving for sara udon. There's something so nice about how the sauce softens up the noodles a bit and everything gets all starchy and gooey. Might have to make this tonight.

Tofu, broccoli, string beans stir fried in a ginger sauce Roasted delicata squash with sesame oil and chile Yaki nasu - grilled eggplant with grated ginger and ponzu Miso soup with cabbage, enoki, carrot Japanese rice Clementines and mint tea for dessert

I have many lonely tea balls, too. And I use a toothpick to devein shrimp.

Oh! I totally forgot about the twisty konnyaku. When I was working in a restaurant, the guy in charge of making makanai (staff dinner) would always twist my konnyaku (that sounds bad, huh). I used to love to eat it that way. I'm really, really intrigued by the fresh homemade konnyaku. I wonder if there's anywhere in New York that makes it. Are konnyaku imo available outside of Japan?

Bought some konnyaku to put in oden the other day, and tried a new (to me) type called tama konnyaku. The pieces looked like little mini potatoes, and they had a more pleasing texture and bite than big block konnyaku (which I also like). I sometimes have a hard time with the big pieces in oden, but these little nuggets are an ideal size. They are also surprisingly fun to hold in one's hand. My boyfriend also mentioned that homemade konnyaku is great, an entirely different animal from store bought. Any more comments on the kind you tried, Kristin? He also said that it typically comes round, or ball shaped, like the tama konnyaku I mentioned above. He claimed it has to do with squeezing or pressing it in gauze or cheesecloth while making it - any idea if this is true? He's not always trustworthy about food related issues.