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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.

double post

same here! and also, grilled kabocha with ponzu brussels sprouts halved and sauteed with lots and lots of shallot and garlic and ginger, some soy sauce, sesame oil miso soup with age (light strips of fried tofu) and daikon radish japanese rice napa cabbage pickle, cucumber pickle

Safety issues aside, I find that kimchi begins to taste off after a week or so. Kind of a sour, unpleasantly bubbly feeling to it - I don't know how to explain it in English, but in Japanese it's a "piri-piri" feeling on the tongue. Usually when I feel this coming on, I use it in a cooked dish. Heating seems to calm it a bit.

Rainy night, bad mood. Cream of tomato soup with sourdough toast. Roasted green beans. It's like being ten again, except now I'm the one making it. Boyfriend ate all this, plus leftover Chinese food (some sort of broccoli thing, some fried rice) and a full serving of zaru soba.

Interesting stuff. I wonder how many people really are put off by the spice and the smell. And the unknown ingredients and different types and cuts of meat. If garbage is the main factor, though, it'd be a miracle if anyone could eat Chinese food after walking through New York's Chinatown after dark. Blood and fish guts and rotting things. When did sushi and Japanese food become popular in the US? Anyone know any history on that?

I know about Flushing and New Jersey, and of course I understand that Korean food is popular there - lots of Korean people live there. What I'm wondering about is why cuisines like Thai, or Indian, or Japanese have managed to become so popular even in areas that don't have large populations of Thai, or Indian, or Japanese people, and why the same hasn't happened for Korean. Although from reading the responses, it looks like I'm wrong about this. Wouldn't be the first time.

Felt like eating autumny yesterday. Stuffed acorn squash. Shredded brussels sprouts cooked down in butter, some Dijon and popped mustard seeds stirred in. Roasted potatoes. Japanese rice for boyfriend; none for me.

Some minestrone alla genovese that came out of the freezer during a recent cleanout. Not particularly looking forward to it, but I'm determined to save money and fight the takeout temptation. Maybe an apple later on.

I may be way off base here, but it seems to me that Korean food gets very little publicity in the US, and what attention is paid to it seems to focus mainly on BBQ. Do you agree? What's the reason for this? Is there something that makes Korean food less accessible to some people? I would say at least 50% of my friends (not to mention family) have never tried Korean food, and probably wouldn't know where to get it even if they were interested. Other Asian cuisines are experiencing such popularity - two Thai restaurants have recently opened up in my (relatively) small hometown, along with at least three new Japanese places, a few Indian restaurants - but Korean seems to get no love. Even here in New York, with its billions of restaurants, there seems to be a decided lack of Korean restaurants outside of K-town. I love Korean food - possibly my favorite all around thing to eat - and I don't understand why others don't. Do you agree?

For some reason, the web page linked to shows up in Chinese on my computer. Could it be something with my browser settings?