smallworld

Which 100yen shop did you buy these from?

Exactly! A bad bagel compares to a good one like limp Tokyo udon compares to Sanuki udon.

Smallworld, what else in is your chicken loaf? Do you cook it in a fry pan? I have never tried that before and it looks really good! ← I add fresh shiitake (the big fat kind, can't remember the name), carrot, egg, soy sauce, mirin and katakuriko to ground chicken, spread the mixture on a sheet of nori and roll it up, saute it in a frying pan, then add seasonings and braise it. Will post a recipe if you like.

Hiroyuki, American bagels are moister and chewier than Japanese bagels, and denser too. They should also be fresh, and truly fresh bagels are hard to find in Japan. I don't think Prasantrin said that blueberry bagels are sweetened. He just doesn't like the idea of fruit in bagels, or cinammon, or non-savoury flavours.

I love niku-maki and make them often. I usually wrap pork around parboiled green beans, then saute and braise them in soy sauce and mirin. I also make a chicken roll, with a chickenloaf-like filling wrapped in nori: I also love German "rouladen", beef wrapped around various things (like bacon, mustard and onions; dill pickles; bread stuffing etc.), but find the Japanese version so much easier that I haven't made rouladen in years.

Because I'm a lazy bastard hoping to get strangers to do my own work. OK, not really, and I do plan to call them, but I'm in Japan so with the time difference and all it might take be a while before I get around to it. I guess I figured that since there seems to be a bit of interest here, someone might be able to do it quicker than me. That's all. Sorry. So I will call, and I will share the results, and I do hope you forgive my impudent request.

According to their website, Ozawa Canada carries wagyu. I emailed them an inquiry last week but haven't heard back from them. Would anybody be willing to call them?

Thanks guys. I'll keep looking and keep you updated.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed your fugu. Dornachu, which branch of Genpin Shimonoseki Fugu did you go to? Did you get the full course? Kiem Hwa, aren't you lucky! Many folks consider the cheek (of any fish) to be the best part. But considering the size of fugu, I'm surprised it was pointed out to you. I mean, the cheek chouldn't have been larger than a pea! Were you even able to find the cheeks in the nabe, or did they just kind of melt away?

I'd like to send some wagyu (aka Kobe beef) steaks to my family in the Toronto area. Not living in Canada, this is harder than I thought. Does anyone know a supplier that will deliver wagyu steaks? Any info would be much appreciated.

Sorry to disappoint you, Hiroyuki. But I like to think us eGulleters are a fair and balanced bunch of people, without unreasonable prejudices. So we may be occasionally grossed out by some of the unusual foreign-inspired Japan foods (the odd uses of ketchup and mayonnaise, for example), but more often than not, we like the unique way Japan adopts non-Japanese foods and flavours. Now, about cake. I'm not a big cake fan and don't like whipped cream at all. But Japanese cake (I'm talking about cake in general, not just Christmas cake) is way better than Canadian cake. A million times better. The cake itself, and the topping- if you've ever tried canned cake frosting or fake whipped cream, then you'd know what I mean. As for Christmas cake, well, the discussion can't go much further until you answer this: Have you ever tried a fruitcake? How about a North American yule log?

Hard to get used to strawberries in December, true. But I'll take a Japanese Christmans cake over a traditional fruitcake anyday!

Looks good and healthy. Is jyouya-nabe a regional dish? Are spinach and pork its typical ingredients?

Thanks for sparing us, Hiroyuki. Very considerate of you. I made tarako spaghetti for dinner tonight and my husband said it was the best wa-fu spaghetti he's ever had. I don't know if he was exaggerating or not, but it was very good. The only difference was I used more mushrooms (hiratake, buna-shimeji, shiitake), added a bit of butter, and skipped the nori and katsuo-bushi in favour of shiso. But essentially it was the same. I've never thought of using onions in wa-fu spaghetti, same goes for mentsuyu. But it really really works. Thank you!

Yup, that's what they're called here. The full name is "conbiniensu stoah", but thanks to the Japanese love of abbreviation nobody actually calls it that. It's called a "combini". Montrachet, I often buy combini oden and nikuman. I guess it depends on the convenience store, but I've always found these two to be fresh. Never had anything that tasted old or stale. Most combinis make use of every spare inch of space, and if a product doesn't sell well it is very quickly replaced. Considering how much valuable counter space is taken up by oden pots and niku-man steamers, I imagine they are big money makers and sell quickly. I actually don't like combini bento and only rarely buy the onigiri, and most of the hot food like french fries, hamburgers and fried chicken are just scary. But I love the oden and niku-man. Find a busy convenience store and give it a try!

I loved reading about all the different nabes, I would have loved to see more pics too but oh well. If your cameras are ready, how about taking some pictures next time you do nabe? And any ideas for the next theme day? I think during the New Years holidays an Ozoni Day would be neat- I'm sure everybody does theirs differently. And before that, is anyone up for a Curry Day in early December? Or, more appropriately to the season, takikomi-gohan day? Or any other ideas?

I've always considered souzai to be take-out side dishes. To be eaten as part of a proper meal. The fact that they may be served in individual little side dishes is unimportant; most Japanese food, from snacks to components of a regular meal, are served in individual little dishes. Western food is also served as souzai, in which case it would likely be served on one big plate. So no, souzai are not the same as tapas. I think the closest word to tapas in Japanese is "kozara ryouri", literally "small dish cuisine". This style of eating is rather expensive and is meant to accompany sake.

Thank you. I forgot to add that we're doing this one day early because we're going out for dinner on November 7th. Sorry for jumping the gun! So with the time difference, I guess we'll be reading about everyone's nabes over three days. Fun!

Just finished our nabe. We did ishikari-nabe, a Hokkaido specialty. It starts with a kombu dashi flavoured with sake, soy sauce, miso (I used a mix of red and white), and tiny amounts of butter and garlic. There are actually several versions of ishikari-nabe, but we prefer this rich, slightly decadent recipe. Ingredients for this nabe vary, but every version contains salmon. The ingredients: top left basket: hiratake (oyster mushrooms), chingen-sai (bok choy), potatoes, salmon, daikon; top right basket: scallops, shiitake, negi (scallion), carrots, enokidake (straw mushrooms); bottom basket: hakusai (Chinese cabbage), tofu, mame-moyashi (soybean sprouts), thinly sliced pork; shichimi, butter, corn and sliced negi are on hand as well. Here is my first bowl. About to be sprinkled with shichimi and negi. With a teeny pat of butter on the scallop and potato. Mmmm... When the ingredients are used up, we add fresh parbroiled ramen noodles and any leftover corn and mame-moyashi. This is a lot like Sapporo ramen and is a great way to finish the nabe.

May I ask what you plan to do with all that squash? Pumpkins couldn't be found this year so I bought four squash to carve as jack-o-lanterns. Only had time for two, so now I have a couple leftover. One is a turban squash and a flattish dark green squash like the two on the left side of your picture. What are these green ones called? What is the best way to cook my two squash?

An update on the poison mushrooms. http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20041105p2a00m0dm011000c.html Seems this year's unpredictable weather has caused angel's wings mushrooms to grow funny. And more plentifully, which means people are eating more of them.

Thanks Hiroyuki. I think most North Americans are already familiar with the idea that starch is the key in determining how any given variety of potato can be used. We have a huge variety of potatoes, and tend to divide them into three starch-based categories: starchy, waxy, and all-purpose. In Japan, "May Queen" potatoes are the ones recommended for boiling or simmering, but I've been disappointed with them. Don't know if May Queens are just not waxy enough, or if the ones I'm buying are just too old (I think potatoes become starchier as they age). In fact, I've been disappointed with all potatoes in Japan- the variety is small, they are less flavourful, and they are just too all-purpose (as in, May Queens are too starchy and danshaku aren't starchy enough). I will be on the lookout for Akita akari potatoes though.

Interesting that it was served as a noodle dish. I love ishikari-nabe, and my favourite part is the ending. Like most nabe, the broth leftover at the end has become richly flavoured from simmering all the ingredients, and makes an excellent base for ojiya (a rice dish) or udon noodles. But with ishikari-nabe, ramen noodles are served. Which makes it similiar to Sapporo ramen. I'm curious to know if your noodle dish came with all the seafood and noodles together, or were the noodles added at the end? Amy (yup, me too)

So what's it like?

Very nice pictures, Muffin. My guess for the mystery dish: yurine (lily root). Perhaps, as Phish said, deep fried and then simmered in dashi.