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Perogies. Smothered in bacon and onions, with a big dollop of sour cream. Can't get perogies in Japan, which makes me crave them more. Sigh. Also craving tuna belly, which I CAN get here- got some bincho-toro in the fridge, minutes away from becoming negitoro-don!

Watermelon. Mayo (unless it's just a wee bit mixed up with something else). Soft, rich, creamy desserts like pudding, cheesecake, tiramisu, whipped cream. Raw oysters. Cooked, they're dandy. Other raw shellfish I can eat (but don't love), yet I can't even get near raw oysters. Uni. Mammal innards. Certain fowl and fish guts are great though- fois gras, crab brains, cod milt, monkfish liver etc. I keep trying all of the above because sometimes they just LOOK good, or everyone else seems to be loving them. I know they are acquired tastes, so I think maybe I should try acquiring them. But time and time again I find them inedible. I like caviar, but prefer other roe like salmon or cod. Haven't tried brussel sprouts since I was a kid, and I hated them back then. But from what I've read on this post it seems that they just suffer from poor preperation. I'm sure if I try the soft mushy ones again I'll still hate it, but I bet I'd like nicely cooked ones.

Jackal, I understand leaving out the tofu, but the white chocolate too?@I think matcha and white chocolate would go very well together. Can't wait to see the final recipe!

I love my suribachi and it is another Japanese utensil that gets use in non-Jpanese ways as well. From Sout East Asian style curry paste to Italian/Spanish garlic and herb pastes. Once before i had a coffee grinder I accidently bought coffee beans and then tried to "grind" them in my suribachi, it doesn't work! The Japanese can get so many different dishes on the table because 4 of them are purchased at the depachika! I just wanted to report that I used my suribachi to make a herb oil (herb paste?), and it worked great! Less fuss than a hand-blender, with less waste and easier clean-up too. Thanks for the tip!

Don't love it, don't hate it. My husband can't eat it so we always order sushi without wasabi- and that's just fine with me! I think most fish tastes better without it, or with a bit of grated ginger or sliced negi instead. As for udon or soba, I enjoy it when they bring the fresh wasabi and grater. Except for at this one place that had a real shark-scale grater, which is supposed to be the best way to grate wasabi, and it took FOREVER to grate- my noodles were cold and soggy by the time I was finished grating! But otherwise I'll take shichimi over wasabi any day.

Wimpy, I agree! And the fact that western-style sweets have become so popular in Japan (indeed, many young Japanese can't eat wagashi) is proof that many Japanese agree too. I used to think that the Japanese should have given up on wagashi the minute they tasted chocolate (and I still feel that way when I'm coerced into eating mizu-yokan or mitsu-ame). However, once you get used to it, there really are some excellent wagashi. Especially if you think of them as a sweet rather than a desert. True, sweet beans and mochi aren't as versatile as chocolate and pastry, but they still make great sweets.

Tell us about these soups! I try to recycle the kombu, but there is only so much tsukudani one can eat! I would love to learn more ways to recycle- anyone have ideas?

Thanks Marlene! I just made that curry in a wok, just like I saw on TV. It was really good- it thickened up and developed a deep rich flavour (like second or third day curry) really quickly. One thing is that the bottom burns easily so the curry must be constantly stirred, unlike curry made in a regular pot which can be left to simmer on low with only the occasional stirring. I think I'll use the wok when I'm in a hurry but stick with my regular pot the rest of the time.

I enjoyed the article and hope to see more articles that take a similarly skeptical view of health fads. But I agree with a lot of the criticism, epsecially related to MSG- an author better have some really convincing stats if she wants to make provocative statements like 'MSG is a brain poison'. But my real beef is not with MSG but with the following statement: I'd love to know where this stat comes from. And I'd also like to see it broken down into regions. China has a huge population and a great deal of variation in regional diets, so it makes sense that lots of Chinese don't eat soy products regularly. If you mix millions of people who eat little or no tofu with millions more who eat lots, then sure- you'll find that Chinese and Japanese eat only 10g of soy products per day. But since most studies that show the benefits of soy products in an Asian diet focus on Japan, why not show us the numbers for Japan only? Actually, to anyone living here, stats aren't necessary- it's obvious that the Japanese eat way more than 10g of soy per day. In some supermarkets the tofu section is bigger than the meat section- and that's just where the tofu, natto (fermented soybeans), atsu-age (fried blocks of tofu) and abura-age (fried sheets of tofu) are sold. There's much more. In the produce section you'll find edamame (fresh green soybeans), mame-moyashi and toumyou (two kinds of soy bean sprouts). In the dried foods section there's dried soybeans- regular, green and black, as well as soy bean flour. Sheets of yuba (dried soymilk skin) and koori-dofu (freeze-dried tofu) too. Canned soybeans in the canned food section, soy milk in the beverage section. An entire miso section with dozens of varieties. There are many more soy products, too many to list, but I hope this supermarket tour gives some idea of the importance of soy in Japan. And if there are so many soy products being sold, it's easy to imagine that poeple here eat more than 10g per day.

Japanese style curry tastes better the next day, and Indian curry sauces probably would too (but I've never had left-overs to prove it!). Oden (a Japanese hodgepodge with stuff like daikon, potatoes, boiled eggs, octopus, tofu etc simmered in a salty stock) tastes better the longer it's kept. The solid stuff will of course go bad after several days, but the stock can keep going forever. There is a shop in Tokyo that claims to be using the same stock since the Edo period (as in, at least a hundred and fifty years ago). And that actually ATTRACTS customers! I like to short-cut when I make soups, stews, and Japanese curry and enjoy the second-day flavour on the first day. I just cook it as usual then cool the finished pot down in a sink full of cold water and put it in the fridge for a few hours. If I have enough time I'll go for a THIRD DAY flavour and reheat it then repeat the chilling. Crafty or what?

I actually don't like Japanese shokupan at all (unless it's made into french toast)- never liked white sandwhich bread back home either. And some of the kashi-pan are just weird- the ones with noodles, potatoes, ketchup, mayo etc. Some though, though, I love! Anpan and mame-pan (a sweet bun with big sweet read beans) are two favourites, and I can't get enough of kurumi-pan (walnut bread). I love the mentaiko bread too, but recently whenever I find it they use mayonnaise instead of butter. Yuck!

Was it maybe an ume that had been used to make ume-shu or ume-jiru? I LOVE those! I'm thinking of making ume-shu again this year even though we don't have space, just so I can have some of those ume next year. I've tried all sorts of daifuku, like strawberry, coffee, chocolate etc. Some are good, but my favourite is a plain old white one with koshi-an, covered in sesame seeds. You know, the kind you can find at any conbini.

Anytime: Shishamo Mentaiko- all by itself, as a topping for tofu, or made into a dip with veggies Anything deep-fried- kara-age, spring rolls, garlic fries, stuffed shiitake etc. Anything with cheese- especially if it's deep-fried! Kankoku nori Kimchi Any kind of seafood from a can, like sardines, smoked mussels or saba-miso Satsuma-age Yaki-miso In the spring: Steamed clams In the summer: A great big fresh tomato, sliced and sprinkled with a little salt and pepper Edamame Shishito, heavily seasoned and topped with shichimi and katsuo-bushi In the fall: Grilled sanma or saba In the winter: Yudofu Will definately be picking up some beer on the way home tonight. Maybe some early-season edamame too, if I'm lucky...

Japanese Curry This is based on the recipe for 'Minced Meat Curry' in 'Stone Soup' (one of my favourite Japanese cookbooks!). It makes lots- enough for a few days, which is great because it always tastes better the second day (sometimes I 'cheat' and make it early in the day, stick it in the fridge for a few hours, then reheat to get that second day flavour on the first day!). But if you don't want to eat curry for days then you can half the recipe. 3 large onions, chopped 2 T vegetable oil 6 cloves garlic, minced 1 knob ginger, peeled and grated 1 T (approximately) spices- I use a mix of curry powder, turmeric and cumin. 400 g ground pork (or beef) 400 ml beef bouillon 400 ml tomato juice 2 bay leaves 160 g curry roux (a full box, a spicy kind is better than a sweet one) salt, pepper and more spices to taste Saute onion in oil for a few minutes, add garlic, ginger and spices, saute until fragrant. Add ground meat and saute until browned. Add bouillon, tomato juice and bay leaves, simmer about 10 minutes, skimming the foam from the top from time to time. Turn off heat and add the curry roux, stirring until the roux dissolves. Turn heat back on, taste the curry and add salt and pepper if needed. More spices can be added too, but be sure to simmer for another 10 minutes or so. Curry can be eaten when heated through, or it can be simmered for as long as you wish to make the spices smoother and milder. Good over rice, great with nan, and can be frozen Keywords: Main Dish, Dinner, Japanese ( RG515 )

Almost every time I've broken my anti-beef stance in the past year, it's been at a Korean restaurant or yakiniku place! (Sorry Kristin! Back to Japanese food...)

I think Diet Coke goes great with certain meals, like tacos or pizza (especially delivery pizza)! But that might not be because they actually go well together. More likely because I'm a Diet Coke addict. But usually I drink: Water, sometimes with a lemon slice, and A glass or two of wine. Or, depending on the meal: Beer Sake Green tea, hot or cold Oolong tea, cold Mugi-cha (barley tea), cold

We were pretty free to eat whatever sweets we wanted, in moderation. But no sugery cereals- Cheerios, Shreddies, Corn Flakes and Raisin Bran were the choices, or some of Dad's hot runny oatmeal concoction- yuck! When we went on vacation though, my Mom relented and brought along those little mini-boxes of cereal. I loved being on vacation- not so much for the fun places we went but because it was the only time I could get a taste of Captain Crunch and Fruit Loops! Back then I thought my Mom was just being nice, but now I realize it must have been because those little boxes are simply more convenient. Alcohol was off limits too, of course. Until I was about 4 I loved beer and would always sneak some from my Dad's bottle. Finally he had to explain to me that beer killed brain cells and if I kept drinking it I would only have half a brain left by the time I was a grown-up. Scared the hell out of me and I didn't touch beer again for a decade. That's how long it took me to realize that if this was true then my Dad, who was of course the smartest man in the world, must have been operating without a brain for years, going by the amount of beer he drank.

Well, unusual is not allways bad, so I'll start with The Good: -Croquettes with fun ingredients: pumpkin, curry, tofu, quail egg etc. -Taco rice, an Okinawan dish like a taco salad using rice instead of the taco-shell bowl. -Crepes, rolled up into a cone shape and carried around like an ice cream cone. Filled with an amazing variety of things: sliced fruit like strawberries, bananas, melons etc, topped with chopped nuts, chocolate chips, whipped cream, custard, ice cream, cream cheese, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce etc etc etc. Not so unusual, perhaps. So why not try a 'salad crepe', with any combination of lettuce, ham, potato salad, tuna and mayo? -Nan filled with curry sauce- no need for dipping! -Spaghetti served cold topped with grated daikon, canned tuna, with a light soy-based sauce and sprinkled with thin strips of nori (yes, this is in the 'good' category!). The Bad: -Cold curry rice- a fad a few summers ago. -'Napolitan' spaghetti, with ketchup as the base. -Pizza with potato, tuna and corn, criss-crossed with mayonnaise. -White bread sold with the crusts already cut off and made into dainty sandwhiches with the thinnest layers possible of egg and cucumber, or maybe ham and mealy flavour-free tomato. The Ugly: -Raisin Butter. Just butter with raisins in it. Either served in a little cold block and eaten BY ITSELF or wedged between thin cookies to make a kind of sandwhich.

You have a taiyaki mold? Cool! I found a recipe in Japanese which may be a bit too simple and pancakey for you. It is in Japanese, but I'll post the link and if there is someone out there with time hopefully they can translate it properly for you: http://www.hpmix.com/home/tara/C8_8.htm Basicly, you mix 100g pancake mix with milk and egg (the measurement says that it's 120g total, including milk and one large egg. Strange.). Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 30 minutes, mix again roughly and add 1 Tbsp to an oiled and heated taiyaki mold. Then add 20 grams of 'tsubu-an (chunky anko) and another Tbsp batter making sure to cover the filling. Then grill, turning over often, until golden-brown (no time is given). Anything can be used as a filling: tsubu-an, koshi-an (smooth anko), shiro-an (white anko), custard cream, chocolate cream, mashed sweet potato, cheese etc. Small chunks of fruit or shira-tama (little balls made out of mochi-flour) can also be added to the filling. Good luck! PS, do you eat the head or the tail first?

Strictly speaking it refers to western food, but in actual use it means an old fashioned kind of "western food modified in a Japanese way". The pictures provided by Margaret and Kristin are good examples, but the Italian Tomate Cafe you mentioned is more specificly Italian (even if it doesn't seem very Italian). That would definately be called French! Whereas yoshoku is usually eaten at home or in 'family restaurant' chains, usually restaurants serve food from specific countries or regions. So in that case, just like in the west, the food will be called 'Italian', 'French', 'Spanish'. But being called 'French' is still no guarantee that a dish or a restaurant will be authentic. Nobu would be Japanese food, specificly 'shin-washoku' (new Japanese food). And by the way, Nobu is not popular here at all, despite this country's love of celebrity chefs. Come to think of it, 'yoshoku' is much like the out-dated English 'oriental'. 'Oriental cuisine' conjures up images of chop suey and teriyaki, and although the term is still used (sometimes to describe all Asian cooking, more often meaning the old-fashioned types of dishes mentioned above) and the food is still eaten, it's much more common to eat more specific cuisines like 'sushi' or 'Cantonese'. Does that help?

Let me just add that writing about beef has caused a MAJOR craving to develop. After not even thinking about beef for months. Thanks, guys...

I always just call these things herbs. Negi (green onion/spring onion/leek) is the most ubiquitous in my kitchen, I like the very thin kind best. Shiso is my hands-down favourite. I over-use it actually, to the point that I forget about my other favourite, mitsuba. I also really look forward to when myoga and kinome are in season (late summer and spring, respectively). Yuzu peel, kaiware-na (daikon sprouts), grated daikon, grated ginger, sesame and thinly sliced nori are all good too. I'd use ginger shoots, benitade (little dark-red sprouts), and the flowering stalks of shis more often if they were cheaper.

I eat beef only very rarely, because I don't trust the Japanese government when they say BSE is nothing to worry about. I actually don't miss it all that much, since I was never a big beef eater. The things I really miss: A juicy medium-rare Japanese steak- served sizzling on an iron plate, with either grated daikon and ponzu sauce or roasted potatoes and fried garlic. Hoba-yaki- cubes of Japanese beef in a miso sauce, grilled in a big 'hoba' leaf. Beef tataki- a strip of beef that is seared on the outside and raw inside, chilled and thinly sliced, served with ponzu sauce and garnishes like sliced green onions, shiso, grated daikon etc. Sukiyaki. Otherwise, I live Japanese pork and find it makes a great substitute for beef most of the time. Especially shabu-shabu- I actually prefer it with pork!

Thanks for the info, Skchai! Just as you said, it is the increased surface area that makes the difference, as well as the gentle curve with no corners. I'm not that great with Japanese so I couldn't follow all the technical stuff so well, but I think that curve allows a very high but consistant and controlled heat on the bottom of the wok, and the increase surface area where the sauce meets the air allows even cooling on top. As to why this makes a curry sauce with a deeper flavour and softer meat, I have no idea! But I will be trying it out soon. Amoung the other tests they performed was a boiling-over test. They timed how long it took a pot of boiling water and noodles to boil over (something that ALWAYS happens to me) compared with a wok of boiling water. The pot boiled over very quickly, but the wok never did. Pretty cool. (I forget to test this myself last night when I made soba though. Maybe next time.) As well as not boiling over, water heated in a wok will reach the boil faster than in a regular pot. They cooked a complete meal in the wok: glazed carrots, 'gratin' potatoes, steak and carmelized bananas. The virtue of using a wok only is that it's supposed to save time, reduce the amount of gas used, and be easy to clean. (They didn't mention maintenance though- should you keep the wok well-oiled like you're supposed to? If so, won't the pasta or veggies boiled in it get all greasy?) Kristin, sorry about the link. Try the Gatten page, at the bottom they have the last four episodes. The wok one was added most recently, May 15th. http://www.nhk.or.jp/gatten/

Skchai explained it quite well, and I'd just like to add that yakitori is grilled chicken on skewers. The skewers are what makes it yakitori. Yakitori is a subset of 'kushi-yaki' (things grilled on skewers.). Both robata-yaki and kushi-yaki (and therefore yakitori) are subsets of 'yaki-mono', grilled things. Nope. Robata-yaki is not really a style of cooking, more like a style of restaurant. The actual grilling is the same as other places, the difference is mostly atmosphere. Robata-yaki became very popular during the bubble years in the 80's, when people had lots of money to spend and wanted to be entertained in novel ways. 'Robata' means fireplace or hearth, and robata-yaki restaurants are supposed to remind those in the city of an old house out in the country, where people used to eat and keep warm around and open hearth. These places are supposed to (remember, I've never actually tried robata-yaki) be rusticly decorated, with the chef and staff in traditional garb. Some pictures: http://www.tastingmenu.com/media/20021116-...web/default.htm