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This is such a big topic, because 'yaki' in Japanese covers what we call baking, grilling, toasting, broiling, roasting and pan-frying (I'm sure I'm missing some) in English. That said, I beg to differ with Jinmyo- I love Japanese grilling. Especially grilled fish. Not only is it great tasting, it is one of the simplest and fastest techniques in Japanese cooking, so I find myself grilling a lot when I get busy. There is nothing better than fresh grilled saury in late summer. Flavoured with nothing more than a sprinkling of salt, and served with a bit of grated daikon splashed with soy sauce (and maybe a lemon slice if I'm feeling fancy). It's great to actually be able to taste the fish. This winter my husband really developed an appreciation for mirin-zuke, which is fish that has been dried for a day and marinated in a mixture containing mirin and sesame seeds (I'm actually not totally sure what mirin-zuke is, since there seem to be so many variations. Can anyone help?). After grilling it's so tender and juicy- we ate it so often I'm now kind of sick of it! Ginger pork is a dish that has rescued me many a weary evening when I've been tempted to buy take-out for dinner rather than cook. It's so simple and fast to prepare, and usually everything excpet the pork is already on hand so it doesn't require a major shopping trip. A favourite snack that can be assembled easily is isobe-yaki- mochi that is grilled till slightly browned on the outside and soft on the inside, dipped in soy sauce, and wrapped in a crisp sheet of nori. For a gourmet version, I add cheese.

Yeah, teriyaki is Japanese, but I've heard that modern variations all came from overseas. Originally teriyaki was made by grilling fish until half-done, and only then brushing on the teriyaki sauce several times until glistening (the 'teri' in teriyaki means to glisten or glitter). Using chicken and beef and cooking in a frying pan were all tried (the story goes) by Japanese chefs working in America, and the wild popularity of these new-fangled ways eventually reached back to Japan and now chicken teriyaki made in a frying pan is a standard Japanese dish. Still, it's not nearly as popular here in Japan is it is overseas. I've only made it once- the old-fashioned grilled fish kind, with the same sauce Torakris uses, and it was really really good. I think I better try it again.

My husband and I love curry, both Japanese-style and Indian-style (and I love West Indian and South-east Asian curries too, but not the old man- I can't make them at home). I mostly leave Japanese curry to my husband. His is pretty good, but he's so concerned with cooking it for a long time to get the maximum 'koku' that he always melts the potatoes. The potatoes are the best part!! My usual curry is a kind of mix of Japanese and Indian- I use a store-bought roux (the spiciest kind I can find that doesn't include beef extract- we're a BSE-free household), but add extra spices and lots of garlic and ginger at the beginning. I use LOTS of onions, tomato juice instead of water, and ground pork. I love that the sweetness of the onions and tomato balance the heat of the spices. Great with nan or rice, or as leftovers spooned over somen. Cherrypi, I'll post the recipe if you're interested- it's very simple. Also, my husband made a Sri Lanka-style curry last week (he saw an actual Sri Lankan make it on TV, so it MUST be authentic!) that was so easy and simple. He just chopped a bunch of onions and totamoes, layered them in a big pot, topped it with curry powder and garlic(his own addition) and chicken thighs (with skin and bone, he'd sauted them briefly in butter first). Then he covered it and simmered for an hour. No liquid, no oil or fat (except for sauteing the chicken), no roux, no stirring. And it was good! Very simple-tasting, but considering the ease of preparation it was great. I hope he makes it again.

Well, I'll stand by my original Sanuki udon and soba. But I guess it really depends on the purpose of the noodle- is it a snack, meal or side dish? For a snack or a side dish (more like interlude) for okonomiyaki, nothing beats yakisoba. In all it's forms- the cheap'n'greasy kind found at yatai, with nothing but benishoga, bonito flakes, a few pieces of cabbage and maybe one sliver of pork. Or upscale with seafood and mushrooms, salt instead of sauce. Or any other variations (but hold the mayo, please!). Not strictly Japanese, but I love harusame. Especially as a salad with cucumber. And ramen is included in our noodle list, things get can even more complicated. A really good salt-based soup is my current favourite, but it's always changing. I do love tonkotsu as well, and it seems to be the favourite of every non-Japanese ramen-eater. I wonder why? Toppings? It depends on what kind of ramen, but a few juicy, fatty slices of char-siu and a handful of menma are a must.

Welcome@Karen. And Arrrrrgh! The sprout debate! I had no idea that the little tails were supposed to be snapped off until last year. During a visit to the in-laws, MIL comes to the table with a strainer full of moyashi and asks me to help. I didn't even know what she wanted help with and was snapping off both heads and tails for a while, to the amusement of my husband (it's easy to laugh when you're sitting there doing nothing, isn't it!). Funny, he'd never noticed I didn't remove the tails before, but from then on whenever I cooked moyashi my husband would ask why I left the tails on. He actually claimed they tasted bitter (so why hadn't he said something earlier?). He gave up eventually, thank God. I would never remove the 'me', in fact I won't use any sprout other than mame-moyashi (the one with the big firm bean on the end). Without that yummy bean, what's the point? If I want that kind of 'shaki-shaki' texture provided by the stalk, I'll use lotus root or water chesnut instead. Another debate is stringing beans and snowpeas. Do you do it? I think all the beans back in Canada have had the strings bred out of them, so stringing is no longer necessary. What about in Japan? And snowpeas- it seems you're supposed to string BOTH sides of snap peas, which I haven't been doing. Is this true or is my husband just a sadist?

Sanuki Udon! The real thing in Kagawa is amazing, so much so that I can't eat most regular udon- it's just too soft. I haven't tried any of the new Sanuki places that are popping up in Tokyo, I'm pretty skeptical. My husband makes a nice udon, not as firm as Sanuki but pretty good. It takes hours though so he needs lot of coaxing and begging first. Soba is my all-time favourite in all it's forms, hot and cold. Recently I've been preparing a cholesterol-busting version. It's a plate of cold soba topped with grated daikon, natto, sliced shiso and nori, with cold mentsuyu on top. Sliced okra, bottled nametake mushrooms can be added, as can raw egg (cancels out the cholesterol-fighting properties of natto, though) and green onion, yuzu or mitsuba can be used instead of shiso. This thread has inspired me to make soba for dinner. Which is troubling because moments ago the previous soup thread inspired me to make either suiton or kenchin-jiru. Ahh, so much good food, yet so few meals...

Red miso with chopped natto, with either sliced green onions or mistuba. Sometimes I can find natto already chopped, but usually I do it myself and it makes a big sticky mess on my cutting board. I would make it everyday if it weren't for that. Regular miso soup with suiton (flour dumplings) is another favourite, as is kenchin-jiru. When I'm feeling fancy I like suimono with shrimp, wakame and bamboo shoots.

Sounds like a wine I'll love. I'll have to track it down next time I'm in Shinbashi or Azabu. Thanks for the link!

Anybody ever try making your own shiozuke? It looks so easy and I'd love to try it. I'd ask about your husband's rakkyo recipe, Torakris, but unfortunately my husband can't eat rakkyo. I think the red wine rakkyo you mentioned was endorsed by Mino Monta last year as cleaning the blood or something, so I rushed out (along with every other housewife in my neighborhood) and managed to find one package of regular rakkyo which I simply soaked in red wine for a while. My husband was a good sport but could only eat one, saying they were even worse than regular rakkyo. He was right... But it's amazing, isn't it, how powerful Mino Monta is!

Oh my God, that's so weird. Especially the nabe. I hope you're not ever tempted to ask 'What was the point of marrying a Japanese man if I can't make nabe at home???'. I have a different problem- my husband and I both love nimono, but he absolutely can't eat any that isn't made by me, his mom, or a good restaurant. So if I want chikuzen-ni for dinner, then I've got to put in the hours and make it myself. No take-out, wether from the local grocery store or a fancy expensive shop in the basement of a fancy expensive department store. They always go too heavy on the seasonings, especially sugar and mirin, apparently. I guess that's what happens when you marry a Kansai man and live in Kanto...

Yeah, now if only this were actually enforced! A few years ago, after saving for months, I took my husband out for a surprise anniversary dinner at the New York Grill (this place deserves a whole thread for itself, by the way!). It was great up until the beginning of the main course when a young couple was seated next to us. First thing they do after sitting was plunk their cellphones down on the table, followed by their cigarettes and lighters. The constant smoking through the meal was annoying enough but even worse was their loud phone calls. Thankfully they ordered the course without taking any time to read the menu and plowed through their meal, so they were gone by desert. But they weren't my dining companions so that story doesn't count. My embarrassing moments are really similar to yours, Torakris- all in Japan, all involving non-Japanese, all involving complaining and picky questions in English. Amazing how many ignorant people there are! For some reason, these people all seem to hate ice. Why is that??

So how was the hanami? We had yakinuku at Rokkasen in Shinjuku. It was amazing (but then again I'm really easily impressed by any kind of beef these days since I eat it so rarely- still afraid of BSE)! My sister-in-law had a very hearty appetite and has decided that she will eat all her meals out from now on since cooking makes her lose her appetite. I wanted to stop by and try to find you guys, but after lunch we went to karaoke, where the proud father-to-be sang songs to the baby such as Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely'. I doubt that the baby, which is probably about the size of a peanut, really had any idea what Stevie Wonder was on about, but I guess it's the thought that counts...

Mmm! Me too, komochi karei nistuke and buta kaku-ni are big favourites of mine. The season for karei is pretty much over, but I'm not complaining with bamboo shoots in season! Such a pain in the butt to prepare, but sooooo good! My all time favourite is buri daikon, but it's also just out of season now. Iri dori or chikuzen-ni (are these different names for the same dish? Or just very similar dishes? It's veggies like lotus root, carrot, burdock root, shiitake, sato-imo, usually with chicken and konnyaku) is my year-round favourite. It takes a while to prepare so I don't cook it as much as I'd like. Maybe this weekend...

I'd love to go. But yesterday's hanami has been replanned as today's lunch. The weather is nice today so she should be OK, but apparently she already has mornign sickness and weird reactions to food and I just hope she can find something to eat.

I've not only seen this pizza, but had to talk my husband out of ordering it! Pizza Hut is actually the best pizza delivery chain in Japan, in our opinion. They introduced their cheese-filled crust last year, which I guess was so popular that it inspired the sausage crust. I really like the cheese crust (I feel like I should be ashamed to admit this!). The crust part is so similar to a panzarotti, something I've never seen in Japan and really miss. So it's almost like getting a pizza AND a panzarotto AT THE SAME TIME??? Who wouldn't like that? Our favoruite Pizza Hut pizzas are the Sicilian pizza, with eggplant (on the thin crust) and Meat Gourmet, with, well, lots of meat (on the cheese crust).

I was going to ask about your onigiri- what is yukari, and how do you make the edamame one- just mix the cooked beans with plain white rice? Sounds good. But it looks like our hanami party is canceled- my sister-in-law is pregnant! She's been trying to conceive for ages so we decided she should take it easy until she's 'safe'- hanami can be cold, crowded and uncomfortable. Meanwhile, my fridge is crammed with food and I hope just my husband and I can make it for hanami. If so, we'll enjoy a pared-down version of the menu I'd planned: Thai-style yaki-beefun (like pad tai) on shredded lettuce assorted onigiri- sake/shiso, ume/shiso/jako, mentaiko etc. buri teriyaki nanahana and abura-age ohitashi tomato and kaiware-na salad edamame, sausages, veggie sticks strawberries a nice chilled bottle of Reisling or Gevurztraminer (spelling?)

Nice timely topic! I was just at Yasukuni/Chidorigafuchi on Monday- the cherry trees were beautiful! Despite the controversy surrounding the area, it's one of my favourite places for hanami (my husband says that's just because of all the yatai, and he's probably right!). My favourite this Monday was 'shapin', a kind of Chinese-style 'oyaki'. But making an actual meal of yatai food is pretty expensive, so for actual sit-down picnic style hanami home-made bento are best. I'll be making bento for hanami this Saturday and I have no idea what to make- my husband works at home so I haven't made bento for ages. Also, my sister-in-law will be joining us, so it has to be impressive (she's sure to report to her folks what I make!). Any ideas???

Thanks for the mekabe explanation, Torakris. I think I've seen it before, but I thought it was mozuku. Wimpy, ajitsuke nori makes a great snack, doesn't it! Even more addictive than potato chips.

I like plain old shiitake. Matsutake are expensive here in Japan too, so I've rarely tried them. I like them, but they aren't good enough to justify the high prices, IMO. There are several 'new' kinds of mushrooms in Japan, the only one I've tried is eringi (spelling?) which I love! If it was priced more reasonably it would be my favourite!

Sounds good! I'm always trying to get my husband to come with me to an Okinawan restaurant, but he claims he doesn't like Okinwan food. This is despite the fact that he's never been to Okinawa and never tried the food, except for some champuru I made and some soki soba I gave him as a souviner (which he loved!). If such a dinner occurs, I hope it is topped off by a dessert of freshly made andagi, because I'm really regretting not finding good ones when I was in Okinawa!

Stupid questions: What are Cimichurri and EVOO? I was also going to ask what sriracha is, but then I went and looked in my fridge and there it was. I've always just called it 'rooster sauce'! (By the way, Torakris, did you buy yours in Japan? I've never seen it here.) It would take too long to list everything, but my favourites are sriracha, chili-garlic sauce, tobanjan (that's the Japanese name for this Chinese chili paste- anyone know the 'real' name?), sesame paste, sesame seeds, black beans, dried shrimp, yuzu pepper paste, shichimi, ponzu, black vinegar, Chinese cooking wine, sake, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil.

I actually don't really like katsudon. I think it is such a waste to deep-fry something and then cover it (or even simmer it!) in a sauce, thus ruining the crunch. Tendon I can handle, since there's usually less sauce. But even then I usually order the smallest donburi and order more tempura on the side, without sauce. When eating out, oyakodon is my favourite. At home definately tekka-don- so easy to make, and so satisfying! But my specialty is 'leftover-don', featuring yesterday's mabodofu or curry.

Gohan desu yo! I love that stuff. Korean nori too. Somehow the seaweed and seaweed dishes I like best are good with rice, but I'm really trying to cut down on my rice intake. Anyone know any good seaweed dishes that can stand on their own? I like seaweed salad- the kind that you just hydrate and add dressing too. Torakris, I'll be trying that tomato donburi this summer! What is mekabu?

I'm really happy to be able to talk about Okinawan food with you guys. Torakris, I also spent my few short days in Okinawa completely fascinated by the food, and my sister-in-law and her husband were just as enthusiastic- they came with a mental list of exotic things they had to try. Since then I've met so many people who have been to Okinawa, but none of them seem to have any special interest in the food. What a shame- it's such an amazing cuisine, and obivously healthy, considering the longetivity of Okinawans. I was looking forward to trying Okinawan donuts- I thought they'd be just as you described them, Akiko: But the ones I tried weren't crunchy at all- just dense, dry and greasy. I was disappointed and didn't try them again- was that a mistake? Were these just badly made? I found out the name of the little green citrus fruit: 'si-qua-sa', also known as shi-qua-sa, hirami, or hirami-lemon. I don't think it's eaten as a fruit- it's too sour- but it's used as a garnish and to make drinks. As a canned drink it can be found anywhere, both as a soda and as a fruit juice, heavily sweetened I'm sure but really good. Si-qua-sa juice and sampin-cha are two things I really wish I was able to find in Tokyo!

I used to pop my corn in a paper bag in the microwave, never had it burst into flames on me. But occasionally the bag would open and the popcorn would escape and pop all over the microwave. That isn't as cool as it sounds, Elyse! The thing I don't like about microwave popcorn is that it's so easy to burn and there are always so many unpopped kernels leftover. Seems like such a waste. Tommy and Ripley, may your popcorn makers serve you well.