gus_tatory

Chef Fowke--that does sound like a beautiful dish--is the base sort of a latke with additions?

hope you had a great weekend, Kristin! today's lesson made it crystal clear what "gomashio" is --> "sesame-salt"... thanks, gus

OK, will share results so far, with mild embarassment, since i have not had an unqualified success yet hehe... BATCH #1: was about a cup of really strong green tea, maybe 3 tblsp sugar dissolved in tea, gelatine/water mix, and about 1/2 cup 15% cream (the "a l'ancienne/champetre" kind that's really thick). chill, whisk, chill, whisk. as suggested by Jackal10 (thanks!), but no whipped cream. PROBLEM WITH BATCH #1: it tasted fine, even close-to-great, but was like a semi-solid cup of creamy iced green tea. good, but wouldn't serve to guests. texture a bit "wrong" as i haven't had a lot of experience with gelatin. skipping 35% whipped cream folded in was my error. BATCH #2: same as batch #1, but an extra envelope of gelatin, icing sugar instead of granulated, this time 35% cream whipped, folded, when mousse got to egg white stage. PROBLEM WITH BATCH#2: nothing really *wrong* with it, per se, it just wasn't what i had imagined. looking for something both airy and unctuous at the same time. am thinking i am going to have to haul out the white chocolate, for that velvetiness, and cut the sugar. getting closer...

bux, pim, torakris, and others: i have also had that roasted barley/"popcorn" green tea, it smells so good, and is really refreshing on hot days. don't know what the proper name is... but a chilled green tea, as mentioned here, with pineapple juice, is also excellent

great article, mamster! and it dovetails quite nicely with my recent obsession with Japanese/Korean ingredients. will try recipe as soon as wicked heartburn (induced by work declaring bankruptcy protection) subsides. don't think i can do spicy food right now, as much as i love it, although who knows, it might help?! thanks!

this is so inspirational--it sounds like you're well on your way. i'm originally from nova scotia, where the pasteurized 250 ml/500 ml "milk" containers of Tancook Island sauerkraut are sold. absolutely the best: cold, so salty/tart, tangy, crunchy... mmm... Tancook Island sauerkraut link (historical, not commercial): tancook island sauerkraut do you mind continuing this thread as a sort of 'journal", so we can see how it goes? good luck! gus

ooh, some of those sound like waay too much of a good thing. the gyoza with cheese and natto--who was in the test kitchen that day?! gus

wow--nice article, and those meals all sound really special. thanks to you and SobaAddict for the info and link.

to my pleasant surprise, i got them all right. which is bizarre since i consider myself a total novice/amateur. in my whole Japanese cooking experience, which is very enjoyable, i'm still at the ingredient/pronunciation level.

Kristin-- a little bit off-topic, but at that link that you posted here... what are those little deep-fried sticks at the bottom left of the page? gus

thanks Jinmyo-- this process is very interesting to me, and i make home-made yogurt, so feel i could succeed with natto. as a matter of fact, i'm thinking my yogurt maker (small, 6-cup size)would be perfect for "incubating" the natto, since i have no kotatsu. gus

paul 'o and others-- "blanche de chambly" is the greatest belgian white-beer ever! so mild yet tart, mmm. today i made turkey-frame/lentil soup with cumin and tons of green onions, simmered in rice cooker (alternate uses for rice cooker). threw the outer leaves and trimmings of 4 artichokes in there when it was at the "stock" phase (drained, removed), so it got mighty aromatic real fast mmm... also made "flan" of pie pastry, peaches, black-currant jam for sweets-loving boyfriend/roomie. gus

hi-- i was lucky enough to discover today this *amazing* korean grocery in montreal (corner of parc and prince-arthur) that has many of the ingredients spoken about on the Japan board. i love reading about konyaku, natto, and ingredients foreign to me--and today i saw/bought/tasted some of them for the first time ever. i found the grocery because i asked my friend Satomi where i could find natto in montreal! i debated whether this should be on the Japan board, and since it's mostly about Japanese food i left it here... --they had kim chi (korean, i know--pickled napa cabbage) there that the owner had made, and i've wanted to make this at home for a while, but first had to know how it was "supposed" to taste. hers was the obvious (napa, chilis, garlic, etc.), but when i took out the container to taste it at a picnic with my friend, we were amazed that it reminded of us sauerkraut from nova scotia, but with both the heat and aromatic elements kicked waaay up. i know why Jinmyo raves now about this vegetable pickle, because it's a wonderful taste. --i got a 2-lb bag of edamame at 3$ (soy beans in pod) frozen, that i understand i need to boil for about 6-10 minutes, drain, cool, toss with salt, and serve with beer as snacks/utsemami? --got a big bag of dried shiitake mushrooms at 3$ to reconstitute later, thrilled about this --noticed with pleasure that they had, but didn't buy: packs of soba and udon noodles, pickled plums (umeboshi? excuse my bad lack-of-japanese), natto (which i'm wanting to try), tons of frozen dumplings (gyoza, shiu mai, har gau), wakame (seaweed salad, like 4 diff kinds), they had Kewpie mayonnaise, etc., etc... --they also had konyaku (mountain yam), but gelled in a block-y pancake. can i use this, or does it need to be fresh? i guess the point of this thread is that i'm a big fan of Japanese foods, and i dscovered a place in montreal today where i can get many of them! i haven't tried natto yet, but i've read many of your "Dinner" posts with pleasure, and now know where i can start to get the stuff. to you guys this may be every-day food, but to me these are new tastes... this store made my saturday, i am telling you, gus

quote from the article: "Once packaged with music, video and other creative aspects, McDonald's executives promised that the new campaign will generate a "wow" effect with consumers and restaurant operators. wow. i'm soo not lovin' it. and i haven't even seen the ad yet. gus

stole idea from craig claiborne to use leftover cold-cut slices (in my case, montreal smoked meat) as cornets for chicken salad with lemon juice, mayo, tons of chopped fennel bulb, celery, coriander leaf and seed. unpretentious, a bit bizarre, but good! gus

Katherine and others-- that's so cool that the older japanese woman was harvesting fucus (yes, that's the name for that burgundy, bubbled seaweed) for use! my mom used to gather irish moss on nova scotia beaches for use in gelled desserts. it's harvested commercially, and used as a texturing agent--look at many, many foods and it's labelled as carageenan. besides what FG mentioned about seaweeds tasting great, they're one of the only foods that have the spectrum of trace minerals in them, as of course their habitat is the sea...

hey FG-- in new brunswick (not quite the same as japan, i'd guess hehe?), as you know from your travels, there's a whole industry built on harvesting and drying dulse in the grand manaan area. people drive around with whole trunks-full of the stuff. it's probably tax-free income in most cases, and ecologically anyway, the supply does not appear to be drying up, so to speak... and those of us who are more or less landlocked, but who still crave dulse, are very thankful that they do so. having said that, i have never tried a true japanese-style seaweed-salad. am sure i would love it. must do that this weekend... gus (lllove seaweed...)

hmm... mine would be: --nova scotia lobster, steamed --asparagus and hollandaise (very lemon-y) --watermelon ice good thread! and awbrig: where'd you get the hysterical star wars kid gif? ciao, gus

i'm wondering if there's such a thing as "artisan-brewed" or micro-brewed soy sauces? i was brought up on the western grocery-store variety (harsh and salty). but recently--with sushi, where it's more important--i tried Kimlan naturally fermented, and it's like night and day the difference: it's mellow, not biting, and tastes almost wine-like. and this isn't even a premium brand--so i can't even imagine what i'm missing! if i go through Chinatown here (Montreal), perhaps i can try a few brands. anyone have favourites, reccomendations? thanks, gus

this is a link from a review of wd-50... ciao, gus http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/food/r...757//index.html EDIT TO apologize--someone already posted this link... :-)

hey e-gulleters-- i was inspired by the "Dinner" thread. what dish(es) do you feel like eating right now, regardless of whether you have ingredients/etc.? <*craving*> me, it's a small filet mignon, crisp outside, rare inside, with a grapefruit/vodka/black pepper sorbet on the side, wilted spinach with sesame oil dressing. also small buckwheat pancakes with green onions and creme fraiche or yogurt... 🙂 and you? gus

the last link that torakris put in this thread--oh my goodness, i was laughing out loud at the cute winking monkey to the right of the top row. sooo charming! gus

hey e-gulleters~! i was wondering if anyone has a green tea *mousse* recipe (not ice cream) they'd like to share, or speculate on one? i am going to "test-kitchen" one for my boss this weekend. i *know* it will have matcha (green tea powder), 35% cream, castor sugar, egg whites & gelatin (duh!), but i've thought about pureeing firm plain tofu and/or cream cheese for richness and "mouth-feel". i've also thought about adding white chocloate, for obvious reasons. :-) also, does anyone notice any difference when using sheets of baker's gelatin, as opposed to commercially available granulated gelatin? thanks in advance for your help! i will report back with final recipe if people are interested. gus

hi Torakris and others-- this is slightly off-topic, but where was the thread where Kristin was kindly (thank you!)posting a new Japanese food word daily? by the way, i love egullet, and i want to thank the folks who contribute their knowledge and opinions... gus

hi e-gulleters-- i'm a westerner who loves "pho" (vietnamese soupe tonkinoise), risotto, and brothy soups. i would like to make congee at home for the first time, and i'm wondering what people's favourite ingredients are? i guess i would like a slow-simmered chicken broth, mint, basil, and coriander leaf, some bean sprouts and sesame oil, but that is my imagined recipe hehe... :-) if you were to suggest a congee for me to try, what would be in it? thaks in advance for your thoughts! gus_tatory in montreal