Bigfoot

I think the Barbeque Bible has a great recipe for a lovely cinnamon/maple syrup butter to go on the baked (or roasted in coals -- yum!) sweet potatoes. I roast them in the coals and peel off the charred skin.

A tangent on one of the CDM chains. They've got one in the modern Kyoto Station that I've been too, which serves the cafe au lait and chicory coffee, but no trademark beignets. I went there a little ways back with my husband and in-laws who both went to school in Baton Rouge. We were surprised about the lack of beignets and asked the waiter about it -- evidently they don't have the proper equipment for it and there's something about the station that prohibits frying them up on site (forget the details). I haven't been lately; I'd be curious to know if they're still beignet-less.

I tried drunken cooking the other week -- I don't recommend it! Forgot to scale the trout I was trying to pan-fry, spilled soy sauce on the floor, didn't remember how it tasted the next day... In the future I'll stick with the regular: * spoon of Nutella, spoon of peanut butter * dip into opened jars of Chinese preserved food (pickled mustard greens with peanuts, fried gluten, pickled cucumbers, etc.) * leftover rice with furikake and mayonnaise on the side * ice cream from the container * big old bowl of nuts * any leftovers -- fair game (preferably eaten with fingers out of the storage container) * toast with butter, Marmite & a slice of cheese

Ooh, ooh! Sometimes I get Japanese pasta cravings, and make: * tarako spaghetti (with kaiware, onions and nori -- no butter in mine) * salad spaghetti (cold with Kewpie mayonnaise in the summer -- along with hiyashi chuuka, but I guess that's not spaghetti) * garlic spaghetti (with ninniku no me, minced garlic and olive oil)

Suvir, Thanks for the warm welcome; I just now realized that this is a thread you started in February 2002! I have cooked out of Camellia's book quite a bit; it was actually one of my first Indian cookbooks! I found it really useful for its detailed explanations of ingredients & history of the cuisine (although it's limited in scope by definition). Haven't had a flop with any of the recipes, and I appreciate her way of explaining what role ingredients/techniques play in specific recipes. That said, I've got a long way to go in cooking Indian, so take my opinion here with a grain of salt.

Camellia Panjabi explains the origins of the word curry in her 1995 book "The Great Curries of India" She also writes about the word curry being used in English:

Smoked fish and coconut milk soup with banana blossoms Chicken deep fried in pandanus leaves with dipping sauce Pecan cinnamon-chocolate ice cream (made yesterday) & whipped cream

I think biwa are loquats -- I had them for the first time in Japan, too.

Torakris, Try The Aegean in Shibuya (the only Greek restaurant in Tokyo owned & operated by a Greek, AFAIK, and site of many a fun evening -- 3-18-3 Shibuya, B1F. tel: 3407-1783). Sparta and Mikonos (Yokohama) have evidently gone downhill over the last few years. Which dishes are you interested in making? I can PM you a great recipe for Galaktoboureko if you like (unfortunately copyrighted)!

Since coming back to the States, I have serious cravings for beautiful, sweet, perfect Japanese fruit (although not the price tag). Favorites: Beautiful big strawberries Persimmons in the fall Crunchy, cold nashi Juicy white peaches with their lovely perfume Melon, of course (so ripe & juicy, no knife required once you've got a slice) Big bag of lychees (does this count as Japanese?)

Northern Greek pies (esp. greens & cheese in bourek dough) Skordalia with everything (fish, eggplant, pita, etc.)! Avgolemono soup with chunks of chicken Fried haloumi with eggs on top for weekend breakfast Galaktoboureko (sweet semolina custard sandwiched between phyllo) Kadaifi rolls and Greek/Turkish coffee Sour cherry preserve spoon sweet (sometimes mixed into a glass of ice water as a summer drink)

I use my little metal ginger grater for nutmeg. Second the use of panko, cooking chopsticks and donabe (most recently for a Kurdish lamb/eggplant/tomato/sumac stew). The cassette-konro (the tabletop burners) are good for all kinds of service outside: curries, soups, beans, etc. on picnics and post-sports game meals The small sesame seed holder/grinder is great for salads & topping off Korean dishes. Bulldog Worcestershire sauce comes out for Bloody Marys, and the Kewpie Mayo for sandwiches and anything except mayo-based salads. My husband uses our sukiyaki pan to make cornbread, and I'm tempted to get a takoyaki grill pan to do dual-purpose takoyaki & Thai kanom krok (or get the Thai pan to do both). My little bowls for nabe are good to serve nuts at a party, or a little bit of soup. There's so much more...

Oshinko-chahan (pickled vegetable fried rice) Kimchi-chahan (kimchi fried rice) Crab or fugu zosui -- made with leftover nabe broth at the table in the winter; very subtle, delicate flavor that doesn't need much ponzu otherwise it's overwhelmed Kamameshi with a nice bit of okoge (the crispy rice that touches the hot metal bowl) Unagi-don Gyu-don (Yoshinoya is my late-nite guilty pleasure)

Shake no harasu -- grilled salmon bellies, very fatty and lovely, with crisp skin and a sprinkling of salt. Oh, it just melts in your mouth!

Fresh uni (be generous with the quantity!) Unagi Saba oshi-zushi from Nara (mackerel pressed/box sushi) Definitely ume shiso (plum paste & shiso leaf) temaki (or regular maki) at the end of the meal to refresh the palate

Another easy way to kill crabs you mean to cut up & saute them later is: * fill your sink with hot water from the tap (doesn't have to be boiling) * put the crabs in the water *upside down* (otherwise they can crawl out before they die) The crabs die quickly and the meat is still raw -- nice for crab sashimi, etc. Don't try this with cold water -- they just right themselves and crawl out of the sink -- disturbing!

Thai fish cakes (catfish) on lettuce with dipping sauce Soup with Chinese flowering broccoli, mushrooms & egg Lemongrass tea

chawanmushi!

Smallworld, Ha ha hah! I *so* know what you mean! I went out with an Osaka guy for 5 years and moved to Tokyo with him -- he started cooking like a fiend and we put on like 20 pounds! He would call the factory that made Asahi Ponzu and beg them to sell us a case wholesale as he was Osaka umare sodachi (born & raised) and "couldn't live" without Asahi Ponzu for nabe! Made regular calls to his mom for Osaka & Kyushu recipes (family was a mix). I think that contributed greatly to my interest in food, actually -- they really take their food seriously.

Anil, Have you been to Japan before? Is this just a new city for you, or a whole new country? Will you have the evenings only (ie. after work & meetings) or will you have full days as well?

Which neighborhood are you staying in? Umeda? Namba/Shinsaibashi? What are you interested in seeing? I lived in Osaka for 3.5 years a while back -- my restaurant info probably isn't the most recent, but I can tell you general Osaka stuff. I LOVE Osaka; it's got a great energy and the people there are quite friendly, funny and outgoing (uh, in relation to other Japanese). It's also the area in Japan famous for its comedians and delicious, reasonable food. Couple food things to experience: okonomiyaki (& modan-yaki, takoyaki, plus Akashi-yaki towards Kobe), fugu (very reasonable in Osaka) Neighborhoods to check out: * Umeda (business district with much high-end dining) * Namba/Shinsaibashi (the party district with good dive bars & street food) * Denden Town (like Akihabara in Osaka -- the electronics district where you can aggressively bargain prices down on *all* electronics -- never pay list price!) * Between Namba & Denden Town is the kitchen district -- visit it for excellent restaurant supply items, great knives & plastic food models. * Just south of Denden Town by Ebisucho Stn. is the Tsutenkaku (big tower, look up) -- total dive area that's *great* to walk around in during the afternoon. Lots of homeless & yakuzu types, though, so you might want to avoid it at night unless you're with someone. Great people-watching, plus great deals on fugu. It's a nice walk from south Namba through the kitchen district, into Denden Town, then around the Tsutenkaku. Lemme know what else you're interested in and I'll tailor it some more.

This might belong in another thread on the Japan forum, but you shouldn't have to pay $3 for mac & cheese in Japan if you don't want to -- Foreign Buyers' Club has Kraft Mac & Cheese for 207 yen and less. (Where to store your bulk purchases from FBC is another matter, though!)

I've got the 8" granite Thai mortar -- it holds about three cups of stuff and is a good size. Really holds up to whacking the sh*t out of tough ingredients. Also have a suribachi that I don't use as often, but that's because I'm not doing as much seed grinding lately. $40 is kind of pricey for the 8" Thai mortar/pestle, though -- do you have Asian kitchen equipment stores where you live? I got mine for about $20 in Chinatown. I've heard that the Mexican molcajetes, because they're more porous, tend to absorb soaps and can give off stone grit for a while unless they're very well seasoned. Folks recommend hand-choosing the lava molcahetes to be sure to get a solid one that's not too porous. That's not an issue with the Thai granite one that you showed, though.

Me too! I do leftovers from wildly mixed cuisines -- I've got a rebellious attitude toward "pure" Japanese bentos. Can be explained as a reaction to a Japanese SO (now ex) pressuring me to make "pure Japanese" & beautiful/artistic bentos as prep for the future (ack); *so* important for a woman to know & conform to expectations. Blech. Long live eclectic bentos!

New cooking project: goat. So slow-cooked Jamaican curried goat, with a side of baby bok choy & onion prepared as if it were callaloo.