eG Foodblog: Hiroyuki - Home-style Japanese cooking

[Hiroyuki]

After I got the job done by 2:30, I decided to take some rest.

I had a sweet given by my sister-in-law.

Hanyuu. It seems like a specialty of Kamakura, and it's two big hard Japanese wafers sandwiching ogura (azuki jam) cream.

Then I decided to take a bath before having supper!

After I took a bath, I decided to drink umeshu!

I decided not to have rice for supper, which I sometimes do when I want to drink a lot of alchool.

Shirataki (noodle-like konnyaku) salad given by my sister-in-law:

I'm going to wrap up my foodblog in my next post!

Thanks for the sloth suggestion, Helen!! (I even forgot to grill some shishamo for my children! )

Edited to add a photo.

Edited May 1, 2007 by Hiroyuki (log)

[Hiroyuki]

Thank you all for being part of my foodblog, which would not be the same without your input and support.

As I have demonstrated for one week, most Japanese dishes are ridiculously simple, require a few seasonings, and take little time (if you choose to use instant dashi ).

For example, you can easily make niku jaga (Japanese meat potato stew) simply by replacing the curry roux with an 8:1:1 mixture of dashi, soy sauce, and mirin.

I haven't mentioned this so far, but my family always say "Itadakimasu", which means "(We/I) will (humbly) receive", before having a meal, and "Gochisousama" (or "Gochisousama deshita", which is a past form, and is more polite), which means "It was a feast", after having a meal. In Japanese, these expressions are regarded as greetings just like "Hello" and "Good morning", and it's hard for us not to say them, especially when we have a meal with someone else. Many think, including me, that they are the most beautiful expressions in the Japanese language.

My foodblog will remain open for some time, so feel free to ask.

[Chufi]

Thank you so much for this blog. It has been an education and inspiration.

I agree with MizDucky about the picture of your kids catching the trout. I actually thought at first that the trout catching was just a fun game, until I saw the fish in your toaster oven for dinner that night!

I wish you and your family health and happiness, and hope to read many more of your wonderful posts on eGullet!

[C. sapidus]

Hiroyuki: Thank you so much for sharing this week. Japanese cooking is one of the few Asian cuisines that I have yet to explore, but you have inspired me to change that. Especially for weeknight cooking, I like the idea of simple, tasty, healthy food, and I know that our boys love Japanese flavors.

Gochisousama deshita. Best wishes to you and your family, and you have earned a well-deserved rest after entertaining and educating us this week.

[helenjp]

Thanks for a wonderful blog, Hiroyuki, best wishes to your wife, and hope your children's gardens do well . (By the way, it seems that many SFG people who live in regions with hot summers add more compost in August or so, so that the soil can hold more moisture).

I drove past Kitakogane tonight, and the coin-operated rice polishing machine has been replaced! It seems that they were just waiting until the new, rebuilt police Koban was completed before installing a nice, new machine. I don't know who uses it though, since most people buy their rice at the supermarket, and there is MUCH less farmed land than when you lived around here.

Enjoy your evening off! I finished a 2-week job today too.

[Cadbury]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your blog, Hiroyuki. It has brought back many very pleasant memories. I wish you and your family the very best.

[Carrot Top]

Gochisousama deshita, Hiroyuki.

[BarbaraY]

Thank you for a lovely blog. I have enjoyed it very much.

As you probably know, I am very interested in Japanese home cooking as opposed to American restaurant food.

I must try your recipe for furikake if I can find the mackrel. Niku jaga is one of my favorite home-style dishes as is curry rice.

My best wishes for your wife's quick recovery.

[insomniac]

thanks so much Hiroyuki for going ahead with your blog at such a stressful time for you and the family; I have enjoyed the journey with you immensely. What a great learning experience for me, (note to self: must be more resourceful and less wasteful and untidy ) Hope the four leaf clover works and times get better in the near future.

[Catherine Iino]

My thanks to you and best wishes to your family. It truly was a feast. Ooh, one more question: does the cook say "gotchisosama" along with everyone else? My family said gotchisosama and itadakemasu (when we didn't say "gesegnete mahlzeit"--my father's family was from Japan, my mother's from Germany), but I'm not sure whether gotchisosama is thanking the cook or a larger power.

Have a very good week.

[kbjesq]

They are packed fairly firmly though, and people pack things diagonally into corners, which is where they'd move anyway, with larger items in the middle.

Finally (bit hard to explain) there is a knack to packing them - while it looks like a sand-picture from on top, in fact the layers often overlap slantwise just a little (one reason why leaves etc are often used as separators, I guess), which means that you end up with a shallow V-shaped gap at one end of the box. The idea is to jam something bulky in there which practically locks everything into place like a keystone. Makes you wonder what the Japanese bento looked like before cherry tomatoes were invented .

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Thank you, Helen. This is a good explanation of the bento-packing technique. I have not come close to mastering it, though! It's a shame that more Americans are not interested in their children's diets. The school lunches here are, for the most part, just dreadful. It is no surprise that childhood obesity is epidemic here. I showed my daughter the pictures of school lunch posted by Hiroyuki, and she was quite envious!

[kbjesq]

I haven't mentioned this so far, but my family always say "Itadakimasu", which means "(We/I) will (humbly) receive", before having a meal, and "Gochisousama" (or "Gochisousama deshita", which is a past form, and is more polite), which means "It was a feast", after having a meal.

←

Hiroyuki, your blog this week truly was a feast. My entire family has enjoyed sharing this week with you. So much, in fact, that we are now planning to visit Japan in December! Thank you very much and I hope that good health returns to your family, very soon.

[racheld]

I have just LOVED this!!! Stepping clear across the globe every day, to peek into your home and activities---what a lovely family!!

Thank you for all the interesting glimpses of your life, your kitchen, your daily comings and goings, and most of all, your charming interaction with your two little ones. This has been like opening a beautiful bento, packed by the most excellent chef---all the pictures and thoughts lying there like exquisite bites to choose and savor.

I hope the best of health and the best of fortune for all of you, and I will miss this little journey each day.

Thank you.

Edited May 1, 2007 by racheld (log)

[Anna N]

Thank you for blogging! I have loved every minute of it! I pray that things improve for you and your wife very soon.

[DCP]

Hiroyuki, please allow me to extend my thanks for your fascinating foodblog. I'm sad that it is over so quickly, but you have shared much of value in that time.

[Abra]

Hiroyuki-san, this has been a wonderful blog and I hate to see it end. I want to know why no rice with umeshu, whether I can use frozen saba for the furikake, and what your son thinks about food and the universe.

Thank you so much for sharing your life with us this week.

[OnigiriFB]

Wonderful blog. I've enjoyed seeing home-style japanese food. I definately am going to try your gohan no tomo! Thanks for blogging!

[Peter Green]

Thanks a million, Hiroyuki! I've loved following this, seeing the bits and pieces.

And I have to visit the sake museum!

Cheers,

peter

[AzianBrewer]

The glass looks almost frosted, do you keep them in the freezer?

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Beer purists would kill me for doing this, but I really like to put cans of beer in the freezer for about 20 minutes before drinking to make them super cool. I also put the glass in the freezer.

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There is nothing wrong with chilling your light lager in the freezer. After all, light lager should be refreshing and clean tasting as opposed to ale or stout.

Cheers

[maher]

i add my thanks for a most entertaining week.. the only downside is i now have to go look for something else to read with my morning coffee.. im sure several days of probing the depths of the japan forum will be on tap.

[Pan]

[...]>I have to ask this: is this version of Tampopo uncut? The version they are selling here in the States is missing several minutes, some of which are necessary to getting all of the jokes! The most important scene missing from my DVD is the one when all of the businessmen walk OUT of the French restaurant!

Answer:

Oh, no!  I haven't seen that scene!  So, it's not a uncut version?[...]

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That's really too bad. I saw that scene when Tampopo was being shown in movie theaters here in New York, and it's a great and hilarious scene!

Thanks for the photo.  Shimaya released instant dashi for the first time in Japan in 1964.  My mother used to use niboshi to make miso soup, and once she started to use this product, there was no turning back.  She kept using instant dashi.  I myself cannot go back to niboshi dashi.[...]

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Wait. Instant dashi isn't made from niboshi? If not, what's it made from?

Great blog, Hiroyuki. I'm glad your son isn't gravely ill, and I hope you'll give us updates on your wife's health. All my best wishes to you, your wife, and your family!

[SuzySushi]

Along with everyone else, I thank you for sharing this wonderful slice of life in Japan, and wish your family (and especially your wife) the best of health!

[Collins]

THANK.YOU.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

I haven't mentioned this so far, but my family always say "Itadakimasu", which means "(We/I) will (humbly) receive", before having a meal, and "Gochisousama" (or "Gochisousama deshita", which is a past form, and is more polite), which means "It was a feast", after having a meal.  In Japanese, these expressions are regarded as greetings just like "Hello" and "Good morning", and it's hard for us not to say them, especially when we have a meal with someone else.  Many think, including me, that they are the most beautiful expressions in the Japanese language.

My foodblog will remain open for some time, so feel free to ask.

←

I've stumbled across your foodblog late. I didn't see it until late last night when I was up with a grumpy baby.

Thank you, and I hope that your wife is feeling better soon.

As far as kids and spicy foods go, it's all a matter of personal taste. None of my kids like wasabi, but happily eat medium hot curry and other spicy foods.

We say Itadakimasu and Gochisousama too...

Those ume pretz are terrible. I bought a pack a few years ago, because I love umeboshi flavored stuff, and I was taken aback at how terrible they were.

[Hiroyuki]

First of all,

SuzySushi:

Have a look: Shishamo with roe and bones in it

(This is going to be my final photo.)

Shishamo is not deboned, at least in Japan.

Helen:

Thanks for the tip on SFG. I hope I can try that in the near future. Some farmers here, who not have proper milling facilities, do actually use one of those milling stations.

Catherine Iino:

Ooh, one more question: does the cook say "gotchisosama" along with everyone else? My family said gotchisosama and itadakemasu (when we didn't say "gesegnete mahlzeit"--my father's family was from Japan, my mother's from Germany), but I'm not sure whether gotchisosama is thanking the cook or a larger power.

Absolutely YES!! These expressions (greetings) are intended to express your thanks to anyone and anything that has made the meal possible for you - the one who works to get paid (so you can have the money to buy foodstuffs), farmers, and fishermen, as well as all animal and plant lives sacrified so you can live.

racheld:

My entire family has enjoyed sharing this week with you. So much, in fact, that we are now planning to visit Japan in December!

Wow, thank you! I hope you have a wonderful trip to my country.

Abra:

Hiroyuki-san, this has been a wonderful blog and I hate to see it end. I want to know why no rice with umeshu, whether I can use frozen saba for the furikake, and what your son thinks about food and the universe.

As I said in that post, I sometimes do this, skipping rice when drinking a considerable amount of alcohol, just for health concern. I don't want to regret having both rice and alcohol the next day, when I stand on the bathroom scale. Another factor is this Japanese dining custom: If an alcoholic beverage (beer, Japanese sake, whatever) is served first, then rice is served last. You will experience that when you have a kaiseki course.

You can use frozen saba, but you may want to remove all the bones in that case. The reason why I prefer canned mackerel is that it's available anytime, cheaper (probably except when mackerel is in season), and you can eat the bones too.

My son... He is really an exceptional 11-year-old boy. He likes to gather wild mushrooms when they are in season (accompanied by his father ), he likes to eat them, and he also likes all kinds of sansai (wild edible plants), like very bitter fukinoto (butterbur sprouts). And, he is an absolute fan of Tabata-ya's buckwheat noodles. (Tabata-ya is the buckwheat noodle restaurant that I showed earlier in my foodblog.) He keeps wondering (and asking) whether there is an end to the universe. He knows more about stars and planets than I do. It's sometimes tough being the father of a very curious boy.

OnigiriFB:

I definately am going to try your gohan no tomo!

Please do! You will learn what the "ama-kara" flavor is. It's the intense flavor of soy sauce and mirin.

Peter Green:

And I have to visit the sake museum!

It's on the premises of Yuzawa Station, and is so easily accessible by Joetsu Shinkansen. (Sorry, the sake museum's name is Ponshu Kan, not Ponsu Kan.)

Pan:

Wait. Instant dashi isn't made from niboshi? If not, what's it made from?

Some kind of liquid (waste, by-product,... I don't know how to call it) from a katsuobushi factory, industrially processed, mixed with SMG, and, ... turned into a beautiful, tasty product.

Disclaimer: I have never seen how instant dashi is actually made. The story above is just from what I read in a book.

My wife is recuparating steadily, and my son went to school today! (So, what was that high fever two days ago? )