Daily Nihongo (2005 - )

[torakris]

[Moderator's note: The original topic, Daily Nihongo, became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Daily Nihongo (2003 - 2004)]

 

 

word for 1/1

明けましておめでとうござます

akemashite omedetou gozaimasu (ah-kay-mah-she-tay oh-may-day-toe goh-zai-mah- sue)

This is the New Years greeting, it basically means "Happy New Year" this is what you should say to any acquaintances, friends or family members the first time you see them after the new year. You will still hear it being said about a week later. If it is too much of a mouthful you could shorten it slightly to just akemashite omedetou.

[torakris]

word for 1/2:

ロール

rouru (roe-rue)

This si from the English word "roll", a common iwashi preparation is to remove teh backbone and flatten it out then stuff it with something and roll it up. The finished product can then be fried, sauteed or baked.

Here is one variation were the iwashi is filled with a curry powder flavored potato and mixed vegetable mix and then deep fried:

http://www.maruha.co.jp/recipe/recipe_deta...p?recipe_id=936

[torakris]

word for 1/3:

いわしの梅干煮

iwashi no umeboshi-ni

Umeboshi are the Japnese pickled plums and ni 煮　is from the verb niru which means to simmer, these are iwashi that are simmered with umeboshi. The umeboshi helps rid the iwashi of its fishy-ness and the long simmering softens the bones making them edible.

iwashi no umeboshi-ni:

http://www.c-d-k.ne.jp/~japancom/r-sakana/iwashini.htm

[torakris]

word for 1/4:

いわしのフライ

iwashi no furai

Furai is the Japanese pronunciation of the English fry, usually referring to foods that arecoated with panko and then deep fried. Iwashi no fry could be a variety of dishes, from the simple flour, egg and panko treatment served with lemon slices:

http://www.n-nourin.jp/oh/recipe/sakana/iw...asino-hurai.htm

or even adding something like a tomato sauce:

http://sbc21.co.jp/my-cgi/sbc_recipe-dip.c...467&Page=Detail

More typical Japanese flavourings will include umeboshi and shiso, these will often be stuffed into the iwashi or rolled up inside. You can even buy iwashi no furai in te freezer section already for the hot oil (this one has minced umeboshi inside):

http://www.okachu.co.jp/gyosyu/iwashi/gazou/2-01.jpg

[torakris]

word for 1/5:

いわしのハンバーグ

iwashi no hambaagu

This is like a hamburger patty but made with iwashi. The flesh is scraped out or chopped up and mixed with various vegetables or just simply seasoned.

http://www7.plala.or.jp/dining/recipie-lib...shi-hanbagu.jpg

[torakris]

word for 1/5:

いわし棒天

iwashi bouten (ee-wah-she boe-ten)

This is a popular addition to oden pots, iwashi bouten are a type of satsumage (shaped fish paste that has been deep fried). Bou 棒　is a stick or rod and refers to the long shape of the product, while the ten 天, same as tempura ten, refers to the deep frying.

iwashi bouten are the stick shaped ones at the top of the box:

http://www.tsukiagean.co.jp/jpg/ajisaiA2500.jpg

[torakris]

the oden thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=17704&st=0

[torakris]

word for 1/7:

いわしのソテー

iwashi no sotee　（ee-wah-she noh sew-tay)

Sotee is the Japanese pronunciation of saute, so here we have sauteed iwashi. These are normally served with some type of sauce and can be either western style of Japanese.

iwashi no sotee with a balsamic sauce:

http://www.ntv.co.jp/3min/old/0111/1119.html

[torakris]

1/8:

we will finish off the iwashi posts with this

糠いわし　　ぬかいわし

nuka iwashi (new-kah ee-wah-she)

iwashi that have been preserved in rice bran:

http://www.spungna.com/arachu/images/photo/nuka_iwashi.jpg

[Pan]

Is something fermented there? How do those taste?

[torakris]

Is something fermented there? How do those taste?

←

the rice bran is mixed with salt, formed into a paste and left to ferment, this is the same process as for making rice bran vegetable pickles. The fish can keep for quite a long time.

I have never tried it and it is definitely not on my list of of foods to search out....

[torakris]

word for 1/9:

キビナゴ

kibinago (key-be-nah-goh)

banded blue sprat, silver sprat

This small fish from the herring family is very popular in Southern Japan. Look for it from spring into early summer.

http://www.tomorrow.ne.jp/kawamata/img/syouhin-kibinago.jpg

the coloring of the skin makes it a popular sushi/sashimi:

http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~sunset_m/kibinago.JPG

[torakris]

word for 1/10

成人の日

seijin no hi (say-jean-noh-hee)

Today is a national holiday in Japan called seijin no hi, this is the day that honors all of the people who turned 20 during the year (the "year" runs April to April). The age of 20 is considered adulthood in Japan and the youths are now able to smoke, drink and vote. Cities sponsor huge ceremonies and parents dish out incredible amounts of money fort eh "traditional" kimonos worn on the day. The average price on the girls outfit can run $5,000 to $10,000.

A little bit more info (with pictures):

http://japan.chez.tiscali.fr/Culture/Japan/Seijinnohi.htm

[torakris]

1/11:

Kibinago can be cooked in a variety of ways, they are wonderful grilled and dried and semi-dried versions can also be found.　You can also enjoy them in some more unusual applications such as

kibinago shabu shabu:

http://www.sato-koshiki.jp/food/cooking/re...0shabushabu.htm

or ochazuke:

http://www.sato-koshiki.jp/food/cooking/re...%20ochazuke.htm

[torakris]

word for 1/12:

コノシロ

konoshiro (koe-noh-she-rhoe)

Konoshiro gizzard shad or dotted gizzard shad

This is another fish that changes names depending on its size.

shinko 5 to 6 cm

kohada 7 to 10 cm

nakazumi 12 to 14 cm

konoshiro over 14 cm

The one I seem to see the most is kohada.

konoshiro:

http://www.zukan-bouz.com/nisin/konosiro.image/konosiro.jpg

[torakris]

I completely forgot about this thread yesterday.....

1/14:

kohada is wonderful as nigiri sushi and it is easily identifiable by the spotting on the skin:

http://www.noge-sushi.com/okonomi/okonomi-kohada.jpg

[torakris]

word for 1/15:

昆布〆

konbujime

konbujime usually refers to fish that have been salted, seasoned with vinegar and other seasonings, then wrapped in konbu (kelp) and left to marinate.

This is most likely to be found as a purchased product:

http://www.mikawa-navi.com/k_syoku/maru2/img/torokohada.gif

we also had a thread shime/konbujime (vinegared) fish:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...13entry785613

[torakris]

word fr 1/16:

うなぎ　　ウナギ　　鰻

unagi

eel, more specifically Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica)

http://www.zukan-bouz.com/fish2/unagi/unag...ge/tonegawa.jpg

the unagi thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=19216&hl=unagi

Edited January 15, 2005 by torakris (log)

[torakris]

word for 1/17:

蒲焼

kabayaki (kah-bah-yah-key)

This is probaly the unagi preparation that most people are familiar with. Very few people in Japan make this at home, rather it is bought already seasoned and grilled and it just needs to be warmed up.

The way of cooking kabayaki is slightly different between eastern Japan and western Japan. In eastern Japan, unagi is steamed after it is grilled, then it's grilled again. In the western part of Japan, unagi isn't steamed. So, unagi no kabayaki in eastern Japan tends to be softer than that of western Japan.

from: http://japanesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa070901a.htm

with a picture

[torakris]

word for 1/18:

白焼き

shira yaki (she-rah-yah-key)

"white cooked", this is unagi cooked without sauce thus it is white.

http://www.geocities.co.jp/Foodpia-Celery/3920/shirayaki.jpg

[torakris]

1/19:

鰻重　うな重

unajuu

うな丼　　鰻丼

unadon

These are both dishes that consist of rice topped with grilled eel, the difference being the type of vessel used for serving.

the unajuu is served in a laquer box:

http://www.nona.dti.ne.jp/~miura-t/picture/unaju-1.jpg

and the unadon is served in a large rice bowl:

http://homepage2.nifty.com/unasuke/unadon.jpg

[torakris]

1/20:

並 nami (regular)

上 jou (deluxe--better than nami)

特上 tokujou (super deluxe -- better than jou)

You will often see these characters on menus、not just for unagi but other dishes as well.

Here is a typical unagi restaurant menu:

http://www.babanishi.com/kakutenpo/insyoku/izuei/menu.html

[torakris]

word for 1/21:

いかだ焼き

ikada yaki (ee-kah-dah yah-key)

Ikada means raft in Japanese and the dish has this name because it resembles a raft. Two (or sometimes more) filets are grilled whole, they are normally cut in half) and then served next to each other. To understand better look here:

http://www.matuba.co.jp/main/003.html

the first picture on the left in regular ikada yaki (with 3 pieces), the top right is an ikada-don, if you scroll down you will see that all of the other dishes feature unagi that has first been cut in half.

[torakris]

1/22:

unagi is also very popular at the sushi bar, somethings you will find include the following:

にぎり

nigiri

http://www.sushi-am-main.de/SAM%20Website....shi/11Unagi.gif

巻き

maki

roll

http://www.origamirestaurant.com/sushi/images/maki_unagi.jpg

うなきゅう　鰻きゅう　　鰻胡　(usually followed by maki 巻き）

unakyu (unakyuu) maki

roll with unagi and kyuuri (cucumber)

http://www.flavorj.com/~skysea/sushi/unakyu.jpg

[torakris]

1/24:

The best place to get unagi is of course an うなぎ屋　unagiya, or unagi restaurant. Thes eare often noticable by the sign out front of an elongate u う　which also resembles the shape of an eel.

I couldn't find a good picture of this sign (it is really hard to search for!) but it looks something like this:

unagi sign