Japanese Foods--sunomono

[torakris]

I bought some banana vinegar the other day that was on sale. Japan seems to be having a vinegar boom at the moment with lots of vinegar products appearing recently. I bought it just to see what it tasted like and now I have a whole mini carton of it. Any ideas for using banana vinegar?

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I have been seeing that too, isn't it mostly being sold for drinking?

I don't like bananas so am not interested in trying it, but what exactly does it tatse like?

[kinkistyle]

I bought some banana vinegar the other day that was on sale. Japan seems to be having a vinegar boom at the moment with lots of vinegar products appearing recently. I bought it just to see what it tasted like and now I have a whole mini carton of it. Any ideas for using banana vinegar?

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I was watching Tamori's "Waratte Ii-tomo" the other day and they had on a "Vinegar Sommelier" or "Su-mmelier" (har har ) who did some interesting things with different "dessert vinegars".

Some people mix it with drinkabe yogurt as a topping, or even with milk(!) Supposedly it tastes like a lassi.

But I think you could probably use it like balsamic vinegar and mix it with a little oil and use it to dip bread into. Or maybe perhaps sprinkle it on strawberries? How about banana-sushi rice?

I think the most obvious cuisine that springs to mind for me is the Chinese dish "su-buta" or Sweet and Sour pork.

[_john]

what exactly does it taste like?

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it tastes kind of like rotten bananas at first. then you get used to the mild vinegar and banana flavor. After reading the ingredients it's obvious that it is not vinegar that is created from some sort of banana liquor but rather neutral vinegar (distilled) with banana puree added. That'll teach me to read ingredients lists. Subuta is a good idea btw. I think it will match nicely. Letting strawberries sit in some banana vinegar and then eating them with ice cream or whipped cream sounds good too.

[Hiroyuki]

I didn't know that (I don't watch much TV these days), but "banana su diet" seems to be quite popular now.

You can make banana su simply by mixing vinegar, banana, and kuro zato (brown sugar).

[nakji]

I've been wanting to try Torakris's Pork and Wasabi salad since I first read about it last fall. I finally got around to making it, and I wasn't disappointed! It was exactly the perfect sort pf dinner for me - easy to assemble and light on the stomach (since I usually eat dinner quite late). It was a hit with my husband, too, and he usually dislikes wasabi - I served the salad western-style, in two separate dishes, and added more wasabi to mine.

I love things made with vinegar and sugar, especially when the weather's a bit warmer. Does anyone have any more recipes they'd like to share?

[torakris]

I've been wanting to try Torakris's Pork and Wasabi salad since I first read about it last fall. I finally got around to making it, and I wasn't disappointed! It was exactly the perfect sort pf dinner for me - easy to assemble and light on the stomach (since I usually eat dinner quite late).

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I'm glad you enjoyed it. I make some variation of this quite frequently. It is so light as here is no oil and the pork slices are just barely boiled.

Try it with yuzu-koshou instead of the wasabi for a wonderful twist. I also vary the vegetables depending on what I have in the house, any kind of lettuce or mizuna works, as well as bean sprouts and avocado. Sometimes I leave out the wasabi all together and add something like kaiware (daikon sprouts) for a different kind of kick.

Often in the summer, this will be the entire meal (with rice, of course!).

[nakji]

I've been wanting to try Torakris's Pork and Wasabi salad since I first read about it last fall. I finally got around to making it, and I wasn't disappointed! It was exactly the perfect sort pf dinner for me - easy to assemble and light on the stomach (since I usually eat dinner quite late).

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I'm glad you enjoyed it. I make some variation of this quite frequently. It is so light as here is no oil and the pork slices are just barely boiled.

Try it with yuzu-koshou instead of the wasabi for a wonderful twist. I also vary the vegetables depending on what I have in the house, any kind of lettuce or mizuna works, as well as bean sprouts and avocado. Sometimes I leave out the wasabi all together and add something like kaiware (daikon sprouts) for a different kind of kick.

Often in the summer, this will be the entire meal (with rice, of course!).

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Oooh, yuzu would be fantastic. I'll definitely give that a whirl. And my husband loves bean sprouts, so I know he'd enjoy that! It made up our entire dinner, with some leftover rice with new ginger. It was a great meal.