Daily Nihongo (2003 - 2004)

[torakris]

word for 12/15:

にぼしだし　煮干だし

niboshi dashi

Niboshi dashi is a Japanse stock made with niboshi.

There is some discussion of this in the dashi thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=21765&st=0

a recipe for niboshi dashi:

http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/hints/dashi/dashi.html

scroll down it is the 4th one

[torakris]

word for 12/16:

味噌汁

misoshiru (me-sew-she-rhue)

miso soup

Once you have made the niboshi stock add some miso and you have misoshiru. If you use small niboshi you can even leave them in the soup to be eaten. Here is a misoshiru I made last night with niboshi and satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potatoes):

[torakris]

word for 12/17:

田作り

tazukuri (tah-zoo-koo-rhee)

This is a very popular dish for the new year's holidays, the niboshi are first cooked a bit (either in by deep frying, in a frypan or in the oven) and then are simmered or mixed with a sweet-ish soy sauce mixture. Like most new year's foods there is a meaning behind their name, ta ( 田) is a field and zukuri is from the verb tsukuru (作る） which means to make, by eating this the Japanese traditionally wished for a rich harvest in the upcoming year.

tazukuri:

http://woman.excite.co.jp/kondate/img/feat...ri/27476764.jpg

and a recipe:

http://www.recipehound.com/Recipes/3614.html

[torakris]

word for 12/18:

おせち料理

osechi ryouri (oh-seh-chi ryou-rhee)

These are the tradtional new year's dishes in Japan. Tazukuri, discussed yesterday, is just one of those dishes, to learn more about osechi ryouri look here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...29754&hl=osechi

a picture of osechi ryouri:

http://comm.hum.ibaraki.ac.jp/ibunka/2000/05/osechi.gif

[torakris]

word for 12/19:

白子　しらす

shirasu

This word, literally "white child", refers to the very young fish, iwashi are probably the most common fish eaten at this stage, but the young of other fish such as ayu (sweetfish) and unagi (eel) are also called shirasu.

These are delicious eaten raw and the fall is the best time to find them, they are called 生しらす　or "raw" shirasu and look like this:

http://www.yaizu.com/shohin/shirasu/nama-shirasu.htm

[torakris]

12/20:

While the nama shirasu are only on the market for a short time every year, shirasu can be eaten in dried forms all year round.

しらす干し・しらす

shirasu boshi/ shirasu

http://www.yaizu.com/shohin/shirasu/

ちりめんじゃこ・ちりめん

chirimenjyako/chirimen

http://www1.megaegg.ne.jp/~kinomura/chirimen.jpg

Both of these are the baby iwashi that have been boiled in salted water and dried, the difference lays in how much they are dried. Shirasu boshi (often just called shirasu) are left with a water content in the 65-75% range, while the chirimenjyako (also called chirimen) are much drier with a water content in the 40-50% range.

People who live in the Kansai area (Osaka and surrounds) prefer the drier chirimen, while those in Kanto (Tokyo and surrounds) prefer the softer shirasu.

In case you haven't been following our talk on the food preferences of Eastern and Western Japan take a look here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=55376

[torakris]

actually I forgot a word I was going to discuss yesterday....

12/21:

釜揚げ

kama age

You　might see packs of shirasu marked as kama age shirasu or simply kama age and to make things even more confusing they might be just labeled shirasu as well. Kama age style of cooking refers to foods that have been boiled in a large kettle like pot. The tiny iwashi are boiled in the salted water and then pulled out and left to dry, this is where we get shirasuboshi and chirimen. If they are not left to dry rather just cooled down with cld air then they are called kama age, these are softer and plumper.

kama age shirasu:

http://image.www.rakuten.co.jp/fujiyoneyam...1041800278.jpeg

on the right

[torakris]

12/22:

shirasu/chirimen can be used hundreds of ways and you can keep them frozen for a couple months pulling out just how much you need at a time. So run to your nearest Asian supermarket and buy a pack now!

for recipes check out our thread on chirimen/shirasu:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=57839

[torakris]

word for 12/23

天皇誕生日　てんのうたんじょうび

tennou tanjyoubi

The Emperor’s Birthday (Tenno meaning emperor and Tanjoubi meaning birthday) is a national holiday in Japan and is celebrated on the birthday of the reigning emperor. Emperor Akihito inherited the throne when his father Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, so since 1990 Emperor Akihito’s birthday, December 23rd, has been a national holiday. Emperor Akihito is the 125th descendant of Japan’s first emperor, Jimmu, who acceded to the throne in 660 B.C

[torakris]

since we are talking about birthdays....

My daughter Julia turned 7 on 12/20 and had a party with a couple friends complete with a castle cake!

[torakris]

word for 12/24:

たたみいわし

tatami iwashi (tah-tah-me ee-wah-she)

Tatami iwashi are sheets of dried tiny iwashi、 ｔhese can be lightly broken up and added to dishes, used as garnish or eaten as is.

tatami iwashi:

http://img3.dena.ne.jp/ex32/cb/1/686929/4/4278740_1.jpg

pictures of the process of making tatami iwashi:

http://www.kurisan.jp/koramu/iwasinoko.htm

scroll down to where it says たたみいわし near the upper middle of the page

[Pan]

Thanks for the cute birthday pics.

[torakris]

12/25:

メリークリスマス

Merry Christmas!

Though in Japan you are just as likely to hear/see ハッピークリスマス　Happy Christmas!

Christmas is not a holiday in Japan and thus is not a day off, this year of course it is on a Saturday so many families will be together today. my husband, however, has to work on Saturdays and so is not here...

My daughters have already spent most of the morning outside practicing on the unicycles that Santa brought and maybe later we will make some more cookies.

I hope everyone enjoys their holidays!

and if you haven't already don't forget to check out the Christmas cakes in Japan thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=55713

[torakris]

word for 12/26:

つみれ

tsumire

Tsumire are sort of like meatballs but made with fish, the flesh is ground up and then seasonings are added. Iwashi is probably the most common fish used for these and though they are quite easy to make at home, you can also buy them premade in the stores. Tsumire are great in soups, nabe and oden, if you see a grey colored meatball floating in your bowl it is probably iwashi tsumire.

tsumire soup:

http://www.agri.pref.chiba.jp/nourinsui/12.../pic/tumire.jpg

pre-packaged tsumire:

http://www.kibun.co.jp/cbdb/db.cgi/%82%DC%...=1&fileext=.jpg

Edited December 26, 2004 by torakris (log)

[torakris]

12/27:

すり鉢

suribachi

If you want to make tsurimi at home you can do it in a food processor, but to be more traditional you should use a suribachi or Japanese mortar. The pestle is called a surikogi すりこぎ. To learn more about a suribachi and surikogi look here:

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/suribachis.htm

[torakris]

word for 12/29:

いわしめんたい

iwashi mentai (ee-wah-she men-tie)

This one of my favorite iwashi products.

These are iwashi that have been stuffed with mentaiko (spicy cod roe).

http://www.nande.com/kato/iwashi.htm

[torakris]

word for 12/30:

いわしのかば焼き

iwashi no kabayaki

You may be familiar with the word kabayaki from the popular way to serve eel in Japan, unagi kabayaki. In both cases the fish are brushed with a slightly sweetened soy based sauce and then grilled, or often as in the case of iwashi, cooked in a fry pan.

iwashi no kabayaki:

http://www.jf-net.ne.jp/jf-net/syun/cook/i...e_kabayaki.html

[torakris]

12/31:

iwashi kabayaki is also a very popular canned product:
http://www.kobe-ya.co.th/product_info.php?products_id=105&

 

 

[Moderator's note: This fine tutorial continues here: Daily Nihongo (2005 - )]