eG Foodblog: torakris - a week of fun in Japan

[torakris]

I lived in Kobe in the mid-60's. There was a vendor who would come and sell tofu  from a cart which he wheeled down the street. Do they still do that??

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Though you don't see them as much anymore, they are still around and we have one that comes around our neighborhood about twice a week.

It is 2 to 3 times more expensive than tofu in the supermarket, so I rarely buy it.

[torakris]

I picked up Hide at 11:30 today, they get half the day off so they can rest up for the undokai. He wanted a peanut butter sandwich, so I made myself some udon noodles.

This is a frozen product called sudachi oroshi udon, sudachi is a small green Japanese citrus fruit and oroshi refers to grated daikon. The package contains the noodles as well as a package of a soy based sauce, some sudachi juice and a package of grated daikon.

the finished product, I had no scallions in the house but it was still quite good, I ate it cold but you can serve it hot as well.

[tejon]

If I can ask, what is Sports Day, and what are the traditional foods prepared for this holiday?

[Dejah]

Sheesh. Takayuki sounds like a very mollycoddled young adult. He needs to be directed to a Chinese grocery store or Asian store so he can pick up some familiar foods like "larmen" (Japanese instant noodles). Maybe he can buy a small rice cooker there and some Japanese rice too.

Foodie Penguin

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I'm not sure how young men in Japan are raised, but perhaps Taka was coddled.

He is staying in a homestay where the hosts are to provide 3 meals a day. The students pay $550.00 a month. His homestay mother has had several students. As they have been ones who help themselves to the fridge, she assumed Taka would do the same.

He has not adapted to our culture yet. His "mom" has been clued in and she will show him some the ropes.

I did some curry chicken fried rice for him today. He is shy, and would only take the food when I said "I cooked too much and brought the extra for whoever wanted some".

[Dejah]

Hide is beautiful, as are your daughters.

Thanks for sharing them!

I have a 6 year old grandson. He loves udon noodles; noodles of all kinds.

[torakris]

If I can ask, what is Sports Day, and what are the traditional foods prepared for this holiday?

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The undokai (sports day) is probably one of the most important days of the Japanese school year. Most school hold them in the fall around the time taiku no hi (sports day) that this year fall on October 11. My daughters elementary school had theirs 3 weeks ago and many of the schools in the area are now holding them in May. The school is divided into two teams, the red team and the white team and they compete against each other in various events, like 100 meter dashes, obstacle courses, etc these events are also interspersed with the different grades doing various dances and such. this event is attended by parents who cheer the teams on and at lunch the whole family gathers together to eat the benot lunch the mother spent hours specially preparing, then it is back to the games. It is an all day event, usually from 9 to 3.

My husband couldn't attend the elementary school one this year, so I made a very simple bento for the 3 kids and I

[torakris]

some pictures from the undokai at my daughters school

Mia and Julia ready to go off for the big day, they were both on the red team, thus the red hats

Julia (with the braids) in one of the dances done by the first graders

3rd graders dancing

Hide enjoying himself with friends, everyone sets down mats and that is where you eat your lunch

[chardgirl]

I'm enjoying this thread as much as everyone else, thanks for blogging! On the the other side of the Pacific (near San Francisco) my children's school also has a sports day, they call it Olympic day. There's a children's book in English written by Alan Say called "Bicycle Man" that's about the undokai, I have a copy and lend it to my children's teacher each year.

My son is currently fascinated by all things Japan (he's 9) so I'm enjoying reading this for the food, OF COURSE, that's why I'm here, but also to see what's it's like raising children in Japan with one American parent. Said son has a classmate who's father is from Japan and her mom is from Texas, they spend a week every year teaching a unit about Japan....

Again, thanks for taking the time. The photos are a special treat!!!

[torakris]

You know it is strange but when I was in school we had sports day as well and I think we just called it sports day. This was at a private, catholic elementary/jr. high school and we even had the school divided into red and white teams! We didn't wear the hats and parents didn't attend, but we did some similar games as well as some others. There was also no dancing, I loved this day it was always a lot of fun, though I always came in dead last in the 50 yard dash....

[torakris]

I just had a phone call from my husband and he said he is going to be a little late tonight, he works at huge construction sites and they need to get everything tied down before the typhoon hits tomorrow......

He should be home by 8:00 but that is too late for the kids to wait and nabe (hotpot) isn't exactly a food that waits around well.....

Soooo... I have decided to split dinner and make the kids something easy and something they love ma po dofu (a Chinese style tofu dish) and I will make a kimchi nabe for my husband and I. this is something the kids don't eat so I rarely have a chance to enjoy it.

I had to run back out to the store to pick up some kimchi and I had to try the Reverse Pocky that Jason keeps talking about, so I also picked up

the one on the left is the Pretz mentaiko (spicy cod roe) flavor

The reverse was really good, but i think I still like the regular Pocky G the best. The mentaiko was also quite good, I wish it had a little more flavor but it did have a good kick to it. Hide seems to love it and has run off with the rest of the box as well as my glass of water...

[torakris]

I have bought more snack foods this week than I normally buy in a year!

My kids are going to be shocked when they get home from school.

[Hiroyuki]

I made a phone call to S&B this morning, asking if those who are allergic to fish can eat their curry roux products.

They say that if you just tell them which particular seafood you are allergic to, they can provide you with a definitive answer.

Their customer support toll-free phone number:

0120-120-671

Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00 (except holidays)

I don't know whether they speak English, though.

Homepage of S&B:

http://www.sbfoods.co.jp/biz/default.htm

Forgot to mention that they say that their Dinner Curry does not contain that protein.

Edited October 8, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[helenjp]

Uncanny...on the way home in the train I decided that we were going to have Ma Po Tofu for dinner too - quick to make after swimming class!

In our case it might be made with eggplant instead of tofu, depending on the results of Fridge Inspection.

Hope you don't have to make Sports Day lunch TWICE this weekend...

...and what were you planning to do with the Yama-gobou pickles in the photo of your shopping back up the page a bit?!

[Hiroyuki]

My family had ma po tofu for dinner last night, which is what I made using mabodofu no moto (amakuchi) of Marumiya. I wish that I could eat karakuchi! Haven't eaten it for years (because of my kids, of course)!

Helen, if you use eggplants instead of tofu, then you should call it ma po nasu, right?

[torakris]

...and what were you planning to do with the Yama-gobou pickles in the photo of your shopping back up the page a bit?!

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Good eyes!

It is going to be part of my Korean style futomaki, that is if we ever have the undokai.....

[torakris]

My family had ma po tofu for dinner last night, which is what I made using mabodofu no moto (amakuchi) of Marumiya.  I wish that I could eat karakuchi!  Haven't eaten it for years (because of my kids, of course)!

Helen, if you use eggplants instead of tofu, then you should call it ma po nasu, right?

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Wow everyone is eating mapo dofu, this is sort of creepy...

I always keep a pack of instant ama-kuchi (mild flavored) on hand for days like this when I need a dish and fast that the kids love.

I too, love the spicy kind and currently have to settle with splashing ra-yu (chile oil) all over the mild one.....

[torakris]

prep for the kids dinner

and the final dishes

mapo dofu and ton-jiru (miso soup with pork and vegetables)

[torakris]

there is a full color step by step recipe of ton-jiru in my eGCI class on Japanese cuisine:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=28058

[torakris]

prep for my kimchi chige or nabe (hotpot), using mostly leftovers from the kids dinner

I even made fancy shapes with the konnyaku

sorry they aren't very clear

[Hiroyuki]

I have one question to ask you. Do you ever drink instant coffee? Do you drink coffee made from preground coffee beans only?

Edited October 8, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[lovebenton0]

You know it is strange but when I was in school we had sports day as well and I think we just called it sports day. This was at a private, catholic elementary/jr. high school and we even had the school divided into red and white teams! We didn't wear the hats and parents didn't attend, but we did some similar games as well as some others. There was also no dancing, I loved this day it was always a lot of fun, though I always came in dead last in the 50 yard dash....

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Great blog, Kristin! Enjoying reading along and feasting on the photos!

We also had a sports day when I was in school. We called it Field Day. Same categories of events but also without the dancing. That was reserved for another day.

[torakris]

Well my husband and I had our kimchi chige, wow did that hit the spot!

This is what it looked like all ready to be eaten

The ingredients included thinly sliced pork that was first sauteed in sesame oil, then I added shiitake, daikon, carrots and konnyaku and stirfried it a bit. Next I added water, korean beef stock granules, sake, soy sauce and kojuchang (Korean chile paste) and the stem part of the Chinese cabbage, simmered it a bit then added the kimchi, leaf part of the cabbage and the tofu, simmered it a bit more until it was done.

I then decided to do soemthing we had never never done before and I served it sukiyaki style with a raw egg.

this was great! and I am going to serve it like that again.

we also had the ika no shiokara (squid feremtned in its own guts) that my FIL made

rice was a mixture of regular white and genmai (brown)

[torakris]

my daughters after dinner decided to make teru teru bouzu

these are sort of like charms to help bring good weather.

They did this so it doesn't rain tomorrow for Hide's undokai, they also sang the teru teru bouzu song, you can read the words and listen to the music here:

http://www.kyoto-su.ac.jp/information/sounds/teruteru.html

[torakris]

I have one question to ask you.  Do you ever drink instant coffee?  Do you drink coffee made from preground coffee beans only?

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I will drink instant coffee if it the only thing available.

I keep an instant espresso on hand for baking and prefer this over any other instant coffee I have ever had.

I use both pre-ground and whole bean (I have a mill), but have been using pre-ground almost exclusively since I started using the Toddy method cold brew.

[torakris]

anyone intrigued by the kimchi chige and wants to learn more about hotpots or try their hand at one, should join us Nov. 7th for the egullet hotpot day!

more information is here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=52771