eG Foodblog: torakris - a week of fun in Japan

[Hiroyuki]

Let me step in for a second.

The difference in price between real beer and low-malt beer is mainly due to the different tax rates applied to them.

Sorry for interruption, torakris, but I just had to say this.

(Down with the Liquor Tax Law!! )

[jhlurie]

sorry blurry pictures again...

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That's okay Kris. We'd just concluded you were drunk.

What you really need to do is try to balance your elbows on a table or something solid while taking these pictures. It's a bit harder if you are leaning over a stove, of course. Also, assuming it's a digicam, use what I call the "Shapiro rule" (after Ellen Shapiro, who gave me this advice)--Digital exposures cost NOTHING until you process them, so hold the button down and take about 10 times as many shots as you think you need.

That said, your blog is, as always, interesting enough that a bit of blurryness is no huge deal. Word pictures work as well as photgraphic ones.

[torakris]

well I am curerntly chewing on my last kokuto (black sugar) caramel, I just pulled the last pan of mini cranberry-orange-walnut muffins out of the oven and the wind is blowing so hard now the rain looks like it is coming in horizontally from the west.....

The muffins are for the undokai on Monday....

thanks for the picture tips!

[Pan]

I am also one of those people who doesn't like my food to touch.....

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"Touch what?" was my first thought (and my second and, like, tenth). I guess you don't want the different dishes on your plate to touch one another, as in the fish on one side, the vegetables on another, or whatever. Is that right? And what about rice? A chopstick-full of meat and then another chopstick-full of rice?

[torakris]

"Touch what?" was my first thought (and my second and, like, tenth). I guess you don't want the different dishes on your plate to touch one another, as in the fish on one side, the vegetables on another, or whatever. Is that right? And what about rice? A chopstick-full of meat and then another chopstick-full of rice?

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I guess it depends on the foods...

I can't put anything salady on a dish that has had something saucey, I will either wash the dish or wipe it with tissue.

Some dishes are meant to be eaten with rice and some sauces just call out for bread dipping or mixing with other.

[Phish]

One thing i don't understand, why do people eat sukiyaki with raw eggs?... and what's with people in Japan and the affiliation with raw eggs? I've seen alot of business man drinking some raw egg concoction for breakfast.... please enlighten me!

Edited to say that im chewing on some kokutou caremels at the moment... and they are yum ... and addictive too!! Im on to my 6th one

Edited October 9, 2004 by Phish (log)

[Palladion]

North Americans are just paranoid.

just kidding! I have never really heard about salmonella problems here, occasionally I see something about the elderly or very young should not eat raw eggs, but I have friends whose kids have been eating them almost daily since about the age of 3.

The Japanese use both raw quail eggs and raw chicken eggs.

We dipped our nabe into raw eggs last night and they will go into the Ceasar salad dressing I will make for dinner tonight.

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Yeah, North Ameicans are just really paranoid, I guess. In the States, they'd never think about storing eggs at room temperature; here in Japan it's rare to find eggs refridgerated in the store. I don't know how widespread the practice is, but I know I've read comments here on eGullet that they do the same in France.

Also, gus_tatory, did you see the notes from the eGullet Tokyo get-together in Imaiya, the raw chicken restaurant?

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Alex Parker

[torakris]

One thing i don't understand, why do people eat sukiyaki with raw eggs?... and what's with people in Japan and the affiliation with raw eggs? I've seen alot of business man drinking some raw egg concoction for breakfast.... please enlighten me!

Edited to say that im chewing on some kokutou caremels at the moment... and they are yum ... and addictive too!!  Im on to my 6th one

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The raw eggs add a lot of flavor and texture to sukiyaki. I was just talking to my neighbor the other day about how our kids don't like raw eggs and we can't understand how they can eat sukiyaki without it, the taste just isn't the same.

As for raw eggs with rice for breakfast, I am not a huge fan of it, but will eat it if there is nothing else, but it is a very popular dish here. As well as adding raw eggs (usually yolks only) to various dishes.

We eat a lot of raw or just barely cooked eggs in our house....

[torakris]

Saturday dinner

I picked up a head of romaine lettuce for just 98 yen (about $.90) so I just had to make a Caesar salad which is the favorite of Mia. I added an avocado since it is Julia's favorite food and made a bunch of croutons with some slices of the ends of bread that I got free from a local bread store and froze for an occasion like this.

Then I wanted to do something with the swordfish I picked up really cheap because it was the odds and ends from when they cut up the filets. I also wanted to use orange juice, because I zested all the skin off my orange today for the muffins. I found a recipe at epicurious called swordfish with orange honey and soy (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/1545 )

so I made the sauce (with real garlic and ginger instead of the dried called for) and marinated the fish and then decided to saute it with some yellow peppers and onions. So I sauteed the vegetables first over a very high heat, put them in a dish, then added the drained swordfish and seared it. I then added the peppers and onions back to the pan with some of the sauce and sauteed it for a couple minutes.

This was really good! everyone loved and I am definitely going to make it again. It would work well as a stirfry with meats like chicken and pork and more vegetable like broccoli, this just screams out for rice!

My Caesar salad recipe is from the book Roy's Feasts From Hawaii by Roy Yamaguchi (no relation!) My in-laws love his restaurants and we used to go to them a lot here in Tokyo as well as all of the ones in Hawaii. I fell in love with his Caesar salad and bought the book just for it. I've gotten good use out of the book and there are a couple recipes I go to a lot.

[Hiroyuki]

One thing i don't understand, why do people eat sukiyaki with raw eggs?...

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I am one of those few Japanese who don't like to eat sukiyaki with raw eggs. I don't like to mix raw eggs with natto, either. But I used to like to eat rice with raw eggs (tamago kake gohan) very much when I was a child.

Does anyone know the authentic way to make tamago kake gohan?

First you break an egg and put it in a bowl, add some soy sauce, and beat the egg.

Make a hole in the center of the rice in the chawan (rice bowl) with your chopsticks, and pour the beaten egg into the hole.

The rice has to be takitate (just cooked) and hot!!

What I can say for sure about eggs is that they used to be very expensive especially before World War II, so I guess sukiyaki with raw eggs used to be such a feast!

[TheFoodTutor]

I agree that North Americans are paranoid about eating raw eggs. The risk of salmonella is negligible - something on the order of one in 100,000 eggs - and the benefit of having the texture of raw egg is great. As a lover of raw and barely-cooked eggs, I can't imagine being afraid to eat one.

I love your blog, Kristin. I'm living vicariously through your daughter, Julia, since it's so beautiful for me to think of a pretty young girl living on the other side of the world with the same name as me. All these foods look amazing! Thanks.

[Phish]

Actually, the raw egg i was talking about was actually a drink... A few guys in business suit comes to the buffet every morning during my stay at The New Otani and makes this odd drink of raw eggs and i- dont-know- what- else.... and just gulps on it as if it's a pick- me- up drink!?

Have you any clue about this?

[melonpan]

...I found a recipe at epicurious called swordfish with orange honey and soy (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/1545 )...  ...My Caesar salad recipe is from the book Roy's Feasts From Hawaii by Roy Yamaguchi (no relation!)...

how often are you looking up recipes or getting new ones from your cookbook collection? are you trying new recipes out more often than you would because of your cooking class or are you naturally trying out new stuff all the time, or do you try them out once in a while of only when the opportunity represents itself (as with the swordfish)?

[Jason Perlow]

This is the typical size of sausages in Japan. The flavor can vary depending on the brand, I prefer the arabiki style. Arabiki simply means coarsely ground (and can also refer to things like coffee grounds or black pepper), these are a little "chunkier" in the filling than the smooth American style hot dogs. they also contain more fat and it may sound strange but the skin is tighter.   So when you bite into it, the skin actually snaps and fatty juices flow into your mouth, and dribble down your chin.

In the US, my Japanese friends always used to buy cocktail sausages...

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At the Mitsuwa Japanese supermarket here in New Jesey, the house brand appears to look exactly like cocktail sausages, and they taste like a brand called "'Lil' Smokies" . Interestingly enough, along with packages of these, they sell Oscar Mayers, which have a very similar smokey (artificial) taste profile. At the food court, many of the bento box donburi meals from their on site Surigagi/Atami and snack bar come with one of these as a little snack.

Many people accuse the United States of being the king of processed food consumption, but you really have to pay homage to the Japanese for their embracement of everything junk food.

[torakris]

Actually, the raw egg i was talking about was actually a drink... A few guys in business suit comes to the buffet every morning during my stay at The New Otani and makes this odd drink of raw eggs and i- dont-know- what- else.... and just gulps on it as if it's a pick- me- up drink!?

Have you any clue about this?

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I haven't seen too many raw egg drinks in Japan, actually the only people I know who drink drinks with raw eggs is my sister's husband and a couple other guys back in the US who are big into weight training.....

[torakris]

how often are you looking up recipes or getting new ones from your cookbook collection?  are you trying new recipes out more often than you would because of your cooking class or are you naturally trying out new stuff all the time, or do you try them out once in a while of only when the opportunity represents itself (as with the swordfish)?

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Good question, I was actually thinking about this last night becasue my meals I have been preparing I haven' t really used recipes.

Normally I will do major shopping trip on Saturday or Sunday and then combined with my Tuesday food delivery I plan meals for the rest of the week and write everyting down in my food planning notebook.

Normally about half of the dishes will be from recipes, mostly new (like last night's swordfish) or ones have used before (like last night's salad).

Now I tend to use recipes more for ideas and sort of tweak it around to suit my taste and the ingredients I have in the house, sort of like I did with both recipes last night.

Sunday (the only day my husband is usually off) is my big cooking day, we usually have a big late lunch and then I make a big dinner but earlier and we eat no lunch. This is my big baking day and I usually work on some dessert as well.

This week through me off because I was quite busy and I couldn't plan too much without knowing when the sports day will be. I guess I am just sort of winging it more this week than I normally do and relying more on semi-prepared foods.

Especially since this is a 3 day holiday weekend and I have the husband and three kids here for 3 meals a day for 3 straight days.....

I am drinking my iced coffee and am about to go and make some toast and maybe some sausages for breakfast. We eat lightly on the days we go to the brunch at the hotel, even though it is called brunch we don't eat until close to 12, so the kids still need breakfast.

I am looking forward to lunch all the shrimp cocktail I can eat finished off with key lime pie....

[torakris]

.

Many people accuse the United States of being the king of processed food consumption, but you really have to pay homage to the Japanese for their embracement of everything junk food.

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The Japanese do love their junkfood!

and in the urban areas especially, processed food consumption is definitely on the rise, this part of the food industry has skyrocketed in the 10 years I have been in Japan. You can buy anything in a retort pouch noways!

[jogoode]

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...

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In Japan, I learned that cold green tea was an excellent accompaniment to Pocky. Great blog, Kristin!

[torakris]

We had lunch today at the New Sanno Hotel in Hiroo, Tokyo.

On the way there my MIL gave the gives a sushi shaped sucker, it was shaped like an ikura (salmon) gunkan maki and had real nori wrapped around it...

[Palladion]

We had lunch today at the New Sanno Hotel in Hiroo, Tokyo.

On the way there my MIL gave the gives a sushi shaped sucker, it was shaped like an ikura (salmon) gunkan maki and had real nori wrapped around it...

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Yes, but did it taste like sushi too?

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Alex Parker

[torakris]

the brunch is buffet style, I always start with the shrimp, smoked mussels and a bit of caviar....

then move on to some salads

then the sushi course....

and some roast beef, beans and potatoes (the roast beef is usually much better, I got an end piece to boot! )

I went to the abthroom before eating dessert and when I came back someone had eaten two of my raspberries and taken a bite!

I enjoyed some coffee with desseert and water for the rest of the meal.

[torakris]

Yes, but did it taste like sushi too?

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Alex Parker

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no...

and I think that is why all three of my kids pulled off the nori...

[melonpan]

I went to the abthroom before eating dessert and when I came back someone had eaten two of my raspberries and taken a bite!

gosh, you shore are awful sharp there. didnt think youd actually miss those two little berries (it almost looks like the two dents near the edges are decorations, dontit?) or the tiny crumb that fell off the end!

[torakris]

Most of the brunch is typical brunch food, scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, egg benedict, one pasta dish, things like chicken with ham and cheesse, snapper with a creole sauce, leg of lamb, roast beef, baked ham and a couple of Japanese type things like yakisoba, sushi, white rice, teriyaki beef. oh and omelettes made to order

As you can tell from my foodblog I am not a really big fan of breakfast foods...

They do have a nice salad selection including a "top your own green salad" bar along with lots of breads and fruits. They also have a very nice dessert section with more than 10 kinds of cakes/pies to choose from as well as cookies, bars, blintzes, Belgian waffles and do it yourself sundae bar.

I have been there so many times now I always go for my favorites as most of the buffet food has that buffet food bland taste, except those green beans with the bacon, man do I love those...

More pictures, my husband Tora with Hide and Julia, using knives...

Julia and Hide enjoying dessert

Mia and Hide and the Japanese kid finger thing....

[torakris]

after lunch we decided to go to Kasai Rinkai Park it has one of the world's largest ferris wheels (117m)

and a wall of water that the kids can't resist putting their hands in

there is also a very nice aquarium there called Tokyo Sea Life Park and today was the anniversary of their opening and there was no entrance fee.

that is the reason we went today....