Niigata prefecture

[Kiem Hwa]

Im in love with my Yuzu koshou, so now Im quite interested in trying Kanzuri. Do you think I'll be able to find this in Kansai? Any particular types of stores you would recommend trying?

[sizzleteeth]

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[sizzleteeth]

Do you think I'll be able to find this in Kansai?

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The producers have an index on their website that shows, I believe, the places available to buy

within Japan.

http://www.haneuma.net/kanzuri/japan/index.html

[sizzleteeth]

Here you are, one of my white label bottles next to it's American cousin:

On the bottle in English reads on the top left hand:

"Kanzuri Chili Paste for seasoning food"

On the bottom it says:

"A symbol of the god of war worshipped by a heroic warlord in the age of civil wars in Japan".

If it helps anyone the address is:

438, Nishijo, Arai City, Niigata Pref. Japan

Phone: 0255-72-3813

Listed both on the bottle and the box they came in.

BTW - missed the "n" in "Imaiya Honten" in the previous post.

[Hiroyuki]

Kujira jiru.

I have refrained from posting this one so far--because the main ingredient is whale fat.

I don't know why, but people of Niigata love to have kujira jiru (whale soup) in the summer.

The main ingredient is whale fat, which is now quite expensive, around 700 yen per 100 grams.

http://www.iscb.net/mikio/200107/0724.htm

Japanese only. Just look at the photo.

http://www.ohbsntv.com/we-i/directory/2002/cook020817.html

Japanese only. Kujira jiru recipe.

http://www.hgc.co.jp/pitem/39377446

Japanese only. Whale fat with skin. Scroll down until you see enlarged photos.

I myself have never made kujira jiru, but have had it several times. I find it very oily and not so delicious .

[Hiroyuki]

Very good stuff, not hot at all very mild and unique flavor - nothing like it here.

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Thanks for your description of kanzuri.

OK, I'll give it a try and report back.

Besides, I can't find yuzu koshou yet...

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I bought a bottle of kanzuri for 491 yen today, came home, and tasted it. I wasn't thrilled by the flavor. I had curry nanban (leftover from last night's supper) with a dab of kanzuri for lunch. I still wasn't thrilled. I think I have to find better uses for it.

Thank you anyway, torakris and sizzleteeth. I would never have thought of buying it without you guys.

[sizzleteeth]

Thank you anyway, torakris and sizzleteeth.  I would never have thought of buying it without you guys.

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Hiroyuki,

I was the same when I tried it at first because my expectation had been completely different and somewhat over excited by the anticipation. Kanzuri on it's own, as stated above, is very mild - and it is fermented with Koji which is the same initial process for producing sake - as I'm sure you know. So it somewhat tastes like salty chili peppers with no heat mixed with a small amount of sake.

Like olive oil, or butter or really even other pepper sauces - on it's own it is OK.

It all depends on what you mix it with or use it on.

Try marinating some chicken in Kanzuri, Shoyu and Mirin and then char-grilling it.

Or mix Kanzuri and Yuzu and Shoyu and use it as a dipping sauce for sashimi.

No matter what you do it will probably not meet your initial expectation of it, the key

is to throw aside that expectation and use it practically.

[Hiroyuki]

Gifu is not the only prefecture in Japan where ayu (sweetfish) can be caught. The Uono river, which runs through my town, Shiozawa, is very famous for ayu fishing. Besides ayu, other species of fish such as iwana and yamame can also be caught there.

Students also enjoy numerous delicious foods and drinks, like "Soba" - buckwheat noodles, mountain vegetables, "Ayu" fish from the "Uono" river, watermelon, Japanese "Sake" - rice wine- wine and beer. All are grown or brewed in Yamato-machi and other towns in the vicinity.

from here:

http://ibs.iuj.ac.jp/aboutus/env.html

[Hiroyuki]

Dairiki natto.

Dairiki natto is known for its flavor.

Official website of the company Dairiki Natto:

http://ww5.et.tiki.ne.jp/~dairiki/

(Japanese only)

Their products:

http://ww5.et.tiki.ne.jp/~dairiki/sub2.htm

[Hiroyuki]

This product is not Ougon Mamakari of Sankou but is quite similar.

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Sorry, I know this is quite off-topic.

This is mamakari sembei. It's not a specialty of Niigata, I suppose. My wife bought a pack this evening. It's mamakari's bones (probably deep-fried and seasoned with mirin and other condiments). It went very well with my shochu (distilled spirit). My children loved it too.

[Kiem Hwa]

Shirokiya in Honolulu is having a Niigata fair this week

http://shirokiya.com/cart/shopcore/shop_im...f1876b1fc96.gif

[Sencha]

Kaki no Tane (lit. persimmon seeds)

Did you know that Kaki no Tane was first produced by Naniwaya in Niigata?

http://www.naniwayaseika.co.jp/04-beika/04.html

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I had not realized Niigata is where kaki no tane were first produced! They sure remind me of my childhood. I loved to eat those! I'm so tempted to pick some up soon.

[Hiroyuki]

Shirokiya in Honolulu is having a Niigata fair this week

http://shirokiya.com/cart/shopcore/shop_im...f1876b1fc96.gif

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Are you going there?

[Kiem Hwa]

Shirokiya in Honolulu is having a Niigata fair this week

http://shirokiya.com/cart/shopcore/shop_im...f1876b1fc96.gif

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Are you going there?

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I went for lunch today I sampled alot of various pickled daikon (shiso, miso, shoyu....), rakkyo, some pickled shiitake and nasu (yum!), other tsukemonos.

I also saw some dried? shiitake coated with sesame seeds with maybe a slight shoyu-sugar flavoring, looked like a snack, but they didnt have samples

There was also various seafood products to sample, including mentaiko & tarako, and ika shiokara.

They had koshikari rice musubis, but I had the koshihikari rice:mochiko rice (80:20%) grilled "gohei mochi", painted with a shoyu sauce while grilling and then mine was dipped in kinako. I also has the kushi-dango set pictured in the ad, with an, goma, and shoyu sauces. Wow, the koshihikari rice bags were so expensive. I think it was 5 or 10 punds of rice for 30$.

[Hiroyuki]

Thank you for your report, Kiem Hwa.

Some comments from me:

Gohei mochi is not a specialty of Niigata. It's a specialty of the Hida/Takayama (parts of Nagano and Gifu prefectures) and other regions.

If the bag is a 10-lb. one, I don't think it's expensive at all by Japanese standards, so it may be a 5-lb. bag.

[Kiem Hwa]

Thank you for your report, Kiem Hwa.

Some comments from me:

Gohei mochi is not a specialty of Niigata.  It's a specialty of the Hida/Takayama (parts of Nagano and Gifu prefectures) and other regions.

If the bag is a 10-lb. one, I don't think it's expensive at all by Japanese standards, so it may be a 5-lb. bag.

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As far as the Gohei mochi, I think it was there because it was mostly made from the koshikari rice.

As far as the koshikari rice, it is probably a 5lb bag then since any products imported here from Japan have the prices raised 25-300%.

(For instance, i saw the Asahi ponzu in Japan for about 600yen, but here it is 9.50$ (a 50% increase), and anything I can find in the 100 yen stores over there is usually at least 2.50$ (250% increase) over here. )

[Hiroyuki]

You can view some nice pictures of rice paddies in Yuzawa town in Niigata prefecutre from here

[Hiroyuki]

             

I have never seen that before!

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It's no wonder, torakris, because this is the very first attempt ever made by anyone. Nihon Lift Service http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~jls/what/w1.htm (Japanese only) conceived an innovative idea for using its lift facilities at Ishiuchi Maruyama ski resort http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/resortdetail.php?resid=7 in the off season. They used a lift with 75 seats and an overall length of 800 meters to hang out premium Shiozawa-produced Koshihikari rice totaling 300 kg (50 pyou) in weight to dry in the sun. The lift was operated every two or three hours to complete the drying process in five days.

Tenpi boshi (sun-dried) rice tastes better than machine-dried rice, but has become rare because it requires much more time and labor.

As the name implies, the price of tenkuu mai is quite high; it starts at 17,000 yen per 10 kg, twice as high as the regular Shiozawa-produced Koshihikari rice.

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Rice harvesting has begun this week in my rice-producing district in Niigata prefecture, about one month later than in Chiba prefecture, where the same variety, Koshihikari, is grown.

Tenkuu mai is dried out in the sun, as you can see from the official website of its producer, Nihon Lift Service. As you can easily guess, it's also sky-high in price - 10,000 yen per 5 kg! As of yesterday, 70% of all Tenkuu mai is already reserved for purchase, according to last night's local TV news program.

[Hiroyuki]

Rice harvesting continues this week and it will probably end next week.

Yesterday, my family went to city Imaizumi Museum to see my daugher's picture of my wife, displayed along with those of all other first graders in the Shiozawa area.

On the premises of the museum stands this big momument:

It says

You are in Uonuma.

Shiozawa Koshihikari

Minami Uonuma city

Soon-to-be-harvested rice paddies near the meseum:

Momument against Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort:

[Route246]

I will be in Japan in December, perhaps in Niigata. I want to bring home (to California) 10kg of rice for my wife. It seems like there are many varieties of koshihikari. What's good and what's not so good? Is there something specific I should target or just get Niigata koshihikari and that should be good enough?

Rice harvesting continues this week and it will probably end next week.

[Cheeko]

I will be in Japan in December, perhaps in Niigata.  I want to bring home (to California) 10kg of rice for my wife.  It seems like there are many varieties of koshihikari.  What's good and what's not so good?  Is there something specific I should target or just get Niigata koshihikari and that should be good enough?

Rice harvesting continues this week and it will probably end next week.

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Check out the thread on Types of Japanese Rice - I didn't find it until yesterday, but it has a lot of great information on rice in general as well as Koshi-Hikari rice.

Hiroyuki-thanks for posting those pictures of the monument and especially of the rice crop that looks like its almost ready...

[Hiroyuki]

I will be in Japan in December, perhaps in Niigata.  I want to bring home (to California) 10kg of rice for my wife.  It seems like there are many varieties of koshihikari.  What's good and what's not so good?  Is there something specific I should target or just get Niigata koshihikari and that should be good enough?

Rice harvesting continues this week and it will probably end next week.

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Check out the thread on Types of Japanese Rice - I didn't find it until yesterday, but it has a lot of great information on rice in general as well as Koshi-Hikari rice.

Hiroyuki-thanks for posting those pictures of the monument and especially of the rice crop that looks like its almost ready...

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As I stated elsewhere, Koshihikari rice produced in former Shiozawa town (now a part of Minami Uonuma city) and some neighboring areas is the very best. Google 塩沢産コシヒカリ (Shiozawa-produced Koshihikari), and you will get sites selling Shiozawa Koshihikari rice.

I provide only one link below:

JA Shiozawa Komegura

Minami Uonuma 南魚沼 Koshihikari is the second best, followed by Uonuma 魚沼, and Niigata 新潟 Koshihikari.

Again, as I stated elsewhere, Koshihikari is a rice variety, and its quality varies depending on where it is grown.

That being said, the difference between these brands are so subtle you could hardly tell the difference. I used to eat Koshihikari rice produced by my father in Chiba prefecture until about a decade ago, and now I usually eat Koshiibuki rice produced in Niigata prefecture. From my experience, I can say that I can hardly tell the difference between Chiba Koshihikari, Niigata Koshihikari, Shiozawa Koshihikari, and Niigata Koshiibuki.

You must pay attention to the milling date. Once milled, rice will deteriorate quickly, and should be consumed within two weeks or so. Unless you are a regular consumer of rice, I would recommend buying smaller bags, say, five 2-kilogram bags rather than one 10-kilogram bag. I would also recommend buying rice in nitrogen-filled bags so it keeps fresh for long, but unfortunately, I can't find any rice shops selling rice that way. Those of you who live in and around Tokyo, do you know of such rice shop?

Finally, you don't necessarily have to buy Koshihikari rice in Niigata. You can get decent Koshihikari rice in Tokyo although it may be slightly more expensive. Because the milling date is of great concern, you may want to buy it in Tokyo if the time from your trip to Niigata to your departure to the United States is considerably long.

[Hiroyuki]

Strictly speaking, in 2005 and after, almost all rice cultivated in Niigata prefecture is Koshihikari BL (Blast resistance Lines), not Koshihikari. Koshihikari BL derives from Koshihikari and has almost the same quality as Koshihikari. Niigata prefecture and JA decided to switch the Koshihikari rice to be cultivated throughout the prefecture to Koshihikari BL, partly because the latter is more resistant to blast and thus requires less pesticides and mainly because they thought the change would eliminate mislabeling scandals altogether. Any mislabeled rice can now easily be identified as such through DNA testing. There are some farmers who are resistant to such a sweeping change, claming that Koshihikari BL is not Koshihikari, but most farmers have followed the decision of Niigata prefecture and JA.

[Hiroyuki]

Here is a photo gallery in the Snow Japan website.

You can see some photos showing tenkuu mai, which I described upthread. You can also see dozens of photos showing how snowy Snow Country is.

[Hiroyuki]

When I went shopping the other day, there was a man at the supermarket who gave out free samples of "kuwa no ha men" (mulberry leaf noodles). I asked him if it was a specialty of Tookamachi city, and he replied that he was the only person who makes it. So, strictly speaking, it is not a speciality of Tookamachi city (adjacent to Minami Uonuma sity), but I thought you might be interested. So, here it is:

I bought two packs:

It was good! Very smooth texture and faint leaf flavor.