Japanese Kitchen Gadgets & Equipment

[Kiem Hwa]

I love this rotating grater. It is great for grating daikon, carrots, cucumbers, etc, for salads, and has 4 different settings: 3 different comb sizes, and without combs to just grate things (like cucumbers) into a thin spiral.

Here is some daikon and carrots grated using the finest setting:

[smallworld]

Ok this is a pretty big gadget, but I can't imagine a Japanese kitchen without a コンロ　(konro or kasetto conro) a portable gas range used for cooking at the table.

I really want one of these!!!! sukiyaki.....shabu shabu..... nabemono!

as with most things, there are the more expensive ones which put out a higher btu or even have double burners but there are also very reasonably priced ones with less horsepower available for just usd$20 (i have seen even $15 ones at the koeran market). we got a cheapie $20 iwatani (on sale) a while ago and yes, theres no turning back. indespensible.

try one of the marukais in honolulu and check out what they have there. their prices are usually quite reasonable for imports. actually bc of the volume they turn around, their prices are probably one of the cheapest if not the cheapest for japanese imports.

ps, did you know theres a band out there called "<a href="http://www.con-los.com/">cassette con-los</a>"? clever-precious.

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How much are the gas canisters? I've been thinking of buying a konro for the folks back home but have no idea how easy it is for them to get the gas.

[andiesenji]

I love this rotating grater.  It is great for grating daikon, carrots, cucumbers, etc, for salads, and has 4 different settings: 3 different comb sizes, and without combs to just grate things (like cucumbers) into a thin spiral.

Here is some daikon and carrots grated using the finest setting:

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I love to grate sweet potatoes with this and deep fry them. I have been doing this for years, ever since I had them at a restaurant in Pasadena and was so impressed with the flavor.

[Kiem Hwa]

How much are the gas canisters? I've been thinking of buying a konro for the folks back home but have no idea how easy it is for them to get the gas.

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At the Marukai here in Hawaii, the gas canisters are pretty cheap... I think there was a 3 or 4 pack of canisters for 4-5$.

Imagining your family has access to a japanese grocery store, getting them should be no problem. I have no idea if you can find them in other types of stores though.

[Kiem Hwa]

I love to grate sweet potatoes with this and deep fry them.  I have been doing this for years, ever since I had them at a restaurant in Pasadena and was so impressed with the flavor.

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Yummm!!! this sounds fabulous! I am going to buy some sweet potatoes and try this!

So far I haven't been very creative with my daikon grater, I have only used it to grate daikon, carrots, and cucumbers for salads....

[helenjp]

Table-top cooking is a big part of Japanese family dining...I expect most of us who live in Japan have one or more of...table-top gas ring....electric skillet/grill of the George Foreman indoor grill type with a range of frying or grilling surfaces...electric "nabe" (deep electric skillet for stirfries or nabe dishes)...or items which combine more than one of these functions, not to mention electric takoyaki-ki, taiyaki-ki and what not!

Do you grill meats in the same deep-dish electric nabe that you have, well, nabe in, or do you have a separate indoor grill...or swappable nabe/grillplates?

This is similar to what we have (different brand though)...Zojirushi electric grill-nabe

..but it really doesn't like being heated up for gyoza and grilled meats, and the teflon is flaking badly. How do the cooking surfaces of the electric grill types such as this one...

Deluxe version electric grill

...stand up to being preheated without oil or ingredients?

Any fave items or uses for tabletop cooking devices?

[torakris]

believe it or not I have been in this country for 10 years and do not own one single electric item like this!

I have a gas grill and a do-nabe (clay pot) and that is all we use for table cooking, anything else gets done at the stove, okonomiyaki and yakisoba and gyoza are all made in a fry pan. I have never made yakiniku at home or I do a simplified version in a fry pan or else we do it on the grill outside.

That deluxe version looks really nice though. I think it is time for us to get something like that...

[helenjp]

I like the look of that deluxe grill too.

I use our big, beat-up grill-nabe to teach my kids to cook - my gas range is tucked in behind a storage unit, impossible for 2-3 people to crowd round it sharing the cooking process, or for them to reach the grill or gas-rings easily and safely.

We definitely make things like yaki-niku at home - could *not* afford to take 2 men and 2 big boys plus myself out to eat yaki-niku - and our garden is an ume-jungle under mosquito occupation 10 months of the year.

With those numbers, a frypan doesn't cut it...whereas my grill-nabe will take around 50 gyoza at once. (Not forgetting that homemade gyoza are smaller than most restaurant ones).

The only downside is that a good electric grill uses 1.3Kw of power, enough to blow a fuse in winter, unless you have your circuits set up carefully.

Wonder if Hiroyuki has ever allowed his eye to wander from the oven-toaster into the world of the fish-roaster? Some are like an oven-toaster toaster-oven type fish roaster, with a smoke filter, but some are like those double-sided contact grills popular in the US...the picture shows a one-sided grill *I think* but I've seen double-element ones in Japan.

[torakris]

an Indian friend of mine has one of those double heat element fish roasters and swears by it for making tandoori chicken.

I have just plopped this hotplate into my shopping cart, I am going to wait a couple days before ordering it though. After doing some searching on the web and at kakaku.com it looks like Amazon.co.jp really has good prices on this stuff.

[helenjp]

I have just plopped this hotplate into my shopping cart

Ah ha, but did you note that the Zoj has a cunning half-grill, half-plate for times when you want to grill some meat and veges at the same time? The Zoj is sitting in *my* shopping cart, waiting for the right moment to push the button!

You're right about the prices - surprisingly competitive. Now time for me to do some work, or we won't be able to afford to grill anything more than beansprouts!

[torakris]

I have just plopped this hotplate into my shopping cart

Ah ha, but did you note that the Zoj has a cunning half-grill, half-plate for times when you want to grill some meat and veges at the same time? The Zoj is sitting in *my* shopping cart, waiting for the right moment to push the button!

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Yeah, I noticed that and was trying to figure out how that worked.....

The tiger one seems to be more compact for storing with is a big plus for me.

[helenjp]

more compact for storing

I admit it, I picked the bigger one thinking of those 50-at-a-time batches of gyoza!

Hope it *does* fit up there on top of the china cabinets, between the Japanese doll case and the carton of cake tins!

[torakris]

more compact for storing

I admit it, I picked the bigger one thinking of those 50-at-a-time batches of gyoza!

Hope it *does* fit up there on top of the china cabinets, between the Japanese doll case and the carton of cake tins!

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Actually if you look at the plate sizes they only like a centimeter different.

I was looking at the bigger (longer by 8 centimeters) Tiger but at an 5,000 yen ($50) I don't know if it is worth it or not.

Also the Tiger has a yakedo (burn) guard while the Zoj doesn't, I am not exactly sure how that works but it just sounds safer.

[helenjp]

Burn guard does sound like an attractive feature...I hardly used our electric nabe when the kids were small, for that reason. Now, of course, they are so big and rambunctious that I struggle to keep the table upright when they start to get in each other's hair, let alone minor concerns like stuff that's merely on top of the table.

The zojirushi does say it's got a "hontai guard" so that you don't accidentally rest your wrist on the hot griddle edge (and yes, we have done that...).

Can't see what they mean though, except that maybe the outer "frame" is higher than the actual drop-in griddle?

Tiger and Zojirushi strike me as being very safety-conscious, maybe because they specialize in cookware that is used at table...thermos pots, hotwater pots, rice cookers, etc.

We bought a Tiger thermos pot, because at that time they were the only ones that had a safety catch on the lid.

The Zoji slotted griddle apparently has a pull-out section on one half - you can drop the flat half-griddle into the gap.

picture of half-griddle

[torakris]

I just ran out to the nearest and cheapest in our area, denkiya-san (store that sells electronic goods) and the Tiger one I am looking at was going for 11,800 yen (about $110) where at Amazon it is going for 9500 yen (about $90). It was bigger than I expected, I really have a hard time imagining size... I don't think I am going to need that bigger one after all.

I too have avoided hot plates until now because the kids were small and I was scared they would get burned, but they are older now so it is definitely something I want. Of course if you hadn't mentioned it....

[Hiroyuki]

Wonder if Hiroyuki has ever allowed his eye to wander from the oven-toaster into the world of the fish-roaster?

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Ｗe have an electric fish grill. We used to use it to grill fish. But it was rather clumsy to clean, and we started to use the toaster oven for that purpose.

[Hiroyuki]

I too have avoided hot plates until now because the kids were small and I was scared they would get burned, but they are older now so it is definitely something I want.

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Same here.

I'd like to buy one of the cheapest models in a few years, but not now.

[prasantrin]

I have this one by Zojirushi. I love it, but it's far, far too big for a single person (or even a small family). I wanted this one because it had both a nabe pot and a flat-plate. I wanted one with a ridged-plate, too, but could not find one with all three (the only three-plate combos I found included takoyaki-plates). I didn't realize just how much the nabe pot would hold, though, and it holds quite a lot. Even for three people, it left too much floating room. So I don't think I'll be using the nabe pot much for now, but I use the flat plate a lot--for yakiniku, gyoza, okonomiyaki, stir fries, etc. It's larger than my largest skillet (which is pretty small) and I can sit down while using it (I'm a lazy cook ).

I'll also be inheriting a fish grill in another month or so. I don't think I really need it, since I have the one attached to my stove, but I'm sure I'll be able to use it for something. I'm getting a crock-pot, too!

[helenjp]

I can sit down while using it

A small but important point!

[torakris]

I just ordered my hot plate minutes ago!

I was ordering a book for my book discussion group but it was only 1200 yen, not enough to get the free shipping (needs to be over 1500yen) so I said what the heck and ordered the hot plate too!

I will let you know what I think of it and post pictures of our first meal with it!

[helenjp]

I'll be waiting to hear

My finger hasn't hit the button yet...trying to decide which of all the books I would like to read over spring break should really be ditched .

[Sackville]

Hi everyone, I'm new here so hope I'm doing this correctly...

I was in Tokyo in January and brought home a Nabe pot. Can anyone tell me what recipes might be good in it? I also got a burner to use with it. Thanks

[torakris]

Sackville, welcome to eGullet and the Japan Forum!

I am assuming you mean a donabe?

If you have some time take a look at our 3 page nabemono thread.

The donabe is also great for making oden, here is the oden thread.

I also love to use my donabe for making fondue, but that isn't exactly Japanese food, is it.....?

What kind of nabes did you have in Japan? Are you looking to recreate something?

[shinju]

"I also love to use my donabe for making fondue, but that isn't exactly Japanese food, is it.....?"

It may be if you dip grilled mochi into cheese!

[smallworld]

Sackville, I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with your nabe. The nabe thread already mentioned should give you some ideas, but you don't have to limit yourself to nabe-mono. An earthenware nabe is great for okayu (congee), nabe-yaki udon, and more. And as Kristin pointed out you can use your nabe for non-Japanese recipes as well. Like Korean or Chinese style hotpots.

Now I have a question for you. I've long wanted to by a nabe and konro (gas burner) here in Japan and bring them home as a souvenir. But I imagine the gas cartridges would have to be smuggled. Did you have any trouble bringing them home? And are you able to find refill cartridges?

Thanks!