Panko

[Degustation]

The panko I buy habitually is honey panko ... by Shirakiku.

I buy that brand as well. It doesn't really taste that sweet and I use it the same way as regular(?) panko. The ingredients are: wheat flour, water, yeast, honey, sugar, and salt.

[Anna N]

OK this question has been bugging me ever since I first heard of Panko- if there are Japanese bread crumbs, how is it that I have never heard of Japanese bread? Laugh at me if you wish but I'd rather be foolish than stupid

Thanks, Anna N

[torakris]

Anna

Panko are made basically with the same kind of bread as regular bread cumbs, the difference lies in the size of the bread crumbs.

Regular bread crumbs tend to be very fine, while the panko pieces are quite large more similar to homemade bread crumbs.

Think of it as JAPANESE bread crumbs rather than JAPANESE BREAD crumbs.

I spent a while online looking for info about the Shirakiku bread honey panko and it seems this only a US Japanese grocery product. I couldn't find any information about this company or its products in Japan, they seem to be soley in the US.

[Jinmyo]

Anna, the bread crumbs one buys are usually from pulverized bread. Panko is made by having machines make dough, fling it in a spray against a heated metal wall, and then scrape it off. So one winds up with large flakes of very light crumbs.

[torakris]

Anna, the bread crumbs one buys are usually from pulverized bread. Panko is made by having machines make dough, fling it in a spray against a heated metal wall, and then scrape it off. So one winds up with large flakes of very light crumbs.

Cool!

[Anna N]

Thanks, I suspected something like this. I was trying to explain to The Dane that I didn't think these bread crumbs came from bread per se but were rather, another sort of "pasta" using flour and water and then somehow making tiny crumbs instead of bread. Looks like I was on the right track. But to ask one further question, is bread as we in the west know it, ever a part of Japanese cuisine? Do the Japanese have a flat bread like the Indians and Mexicans or is bread simply not a feature of their cuisine at all?

Many thanks.

[Jinmyo]

Bread is now.

But traditionally, no.

The American occupation saw milk and bread become part of popular cuisine.

[torakris]

Bread is becoming quite popular, but no traditional breads to speak of.

Very few make it at home though, I would estimate only 30-40% of Japanese homes have an oven and even in those that do it is one of those oven/microwave combos and the oven is probably only used for gratins.

Nowadays, especially in the 40 and under crowd bread is the most common breakfast food.

Back during the occupation bread was seen as more nutrious than rice and was served and became the staple of the school lunch program.

Even today's school lunches sees bread served 3 times a week and rice only 2.

[Jinmyo]

White bread, white rice.

Still, gohan (white Japanese rice) is delicious. A bit of gomasio and some sheets of nori. A speck of fish or a bowl of miso shiru and I'm happy.

[Anna N]

White bread, white rice.

Still, gohan (white Japanese rice) is delicious. A bit of gomasio and some sheets of nori. A speck of fish or a bowl of miso shiru and I'm happy.

Jinmyo, Torakris:

Thanks for your answers. Given the land restrictions in Japan I imagine wheat would not be a staple crop!

I know very little about Japanese food. I've eaten a couple of meals in Japanese restaurants and have thoroughly enjoyed them. Of course, they have been the kind of meals that have caught on in the Western World - Tempura, sushi (not big on sushi!) and I have attempted to make one or two Japanese dishes - breaded pork, shrimp and veggie tempura and miso soup.

I have found a small Japanese grocery here in the suburbs and would like to experiment further - but I'm a bit chicken where seaweed and such are concerned!

The miso soup I had in the Mye restaurant was excellent. I wish I could replicate that! It was salty and tasty and very clear - I think there were only a few scallions floating in it. But I've tried to understand miso and have problems with the various types -

What is gomasio and miso shiru?

Thanks,

Anna N

[Jinmyo]

Anna, I can certainly understand you're not being big on sushi. The quality of the ingredients and the skill of the chef in bringing out the best in the ingredients is paramount. I know that plastic containers of "sushi" are sold in Canadian grocery stores and I have seen it sold in Chinese buffet style restaurants run by folks with names like Des Jardin. I think that if you have the opportunity to try excellent sushi or sashimi (raw fish not mounted or wrapped in rice and nori), you'll be exquisitely surprised.

Miso shiru is miso soup. Personally, I think scallions are too harsh for miso soup, unless it's just microscopically sliced green ends. I'm all for delicate miso shiru. (Which has seaweed in the broth, by the way.)

Aka or red miso is a bit rough but is nice for a breakfast drink or to smear on eggplant or pork. Shiro (white) miso is great for shiru (soup).

Gomasio is tremendous. It'ssesame salt. One takes some white sesame seeds and toasts them in a dry pan. The fragrance is amazing. When they start to pop and brown, put them into a suribachi or mortar and add salt (about 1 part salt to 3 parts sesame seeds). Grind, grind loosely so that the seame oil and salt interacts.

This is great on rice, fish, salads, chicken, sliced beef with shoyu...

It will keep for a few weeks in a plastic bag in the refridgerator.

[Akiko]

Anna,

If your Japanese store has a bakery section, try to get a loaf of the white very thickly cut bread... yum, toast that spread some honey and butter, and you have a favorite breakfast of many Japanese..

That bread is fluffy, crisps well on the outside when you toast it, and is altogether delicious and very japanese-homey.

[Jinmyo]

My experience is that Japanese serve toast cold. With some fried fish, pickles, and a raw egg.

[torakris]

When I first came to Japan 12 years ago, those thick pieces of bread were the most wonderful thing!

In Japan the loaf of bread is cut either into 4, 6, or 8 slices. The 8 slice per bag bread is pretty similar to the size of American sandwich bread, but that 4 slice stuff to so wonderful as toast.

Butter is the only thing to spread on this!

[Anna N]

Anna, I can certainly understand you're not being big on sushi. The quality of the ingredients and the skill of the chef in bringing out the best in the ingredients is paramount. I know that plastic containers of "sushi" are sold in Canadian grocery stores and I have seen it sold in Chinese buffet style restaurants run by folks with names like Des Jardin. I think that if you have the opportunity to try excellent sushi or sashimi (raw fish not mounted or wrapped in rice and nori), you'll be exquisitely surprised.

Miso shiru is miso soup. Personally, I think scallions are too harsh for miso soup, unless it's just microscopically sliced green ends. I'm all for delicate miso shiru. (Which has seaweed in the broth, by the way.)

Aka or red miso is a bit rough but is nice for a breakfast drink or to smear on eggplant or pork. Shiro (white) miso is great for shiru (soup).

Gomasio is tremendous. It'ssesame salt. One takes some white sesame seeds and toasts them in a dry pan. The fragrance is amazing. When they start to pop and brown, put them into a suribachi or mortar and add salt (about 1 part salt to 3 parts sesame seeds). Grind, grind loosely so that the seame oil and salt interacts.

This is great on rice, fish, salads, chicken, sliced beef with shoyu...

It will keep for a few weeks in a plastic bag in the refridgerator.

Thanks for all the information, Jinmyo. I doubt I have eaten anything close to "good" sushi so, yes, I'm probably missing out on the experience. For certain, I will have to make and try some Gomasio - sounds very interesting. I'll report back when I do so.l

[Anna N]

Anna,

If your Japanese store has a bakery section, try to get a loaf of the white very thickly cut bread... yum, toast that spread some honey and butter, and you have a favorite breakfast of many Japanese..

That bread is fluffy, crisps well on the outside when you toast it, and is altogether delicious and very japanese-homey.

No bakery, unfortunately. It's a very small grocery store, very poorly located too, to attract many customers. I try to post their flyers in as many places as I can so they'll pick up customers and stay in business. In the suburbs, at least west of Toronto, we seem to be very short on ethnic stores and hence, ethnic ingredients. Or maybe I just don't know where to find them!

[Jinmyo]

Anna, degustation posted this link to Sanko on Queen St.'s website. I know it's downtown but I've been there (years and years ago) and it's a pretty good place. Fortunately, many items one needs are dried or bottled so it's easy to stock up.

[Anna N]

Anna, degustation posted this link to Sanko on Queen St.'s website. I know it's downtown but I've been there (years and years ago) and it's a pretty good place. Fortunately, many items one needs are dried or bottled so it's easy to stock up.

Thanks, Jinmyo but I can't even remember the last time we went into Toronto. I could give many reasons, all of them boring and personal. But it does seem odd at times to live within a 40 minute drive of a city that offers just about every ethnic food going and not be able to buy ingredients. Even odder, to me, at least, is the scarcity of on-line buying opportunities in Canada! And to purchase on-line from the US is so often an exercise in beaurocratic nonesense. I was recently charged an additional $5 because the customs inspectors opened and re-sealed a package!

But I live in hopes of a trip to the St. Lawrence Market and perhaps another trip out to the east-end Asian markets. In the meantime, I thank my lucky stars for this small Japanese grocery store!

[awbrig]

picked up flash frozen panko breaded cod @ trader joes this weekend...havent tried it yet...but the packaging looks really great!

[torakris]

picked up flash frozen panko breaded cod @ trader joes this weekend...havent tried it yet...but the packaging looks really great!

Is it an American product?

I am serving something similar for dinner tonight, bought in Japan though.

[torakris]

anyone have any interesting encounters with panko recently?

[tommy]

i don't know about interesting, but i use panko to add "crunch" to sashimi preparations.

[guajolote]

Panko it meatballs and meatloaf rocks. I ran out of panko a month ago. Time to get more panko.

[torakris]

i don't know about interesting, but i use panko to add "crunch" to sashimi preparations.

panko with sashimi?

[tommy]

i don't know about interesting, but i use panko to add "crunch" to sashimi preparations.

panko with sashimi?

crunchy baby. crunchy.