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03/25/08
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03/15/08
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05/05/06
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/ Our Blog
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| Bara sushi |
Sushi rice and ingredients mixed together, as a rice salad |
| Chirashi sushi |
Sushi rice bed under other ingredients. |
| Futomaki |
Large roll. |
| Fukusa sushi |
A type of sushi which is wrapped in a crepe. |
| Inari sushi |
Aburage stuffed with sushi rice. |
| Make sushi |
Nori seaweed and a layer of rice around a core of fillings. |
| Nigiri sushi |
A slice of fish or other topping atop vinegared rice. |
| Tazuna sushi (Rainbow roll) |
A roll with diagonal strips of food across the top. |
| Temaki |
Hand rolls, usually cone-shaped. |
| Chikuwa |
Browned fish cake with a hole running through its length. |
| Kimachi |
A small fish from the yellowtail family. |
| Edamame |
Soybeans, served in the pod as an appetizer. |
| Fuki |
A fibrous vegetable often simmered in broth. |
| Hijiki |
Black seaweed in tiny threads. |
| Kappa |
Cucumber, when used in a roll. |
| Kombu |
Kelp, possibly dried. |
| Konnyaku |
Gelatinous, rubbery oblong cake made from snake palm. |
| Negi |
A Japanese onion. |
| Nori |
Purple laver seaweed pressed into thin sheets. |
| Oshinko |
Pickled vegetables, usually cucumber. |
| Hichimi togarashi |
A western dialect rendering of shichimi togarashi. |
| Wasabi |
Green, very hot Japanese horseradish. |
| Gyoza |
Stuffed wonton, pan-fried, sautйed and/or steamed. |
| Harusame |
Thin, transparent bean gelatin noodles. |
| Shiratake |
Translucent rubbery noodles. |
| Sushimeshi |
Rice for preparing sushi. |
| Koyadofu |
Freeze-dried tofu. |
| Moyashi |
Bean sprouts |
| Yamakaki |
Grated mountain potato with chunks of maguro. |
| Fugu-chiri |
Blowfish soup. |
| Ishikari-nabe |
Salmon stew with sake. |
| Agemono |
Fried foods |
| Katsudon |
Deep-fried pork cutlet served with sauce over rice. |
| Kareh katsu |
Curry sauce poured over deep-fried pork cutlet. |
| Kim chee |
Spicy marinated cabbage. |
| Manju |
Sweet bun filled with an. |
| Meshimono |
Rice mixed with meat or vegetables. | |
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| The traditional Japanese table setting has varied considerably over the centuries, depending primarily on the type of table common during a given era. Before the 19th century, small individual box tables (hakozen) or flat floor trays were set before each diner.
 Larger low tables (chabudai) that accommodated entire families were becoming popular by the beginning of the 20th century, but these gave way almost entirely to western style dining tables and chairs by the end of the 20th century. Traditional table settings are based on the classic meal formula, Ichiju Sansai, or "soup plus three." Typically, five separate bowls and plates are set before the diner. Nearest the diner are the rice bowl on the left and the soup bowl on the right. Behind these are three flat plates to hold the three side dishes, one to far back left (on which might be served a simmered dish), one at far back right (on which might be served a grilled dish), and one in center of the tray (on which might be served boiled greens). Pickled vegetables are often served as well, and eaten at the end of the meal, but are not counted as part of three side dishes. Chopsticks are generally placed at the very front of the tray near the diner with pointed ends facing left and supported by a chopstick holder.
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| Chopsticks are the traditional eating utensils, pairs of small tapering sticks, of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam (the four "Chopstick countries"). Chopsticks are commonly made of wood, bone or ivory, but in modern times, plastic as well.
In general, chopsticks should be used for eating and no other purpose. Do not point with chopsticks, or gesture with them, or use as drumsticks, or use to bang on a dish or bowl to catch the attention of a waiter or waitress or mother or father.
- Do not dig around in dishes for choice bits of food. Eat from the top and choose what is to be eaten before reaching with chopsticks (don't hover around or poke looking for special ingredients).
- Never stab or pierce any food with chopsticks.
- Never stand chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice (or anything else, for that matter, but rice especially because the act is part of a funeral rite)
- Don't move dishes around with chopsticks.
- Don't lick or suck the ends of chopsticks.
- Don't let food drop off ends of chopsticks.
- Don't shove food into your mouth with chopsticks. Soup bowls, but no other dishes or bowls are brought to the mouth in Japan.
- Never touch food in a common dish with the pointed (eating) end of chopsticks. Use the blunt end to transfer food from a common dish to your own plate or bowl (never your mouth). (No hygiene problems if all do this.)
- Never use chopsticks to transfer something to someone else's chopsticks or someone else's plate or bowl.
- Place pointed ends of the chopsticks on a chopstick rest when chopsticks are not being used.
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| Wasabi (known by the names Wasabia japonica or Eutrema japonica, as well as others) is.... |
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 In Japan, Yoshinoya is the largest among beef bowl (or gyūdon) restaurants and one of the leading fast food chains. It is often shortened to "yoshi gyū" (meaning Yoshinoya's beef) among its enthusiasts. Its popular motto is "cheap, quick and yummy".
In the early 2000s, Yoshinoya triggered a discount war in Japan along with other chains such as McDonald's, by introducing a regular gyudon dish for 280 yen.
However, in late 2001 the mad cow incident critically damaged the sales on Yoshinoya's beef menu. In late 2003, Japan suspended imports of American beef due to BSE fears, cutting off Yoshinoya's largest supplier and forcing it to terminate gyudon sales on February 11, 2004.
Yoshinoya also has an ambitious plan to expand its chain overseas. |
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Ume (梅) is a Japanese apricot. Japanese often eat its pickled form (Umeboshi-梅干) or drink its juice or alcohol (Ume-shu梅酒).
Umeboshi
Umeboshi (pickled Japanese apricot) is a kind of pickled food and very famous all over the world. It's one of the Japanese traditional foods and it has been popular in Japan. It is red, round, and a little bit seamed, and its taste is very sour. Japanese people usually eat it with rice, resulting in what looks like the national flag of Japan, with the circular bright red center on a white field. The Japanese also put it into rice balls. It is said that umeboshi is good for health, and sometimes umeboshi is used as a cold remedy. Surprisingly, a pickled apricot it never rots, so you can eat those which were made 100 years ago.
Ingredients
- Japanese apricots
- Red shiso
- Salts
How to make umeboshi
- Wash Japanese apricots and wipe them dry.
- Remove their stems.
- Put salt and newly destemmed apricots in the jar.
- Turn them repeatedly and vigorously.
- Put on inner lid.
- Place big, heavy rock on top of lid to increase the pressuring done to the apricots.
- Wait until the water increases in the jar.
- Weather the Japanese apricots for 3 days and 3 nights of sunny day in high summer. (Don't throw away the water in the jar.)
- During step #8, rub salt into red shiso to remove scum.
- Put the Japanese apricots and red shiso into the jar with the water.
Ume juice and ume-shu
We can also enjoy drinking the juice of the ume by preserving the fruits with sugar.
Ume juice tastes sweet and acidic. It's a very fresh drink, so it tastes more delicious during the summertime. While people of all ages can enjoy ume juice, ume-shu is only for adults. It's so smooth that even people who don't normally like alcohol sometimes drink this. The appeal to people who like ume-shu lies in both its smell and its taste. Many people say that after just one taste they have gotten hooked on it.
Ingredients
- Raw fruits of Japanese apricot ･･･ 1kg
- Sugar candy ･･･ 1kg
- Honey ･･･ to taste
- (White liquor ･･･ a bit to taste)
- A container ･･･ glassware and can be seal with is better.
How to make ume juice and ume-shu
- Wash raw Japanese apricots and strain moisture from them.
- Cram them into a container tightly. If you like, pour in a bit of white liquor at this time.
- Drop honey into the container on top of apricots.
- Leave it as is until all moisture has gone out from the fruits.
- After the fruits have shriveled, remove them from the container.
You can drink the liquid by diluting with twice the water.
It should be kept in a cool place during the summertime. |
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Soybeans (Glycine max) are a high-protein legume (Family Fabaceae) grown as food for both humans and livestock.
Soybeans may be boiled whole (in the green pod) and served with salt, often under the Japanese name edamame. Soybeans prepared this way are a popular local snack in Hawai'i where, like Japan, the bean and products made from the bean (miso, natto, tofu, etc.) are a significant part of the diet.
The beans can be processed in a variety of ways. Common forms of soy (or soya) include soy meal (often used as animal feed), soy flour, tofu, textured  vegetable protein (TVP, which is made into a wide variety of vegetarian foods, some of them intended to imitate meat), tempeh, and vegetable oil. Soybeans are also the primary ingredient involved in the production of soy sauce (or shoyu). Many traditional dairy products have been imitated using soybeans, and products such as soy milk, soy yoghurt and soy cream cheese are readily available in most supermarkets. These products have the same texture and appearance as milk-based ones, however soybeans do not naturally contain calcium (though soy products may be fortified with it). Most soy products must not be fed to infants, although specially designed soy infant formula has also been made in recent times. This formula has extra vitamins etc added to it to make it compatible with the infant's needs. In some cases, infants fed normal adult soy milk on a long-term basis have become extremely malnourished and even died. In addition, soy allergies are one of the more common food allergies.
Soybeans are also used in industrial products including oils, soap, cosmetics, resins, plastics, inks, solvents, and biodiesel.
Soybeans are native to southeast Asia, but 45 percent of the world's soybean acreage, and 55 percent of production, is in the United States. The US produced 75 million metric tons of soybeans in 2000 of which more than one-third was exported. Other leading producers are Brazil, Argentina, China, and India. Much of the US production is either fed to animals or exported, though US consumption of soy by people has been increasing. Soy oil makes up 80% of the edible oil consumption in the U.S.
Soybeans are one of the crops that are being genetically modified, and GMO soybeans are being used in an increasing number of products. |
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