I will update my blog when I finish my Research Strategy section.
I will update my blog when I finish my Research Strategy section.
I will update my blog when I finish my Research Strategy section.
I will update my blog when I finish my Research Strategy section.
I will update my blog when I finish my Research Strategy section.
I will update my blog when I finish my Research Strategy section.
...soon...
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
When oh when...
Thank you all for the wonderful supportive comments and emails for my post last week!
I feel like I have been running around forever now and the insanity keeps going on and on and on. Oh, when, oh, when will I finally find the time to go through my ever-expanding collection of food photos and stories...
Up my sleeve, I have:
1. an okonomiyaki party (Japanese savory pancake) I went to over at my Japanese friend's house
2. a Slow Food Event I went to over at Picante on masa tasting, followed by a scrumptious breakfast over great conversation
3. more kaiseki meals to share with you from Japan
4. several fun Tri-Valley goodies I've found around my neighborhood
...it will be a while until I get my act together. Two grant proposals, more experiments, several projects I am helping out with, and two manuscripts in preparation make for a very tired blogger without any time to blog.
Sniff.
I feel like I have been running around forever now and the insanity keeps going on and on and on. Oh, when, oh, when will I finally find the time to go through my ever-expanding collection of food photos and stories...
Up my sleeve, I have:
1. an okonomiyaki party (Japanese savory pancake) I went to over at my Japanese friend's house
2. a Slow Food Event I went to over at Picante on masa tasting, followed by a scrumptious breakfast over great conversation
3. more kaiseki meals to share with you from Japan
4. several fun Tri-Valley goodies I've found around my neighborhood
...it will be a while until I get my act together. Two grant proposals, more experiments, several projects I am helping out with, and two manuscripts in preparation make for a very tired blogger without any time to blog.
Sniff.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Sporadic posting
In case you all are wondering...
My updating the blog will likely be very sporadic until Mid-April. I have two major grant proposal deadlines that will make or break my Fiscal Year 2007, and I need to focus on what I need to do... Besides, my appetite has been at an all time low and I am neither eating or drinking anything worth blogging about...
If I run into something yummy, I will make a note to share it here. And I promise to get back to blogging regularly if I can muster up some appetite...
My updating the blog will likely be very sporadic until Mid-April. I have two major grant proposal deadlines that will make or break my Fiscal Year 2007, and I need to focus on what I need to do... Besides, my appetite has been at an all time low and I am neither eating or drinking anything worth blogging about...
If I run into something yummy, I will make a note to share it here. And I promise to get back to blogging regularly if I can muster up some appetite...
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Breakfast Buffets in Japan
When I was staying at the swanky Marriott in Japan last January, I found myself with the strangest spread infront of me for breakfast. I had wandered around the extensive breakfast buffet, collecting this and that from the line-up that struck my fancy. The resulting collage was eclectic at best - in fact, it was so strange, I took a picture of it:
Here, some yu-dofu (boiled tofu) with ponzu and spicy grated daikon sits in the front. The plate on the left has stewed taro-like potatoes shaped like a mushroom (the top part is the skin), sauteed burdock, steamed okura, stewed hijiki seaweed. The plate on the right has two kinds of cold 'salads' - a vinegared seaweed salad with some clear rice noodles and a seafood angel hair pasta salad with big chunks of octopus. In the back in a plate of croissants and 'hot cakes' (the Japanese version of a pancake, different from pancakes because they are sweet and super thick - that's what they say), with a small plate of mango sauce for the hot cakes. I washed all this down with coffee and fresh squeeze orange juice.
It really was quite a broad spectrum of flavors condensed into one breakfast. I think I might have had some rice and salted salmon for dessert after I cleaned my plates you see here. Now where else can you have such a diverse set of dishes besides a breakfast buffet in Japan?!
The star of the meal, though, was really the croissants. I ate four of them.
Japan is big on bread (called 'pan' in Japanese after the French 'pain', although it might be Portugese...). I've told you about my obsession with Japanese croissants before already, but I seriously believe that croissants in Japan are better than those I had in Paris. These croissants are extremely flakey with each layer pleasureably peeling off of each other as I bite down - even the inside layers remain crisply separated in its paper-thin state, unlike the giant croissants here where the insides are a mushy mess with no discernible layers. The Japanese croissants are also buttery without being oily - the scent of the butter is unmistakably present yet there are minimal reside left behind on both my face and my fingers after I devour one of these. I could never eat more than half of an American croissant, but I can polish off three of these Japanese one any day. Pure epicurean pleasure, these croissants.
An integral part of any Japanese breakfast buffet, I say.
Here, some yu-dofu (boiled tofu) with ponzu and spicy grated daikon sits in the front. The plate on the left has stewed taro-like potatoes shaped like a mushroom (the top part is the skin), sauteed burdock, steamed okura, stewed hijiki seaweed. The plate on the right has two kinds of cold 'salads' - a vinegared seaweed salad with some clear rice noodles and a seafood angel hair pasta salad with big chunks of octopus. In the back in a plate of croissants and 'hot cakes' (the Japanese version of a pancake, different from pancakes because they are sweet and super thick - that's what they say), with a small plate of mango sauce for the hot cakes. I washed all this down with coffee and fresh squeeze orange juice.
It really was quite a broad spectrum of flavors condensed into one breakfast. I think I might have had some rice and salted salmon for dessert after I cleaned my plates you see here. Now where else can you have such a diverse set of dishes besides a breakfast buffet in Japan?!
The star of the meal, though, was really the croissants. I ate four of them.
Japan is big on bread (called 'pan' in Japanese after the French 'pain', although it might be Portugese...). I've told you about my obsession with Japanese croissants before already, but I seriously believe that croissants in Japan are better than those I had in Paris. These croissants are extremely flakey with each layer pleasureably peeling off of each other as I bite down - even the inside layers remain crisply separated in its paper-thin state, unlike the giant croissants here where the insides are a mushy mess with no discernible layers. The Japanese croissants are also buttery without being oily - the scent of the butter is unmistakably present yet there are minimal reside left behind on both my face and my fingers after I devour one of these. I could never eat more than half of an American croissant, but I can polish off three of these Japanese one any day. Pure epicurean pleasure, these croissants.
An integral part of any Japanese breakfast buffet, I say.
Monday, March 06, 2006
How to host your own sushi party
Today's post is the most recipe-oriented post I have ever done. This recipe sheet was part of the Menu for Hope sushi kit. I've hosted a number of sushi parties over the years, and it's a lot of fun. It can get messy, but who doesn't love audience-participation these days? Supplement the party with beauty competitions for the best looking work, best tasting or most original combination of ingredients, fastest rolling times, and you've got an active bunch of dinner guests for sure!
INGREDIENTS:
Sushi vinegar for 3 cups of rice
1/3 cups vinegar (preferably rice vinegar, but anything not sweet will do)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 cups of rice per 3 ~ 4 people
2 lbs total various fish per 3 ~ 4 people
Anything else that you might want to roll - cheese, vegetables, etc, etc
Seaweed sheets
Wasabi
Soy sauce
Sesame seeds (optional & not-traditional)
RICE PREP:
1. Cook rice according to package (I'm no help here, since I just use my rice cooker!).
2. Per 3 cups of rice, make sushi by heating 1/3 cup vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt until all crystals dissolve.
3. When rice is done, dump rice out onto a deep and large casserole dish/brownie pan (or anything that you can spread the rice out on - bowls will not do).
4. With a wet shamoji or spatula, spread the rice with a cutting motion so that it's not one big mound, using care not to mash the rice. The key here is to use a cutting motion with the shamoji.
5. Pour sushi vinegar all over the rice and mix with a cutting motion. While mixing, FAN vigorously. Fanning makes the rice shiny and less wet as the vinegar coats the grains. Continue motion, approximately 5 min.
6. Clump rice into one side and cover with a wet paper towel.
MAKI SUSHI ROLLING:
Maki sushi refers to the rolled sushi pieces. The standard Japanese sushi roll has the seaweed on the outside. These are the easiest ones to make! Keep a bowl of water hand to dip your hands or your shamoji.
1. Use a piece of seaweed about 8 inches by 3.5 inches.
2. Dip your shamoji or hands in water and place approximately a 1/4 cup of cooked rice.
3. Spread rice over the seaweed using your hands or the shamoji. Sprinkle sesame seeds if desired all over the rice.
4. Put goodies to be rolled inside, 1/3 of the way on the seaweed closer to you.
5. Fold the seaweed away from you slightly, cover the seaweed piece not touching the rice, and press the mat by closing your hands into a light fist around the mat to adjust the shape.
6. Open the mat and repeat process after rolling the seaweed a little bit further. The edge of the mat will always be at the rolling edge of the seaweed sheet, right next to where the rice makes contact with the rolling edge.
7. Remove the mat when you have rolled all the way.
8. Slice if needed and enjoy!
*To make an inside-out roll, wrap the sushi mat with saran wrap first and follow steps 1 - 3. Flip the seaweed sheet over on the sushi mat so that the rice is touching the saran wrap. Follow steps 4-8.
NIGIRI SUSHI:
Nigiri sushi is the poster child of sushi. With pieces of fish (or other goodies) on top and elliptical balls on rice on the bottom, these are easy to make if you remember to keep your hands moist without being wet. If your hands are too dry, the rice will stick all over your hands and if you hands are too wet, the rice will crumble as you try to shape it.
1. With moist hands, take approximately 3 tbs of rice.
2. Shape into an elliptical ball.
3. Slather on some wasabi to the bottom side of whatever you were going to place on top.
4. Place the top piece.
5. Cup your left hand to hold the bottom of the rice and use your index and middle fingers on the right hand to make the top and bottom pieces firmly fit together. Use caution here, since if you press to firmly, you'll have a mushy ball of rice.
6. If desired, give the sushi a thin seaweed belt going vertically to unite the top piece with the bottom piece.
GUNKAN SUSHI:
Gunkan, which literally translates to 'battle ship', is the method used to make sushi out of loose, crumbly, or soft pieces of ingredients that are not fit to be nigiri sushi. Traditional examples are fish roe and sea urchin, but I found goat cheese to be a very enjoyable gunkan sushi in the past. Boiled crab is also excellent as a gunkan topping.
1. Follow steps 1 and 2 of nigiri sushi.
2. Cut a piece of seaweed sheet to be 1/4 taller than your rice ball and just long enough to overlap ever so slightly when wrapped around the sushi.
3. Wrap rice with seaweed.
4. Load the empty top compartment with whatever ingredients and enjoy!
SOME FUN INGREDIENTS:
Zuke ('marinated') tuna:
Mix 1/8 cup soy sauce and 1/8 cup sake. Marinate 0.5 lbs fresh sashimi-grade tuna for 10 min. Use in rolls.
Spicy tuna:
Marinate fresh sashimi-grade tuna in any hot sauce for ~2 hrs. Use in rolls.
Spicy cream cheese:
Mash up a few hot peppers into cream cheese. Serve rolled with cucumbers or asparagus.
SOME MORE REFERENCES
Japanesefood.about.com
My fusion sushi
PS:
I was planning on having one for a long time now to supplement this entry with pictures, but alas, I have been too busy... Maybe I will update this page as I find time...
INGREDIENTS:
Sushi vinegar for 3 cups of rice
1/3 cups vinegar (preferably rice vinegar, but anything not sweet will do)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 cups of rice per 3 ~ 4 people
2 lbs total various fish per 3 ~ 4 people
Anything else that you might want to roll - cheese, vegetables, etc, etc
Seaweed sheets
Wasabi
Soy sauce
Sesame seeds (optional & not-traditional)
RICE PREP:
1. Cook rice according to package (I'm no help here, since I just use my rice cooker!).
2. Per 3 cups of rice, make sushi by heating 1/3 cup vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt until all crystals dissolve.
3. When rice is done, dump rice out onto a deep and large casserole dish/brownie pan (or anything that you can spread the rice out on - bowls will not do).
4. With a wet shamoji or spatula, spread the rice with a cutting motion so that it's not one big mound, using care not to mash the rice. The key here is to use a cutting motion with the shamoji.
5. Pour sushi vinegar all over the rice and mix with a cutting motion. While mixing, FAN vigorously. Fanning makes the rice shiny and less wet as the vinegar coats the grains. Continue motion, approximately 5 min.
6. Clump rice into one side and cover with a wet paper towel.
MAKI SUSHI ROLLING:
Maki sushi refers to the rolled sushi pieces. The standard Japanese sushi roll has the seaweed on the outside. These are the easiest ones to make! Keep a bowl of water hand to dip your hands or your shamoji.
1. Use a piece of seaweed about 8 inches by 3.5 inches.
2. Dip your shamoji or hands in water and place approximately a 1/4 cup of cooked rice.
3. Spread rice over the seaweed using your hands or the shamoji. Sprinkle sesame seeds if desired all over the rice.
4. Put goodies to be rolled inside, 1/3 of the way on the seaweed closer to you.
5. Fold the seaweed away from you slightly, cover the seaweed piece not touching the rice, and press the mat by closing your hands into a light fist around the mat to adjust the shape.
6. Open the mat and repeat process after rolling the seaweed a little bit further. The edge of the mat will always be at the rolling edge of the seaweed sheet, right next to where the rice makes contact with the rolling edge.
7. Remove the mat when you have rolled all the way.
8. Slice if needed and enjoy!
*To make an inside-out roll, wrap the sushi mat with saran wrap first and follow steps 1 - 3. Flip the seaweed sheet over on the sushi mat so that the rice is touching the saran wrap. Follow steps 4-8.
NIGIRI SUSHI:
Nigiri sushi is the poster child of sushi. With pieces of fish (or other goodies) on top and elliptical balls on rice on the bottom, these are easy to make if you remember to keep your hands moist without being wet. If your hands are too dry, the rice will stick all over your hands and if you hands are too wet, the rice will crumble as you try to shape it.
1. With moist hands, take approximately 3 tbs of rice.
2. Shape into an elliptical ball.
3. Slather on some wasabi to the bottom side of whatever you were going to place on top.
4. Place the top piece.
5. Cup your left hand to hold the bottom of the rice and use your index and middle fingers on the right hand to make the top and bottom pieces firmly fit together. Use caution here, since if you press to firmly, you'll have a mushy ball of rice.
6. If desired, give the sushi a thin seaweed belt going vertically to unite the top piece with the bottom piece.
GUNKAN SUSHI:
Gunkan, which literally translates to 'battle ship', is the method used to make sushi out of loose, crumbly, or soft pieces of ingredients that are not fit to be nigiri sushi. Traditional examples are fish roe and sea urchin, but I found goat cheese to be a very enjoyable gunkan sushi in the past. Boiled crab is also excellent as a gunkan topping.
1. Follow steps 1 and 2 of nigiri sushi.
2. Cut a piece of seaweed sheet to be 1/4 taller than your rice ball and just long enough to overlap ever so slightly when wrapped around the sushi.
3. Wrap rice with seaweed.
4. Load the empty top compartment with whatever ingredients and enjoy!
SOME FUN INGREDIENTS:
Zuke ('marinated') tuna:
Mix 1/8 cup soy sauce and 1/8 cup sake. Marinate 0.5 lbs fresh sashimi-grade tuna for 10 min. Use in rolls.
Spicy tuna:
Marinate fresh sashimi-grade tuna in any hot sauce for ~2 hrs. Use in rolls.
Spicy cream cheese:
Mash up a few hot peppers into cream cheese. Serve rolled with cucumbers or asparagus.
SOME MORE REFERENCES
Japanesefood.about.com
My fusion sushi
PS:
I was planning on having one for a long time now to supplement this entry with pictures, but alas, I have been too busy... Maybe I will update this page as I find time...
Really?
Is it really Monday morning already????
I had a horrible dream last night of being lost in Rome while looking for the hotel I was supposed to be staying. It left me very tired this morning when I woke up.
Anyway, the Papa Bear did get very close to guessing what the mystery store in Japan sold. But not quite. The store is a sold-in-bulk store for all things liquid - from wine to sake to whiskey to various oils and vinegars, the tiny store crams a whole bunch of various carafes and containers filled with exotic and everyday liquids. Customers buy containers of various shapes and sizes to fill up and bottle on their own.
And of course this being Japan, they have to have funky shapes like the high-heel bottle and other such cuteness.
...I'm not quite feeling my best today, so I better cut blogging short and take a cap nap before I have to head over to work...
I had a horrible dream last night of being lost in Rome while looking for the hotel I was supposed to be staying. It left me very tired this morning when I woke up.Anyway, the Papa Bear did get very close to guessing what the mystery store in Japan sold. But not quite. The store is a sold-in-bulk store for all things liquid - from wine to sake to whiskey to various oils and vinegars, the tiny store crams a whole bunch of various carafes and containers filled with exotic and everyday liquids. Customers buy containers of various shapes and sizes to fill up and bottle on their own.
And of course this being Japan, they have to have funky shapes like the high-heel bottle and other such cuteness.
...I'm not quite feeling my best today, so I better cut blogging short and take a cap nap before I have to head over to work...
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Regular posting - sort of...
Wow, this might be the first week in a long, long time when I am posting every week-day evening! Holy moly! Slowly but surely, I am getting back into my routine. Now, I just have to get my life together enough to adventure back to my friends in another world...
It's already 10 PM, so this is going to be a short post... And short posts = quiz posts, so here we go!
This is the storefront to a cute little store I found in the basement food retail section of a hipster new department store in Nagoya, Japan. I don't remember seeing any stores like this growing up, so I think this is a new trend.
Can you guess what's so special about the store? There is a hint in the above photo if you look carefully...
It's already 10 PM, so this is going to be a short post... And short posts = quiz posts, so here we go!
This is the storefront to a cute little store I found in the basement food retail section of a hipster new department store in Nagoya, Japan. I don't remember seeing any stores like this growing up, so I think this is a new trend.
Can you guess what's so special about the store? There is a hint in the above photo if you look carefully...
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Awesome Awabi
I had a cheesier title for today's post that went something like "Awabi Awe-baby", but it was 1. too cheesy and 2. didn't really rhyme.
I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, but I am still finding it hard to get organized. Work is still in a flux, I am just starting back up on my runs, my house continues to be a mess from my aunt and uncle's visit (it isn't that they made a mess, but that I spent so much time with them, I didn't have time to do my routine cleaning), and to add to all this, I am still dealing with the aftermath of my Citibank fiasco, in which they gave away my bank account number to some lady in FL or they had given me her account number (15 yrs ago!) - whatever it was, I had someone writing checks with her name and my account number that Citibank was processing and deducting from my bank account (which, of course, does not have her name on it). They subsequently proved to be so unapologetic and horribly difficult to work with in trying to resolve this issue that I decided to end my +15 yr relationship with them. Did I write about this already? I can't even remember - that's how much I have been running around like a chicken without its head.
In spite of all this insanity, I managed to have one of the best sushi meals in recent times over at Sushi Yoshi last night. I swear, Yoshi-san keeps surprising me just when I think I know all about him! He always makes it a point to go the extra mile by opening up a new fish for me and on presentation when I am there, meticulously arranging pieces of fish on his best plates. What can I say?! I'm his favorite Sushi Princess!
The cleaning job of the night was on Kin-me-dai (Gold Eye Snapper). This is a fish we ate frequently in my hometown of Nagoya, Japan, but I had never had it fresh. It was always stewed in a sweet, soy sauce-based broth. My grandma was a pro at this dish, giving it a signature ginger-kick. This kin-me-dai from last night was a giant compared to those I had in Japan - this New Zealand-born guy was probably a good 2 feet long compared to the 3/4 footers from Japan! Surprisingly, the kin-me-dai was nothing like regular tai (snapper) in texture, more closely resembling the somewhat sticky bite of fresh scallops. The flesh clung to your tongue as it released its clean, faint sweetness, which was highly accented by the wasabi and soy sauce accompaniment.
I also had an absolutely delightful plate of awabi (abalone). I love awabi. I mean, I really love it.
I love everything about it from its firm, chewy flesh to its delicate briny scent, accented by the sweetness of the flesh. There is no other seafood in which the faint sweetness of the flesh harmonizes so well with the scent of the ocean. The firm texture is just icing on the cake that promotes a stronger bite to help release every ounce of gastronomic delight from the flesh. Opaque and translucent, awabi flesh is so inviting and so enticing. Here, have a closer look!
The night continued with off-the-menu stashes of Yoshi-san's best goods (neither the kin-me-dai or the awabi were on the menu). The customer sitting on my right looked with awe at the treats that came up, one after another, while the guy on my left stayed a while after he had paid his bill to watch what other secrets are hidden under the case. (Did I tell you many Japanese sushi restaurants have their best ingredients stocked away, covered under a moist towel, rather than in the case in the open for the better storage condition?)
So, you might be asking - how do you get to those secret treasures a sushi restaurant has hidden away? Communication. It's the only way. There is no sushi chef who can read your mind or guess your preferences correctly without conversation. I always tell sushi chefs what I like when I sit down for the first time at their counter - not just which fish I like, but what I like about the fish, what flavors I enjoy, what tastes tickle my fancy, etc, etc. As the meal progresses, I compliment what I enjoyed about the fish and not just whether it was good (or not). After several visits, the chef will have a good sense of what you're all about and voila - Open Sesame to the Best, the Freshest, and the most Delicious will be yours to be had!
I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, but I am still finding it hard to get organized. Work is still in a flux, I am just starting back up on my runs, my house continues to be a mess from my aunt and uncle's visit (it isn't that they made a mess, but that I spent so much time with them, I didn't have time to do my routine cleaning), and to add to all this, I am still dealing with the aftermath of my Citibank fiasco, in which they gave away my bank account number to some lady in FL or they had given me her account number (15 yrs ago!) - whatever it was, I had someone writing checks with her name and my account number that Citibank was processing and deducting from my bank account (which, of course, does not have her name on it). They subsequently proved to be so unapologetic and horribly difficult to work with in trying to resolve this issue that I decided to end my +15 yr relationship with them. Did I write about this already? I can't even remember - that's how much I have been running around like a chicken without its head.
In spite of all this insanity, I managed to have one of the best sushi meals in recent times over at Sushi Yoshi last night. I swear, Yoshi-san keeps surprising me just when I think I know all about him! He always makes it a point to go the extra mile by opening up a new fish for me and on presentation when I am there, meticulously arranging pieces of fish on his best plates. What can I say?! I'm his favorite Sushi Princess!
The cleaning job of the night was on Kin-me-dai (Gold Eye Snapper). This is a fish we ate frequently in my hometown of Nagoya, Japan, but I had never had it fresh. It was always stewed in a sweet, soy sauce-based broth. My grandma was a pro at this dish, giving it a signature ginger-kick. This kin-me-dai from last night was a giant compared to those I had in Japan - this New Zealand-born guy was probably a good 2 feet long compared to the 3/4 footers from Japan! Surprisingly, the kin-me-dai was nothing like regular tai (snapper) in texture, more closely resembling the somewhat sticky bite of fresh scallops. The flesh clung to your tongue as it released its clean, faint sweetness, which was highly accented by the wasabi and soy sauce accompaniment.
I also had an absolutely delightful plate of awabi (abalone). I love awabi. I mean, I really love it.
I love everything about it from its firm, chewy flesh to its delicate briny scent, accented by the sweetness of the flesh. There is no other seafood in which the faint sweetness of the flesh harmonizes so well with the scent of the ocean. The firm texture is just icing on the cake that promotes a stronger bite to help release every ounce of gastronomic delight from the flesh. Opaque and translucent, awabi flesh is so inviting and so enticing. Here, have a closer look!
The night continued with off-the-menu stashes of Yoshi-san's best goods (neither the kin-me-dai or the awabi were on the menu). The customer sitting on my right looked with awe at the treats that came up, one after another, while the guy on my left stayed a while after he had paid his bill to watch what other secrets are hidden under the case. (Did I tell you many Japanese sushi restaurants have their best ingredients stocked away, covered under a moist towel, rather than in the case in the open for the better storage condition?)
So, you might be asking - how do you get to those secret treasures a sushi restaurant has hidden away? Communication. It's the only way. There is no sushi chef who can read your mind or guess your preferences correctly without conversation. I always tell sushi chefs what I like when I sit down for the first time at their counter - not just which fish I like, but what I like about the fish, what flavors I enjoy, what tastes tickle my fancy, etc, etc. As the meal progresses, I compliment what I enjoyed about the fish and not just whether it was good (or not). After several visits, the chef will have a good sense of what you're all about and voila - Open Sesame to the Best, the Freshest, and the most Delicious will be yours to be had!
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