tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-963817181160316492011-08-02T03:32:04.392+09:00Life on the Roadnakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.comBlogger581100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-40807396969632172672008-10-15T12:44:00.002+09:002008-10-15T13:21:14.951+09:00

Miso soup: comforting; warm; and importantly - cheap.A simple cup of miso soup and a conbini onigiri is probably the cheapest (and perhaps healthiest) lunch you can grab on the run in Japan. Miso soup is usually made with dashi (fish stock), miso, and something else - maybe a bit of wakame (seaweed) or negi (Japanese leek - my favourite), or sometimes tofu or clams. In Washoku, the author gives a

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-87302643725231290262008-10-08T20:52:00.004+09:002008-10-08T21:27:48.612+09:00

As I've mentioned before, one of my favourite things about going to a Korean restaurant was enjoying the side dishes, or panchan, included free of charge with the meal. These side dishes were made from whatever vegetables the kitchen decided to use, and varied seasonally, and with the moods of the staff. Part of the fun of going out to dinner was the anticipation for the side dishes - to

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-73096418379643738022008-09-30T00:06:00.000+09:002008-09-30T00:06:24.907+09:00

Okay, it's not really a salad.In Japan, the most commonly available squash in the fall is the kabocha. It tastes a lot like the buttercup squash I grew up eating (Microwaved with brown sugar and butter in the middle where the seeds have been scooped out - try it; you'll like it.), but just a bit sweeter, with a faint marshmallowy taste.I like squash a lot, but the best squash I had in recent

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-31756018144306520812008-09-27T20:11:00.006+09:002008-09-27T20:58:15.816+09:00

Well, you know how much I love eggplant.The other week, I was browsing in a used bookstore in Tokyo, and picked up a copy of Marcella's Italian Kitchen. It was written by Marcella Hazan, an authority on Italian cooking in the US. The book was published in the 1980s, when people were starting to think about Italian food as something other than spaghetti and meatballs. (Some people. Not me. I was

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-44062914649070777012008-09-24T17:19:00.010+09:002008-09-24T18:22:31.460+09:00

This week, the dark lords of employment saw fit to give me a four-day weekend. So Peter and I, who have been planning a trip to Takayama, in the corners of our minds not preoccupied with other things, for a while now. Takayama is a small town in the central alps of Japan, about two hours outside of Nagoya. We took the Shinkansen down to Nagoya, and then a local train for another two hours or so

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-6501718567175868842008-09-17T11:11:00.003+09:002008-09-17T11:38:57.208+09:00

I spend a lot of time talking about the food I make, but like a lot of people in Japan, there are many days when I don't have the time to manage something homemade. However, the Japanese have addressed this situation with all the efficiency they're known for, creating a range and variety of snacks that is unrivalled across Asia.The home of all snack foods in Japan is the combini, or convenience

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-43627543523630497242008-09-16T09:50:00.004+09:002008-09-16T10:22:14.549+09:00

This weekend, we were out and about it Tokyo, and Peter was craving pizza. There are all sorts of Italian chains all over the city, so we stopped into one of them in Ebisu - Pizza Mare Napoli, which specializes in Napoli style pizza. One of the great things about lunch in Japan is that restaurants often structure their menus so there are "lunch sets" available for reasonable prices. A starter,

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-62227744417093071672008-09-10T12:02:00.003+09:002008-09-10T12:44:48.455+09:00

One of my favourite dishes to eat out in Japan is tonkatsu. It's a cutlet of pork, breaded with large breadcrumbs called panko, then deep fried and served with mountains of shaved cabbage and a thick sauce reminiscent of HP sauce.There are all sorts of variations on tonkatsu - you can get it with hire or rosu cuts; tenderloin and loin, respectively; with a variety of fillings, such as cheese or

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-29315752600540462092008-09-02T10:16:00.004+09:002008-09-02T10:46:44.400+09:00

A ploughman's lunch is a simple affair of bread, cheese, pickle, and perhaps some other vegetables or pate dressing things up. When I say pickle, I don't mean a pickled cucumber, I mean some sort of preserved vegetable. Pickled onions, I think, are popularly served with a Ploughman's, and I think Branston pickle is also a reliable contributor. It's a little known fact about me that when I was

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-6520640192330680782008-08-31T18:25:00.003+09:002008-08-31T18:57:54.537+09:00

I love coffee.A lot.Iced coffee is something I came to much later in life. In Vietnam, you need it to get through the day. The heat saps the energy right out of you. The only way to deal with it is with long naps and the rocket fuel locals call coffee.Vietnamese coffee tastes as if the dark layer of an Oreo cookie has been ground up and turned into a drink. Served straight or with heavy lashings

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-55532994625655697382008-08-24T16:38:00.010+09:002008-08-24T18:18:29.561+09:00

It's a bold claim, I know.But anyone who has travelled as extensively in Vietnam as I have has eaten a lot of spring rolls, so I feel like I have the credentials to judge this.Now, when you think of spring rolls, your mind might cast to your local Asian food restaurant, where they're ordered by the giant frozen case, and chipped out to be fried as needed as a part of a combo plate for the daily

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-45622576738772780502008-08-06T11:02:00.005+09:002008-08-06T11:39:08.589+09:00

A final post before I take off to Hanoi for a couple of weeks for some sightseeing and serious eating.Peter's parents arrived this week to join us for our holiday this year, so our first trip was to Tokyo, of course! Our first dinner, however, had to be in Fujisawa, at our favourite yakitori restaurant, Sui Sui.Yakitori, simply, is chicken on a stick. Traditional yakitori places are easily found

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-18885169354928051712008-08-03T22:34:00.004+09:002008-08-03T23:19:22.008+09:00

Like a lot of people living in the greater Kanto area, I face an hour commute on the train most days. When my train pulls in at my station each night at 10 pm, rather than walking alone down a quiet platform, I join hordes of shuffling suited salarymen and women on their way home. It sometimes takes as long as five minutes to get off the platform and out through the gates, especially if the

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-76260241045284596242008-07-29T16:20:00.000+09:002008-07-29T16:20:54.140+09:00

I'm really on a vegetable kick, aren't I?Well, it's summer, and I really don't want to waste a bit of it. With Sous-chef Peter bringing home piles of produce every weekend from the market, I'm having fun thinking of new ways to deal with it all. I know it's impossible to think that you could ever get sick of eating fresh, sweet corn on the cob, and I haven't yet. It's hard to resist five ears for

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-83748060952700190682008-07-27T10:38:00.003+09:002008-07-27T17:43:19.214+09:00

Eggplant, as you know, is one of my favourite vegetables. I love the way it slumps into velvety softness when you cook it properly. In Vietnam there was a restaurant that made eggplant stir-fried with garlic and honey that was breathtaking in its simplicity. Each piece was infused with garlicky oil, and was meltingly silky. I have always been frustrated in attempts to recreate this texture in my

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-89438572848764870982008-07-20T19:34:00.006+09:002008-07-24T00:30:31.889+09:00

One of our favourite things to do when it was hot in Korea was to hit up an outdoor galbi (grilled meat) place - the best of which were to be found on the infamous "meat street" in Ilsan, where my friends Dave and Jo live.Meat street is, in the words of my friend Aaron - "like RibFest all the time" - translated it means that if what you want to eat is meat; meat street is the place you must go.

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-26839666741084614552008-07-20T18:58:00.005+09:002008-07-20T19:26:28.582+09:00

I ended up having a glut of onions and cucumbers last week, thanks in part to a miscommunication with sous-chef Peter, who is responsible for ingredient sourcing each week at Ofuna market. Since daytime temperatures are hovering above the 30 degree mark in my kitchen, and I'm dealing with a ridiculously small bar fridge, something had to be done. I got this idea from the cucumber thread over at

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-44914114035311025042008-07-13T19:02:00.005+09:002008-07-13T19:38:15.806+09:00

These past few weeks have been quite hectic for me, with increased class loads. That, coupled with the onset of the hot weather here, has meant dinners are getting lighter around my place, and there aren't so many leftovers to remake for lunch the next day.When my day gets busy, and I need something quick and reasonably healthy to eat, I often resort to that great Japanese convenience store

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-7416322794212986492008-06-29T18:16:00.008+09:002008-06-29T19:49:53.258+09:00

After an incredibly busy few weeks at work, it was a relief to get some time off, and take our first trip out of the city since the fall. We took a train to Nikko, a world heritage site and national park, home of the Toshogu Shrine.The town is beautiful, and at this time of year, incredibly quiet. Although the mountains were shrouded in mist and low clouds during our stay, the cedar trees that

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-49055700914224230022008-06-25T00:14:00.002+09:002008-06-28T10:11:55.592+09:00

The first time I came across kits for this dish, I was intrigued. Tacos...and....rice? Together? Genius.Of course, I'm talking white rice here, Japanese style, short grain rice. And taco mix. Like, Old El Paso taco mix. This is Japanese food? Well, technically, it's Okinawan food, and it's clear to see why everyone lives so long on that island, which such lovely food to eat all the time.

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-11467062556703778012008-06-23T23:59:00.004+09:002008-06-24T00:39:37.745+09:00

Peter came home on the weekend with a big bag full of zucchinis and cucumbers that he got a Ofuna market. Yes, it's that time of year again - time to wonder what the @&*% to do with all the zucchini.In my opinion, it's best to deal with them when they're small, otherwise they breed exponentially, and you find yourself in a weeping pile in the middle of the kitchen, having made zucchini bread,

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-47507177491353092202008-06-20T18:45:00.000+09:002008-06-21T09:05:12.417+09:00

I love eggplants so much, I know how to ask for them in four languages. One of my great theories of language acquisition is that you only ever bother to learn how to say the things you're really, really motivated to get. That's why I can order in flawless Japanese at the Starbucks, but any other situation leaves me hopelessly frozen. My friend Evan is an example of the flip-side of this rule - he

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-43302178937660522852008-06-19T18:26:00.000+09:002008-06-20T00:03:26.144+09:00

Yet another Harumi creation!Actually, this sort of recipe is pretty flexible once you know the method. A kinpira is a mix of vegetables sliced thinly, and pan fried with a bit of oil, seasonings, and chili powder for a kick.Anything can be kinpira-ed I guess, but a traditional kinpira uses burdock root, carrot, or sometimes vegetable peels, like daikon or broccoli peel. I posted about making a

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-62839235803334320272008-06-17T17:45:00.004+09:002008-06-17T18:26:07.625+09:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a week, all, it's been a crazy week for me! Back to our regularly scheduled programming.I wanted to try a few more recipes from Harumi Kurihara's Japanese Cooking, and "Somen Salad" was next on my list.Somen is a type of thin wheat noodle, usually served cold in the summer. This is a decidedly non-traditional Japanese recipe, though, as it calls for canned tuna and

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-66062449006411024612008-06-11T23:14:00.004+09:002008-06-12T00:14:33.380+09:00

People who know me well know I'm hardly a vegetarian, but lately I've been taking a hard look at the way I've been eating and I've concluded that in the case of meat, less is more. First; it's expensive, and grad school's not going to pay for itself. Reducing the amount of meat I have to buy is just another way for me to save up. Second; I've been on a bit of a green kick, considering my country

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-81070934907593579122008-06-08T17:22:00.005+09:002008-06-10T10:14:30.740+09:00

Kimchi and pork together are one of life's great flavour marriages. There's nothing more delicious, especially after a long day of hiking, than a big plate of Dubu Kimchi (tofu topped with sauteed pork and kimchi). Except possibly a slab of samgyeobsal (pork belly) grilling on a slanted plate with the kimchi cooking in the pooled pork fat below.I didn't have the time or inclination to make either

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-49659075075206747342008-06-08T10:35:00.004+09:002008-06-08T17:21:57.896+09:00

In the spirit of challenging myself, I bought a Japanese-language cookbook of bento recipes from the fabulous Kinokuniya at Times Square Shinjuku. Since it has lots of helpful photos, I've been able to infer and guesstimate a lot of the kanji I don't know. My food vocabulary is coming along quite well - too bad I still can't have a decent conversation with anyone! The book itself, as far as I can

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-85551204242607893512008-06-07T19:14:00.000+09:002008-06-07T22:00:17.858+09:00

One of the things I miss the most about living in Vietnam (aside from the coffee!) is the mind-boggling array of fruits available fresh everyday. The memory of the fruit ladies cycling around our neighbourhood, selling bags of fresh sweet pineapples or mangosteens by the kilo; heaps of brilliant scarlet rambutans looking like little muppet heads for sale by the side of the road - it haunts me

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-44713113782889322422008-06-04T18:34:00.001+09:002008-06-05T22:07:53.397+09:00

I've been cooking enthusiastically from Harumi Kurihara's, "Harumi's Japanese Cooking", which is a super book, and really accessible if you're cooking in North America. A lot of the recipes appeal heavily to Peter, as well - who is a lot less afraid of trying new things these days, but still likes Western-style dishes best.His favourite recipe is Steamed Chicken Salad with Sesame Sauce, and I

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-67683311457716191112008-06-03T18:11:00.004+09:002008-06-03T18:33:59.574+09:00

I love noodles.Peter likes ramen noodles, but is less keen on soba (buckwheat noodles), so on days when he's not around, I like to indulge.I had everything on hand for a soba fix thanks to my lovely co-worker Akiko. The other week, when I was dealing with my giant daikon, I made some Korean banchan with part of it. I made so much that I brought some in for one of my students, whose family loves

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-50806246403318274532008-06-01T11:39:00.003+09:002008-06-01T12:07:07.413+09:00

Since I had pledged to try a new vegetable each week, to familiarize myself with Japanese produce, I knew eventually I'd want to try some sea vegetables. While wandering through the fish section last week at the supermarket, I found packages of fresh hijiki, and decided to have a go at carrot and hijiki salad. I found the recipe for this in Washoku, and was interested in it, as the author

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-47695211806725800632008-05-25T15:21:00.005+09:002008-05-25T17:56:08.781+09:00

A mini typhoon blew through last week, but that didn't stop us from getting out and going to the street market at Ofuna Station. When we first moved to Shonan, friends in Tokyo mentioned that this area was famous for its cheap produce. Every week, on Saturdays, Peter works at Ofuna station, and his co-workers confirmed that the market there was just the place for good deals on vegetables and

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-45504077751582443712008-05-20T00:46:00.007+09:002008-05-20T11:26:21.029+09:00

Sunday was warm - a perfect day for a festival! Peter and I went into Asakusa in Tokyo, an older area home to Senso-ji, a large Buddhist temple.We took the Odakyu line from Fujisawa, taking a little longer than we normally do, but saving 200 yen in the process - that sort of thing really adds up in Tokyo. We got into Shinjuku at about 2 pm, and took a brief detour to check out the Kinokuniya book

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-804410663537978392008-05-18T11:31:00.003+09:002008-05-18T11:41:43.120+09:00

My lotus root (renkon) pickles were a hit - they really brightened up our lunches this week. They have a great texture - kind of a cross between raw potato and water chestnut. And apparently they're high in fibre, so - bonus! My Saturday lunches are always kind of a use-up-what's-left-in-the-fridge amalgam, and this one's no exception. Since I'm earning a reputation as a cook amongst my students,

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-18626429109119512792008-05-13T22:10:00.007+09:002008-05-13T23:24:52.374+09:00

In an attempt to finish off my giant daikon, I somehow slipped into making panchan for our meals - and we've been loving it! Panchan are traditional Korean side dishes that are served along with rice, kimchi, and jigae at meals. They're popular, too, in Japan, although the name for them escapes me right now - at any rate, they're a delicious way to round out a meal, and since most of them feature

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-4906964901034297952008-05-11T11:06:00.000+09:002008-05-11T21:08:10.586+09:00

It's sufficiently warm enough here now that when I wake up in the morning, I want a cold beverage before I face the day. Juice and iced coffee, my go-to cold drinks when I lived in Vietnam, are now out of the question. Fruit is scandalously expensive here - and so is coffee.No, the thing to drink when you're in Japan, obviously, is tea. If you go into any convenience store in Japan, you'll find

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-80101158950789627422008-05-08T00:13:00.000+09:002008-05-11T21:10:06.131+09:00

I'm on a tight budget this week, coming off of a vacation with a week left to go before payday. I've got to make the most out of my groceries, so everything is being streeeeeeettttccccchhheeeedddd.Remember that daikon? I shredded some to make those noodles? Yeah, I had to peel it first - and guess what? If you scrub the thing first, those peels are edible. I had some carrots lurking in the back

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-4780633428964397542008-05-06T09:00:00.001+09:002008-05-06T11:41:44.311+09:00

Following a recipe from Washoku, I grated a largeish hunk of my daikon, and chopped some green onions. I threw some udon noodles on for a brief boil (98 yen for a three pack! Perfect for pre-payday meals!), and then drained and rinsed them in cold water. I tossed them with some bottled ponzu sauce I was happy to have an excuse to use, to help vacate more fridge real estate, and topped them with

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-9278809195092773082008-05-05T11:01:00.001+09:002008-05-06T00:13:26.455+09:00

I bought my first daikon today. You'd think, having lived and cooked in Asia this long, I'd have bought one before, but the truth is; I haven't. I find their size and mystery intimidating, just like the radish spirit from Spirited Away.Stay tuned to see what I do with it.

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-90999712725081830252008-05-04T22:43:00.000+09:002008-05-05T00:03:01.403+09:00

There's nothing worse (or better) than finding yourself in a new taste bracket. You know - once you've tasted what the $20 bottle of wine tastes like, it's hard to go back to the $8 bottle. I made the mistake once of buying a (non-vintage) bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne, and now can never go back to Spanish sparkling wine again. It's a cruel progression. Of course, the upside is, since I now

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-27003940389121137812008-05-01T17:01:00.000+09:002008-05-01T17:33:12.614+09:00

Summer is cold noodle season in Japan, and while it's not quite summer yet, 7/11's and Family Marts across the region have rolled out their cold somen and soba offerings. There's a recipe in Washoku that I've been wanting to try, for a wheat noodle salad called Hiyashi Chuka, and while I was in the supermarket this week, I noticed the kits to make it were on sale. With all my time off this week,

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-12010302258347192082008-04-29T17:06:00.000+09:002008-04-30T10:34:52.530+09:00

Golden Week is on us, and with not a lot of cash in the bank for a proper vacation, we've had to look closer to home for some fun in Yokohama.We started the week with a summons from la Migra to come and pick up our newly changed visas. Why they asked us to come during the middle of Golden Week is beyond imagining. Signs littered the Immigration building begging people to prepare for overseas

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-55048768679370726352008-04-22T17:31:00.000+09:002008-04-22T18:27:36.277+09:00

In the large multinational corporation that my husband and I work for, the region where we work is called Minami (South) Kanto. Our boss jokingly calls it Miami Kanto, and for a while I thought he was merely referring to the crime rate. My daily routine pretty much takes me on a straight line from my apartment to the train station, along a stretch of the old Tokaido highway, which, despite its

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-36043761439307330982008-04-15T11:35:00.000+09:002008-04-15T19:20:39.326+09:00

Ignoring the looming pile of laundry in the corner, and as of yet still un-vacuumed floors, we caught a train into Tokyo looking for something to eat.It was still heaving rain on Sunday, after a string of gloomy days that had started with a mini-typhoon last Tuesday. That meant it was a big umbrella day.(A big umbrella day means that it's actually raining when you step outside, and thus requires

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-87228083833228174302008-04-06T18:20:00.000+09:002008-04-10T23:30:03.204+09:00

Occasionally I get the urge for a dish that will burn incandescently in my mouth and bring on a sort of purgative heat that brings to mind a sweat lodge or a Russian sauna. The only thing that can satisfy this is a Thai curry. Instead of plunging into an icy lake at the end, however, I recommend plunging into an icy Singha beer.Thai curries differ somewhat from Indian curries. In the case of many

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-77880833177789628602008-04-06T17:08:00.000+09:002008-04-06T18:00:48.778+09:00

Well, it's that time of year again. It's 20 degrees outside, and the cherry blossoms are blooming. The traditional thing to do, of course, is head straight for your nearest 500 -year-old castle (or its twentieth century reconstruction) spread out a plastic mat, and have yourself a cherry-blossom viewing party - o-hanami.A bento is de rigeur, even if you just get a few rice balls and a beer from

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-15546202003815847272008-03-25T10:11:00.000+09:002008-03-25T23:01:18.946+09:00

My rice isn't confused, it's just mixed up.Bibimbap is a dish I fell in love with in when I was living in Korea. Beloved of schoolchildren and English teachers across the country, it's a one-bowl dish of rice topped with various vegetables, beef, gochujang, and a fried egg. It can be served in a stainless steel bowl or a stone crock that's been heated on a burner - in which case it's called

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-87433044501871442272008-03-23T19:12:00.000+09:002008-03-23T19:57:15.526+09:00

Because I make bentos practically everyday, I've come to rely on a few stand-by recipes for when there aren't any leftovers to remake. Two of my favourites are ginger chicken and corn on rice, and miso stir-fried noodles.I follow Elizabeth Andoh's recipe for Gingery Ground Chicken, from Washoku. The recipe calls for simmering ground chicken (or in the picture to the left; pork) with chopped fresh

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-50376937436183020642008-03-18T17:08:00.000+09:002008-03-18T18:41:34.479+09:00

Tofu.The word was a bit of a joke when I grew up. I first heard it on an episode of MacGyver. After saving the day with no more than a piece of chewing gum and some spare ricin, our hero retired to his boathouse for a nice tofu casserole he'd made (no doubt with a knife fashioned from re-purposed steel from downed b-52's, or similar) before all the action began. His friend, Pete, refused an

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-12620465059835537662008-03-12T10:34:00.000+09:002008-03-12T10:49:48.175+09:00

Biggie, over at Lunch in a Box, is having a blog event on bento organization. I'd thought I'd weigh in on how I keep my erm, bits, together.I hit the Daiso recently, since things were getting out of hand on the shelf over my sink, where I keep everything and do lunch prep. I bought a couple of divided bins for 100 yen each, nothing revolutionary, and sorted my accessories by function - a tall bin

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-38982300001843836342008-03-09T22:52:00.000+09:002008-03-11T00:43:14.862+09:00

One of the first dishes I ate when I landed in Korea for the first time was ddalk galbi, a spicy mix of chicken and vegetables cooked on a hot plate at your table. Ddalk galbi restaurants are a big hit with the young people in Seoul, and most of the entertainment districts downtown have several spots where you can sample its greasy, spicy charms.The name means "chicken ribs", and it consists of

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-21490882353861710092008-03-09T15:33:00.000+09:002008-03-09T16:54:47.010+09:00

Part of the magic of bentos is the way they can make leftovers seem just as appetizing as the first time round. I've done my fair share of reheating leftovers in the company microwave, and I know how tedious it can be. Inspired by "Leftover Remake", over on Lunch in a Box, I've been casting a critical eye over my dinners to see how I can save money and time by re-working elements from dinner for

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-50806780605475607562008-03-05T23:06:00.000+09:002008-03-06T00:30:35.129+09:00

I take a traditional Japanese boxed lunch to work every day - a bento. I do this for a couple of reasons:First, lunch meat and decent bread aren't exactly thick on the ground here, and when you do find them, they're usually quite expensive. A Japanese-style lunch is usually the most economical. I could buy a pre-made bento from any of the national conbini chains for a reasonable price, but I

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-7092686545894051402008-03-04T00:40:00.000+09:002008-03-04T01:28:11.094+09:00

Here in Japan, it's Hina Matsuri - a festival held on March 3, and involving girls and dolls. I'll leave it to Wikipedia to flesh out the details, but traditional foods for Hina Matsuri include coloured puffed rice, clams (the two shells joined are meant to evoke, ahem, devotion and fidelity), and one of my favourite dishes, chirashi-sushi.Chirashi-sushi, often translated as scattered sushi, is a

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-76306223396806127492008-03-02T09:02:00.000+09:002008-03-02T10:31:16.093+09:00

We decided to eat lunch at a restaurant yesterday, which was daring and ambitious - for two reasons.First, we're still broke, and dinner in a sit-down, non-fast food restaurant in Japan means 1,500 yen a head, on average. It kills me, as I know I can produce a reasonable meal for much less myself. But we had no food in the house, and we wanted to do something other than get groceries with the

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-8980634861795675332008-03-01T11:25:00.000+09:002008-03-01T11:38:50.632+09:00

After a crap day on Thursday that culminated with me wandering the streets of Hiratsuka, randomly asking strangers if they knew the address for the school I was supposed to be teaching at - thank god for all those Japanese lessons! I did eventually find where I was supposed to be, (Snaps to the handsome young officers at the Hiratsuka Koban; no snaps to me for forgetting my map. And phone.) but

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-18264787446564155282008-02-29T18:02:00.000+09:002008-02-29T18:40:30.866+09:00

I haven't gotten to the supermarket yet this week, and I'm trying to stretch all the food in the house until I have a day off. Since I work evenings, I rarely have a chance to get things on my way home, as everything is shut. I have a refrigerator that, similar to the situation of many people who are serving time in Leopalace furnished apartments, would be considered on the small side for a bar

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96381718116031649.post-58885837887413610702008-02-29T17:37:00.000+09:002008-02-29T17:49:05.401+09:00

My friend Michelle recently wrote, in response to my complaints of poverty, that "Being broke in Tokyo is like being sober in Amsterdam". As I'm currently experiencing the former, and have not yet had the pleasure (pain?) of the latter, I'll have to take her word on it. I need a creative outlet, and since I'm now housebound due to fiscal difficulties, this seemed the easiest thing. Fortunately, I

nakjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11856813120254829569noreply@blogger.com0