Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

I love food, and one of the benefits of living in the U.S. is the ability to sink your teeth into a wide variety of exotic delicacies.

I love Japanese, as i'm sure most of you do, but there are a few choice dishes that I love for that any others. Here are just a few of them......

Rice- Japanese rice, unlike American rice, is usually cooked into clumps, giving it the consistency of mashed potatoes. It's usually mixed with other veggies, such as sweeet peas.

Sushi- Know it, love it, fear it, worship it (or blaspheme it. Whatever, its your funeral). There's nothing like a good peice of sushi. There's a bagillion different types of sush. Egg, fish, shrimp, octopus, mackrel, tuna, fugu (if you have a deathwish, that is).

Tokiyaki- A somewhat more obscure Japanese treat. These, pure and simple, are octopus balls. It tastes alot better than it sounds.

Beefbowls- One of the most delicious, and the most fattening, food native to Japan. This is basically the equivalent of a BigMac or Whopper here in the states.Rice, beef, lettuce, all covered in a delicious savory sauce. Note to the health concious: If there's meat in your Japanese Dish, you know its fattening!

Noodles- My personal favorite. There's just nothing like eating a nice warm bowl of noodles on a cold day. There are various kinds of noodles, such as Udon and Ramen. I love a bowl of Udon noodles, tanuki-style, with lots and lots of soy sauce

So, there you go. Some of my favorite Japanese dishes.

Did you see one here you like? Speak up! Or did you not seee one? Speak up still!

If you're ever in South Pasadena, go to Ai's-- it's very small but very nice! It's probably not traditional, but it's still very good.

And I apologize for my careless and tasteless response of earlier.

Angelcake wrote: Some of my favorite Japanese dishes.

Did you see one here you like? Speak up! Or did you not seee one? Speak up still!

Well, I just fried up some mochi (sweet rice) and dipped it in some kina ko (roasted soy bean flour) mixed with sugar. One of my favorite deserts.

I ate two pieces. Yum.

And we actually just had campfire stew tonight (ground turkey, mixed with two cans of Veg. Soup (Condensed, 1 can of water), can of corn, onions, carrots, salt, pepper) on top of Japanese rice. We also made mashed potatoes. To me Japanese rice doesn't have the consistency of mashed potatoes, but i guess it depends on how you make it.

Food is great. It's one of my joys in life.

Check out the new food pyramid too. http://mypyramid.com

Peace,

Maka

awww, you had to go and make me miss Japanese food again!
I was there a month ago, and yes, the soba or udon noodles in broth with or without other things are great.
And I love mochi! The red bean paste with mochi around it, YUM!
I miss onegiri (rice balls), too. We found this great onegiri shop in Omiya station, they had a number of varieties, very good! I loved the salmon and a vegetable one that had some different little pickles in it.
The sushi was great, the tempura was great....
<sigh>

When we were with Tezuka Productions in Japan we ate very well. But when Sharon and I were on our own we ate under the railway stations and at little hole in the wall restaurants. One of my favorite memories is eating at a ramen cart one cold, windy night in Tokyo. I had the garlic ramen, and it was great.

hey guys i have gone to a japanese steak house one time and the food there is good

Stan Sakai wrote:When we were with Tezuka Productions in Japan we ate very well. But when Sharon and I were on our own we ate under the railway stations and at little hole in the wall restaurants. One of my favorite memories is eating at a ramen cart one cold, windy night in Tokyo. I had the garlic ramen, and it was great.

oh yes!

That is certainly the way to eat, less expensive, too.
The best stuff I had was never at fancy "tourist" restaurants, which we tended to avoid because we wanted more of "a real Japan experience". The smaller places were awesome--like you mentioned, often near the train stations. Which makes perfect sense.
Our sensei guided us to his favorite noodle shop near the hotel, which was under a train bridge by a station entrance. It was a small stand-up-only place and our group became like locals for the time we were there. Because at least three or four of us were there every morning.
Our sensei also took us to what he called a "hole in the wall" sushi place in Omiya where locals go, tucked down a stairway. But it was really a nice warm, cozy place with great stuff and wonderful service.
I have to say I didn't try garlic ramen while I was there, but that sounds great!

Mmmm, unagi inari or unagi donburi.

The wife of a friend introduced me to sushi,tempura and other japanese delicacies. And am I glad she did!! I also prefer the japanese way of cooking rice. It just seems tastier and I like the texture.

Sometimes the simple stuff is the best:

I like

oshinko - Japanese pickles

mizo soup

I desperately want to try Japanese dishes but I'm worried about whether the majority of them have sake or not (I'm muslim and I can't have any alcohol or pork you see...)

I did have plain Soba noodles on their own without any broth and I want to get more. Oh, and Green tea and pocky chocolate are absolutely brilliant

I want more pocky, damn it...

The majority of dishes are not prepared with any liquor, so it should be okay. Pork is usually easy to spot, and you shouldn't have any trouble spotting it.

Quick question: is it okay for you to eat a dish that has been prepared with some liquor but doesn't actually have any alcohol? Most of the time, the alcohol evaporates and there are no traces left, just the taste of the liquor. At least, in Spain, some meats are prepared with wine to melt the grease and take it out, and there's no alcohol left because it has evaporated, although the taste still remains. I've eaten clams prepared with sake, and I don't recall it had any trace of alcohol.

Is anyone a fan of katsu don (pork chop + egg sources + pan fried onions/veggies and rice) here? When I get a chance to eat in the nearby Japanese place (in my town Vancouver BC Canada), I always order one of this. This is usually a good indication of how good a place is.

On the other hand, I would love to try the ramen stand that Sensei Sakai tried during his stay in Japan. I read so much about such places on my japanese graphic novels and always fascinated by such culture of eating at stands and socializing with hte chef and usual customers. *Nods* and yes, Japan is oen of the cleanest nation on Earth and it is usually safe to eat at these stands. *drools*

Must try these stands and Mom 'n' Pops type of shops when I visit my pal at Yokohama.

ziritrion wrote:The majority of dishes are not prepared with any liquor, so it should be okay. Pork is usually easy to spot, and you shouldn't have any trouble spotting it.

Quick question: is it okay for you to eat a dish that has been prepared with some liquor but doesn't actually have any alcohol? Most of the time, the alcohol evaporates and there are no traces left, just the taste of the liquor. At least, in Spain, some meats are prepared with wine to melt the grease and take it out, and there's no alcohol left because it has evaporated, although the taste still remains. I've eaten clams prepared with sake, and I don't recall it had any trace of alcohol.

As far as I'm aware no alcohol at all is allowed whether it's a really small percentage remaining aqfter evaporation or not, unless under certain cirumstances (i.e. about to have an injection and an alcohol swab is used). I hope that answers your question, but I'll double check with my parents

hakucho wrote:

ziritrion wrote:Quick question: is it okay for you to eat a dish that has been prepared with some liquor but doesn't actually have any alcohol? Most of the time, the alcohol evaporates and there are no traces left, just the taste of the liquor. . . . .

As far as I'm aware no alcohol at all is allowed whether it's a really small percentage remaining aqfter evaporation or not, unless under certain cirumstances (i.e. about to have an injection and an alcohol swab is used). I hope that answers your question, but I'll double check with my parents

Alcohol boils at a temperature lower than water boils. When cooking with alcoholic beverages (such as sake or sherry) at high temperatures (such as boiling or frying), the alcohol vaporizes into the air leaving behind that which hasn't yet reached boiling point (water, flavorings, etc.)

While I don't know what Muslim doctrine says specifically, consuming food that was cooked with alcohol should technically be OK since there's actually NO alcohol in a finished dish unless it is added afterwards.

What did your parents say about it ? I'm curious.