Text 10349, 106 rader
Skriven 2007-01-11 17:05:12 av Carol Shenkenberger (6:757/1)
  Kommentar till text 10332 av Barbara McNay (1:382/48)
Ärende: Re: Chop sticks
=======================
*** Quoting Barbara McNay from a message to Carol Shenkenberger ***

 > 'Dinner plates' here are much smaller and you are
 > expected to get a re-fill. Most places have a big
 > center plate(s) of various things then a small
 > personal plate that's not much bigger than a saucer.
 > Call it 6 inches across at the most.

BM> That's probably why the Japanese purportedly are slimmer than American
BM>  It might be easier to eat less if what you take looks like more on a
BM> small plate.

Part of it possibly.  It's also that they eat a larger proportion of vegetables
and such lower calorie foods and the condiments as well tend to be almost
'free food' calorie-wise.

There's a tendancy to 'clean your plate' in the USA and the larger plates with
a smaller serving look 'um, wierd?' so we pile more in.  Contrast that with
what I have become familiar with in Asia.  Smaller plate, get 2nds and even
3rds if you want.

This ties into why I was describing how you reverse your chopsticks to get a
portion from the central plate if you dont have a serving set on it just for
that purpose <g>.

Oh, and the Japanese dont have a problem with using your fingers when it really
simply makes sense.  Fried chicken for example is eaten 'american style' and
so is any meat that i can think of which isnt cut off the bone before it is
served. (I'm thinking a bone-in chicken thigh in sauce.  With a T-bone if
served whole, they give a knife and normally a fork).

Oh that brings up a point.  Steaks are either cut up for you, or served with a
knife, a communal fork, and chopsticks.  You cut up your portion then pass the
utensils on, then use your chopsticks to actually lift the meat to your mouth.
Watch carefully if the fork is at your place, to see if the others got one too.
They dont mind if you ask for extras and then eat with them, but they will
look at you funny if you have the only one and put it in your mouth.  It also
makes the waiter/waitress feel bad for not recalling that difference as if
they had 'not been a proper host'.  They didnt mean bad, they just didnt know,
or had a momentary 'oops'.  There will be no embarassment on either side if
you ask for each diner to have their own fork, but in the deep Japan area not
used to westerners, they may not have that many since it's at max need, one
per table <g>.

 > BM> This was a fat-noodle dinner with a bit of sauce, so I pretty much sho
 > BM> them in, taking a mouthful, then draping the strands two or three inch
 > BM> away, over the chopsticks to lift them for the next bite.  I learned l
 > BM> ago on spaghetti not to be too much of a sucker. <g>

 > Didnt we all?  ;-)  I'm thinking you had something
 > like Udon but that's normally in a broth, not a
 > 'sauce'.  Can be though and I see no reason not to!

BM> It was called noodles and my recollection is that it was much like spa
BM> a white pasta.  I don't know if that's like udon.

Havent had Udon?  It's pretty easy to find stateside in plastic pouches (not
refridgerated).  They look like noodles that are soft, white, fatter than
linguini, and round in shape.  They are bland in taste and may be called
'alimentary paste' (but one look shows a noodle, not a paste).  They soak up
some of the flavoring around them.

When Japanese adapt their foods to what they can find outside Japan, then often
use spagetti noodles (regular, seldom extra thin versions).  I can easily see
a japanese restrant in the USA, making a fusion 'spagetti-like-tomato' thing.

If you do get an Udon pack, it will come with a seasoning pouch.  if MSG gives
you headaches, skip that and cook it in chicken broth.  If MSG doesnt bother
you (most of us have no reaction to it) then use it with the amount of water
called for and enjoy.  The shrimp flavored one is our favorite.

I also make my own fresh udon but it's so cheap here and the packets taste fine
enough, we only do that on a bored rainy Sunday afternoon.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: Xxcarol's homemade Udon
 Categories: Xxcarol, Japan, Pasta
      Yield: 8 Servings
 
      4 c  All purpose flour, or wheat
      1 ts Salt
      1 ea Egg yolk
 
  So simple!  It has one more ingredient, cold water.  These are the
  home noodles of Japan and much of the orient.
  
  Sift the flour and salt together into a large bowl then add the yolk
  and enough water to make a stiff paste.  Kneed this completely then
  let sit for about 30 mins or so.  Sprinkle a board and rolling pin
  with more flour then roll it out thin as possible.  Roll up the
  flattened noodle and cut to long thin strips (about 8 to an inch).
  To cook, just boil in salted water or in Japanese fish broth (called
  Dashi).
  
  To kick this up a tad, you can add some powdered wasabi to the flour,
  about a teaspoon.  This won't make them 'hot' or bitter, but add just
  a tang.
  
  From the Japan kitchen of:  xxcarol, Sasebo Japan, 25May2003
 
MMMMM
                                       xxcarol

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 * Origin: SHENK'S EXPRESS, Sasebo Japan 81-6160-527330 (6:757/1)