Text 2635, 56 rader
Skriven 2006-07-01 17:15:50 av Carol Shenkenberger (6:757/1)
    Kommentar till text 858 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Ärende: Re: Japanese food
=========================
*** Quoting JIM WELLER from a message to MICHAEL LOO ***

 -=> Quoting Michael Loo to Carol Shenkenberger <=-

 CS> Japan foods are simple in spicing so tend to not stand out in a world
 CS> culinary  group other than for the pretty looks.  Thats very true.

 ML> The one thing I like about Japanese foods is the variety of
 ML> raw ingredients. What they do with them I'm not so thrilled
 ML> about, unless they cut them thin and serve them to me raw
 ML> (or, as I said before, deep-fried).

JW> I'm going to take a stand on behalf of Japanese cuisine. They have a
JW> positive passion for fresh, perfect quality ingredients, simply prepar
JW> to preserve their natural flavours, and simply but artfully served to
JW> please the eye as well as the palate. Even urban dwellers are closely
JW> touch with Nature as foods are mostly seasonal and fresh, rarely
JW> preserved. I think the cuisine has a lot going for it.

Yes.  Most 'grocery' places are at least 50% fresh produce if not more.  Many
are nothing but fresh produce and a small shelf with prepared spices and such.
Contrast this with a stateside store (or Darwin) and you'd see of 15 isles, at
least 7 of them dedicated to non-food things.

'Scratch cooking' is the norm here, not the exception, though I may be a bit
off on what folks do in Tokyo.  Sasebo is a small town by Japan standards and
in this habit, it shows.

Early Burdock root is in!  Delicate to the point of being hard to 'peel' and
far less than the 3ft sticks I'll get later in the year, it's a perfect food.
One of the reasons for my trip out today when Elise called, was to help carry
some bundles.  It's awkward stuff if you need more than a meal worth.

Meekans are in, but i opted out on them this time as they are just a bit too
dear in price right now.  A week from now, and they will be priced more what i
find acceptable for 'early season' (2 for a dollar roughly then as opposed to
1 for a dollar right now).  Later, come fall, they will be 10 or more for a
dolar and hit as low as 20 for a dollar for a bit.

Whats in now is a sort of local grape that is small, seedy, delicious, and dark
purple-red.  I got those instead at 100 yen for 1/2 lb or so.  If I had the
gear, I'd try grape jelly from these as they are really good ones.  Alas, my
gear is in storage stateside for that.

Theres a new greenry I tried with the chicken stock.  It looks rather like a
large flat celery type but comes on a long stalk and tastes a bit spinichy
among the mild celery flavor.  'Asian celery' is probably what this is? It's
just the leaf that is used (the rest isnt poisionus, just not normally used?)

Early Edamame (edame here) is in.  Not the bumper crop of later season, but
it's showing up.

                                       xxcarol

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