Cooking
One of my favorite food films is Tampopo. Do you remember the scene where two characters sneak onto a boat and make a late night snack of omurice? If you don't remember the scene, by all means take two and a half minutes to watch the clip here.
I was greatly impressed by that scene but it wasn't until less than an hour before my flight left Japan that I finally got to try it. I was sure it would either be totally disgusting or surprisingly good and I was right. Oh my! If you think eggs and potatoes are good together, wait until you try eggs and rice. The super-tomatoey, sweet and tangy rice is perfectly complemented by the soft, luscious omelet that either tops or surrounds the rice. And the ketchup is de rigeur!
I watched this omelet being made in the basement of a department store in Osaka. There was a booth with two men cooking and a little counter with diners enjoying nothing but omelet rice or "omurice". But the one at the airport was divine. I've never had such a creamy delicious omelet and now I can hardly think of anything else...In addition to watching the video clip, which is highly instructional, I am glad there is also a recipe for it in Amy Kaneko's new book, Let's Cook Japanese Food!
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If you go to Tokyo, along the pathway to the temple in Akusaka there are vendors selling hundreds of kinds of "sembei" or Japanese rice crackers. Though the crackers originated in China, in 806 AD a Buddhist monk brought the recipe to Japan where the...
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To test an egg for freshness, place it in a glass of water. If the egg falls to the bottom of the glass and lies on it's side, it is a fresh egg; if the large end rises slightly, the egg is somewhat stale; if it stands on end or floats, it is very...
Cooking
Japanese Omelet Rice
One of my favorite food films is Tampopo. Do you remember the scene where two characters sneak onto a boat and make a late night snack of omurice? If you don't remember the scene, by all means take two and a half minutes to watch the clip here.
I was greatly impressed by that scene but it wasn't until less than an hour before my flight left Japan that I finally got to try it. I was sure it would either be totally disgusting or surprisingly good and I was right. Oh my! If you think eggs and potatoes are good together, wait until you try eggs and rice. The super-tomatoey, sweet and tangy rice is perfectly complemented by the soft, luscious omelet that either tops or surrounds the rice. And the ketchup is de rigeur!
I watched this omelet being made in the basement of a department store in Osaka. There was a booth with two men cooking and a little counter with diners enjoying nothing but omelet rice or "omurice". But the one at the airport was divine. I've never had such a creamy delicious omelet and now I can hardly think of anything else...In addition to watching the video clip, which is highly instructional, I am glad there is also a recipe for it in Amy Kaneko's new book, Let's Cook Japanese Food!
- Seagull Diner: Movie Review
Last week I went to see Kamome Shokudo or Seagull Diner, a quirky little Japanese film about a woman who opens a diner in Finland, and the relationships she has with two other Japanese women and her Finnish customers. The three main characters, single...
- Koshi Rice: Favorite Things
I am hoarding rice. It's not what you think. I have fallen in love with the precious samples of Koshihikari rice I was sent by an Arkansas farmer. Mark Isbell grows a Japanese premium variety of short grain rice and Isbell Farms has been exporting...
- Favorite Things: Sembei
If you go to Tokyo, along the pathway to the temple in Akusaka there are vendors selling hundreds of kinds of "sembei" or Japanese rice crackers. Though the crackers originated in China, in 806 AD a Buddhist monk brought the recipe to Japan where the...
- Is It Spring? Winter? Make Up Your %#(&^$ Mind
(I apologize in advance; I'm a little cranky right now and it might not be the best time to sit in front of a keyboard...) How's a girl supposed to plan the week's menu, when one day it's almost seventy degrees, and two days later, it...
- Wartime Wednesday: Cheese Omelet And Hash Browns
To test an egg for freshness, place it in a glass of water. If the egg falls to the bottom of the glass and lies on it's side, it is a fresh egg; if the large end rises slightly, the egg is somewhat stale; if it stands on end or floats, it is very...