Japanese Cooking and Recipes

[JuSan]

Originally Posted by hikarisokashi

is sushi any good?
what does it taste like?

I Love sushi. And it depends on what you get. I would start with a crab or california roll as a good intro (everythings cooked and you can see if you like the seaweed), then graduate to others.

As far as the original post. I don't remember the sites, but I did a google search on bentou and got several recipes (includeing the one on the onigiri or riceball).
It also came up with a list of packing a bentou, typical bentou meals and all that. I'd start there and all. If I find any good recipes I'll post it too.

[loveless09]

i've tried very few sushi due to certain food restrictions. but egg sushi... is SWEET. it tastes like they added the almost tasteless but not quite sugar to it...><

[Mrshoujo]

For those who would like to start learning about cooking Japanese food and the like, I think I can help.

Start off by locating any Oriental or Asian food stores in your area. They will have the authentic ingredients you're going to need, like Kewpie Mayonaise and Okonomi sauce for Okonomiyaki. Your local phone books are a great place to start.

Visit them at your earliest opportunity to get an idea what they have, and perhaps bring some money in case you see something that looks interesting even if you don't quite understand what it is just yet. $30 should be a good budget to limit yourself (though I've been known to spend $50 or more).

I would start getting Japanese curry and make some of that. It's easy, not hot (Vermont Curry is slightly sweet), and it's a can't-miss first attempt. S&B has their Golden Curry and again, their Mild variation is just that. Lots of flavor but no burn. Japanese curry mixes come in these bars of stuff that you break up and dissolve in the pan after you've cooked everything else, and I try to keep the water down because I like my curry thick. ^_^ Get the double big boxes for money savings.

Also when there, look over the assortment of the cheap imported ramen packets. Incredible variety! I like the clear noodle vermicelli style. Fresh noodles are also fun and are usually refrigerated. Yakisoba noodles are not boiled if you get the fresh ones - you fry them up in a pan with a little oil and the seasoning packet that comes with them. Very tasty.

One store I go to has these Korean-made melon flavored ice cream pops. LOVE LOVE those. Try one. Highly recommended. They come in these green sleeve thingies, can't miss it. Ask if the people there know.

That's another thing - try to make friends with the people running the store. If you can get them to open up and talk to you, all the better. The lady where I go is an attractive Korean woman and she's very helpful. ^_^

RICE COOKER - By ALL means get one! They're made to never burn anything you put in there. I've done spaghetti many times and it's come out just fine, though I dump a can of kernel corn because I don't have a non-stick version. Rice Cookers are great for more than just rice and when you go to college later, it's handy in the dorms. ^_^ I got mine at a local discounter for about $20 (it has Martin Yan on the box), so you don't have to spend a lot. More expensive models are non-stick and have a clock with temp and timer controls. You really don't need those amenities. You put your water (or whatever) in and flip one switch and it'll boil water like mad until it senses it's done and it'll pop back into Warm mode, which is the very basic of its function.

COLLECT COOK BOOKS - OMG, the best way to find out some of this stuff is to collect cookbooks on Japanese food. One good one I'm waiting for is The Manga Cookbook from Manga University. $14.95 and should be out soon...!!! ARGH! A bit of a preview I've seen should make this an easy one to understand.

I did a panel on Japanese cooking at Anime North one year.

ja ne nyo deshi..

[Makino]

Wow!! Thanks everyone! Luckily, i have two asian food stores. One of them is Japanese and Korean, and the other one that is more far away is strictly Japanese (but they also sell furniture, fresh fish from japan, clothes etc.)

Does anyone have a japanese cook book that they really like?? A cook book in Japanese would be cool too! although.. i dont know near enough Japanese
*darn my school gives to much homework to allow me study time ;-;*

[BakaCrisis]

Err, I believe the japanese and the chinese cuisine is very different. Japanese do Raw Sushi, while Chinese do Raw Cat! No, that was'nt very nice, but they are not the same in their foods.

[Raeran]

I'm a chinese and I have tasted japanese and chinese cusine(duh lol) alot of times. They are both totally different. :P Chinese don't do raw cat or raw dog lol thats too cruel. I heard that in the past, the people the china eat dog meat and cat meat.

[himetroublechan]

I've really been trying to cook japanese food lately. I cooked a vegetable bun, and im not usre if i cooked it right, or long enough. I steamed one, put one in the oven, quicjly poured water over one, and microwaved one, just to see if i was doing anything wrong.

Something i've observed myself is that if your a person who's used to western food, your used to overcooked food, and with japanese candies sometimes you get the reflex that its overcooked, even though you know it isn't. For this reason i have no idea if it's cooked or not. In the end the steamed one turned out the best, but i have no idea if i cooked it right. i think i steamed it for about 15-18 minutes or so.

[nnylanwahs]

Problem: I enjoy cooking pretty fancy food. My parents don't like new foods. They also think that Japanese food is nothing but raw fish. I've been given a chance to cook for them. I would like to make them a Japanese dinner (of course they would think that it was chinese) And I want to make a meal that would really appeal to them. And be good for a budget. And not have ingredients that are too hard to find. (There is an international aisle at our local Hannaford, so I have some access, like noodles and I think I saw some nori, and some sauces, and the likes, but not much.)

Any meal suggestions?

[phishn37]

Does anyone know of any good books or webistes that sell ingredients/food/containers for bento?

I've been really obsessed with getting some lately!

[chibibecci]

Welcome to JBOX.com sells some bento boxes ^.^V