Printhome cooking - Japanese cuisine
On my blog (kyotofoodie) I started a category about home cooking. The first article
is about donburi (literally, rice bowl), and in particular steak donburi and
Japanese 'wagyu'.
It looks like photos cannot be posted here on serious eat, you can see some piks
and the article here.
Donburi is a quick and easy dish and can be made very healthy. Does anyone have
any donburi news to share? Or any request for recipes, reviews,
etc from Japan?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
10 Comments:
I'm curious about wagashi in general, PEKO (I hope you don't mind if I abbreviate your signature) - both high end and home-made. There is not a lot of information available (or I haven't found it) in terms of "how to make wagashi" - at least the high-end formal stuff, which I understand is quite an art involving a lot of study and intricate detail. I've seen some books written in Japanese but none in English that seemed to cover the subject.
I'm not even sure what the term wagashi would include - only the pastries made in shops or also home desserts?
Karen Resta at 6:24AM on 11/07/07
Just call me Peko, or even Pek if you like.
wa (和) = pure, ancient Japan/Japanese and kashi (菓子) is sweet, or, confectionary. There is also yogashi, yo means 'Western'. So, Western pastries, confectionaries.
Wagashi is not really made at home in Japan. People buy it. Wagashi is readily available in Japan, anywhere. Even 24 hour convenience stores. (This is of course low end, but not bad.)
What people do do at home is mochi-tsuki. (Making/pounding mochi) This is often done in the company of many people, like the extended family at New Year's, etc or as the whole neighborhood, if you are going to do a mochi-tsuki, you might as well make a lot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochi (The second photo from the top is a mochi-tsuki in Japan)
Thinking... Westerners make pasta or bread at home far more than Japanese make wagashi at home.
How about this? Think of it as making cheese at home. You could do it. But almost no one does. It is just too, too much work. You can get excellent, excellent stuff in a store at a reasonable price.
I think that if you want to make wagashi in some Western country, you have to start a wagashi shop -- and make a bit for yourself.
Drop me a line at Peko (@KyotoFoodie) if you have anymore questions.
This wikipedia article is a great resource:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagashi
KFPEKOPEKO at 12:39PM on 11/07/07
That was a beautiful and useful explanation, Pek.
Including the language, which is important and which makes any thing more alive when understood.
I don't know of a single wagashi shop in the United States, though there may be some in New York City or Los Angeles. A shame, for they are so delicious and gorgeous. :)
Karen Resta at 3:22PM on 11/07/07
Hi Karen,
Yes, wagashi is a beautiful and artful thing!
Several of the very old Japanese wagashi companies have stores in New York and Paris. Toraya, in Paris comes to mind.
http://www.toraya-group.co.jp/english/shops/index.html
Oh! They have three locations in the US! Cool!
KFPEKOPEKO at 9:01PM on 11/07/07
+
This page is great!
http://www.toraya-group.co.jp/english/wagashi/art.html
KFPEKOPEKO at 9:04PM on 11/07/07
++
I checked around and people in Japan almost never make wagashi at home, even gourmets and foodie types.
It is just a whole lot tastier, cheaper and easier to buy them in a store -- that is like 500 years old.
Peko
KFPEKOPEKO at 3:24AM on 11/10/07
I remember reading an article some time ago about the schools where one is trained to make wagashi, Peko - the details of learning to do the confectionary-making as a professional seemed to me to be even more demanding than those of being trained as a pastry chef in the Western tradition.
It's interesting that while Japan is embracing Parisian pastries its own have not travelled to other places all that extensively. It may be the texture, or the lack of pure dense sugar taste.
I must get to Toraya next time I'm in NY. :)
Karen Resta at 9:03AM on 11/10/07
Toraya used to have a full tea room / restaurant in New York, on the UES. Unfortunately it didn't do as well as they expected, and it closed down a few years ago. My sister was a chef there...now she's basically out of the restaurant biz (not much demand for wagashi shokunin (chef) in the US...and she did not want to move to Japan.) The Toraya in the Kinokuniya bookstore just sells their readymade things, like yokan.
I have one wagashi recipe on my blog, for ohagi or botamochi...this is something that people do make quite often at home in Japan, or at least my mother and aunts do. (There's also a basic recipe for tsubuan, and also, though it's not wagashi, castella.)
Other than that I have to say it didn't occur to me to post wagashi recipes...I didn't think people would be much interested. I'll try to if there is the demand for it though... I'll ask my sister for tips!
maki at 10:46PM on 11/11/07
One of the recipes I've been meaning to try from Elizabeth Andoh's book Washoku is the Wafu Waffle. It's a fresh waffle topped with chunky red bean jam and vanilla ice cream, drizzled with brown sugar syrup then sprinkled with a mixture of kinako and cinnamon.
The weather is becoming perfect for this right now, I do believe. :)
Karen Resta at 6:53AM on 11/12/07
Karen Resta,
While I have never made real wagashi, I would imagine that it is very, very demanding!
I don't believe that Westerners can't appreciate wagashi. Culture has been moving from West to East for centuries now. That is a very important factor to consider. And, I suppose that wagashi will never be nearly as popular as sushi or karaoke.
Maki,
That is really unfortunate that Toraya in NYC closed. I would think that a big, cosmopolitan city like NYC could support a Toraya. Too bad, so sad.
Oh, I love your sites! Thanks for sharing all the recipes!
Peko
KFPEKOPEKO at 11:26PM on 12/10/07