Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

While it does indeed taste good, as a male, I just can't quite get comfortable eating shirako.

I had a girlfriend here in Japan that loved fugu shirako, but not mine! I even pointed out that mine was free and fugu's is very expensive.

I think that fugu's is a little better than cod. I have had it par cooked over an open flame. The outside of is golden brown and the inside is all white and gooey, not quite cooked. A bit of sansho powder makes it perfect. While I know it really isn't sperm, I still can't help thinking that this is food for the gals.

I had some oysters last night with dinner, now those were sexy!

On a more serious note, I would like to commend this Nasty Bits series. Thank you very much! We need to eat more Nasty Bits, especially in the US.

If you ever get to Kyoto, Japan and want to try some chicken nasty bits, you want to head to Torito (yakitori resto) and order the raw chicken liver. Dip it in salted sesame oil and wash it down with beer. The deep fried chicken cartilage is beautiful too.
http://kyotofoodie.com/torito-kyoto-style-yakitori-grilled-chicken/

Caramelized onions and goat cheese are a wondrous combination!

Fuji FinePix

But my mobile phone takes darn good photos too!

How about yuzu and kabosu?

Yuzu has various and wonderful uses in the kitchen.

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This page is great!

http://www.toraya-group.co.jp/english/wagashi/art.html

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

Nice blog, nice articles!

Lots of Western food, eh? Looks a lot less traditional than the territory over here in Kyoto, especially on KyotoFoodie.

Well, if you are going to have a rice cooker, you are probably cooking rice too. And you would want to cook the rice to be as tasty as possible, so, in my book, you have got to add a sheet or two of dried Japanese kombu (kelp). Also, a handful of barley adds to immensely to the flavor complexity and nutritional value or white rice. Also, don't use stinking tap water for cooking rice if you want it to be tasty!