Japan
Ingredient in the Spotlight: Kanten
September 3, 2010 by Naomi Kuwabara
Kanten (agar) is a natural gelatinous ingredient used most commonly to make desserts. It’s a great alternative to gelatin, particularly for vegetarians. The texture isn’t as gelatinous as gelatin so people who like the consistency of jello may not like kanten, but I think it has an interesting texture and I actually like it a lot.
Also see Wagashi Maniac’s webpage on Kanten. There is an in-depth explanation of kanten in all it’s forms. The website has a Google translation button that translates the text to English. There are also a lot of nice photos of the different types of kanten.
Kanten for Dieters
Several years ago it was almost impossible to find kanten in grocery stores in Japan due to a kanten diet frenzy. I think there was a TV show that discussed the weight loss benefits of kanten which led to a huge spike in demand. My aunt was somehow able to secure a few boxes through a supplier to get all the kanten she needed to run the course of the phase, but my mom caught on a little late and complained about not being able to find any kanten during this time. The reason kanten was…
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Calpis/Calpico
August 31, 2010 by Naomi Kuwabara
Calpis is a popular Japanese drink that is sweet and milky but at the same time light and refreshing. It’s a shame that it that never really took off in the United States. It’s probably because of it’s name, although in Japanese it’s pronounced “Ka-ru-pi-su.” Years after it was first introduced in the United States, it was given a name suitable for the US and is also known as Calpico. I’m guessing the marketing department of the company finally caught on.
It is available in many forms, a concentrate that can be mixed with water, premixed in soft drink cans, and premixed and carbonated. My favorite is carbonated calpis but concentrated calpis is the most versatile. You can even make carbonated calpis with it so I wanted to introduce it as an ingredient that can be used for many thing. It is also available in many fruit flavors such as grape, strawberry and mandarin orange.
Concentrated Calpis/Calpico.
Concentrated Calpis is a sweet milky white syrup.
The original Calpis drink mixed with carbonated water.
Calpis kakigouri (shaved ice) is also a great way to enjoy it during the…
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L’Oreal Women in Science Fellowship Award in Tokyo
August 30, 2010 by Kiyoshi Kurokawa
On August 23th I attended the L’Oreal Women in Science Fellowship Award Ceremony in Tokyo. As I always say, shining women are the hope of Japan.
Four bright young women scientists were awarded this honor. Also this year, a special award was given to astronaut Naoko Yamazaki (Ref.1). The future of Japan lies in how quickly we can create and expand the places for women to participate actively (Ref.1,2).
I would say that the major barrier is the ‘men-centered chauvinistic’ mindset and social structure, the society where ‘herbivorous (soshokukei) men’ are dominating and taking charge. I also suspect they (men) are scared of revealing how they actually are. However, it is clear that in this transition from ‘vertically’ to ‘horizontally’ expanding global age, the time of ‘social titles’ with little real content or value to the world has ended long time ago.
Professor Michael Sandel’s Seminar
August 30, 2010 by Yoko Ishikura
On Friday, August 27, I went to attend a seminar by Prof. Michael Sandel at Academy Hills. His “Justice” lecture series has been one of the most popular series at Harvard and it has been made open to the public. His book is also a big seller (I had heard that over 300,000 copies of the Japanese translation of the book have been sold.) Though I have seen bits and pieces of his seminar on TV and the Internet, I had not seen an entire two-hour seminar. So I was very much looking forward to it, even though it was the fourth day after I came back, which is usually the day the jet lag hits. But I managed to keep myself awake! How could I not
He began with some casual comments on the Red Sox, following an introduction by Mr. Hayakawa, the organizer of the seminar. He then went on to discuss briefly the three schools of thought from philosophy about society and justice. He kept engaging the audience along the way by asking for yes or no votes to various questions. His style of calling on people, making the difference in views explicit, and getting people to argue back and forth was very impressive. …
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Yakionigiri Ochazuke
August 30, 2010 by Naomi Kuwabara
This meal was inspired by Seiroku Honda who was a famous author, botanist and landscape designer who designed many national parks in Japan during the Meiji Era (1868-1912). His story begins when he goes to Germany to study abroad and returns to Japan to become an assistant professor at Tokyo University. After returning, many of his relatives moved in with his family seeking financial support. Realizing that he has to support nine family members, he decides to follow the “pay yourself first” strategy by saving 1/4 of his salary, however this leaves little for food and other expenses. His wife was given little money to buy food, and for some time they survived on rice, salt and sesame seeds alone.
Although, I added some extra ingredients to this meal, Seiroku Honda was the main inspiration for this meal. The gourmand in me had to up it up a slight bit but it’s still a very economical meal.
Ingredient (Servings 2)
2 bowls of cooked rice
2 cups of Japanese tea*
1.5 inch piece of ginger cut julienne
1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (1/2 for the ginger and 1/2 for the sauce)
1/2 teaspoon of sesame seed…
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Tsukiji Honganji (築地本願寺): An Indian-style Temple in Japan
August 29, 2010 by Kiran Vaka
Last December, a few days before Christmas, while I was planning the itinerary for my one-day stop in Tokyo, I knew I had to be extremely selective about the places to be visited within the few hours I had at my disposal. Apart from my friends’ suggestions of the regular tourist fare consisting of the traditional Asakusa, the geeky Akihabara, the glitzy Ginza and Roppongi, I had included University of Tokyo in the list. Finally, a few days before flying out, I picked up one of the numerous travel books on Japan during a regular stop at the Borders in Sunnyvale..nonchalantly flipping through it’s pages, landed on the page talking about Tsukiji – the famous Fish Market in Tokyo. I had little time to see a fish market within my tightly packed schedule..but one thing in that book caught my attention. It was the Tsukiji Honganji – the only Indian-style Buddhist Temple in Japan – situated in Tsukiji, and not far from this famous market. I knew I could not miss this.
It was close to 5pm by the time I made it to Tsukiji Hoganji that day. The metro was overflowing with people returning from work (i guess…
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Wafū Pasta 2: Shirasu, Garlic and Shiso
August 28, 2010 by Naomi Kuwabara
This recipe is similar to Wafū Pasta 1 except it has a nutty aroma from the toasted shirasu (a general term used for baby fish that are still white such as baby sardines and baby anchovies), and the sesame seed oil. As I mentioned in the Wafū Pasta 1 post, Wafū (pronounced wafoo) means Japanese-style. You’ll often find Japanese-style Western dishes in Japan. If you’re tired of your regular old pasta, give this a try!
Ingredients Servings 2
4-5 shiso leaves
1/4 cup of fresh or frozen shirasu
1/2 tablespoon of sesame seed oil
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
275 grams of spaghetti
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of coarse black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of kombu cha (optional)
3 tablespoons of pasta water
extra sesame seed oil to drizzle on top
Directions
1) Boil water and cook pasta.
2) Wash and cut the shiso chiffonade.
3) Thaw out shirasu if frozen.
4) Heat up a frying pan and add the sesame seed oil.
5) Stir fry the shirasu until they start to turn a tan color. You’ll…
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AYEPO 2010: Building an Asian Youth Network in Okinawa
August 26, 2010 by Kiyoshi Kurokawa
August 23rd was the last day of this year’s ‘AYEPO 2010’ so I headed for Okinawa to attend the closing ceremony. The program started in 2008 (Ref.1) under the policy initiatives set by the Abe administration.
Again this year we had participants from all parts of Asia, 30 people aged 15 or 16 and 45 Japanese (1/3 of Japanese are female, as has been the case in 2008 and 2009). All of them are full of energy. During the three weeks’ sessions they saw and experienced so many things, such as typhoons, Okinawa Heiwakinen (Peace) Memorial Park, home stay, diving, cleaning up the coastline, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), and Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.
I joined the closing ceremony. We watched a video of how the participants spent their days in Okinawa, and the video of singing together ‘We are the World’; participants also focused on ‘water’ for discussion, and wrote a poem ‘Kiseki (Miracle)’ pretending that they were seeing the world and ourselves in year 2030. Then, after my evaluations and comments, came the closing ceremony. It was a very nice day. How…
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People And Animals: Almost Perfect Partner
August 26, 2010 by Ryo Kubota
Some animals have been important for people. To improve their relationship, Japan’s ancient practice could be a good example
“It is completely wrong to think that everyone loves dogs”, says one Japanese man angrily. When he was a child, a dog attacked his leg, which caused a trauma in his life. Nevertheless, animals such as dogs and whales are important for business and society.
Animals are good partners for people to make money. According to The Economist (“Cue the fish”, August 14th 2010), the Discovery Channel “has been churning out shark programmes for 23 years. Yet ratings are sound. Nature sells”. The newspaper also says, “It is one of the best businesses in media”.
Japan has been whaling since the Stone Age. As it is said that one whale prospers seven towns, the activity has provided Japanese people with food and whale oil.
There are zoos around the world, some of which private companies run. Zoos have a museum aspect. A zoo in Tochigi prefecture, which Transpheric Management (TM), a PR consultancy, visited the other day, see animals as items like art works. But its employees try not to hold its animals in leash. As a result, creatures…
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Pink Beets with Sesame Tofu Sauce
August 24, 2010 by Naomi Kuwabara
This recipe happened by accident but I liked it so much that I decided to make it again. I was trying to come up with an alternative for a cream cheese topping for the sushi cake and this tofu sauce was the result. It wasn’t thick enough to pipe with a pastry bag so I decided to pair it with vegetables and I just happened to have these beautiful pink and white beets. This recipe was one of my happy accidents in the kitchen.
Ingredients (Servings 2)
130 grams or a little more than 1/2 cup of kinugoshi tofu (silken tofu)
3 teaspoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of toasted white sesame seeds ground or 1 tablespoon of tahini
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of dashi powder
1-2 beets depending on the size
Directions
1) Toast the sesame seeds in a pan over medium heat. Shake the pan until the seeds puff up and start to pop or use toasted sesame seeds. (Toasting them makes a big difference in flavor)
2) Put them in a mortar and let them cool for a while.
3) Grind them until they are finely ground.
…
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