Kooky Japanese Snack #5

Pocky have been really well-documented. They are a mainstay of the Japanese snacking world. I've had much more off the wall flavors than Milk Coffee. They're basically little sticks that are dipped in a flavored coating. The dry, uncandied part is, apparently, for prim Japanese women who want to avoid getting their gloves dirty. The name "Pocky" comes from the sound one supposedly makes while eating them. So, I left these on the counter last night. Thought I'd have them with my coffee this morning......



Thanks Wayne.

Beef Pho

Just like last Saturday, it was grey and dark outisde. At least yesterday it was in the 70's. Roger and I had spent the morning and early afternoon moving furniture and this was our reward. In a previous post I mentioned that I was going to try beef pho next time I went to the Little Saigon restaurant up the street. So I took the plunge. When I was ordering the server asked me if I wanted meatballs. I said, "Are they any good?" He, looking into the distance, replied wearily, "I like them." Below, the soup.



Blurry, pointless close-up.



Photo of the texturey meatballs that seemed more like sausage. The bean sprouts and basil pulled focus in this photo. Show-offs. The so-called meatballs (actually, the were kind of ovoid) had kind of a, well, a seasoned flavor that was reminiscent of Italian sausage. Can't reccomend. The thin pieces of beef were very good, however.

Gyudon vs. Snow Crab! Yosh!

Like Gamra vs. Godzilla, it was sliced beef versus Chionoecetes! As you can see from the close-up, being a Harris Teeter Vic Club member I saved almost $30 on my 4 pounds of snow crab. (?!)



They look like a prop from one of those Alien movies with Sigourney Weaver.


I wasn't really in the mood for snow crab. Don't get me wrong, I like 'em and all I just wasn't in the mood. That's all.



Here they are all steamy and ready to go in the big corn cob themed super plate that tends to make a lot of appearances here.



Next up, Gyudon!



Naturally, I bought this at Maruichi. It had been in my freezer for a while. Below, warming up in some water.



Below, I had some leftover New York strip steak from the night before. While sipping on an Asahi, I sliced it up and placed in the bottom of the bowl. In the background, one of those creepy snow crabs has come back to life and is trying to get out of the steamer. The ever-ready rice cooker is looking on in speechless horror.....



I seasoned this with a dash of dashi.
Sorry.



Covered that with rice and then piled on the gyudon. It was fan-tast-ick! This is what I felt like when I was done. Barbell and all.........

Fish and Chips, more better closer.....

Fish Monger

Harris Teeter fish counter walk through. I've never had walleye. I rarely, make that never, eat fresh water fish. Pike fishing is big in the upper Mid-West, places like Minnesota and Michigan.



HT does have the hook-up when it comes to good, large, wild-caught shrimp. I avoid farmed shrimp like the plague. Next time you pick up a bag of frozen shrimp, check the country of origin. You're just as likely to see Bangladesh as you are India or Mexico. On top of that, shrimp farms wreak havoc on the environment......



I remember being on a research vessel coming out of the harbor from Midway Island in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. We had a native Hawaiian on board and he was allowed to fish. He was trolling a huge spoon as we came out of the cut and caught this biggest wahoo (Oho in Hawaiian) I've ever seen. We had it for sushi. Wahoo are related to mackrels and are the fastest fish in the ocean, reportedly reaching speeds of 80 mph!



Below you can see whole-dressed croaker. We get these out on the island. If you catch one you usually end up catching a bunch. They really start to bite right at sundown in early summer.



I always kind of find these whole dressed fish kind of unappealing. Don't know why.

Taiga Bookstore

Next to the Maruichi there is the Taiga Bookstore. It's fun to poke around in there every once in a while.



Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman! Love this guy. This series was from the 1960's. The premise is that this awesome samurai has lost his sight and as he makes his way through the world he comes across all sorts of appalling characters and, well, dispatches them. This actor, Shintaro Katsu, was the original and the best.



Loads and loads of fashion magazines.



Mao Tse Tung? No, but obviously a politician.....


More fashion.....



Liam Gallagher's leering out from the obligatory music mags.



Double click the image below to see the hilarity. Cool Japan? Uh, okay....



The adult section.........


They sell cute Japanese collectibles as well.



Manga.



And we'll end with a personal fave, Naruto! I am abosutely addicted to the animated series. If you want to watch the latest episodes the same week they air in Japan, click here. Favorite character? Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru are all running neck and neck.

Kooky Japanese Snack #4

Here's another! Thanks Terry. This one is actually Korean, who are no slouches when it comes to inventive snack options. If you look closely you'll see a character attacking the snack with a hammer. This is a hint. This treat takes a little work.



First off, Beef Flavor!



It took me a couple of minutes to get the hermetically sealed bag open. You need to keep the bag intact as there are two steps to preparing this baby. First off, they appear to be nothing but dry ramen noodles.



Next, a flavor pouch that exactly resembles the flavor packet of a ramen soup mix....



The pidgen English instructions told me to put the noodles in the bag, add the seasoning packet, shake, and break the noodles into bite-sized pieces.

The results? Well, if I didn't know any better, and I don't, I'd say this company just repackages their ramen noodles as snack packets. The noodles were very, very brittle and a bunch of little bits ended up on the floor. The flavoring tastes uncannily like the flavor packet from a ramen soup bag sprinkled over the uncooked noodles......Not bad. Pretty salty. Strangeness factor: 6.