Weird Japanese Snack #12

In November my good buddy Scot had to go to a conference about, I dunno, marine spatial planning or something like that. The conference, of course, had to take place in Bali. It was only, like, for two days, and everything could have just as easily been done if everyone stayed in their respective offices around the world and simply made video conference calls. Thankfully, when you work for our office that sort of rational stuff doesn't happen and boondoggles are the order of the day. At any rate, Scot got a one night layover in Tokyo on the way back. He told me about how he and a couple of other conference attendees returning home all stayed at the same hotel by the airport. Once they checked-in, they hacked their way to a local sushi restaurant only to be practically pushed back out the door by the proprietor. Scot said they were the only foreigners, or "gaijin", in the place and they were obviously not welcome. They shrugged it off with a chuckle and found another restaurant nearby that gladly took their yen. He made it down to Tsukiji fish market the next day, something I've dreamed of doing.

Scot, bless his heart, was all checked in and waiting for his flight the next day when he realized he still had some yen in his wallet. Remembering my blog, he got me the string of snacks below. You can't really make it out but they cost 250 yen = $2.50. There were 5 packets in all.



I have no idea what the colors mean. The little beans holding up the calcium and magnesium symbols are the same on all of them. In the one below he's carrying a shoulder bag.


Now the bag's gone.



In the picture below, you can't quite make it out but he's got on a hat and is carrying golf clubs. Makes sense.


Okay, the moment of truth. The contents in my palm are about half the bag. There's an almond, five pieces of peanut, and six fish.



Here they are on my Apple laptop so they can be better studied. The bit on the upper left is a fish head. This is not my first encounter with the Japanese insistence on using small, freeze-dried fish as snack food. Unlike Weird Japanese Snack #7, these guys bring it. The fish are not an afterthought, they are center stage.


I gotta tell ya, in the other snack you couldn't really taste the fish. Here it was completely different. In fact I made a point of eating the biggest one I could find. You know what? They're awful.

Really awful. Sweet coating, slightly oily, fishy, funky. Home run Scot!!

Weird Japanese Snack #11. Still More Crackers!

These are actually from Taiwan. It's kind of strange because I'm pretty sure that's Japanese kanji on the package which doesn't make sense unless it's made in Tawan and sold in Japan. Hmmm....that must be it. No, hold on a sec. I just looked at the packaging. These crackers are made in Taiwan, look deceptively authentically Japanese what with the clumsy English, but are actually for the U.S. market.


She doesn't look too happy. Maybe she's not too happy shilling for this imposter.


Um, they're trying to mimic little ramen noodle cakes. They were teeny, about the size of my thumbnail. They had a salty, soy sauce kind of flavor. Not too bad, I could see munching on these with a beer. They in no way compare to Weird Japanese Snack #10. Those things are awesome.

Spicy Tuna

Every once in a while you'll see "sashimi grade" tuna for sale. To be honest, there is no such thing as "sashimi grade". That was made up by the industry to try and hustle their premium grade fish. However, fresh, quality tuna even from the grocery store is fine for sushi. In fact, it's perfect for spicy tuna. The recipe is simple and takes even questionable tuna to another level. I got this recipe from my pal Tetsu at the Maruichi Market. You need Japanese mayonnaise, scallions, soy sauce and Japanese chili paste (see lame photo below).

Put about a 1/4 cup of mayonnaise in a bowl. Slice the white part of about 4 scallions as thinly as you can, and, obviously, put them in. Add about a teaspoon of the chili paste and a dash of soy sauce. Mix together and add 3/4 pound chopped tuna to the mix. You can make hand rolls with this or simply serve it donburi style on top of a bowl of seasoned rice.


My trusty rice cooker. I think I'm going to name it Shingo after my favorite member of the Japanese entertainment juggernaut SMAP. Those guys have been around for, like, 20 years and are all over the Japanese entertainment scene. They have tv shows, they do commercials for Softbank and anyone else who'll pay them. Their clunky name means, get this, "Sports Music Assemble People". You can't make this stuff up. Below, Shingo. Um, you should totally click on all of those links. Trust me, if you like quirky Japanese stuff and also suspect you have no idea what they have going on over there the SMAP stuff is for you......


I augmented my spicy tuna with some salmon that I grabbed at Maruichi. It was really, really rich and creamy and great and, well, you get the idea.


Again, I did not bother to take a photo of my dinner when it was already to go and simply tucked in. One day I'll learn.

Mahi Mahi: A Failed Mission.....

Love my Harris Teeter. They have a great seafood department. Sadly, the mahi mahi usually doesn't look all that great. The other day, however, it did. Nice, bright, clean filets. Oh yeah, they were on sale too!


Geez, I cooked these a couple of weeks ago and I have already forgotten the recipe. I got it off the Food Network site. If I don't feel like printing out the recipe, I simply pull it up on the Dell Mini and put it on the counter.


Hmmm...... I know there was garlic, white wine and lemon involved.



Here they are browning in the pan. Unfortunately, when they were done and plated and tantalizing instead of reaching for the camera I went straight for the fork.


They looked good though, I can vouch for that. Golden, crispy crust. Oh, and delicious. That's some good fish. I caught a bunch of mahi (formerly known as dolphin) down in the keys years ago. It was a blast. We spotted a school underneath a mat of seaweed. Our guide could see them racing out to the lure we were trolling. Right on cue one hit and we were off. The technique is to always keep one fish on the line while you cast for the others. There are a couple of theories as to why the fish will stick around their ensnared buddy. One is that the smell of blood coming from the hooked fish keeps them around. The other is that the hooked fish's behavior excites them. At any rate, we kept one in the water the whole time and limited out in no time. They were fun to catch, beautiful to look at and awesome on the plate.

Weird Japanese Snack #10

Kameda Age Ichiban Rice Crackers! A substantial, festive bag of what looks like toasted balls of rice. I thought I'd try these as I needed something to take the edge off my appetite while I prepared some oysters casino. You can see the pepper and onion browning in the saucepan to the upper left.



First surprise, they're individually wrapped. The Japanese are regularly accused of excessive, pointless over-packaging. Guilty!


They're convex little saucers.


Time for a bite.


You know what? These are great! They have a really appealing light, crunchy texture with a slightly sweet, slightly savory flavor. Had to resist the urge to eat the entire bag. Well done Kameda!

Japanese Curry

In an earlier post (click here) about the Maruichi Market I showed the Japanese curry mixes. Curry from Japan is a bit different from curry from India. It is a bit sweeter and, well, savory. It is very popular in Japan and I, rather sheepishly, have to admit I had never tried it. That changed last week. Finally got new batteries for my camera so the story can be told......



I chose medium hot, see blurry photos below, and, to be honest, it wasn't hot at all.


I had given the ingredients a cursory review and thought I only needed a pound of beef. Got home and realized I need two....quick trip to the grocery store. I used a pound of chuck and a pound of sirloin tip, I think.



Cubed and ready to be browned.



Here's where the phone died. iPhone photos from here on out. Peas were my little tweak on this recipe.


Okay, following the directions on the back (natch), the recipe called for six, yes six, cups of water! I soon discovered that I could have made only half this much and still would have enough curry for a week. Below you will see that there are two containers for the curry base. For some reason, the manufacturers want you to burn through both packages the first time you make this as I can't see anyone ever making the full, double barrel recipe again.



The curry base looked a lot like, no, exactly like milk chocolate.



Browning the beef and the veg........



Below, the finished curry presented with a big side of basmati rice. Compare to the cover. Pretty close, huh? At any rate, this stuff rocked. Next time I'm getting the hot though....good, good, good. Highly recommend.

Weird Japanese, wait, Korean Snack #9

I had finished my lunch yesterday when I felt like having some potato chips. Specifically salt and vinegar. Well, the thought of getting up and taking the elevator down to the convenience store was daunting. Only one elevator was working so the possibility of getting stuck with someone I'd have to make work-related small talk with was uninviting. Then I remembered the Weird Japanese Snack larder right next to me. Jack pot! These, as you may or may not be able to tell are from Korea, Japan's closest rival in the off-the-wall snacks stakes. Kankuro looks on in anticipation......



These only cost 1,000 won. Wow, pretty cheap! Or really expensive. I have no idea how much a won is worth....


They listed mackerel powder as one of the ingredients. Last time I had a Korean snack things didn't turn out so well. Upon opening this bag, however, unlike last time, there was only a mild fishy smell. Not appalling but not appealing either. Kankuro is transfixed.


Screw it, I'm goin' in...


They came in these completely weird but, apparently, symbolic shapes. My best guess? Upper left: squid. Center top: fish. Upper right: whale. Lower left: Gary from Spongebob? Bottom center: starfish. Bottom right: that's either a puffer fish, lips, or a distorted fish shape from top center. The flavor? A slightly sweet coating, which seems to be real common with these, and a not unpleasant, slightly seafoody taste. I actually plowed through a goodly part of the bag. Nice one. This goes in the win column.......