Ask Maki anything, well almost anything (or just say hi)
posted on 13 Jan 2008 by maki ::
270 comments
This post is now closed to new comments. It’s now replaced by the new forum section, Ask Maki Almost Anything.
Thanks to you (yes, I’m looking at you!) Just Hungry and Just Bento have really grown in popularity recently. This has also meant that I’m getting more emails. I do very much appreciate getting your emails, but there’s a couple of disadvantages to email.
- It’s a one on one communication so your question will only benefit you. It might just benefit a lot of other readers. I do actually end up answering the same thing several times.
- I may not know the answer but someone else might!
- I’m really bad at email. Don’t ask me why. I try to answer things as fast as possible but sometimes emails languish in my inbox for days, or I forget about answering them. Then you get mad at me and think I’m ignoring you, etc.
- Answering lots of individual emails takes time away from me writing new posts, not to mention spending time with my family/friends, exploring new foods, and all that kind of thing.
Hence, this is Ask Maki (almost) Anything. comments here will remain always open, to ask me anything that doesn’t fit into the context of a particular post. Unless it’s something that must remain private, please post here before emailing. Thank you!
But before you ask….
There’s nearly 5 years worth of content here. Chances are your question has already been answered. Please try the Search function, right at the top of the page, before asking something. Thanks!
[Edit:] Do not use this post to pimp your refrigerator parts, miracle diet, whatever site. Such comments will be deleted.
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Just Hungry is a site about food. There are 
Guinness marmite
Unfortunately you’re out of luck I think…Guiness Marmite was a limited edition, and if you do manage to buy any jars they’d be past their expiry date (though Marmite is edible past the date…) so would technically not be legal to sell for consumption… you’d have to hope that Marmite and Guinness get together for another run :(
Defrosted kamaboko
Hi Maki,
I’ve managed to buy a couple of frozen ‘logs’ of kamaboko, which are sitting in my freezer. Before I use them, I was wondering if you could tell me how long one would keep for once it’s been defrosted - would I need to use it up all in one go, or would it keep for a few days in the fridge? Many thanks in advance!
Once kamaboko is defrosted,
Once kamaboko is defrosted, it’s as perishable as sausages or ham, so you should try to use it up ASAP. So try to defrost as little as you will use at a time.
Tofu making
Hello Maki,
I’m a 4th year college student from the Philippines. I would like to thank you for the information regarding tofu making. I’m in a research study regarding soybeans specifically soycheese making. I found your site very useful for my study. I would like to ask what is the proportion of the other coagulants if use for tofu making? I saw the “nigari” proportion but I think I can’t afford to get a source of where can I get it so I think the other coagulants are available here in the philippines. Thank you very much and I will be very glad if you will reply as soon as possible.. Thank you.
em-ar
I really don’t know the
I really don’t know the proportions for other coagulants, since I don’t like tofu made with them so I’ve never tried. Sorry!
Shishito Pepper Recipe
Hello, Maki! I have been enjoying your food sites, Just Bento and Just Hungry for the last several months! I discovered them while drinking mugicha and wondering what the internet had to say about it!
I would like to know if you have any recipe recommendations for shishito peppers? This year, I bought a seedling from Mitsuwa, and he is finally, to my great delight, bearing fruit!! His (Yes, I decided it was a male and even named him) first batch of peppers will be ready this week, so it’s time to cook them! Looking around for recipes online, I keep seeing repeats of advice to broil, grill, lightly stir-fry or even tempura fry them whole, but not many dishes which include them. I know what they taste like, and they are delicious cooked in a simple way like broiling, but I was hoping for a recipe which includes them. I don’t tempura fry at home (delicous…but I kind of have a rule for no deep frying at home. It’s an occasional restaurant treat for health reasons), so that leaves only broiling and snacking as my lone serving option.
I used the search field to check your website, but only found the recommendation to grow shishito in a home garden of japanese herbs. You mention that they are good for many recipies, but what are they? :) My boyfriend has suggested including them in my next batch of mabo tofu, but I’m not sure that it would be suitable—the flavor of the shishito may be overpowered. Thanks in advance for your time and any advice or recommendations you might have!
—Berit
Shishito
Shishito are mildly spicy peppers, so they can be used in all kinds of ways. Stir frying is one way. You can also grill them, deep fry them as tempura or even without any batter, stew them in some dashi + mirin + soy sauce + sugar, etc etc. I think they are too mild for ma-bo-dofu where you need a spicier chili pepper. You could also use them as you would jalapenos (though shishito are a bit milder than jalapenos).
Please Come to My Rescue - Umeboshi Question
Hi Maki,
Have a question about umeboshi. I had it when I was younger but didn’t appreciate its taste. Am wanting to try it again now.
I was at the store the other day and got confused with the umeboshi offerings. They had the plums in different color like more red and a brownish color. Some are labeled “Aka umeboshi” (I think it means red plum) and the other labeled “shiro umeboshi”.
Could you please tell me what are the differences between the two? Is it just the color? Or is there a taste difference? If I were to try them, which one would you recommend….
Another question, I bought a bag of what is labeled as “dried seaweed” at the Japanese grocery store the other day. It is nice bright green color, but in flake form. I used it to sprinkle on the rice and such. It has a bit of bitter taste to it, and does not taste like nori that I know (color is much brighter). Could it be mis-translated and actually be dried shiso leaves flakes instead? Is dried shiso leaves flakes sold? Just wondering.
Thanks a lot!
I’m guessing since I
I’m guessing since I haven’t seen the actual packages :) but the Akaume is probably umeboshi that has been pickled with a lot of red shiso to make it very red (there may be some food coloring added too, check the ingredients), and shiroume has been pickled with no or minimal red shiso. The bright green seaweed is probably aonori, which is a form of nori but used mostly to sprinkle on top of things that are a bit sweet already like yakisoba (panfried noodles) or okonomiyaki.
flavorless
i bought some dried soba and also fresh. when making the dry i never washed it off (used to pasta) but it was still pretty good. but when i made the fresh (no sticking or clumping!) and rinsed it really well and had a dipping sauce, it just tasted like glue. is there any way to add some flavor or is soba always like that?
You may have actually over
You may have actually over rinsed the fresh noodles, so you ended up washing out almost everything but the gluten! People in Japan often even save the cooking liquid that fresh soba has been cooked in because it’s so flavorful. Try rinsing it a lot less next time, just to cool it down (this differs from the way dried noodles are treated).
thanks
thank you for the advice
ill rinse less
keep up the great work!
how do you make saladitos
I don’t know how to make them so please can you help me
Since I had to look up
Since I had to look up saladitos to even know what they are…no i can’t, sorry :)
Japanese food history
Hi Maki,
Someone told me that the Japanese didn’t eat white rice until the English introduced it to Asia. This sounds incredible to me. Do you know any sources for learning about the food history of Japan?
Whoever said that has no
Whoever said that has no clue I would say…rice has been eaten in Japan for quite a long time. (The idea of the English introducing white rice to Asia is pretty funny too!) I don’t really know of any English language sources for learning the food history of Japan, though any decent general history book would have plenty about Japan and rice (most peasant uprisings throughout history had something to do with rice, the lack of it or overtaxation of it etc.)
White rice
It may not be as ridiculous as it sounds. This person said white rice, not rice. In the U.S., white flour was only made affordable to the middle and lower classes in the 1920s.
Sure, refined grains were
Sure, refined grains were always only available historically to the upper classes…the same goes for rice. As a matter of fact, the ruling samurai classes in Japan often suffered from beri-beri, an illness caused by nutritional deficiency attributed to the eating of white, refined rice. This was a problem in Korea, China etc. too. The English only made full contact with Japan in the 1850s - their arrival actually was the trigger for the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate - so it’s rather unlikely they introduced white rice before then! (Until that time Japan was closed to any foreign contact except from China, Korea and the Dutch in a very limited way for about 220 years.)
Love Japan, But Not Seafood
Fish or seafood is usually a main ingredient in Japanese cuisine, right? But, personally I dont like any kind of fish or seafood. So, is there any way that I can enjoy Japanese food even though I don’t like any kind of seafood?
Do you have any recipes?
Thanks
^_^
Love Japan, But Not Seafood
Fish or seafood is usually a main ingredient in Japanese cuisine, right? But, personally I dont like any kind of fish or seafood. So, is there any way that I can enjoy Japanese food even though I don’t like any kind of seafood?
Do you have any recipes?
Thanks
^_^
There are lots and lots of
There are lots and lots of vegetarian or vegan recipes in the archives…as well as many meat based dishes. I don’t actually feature a lot of fish dishes since, living in a landlocked country where seafood is rather expensive, we don’t use it as much as I’d like to. So…just look around the archives! :)
Hi, I just ‘discovered’
Hi,
I just ‘discovered’ your site today, it’s definitely bookmarked!
Love the flexibility offered by dishes, and the clarity of presentation — thanks especially for making tsubuan recipe easy!!! can’t tell you how pleased and excited i was to find that.
best wishes,
K.
SUSHI ORDERING
IF A SUSHI MENU STATES MAKI OR TEMAKI, CAN ANYTHING ON IT BE MADE AS EITHER OR WILL ONLY THE ONES THAT SAY ROLL BE MAKI?
“Maki” used in the
“Maki” used in the context of sushi means roll or rolled. Basically anything that can be made into a temaki (hand roll) can be made into a regular maki and vice versa, except for the multi-ingredient futomaki (fat roll).
Hi! I have seen a dish in
Hi!
I have seen a dish in one of your recommended blog, and was wondering if you knew the recipe as I can’t seem to get a hold of it either in my multitude of japanese cooking book or either on the net. It’s a braised wintery (we are having one cold summer in Canada!) dish called gyusuji tofu.
Thanks!
I don’t think that is a
I don’t think that is a standard recipe (could be regional…) but gyuusuji means stringy beef, or stewing beef (the cuts that are rather sinewy and gelationous) so I am guessing it’s made by stewing or braising tough cuts of beef for a long time, then combining that with tofu. You could try braising the beef in the same way as braised pork belly until it falls apart, and then adding tofu near the end of the cooking process. (just guessing how it might be here)
Pickled Daikon
Hi Maki,
Thank you so much for creating such wonderful and informative blogs! This is the first place I turn to when I cook anything Japanese.
I was wondering what the shelf life of pickled daikon? I made a simple pickled carrot and daikon recipe a few days ago, after noticing a couple of neglected fresh daikon radishes in my fridge that still seemed fine(about a week old). It’s been a couple of days since I made this recipe and it’s smell has completely overtaken my fridge and half my kitchen and it tastes vaguely like cheese. Is this normal? I can’t seem to find any indication anywhere as to how long pickled daikon keeps.
Thanks,
Lissa
You didn’t say how you
You didn’t say how you pickled the daikon, but if it’s just pickled in some brine or similar, or salt, you should eat it fairly soon I think - the sulfuric compounds in it would make it quite smelly. The exception is takuan pickles (the yellow ones) but those are made from thorougly dried daikon, so keep far longer. Generally with homemade pickles, unless they are vacuum-sealed I treat them like a marinated salad and use them up within a couple of days.
Sorry, I forgot to mention
Sorry, I forgot to mention that. The recipe called for salt, a tiny bit of sugar, and a lot of vinegar. I made the recipe once before, and it was pretty much gone within a day. So I didn’t really have anything to compare it to. Daikon is little difficult to find in my city. Thanks for answering my question.
i dream you would publish a book...
Maki,
there’s a chance somebody asked already but: are you going to publish a cookbook? I love your blogs lots but there’s no much place on my kitchen worktop to keep a laptop :( besides, there’s always a chance to spill something on! :)) I’d love to have a book with color photos with all the tips and recommendations you give - you know the most important are these tips!
Hope one day you do it,
Anna