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 
Thanks!
Thanks for the great site! My family is now addicted to Japanese food, and I’m now addicted to cooking it. My wife practially begs me to make onigiri.
I just tried the Tamagoyaki recipe. I had to skip on the mirin though, since I didn’t have any on hand, but it still turned out great!
Thanks again!
Re: Table Top Grill
Hi Maki,
I’ve subscribed to your site for about a year now, and really am enjoying your blogs! I always really look forward to getting your latest posts in the e-mail, and enjoy commenting as well as reading the comments too! My favorite one was your 100 top Japanese dishes. I had so much fun! I’ve lived in Japan, and it brought back great memories… but that you even went back and added the descriptions was way over the top and too much fun!
My question is this. I have a little propane powered table top cooker that I adore. It really gets a work-out with my Nabe cooking in the cooler months, and has witnessed many wonderful parties gathered around the table over the years. I’ve seen table top cookers that have a mesh grill attached to the top that are used to grill fish, I saw it used for “shio-yaki”. Do you know of what I’m speaking of? Is the mesh grill part a separate attachment to the cooker that I already have or a totally different appliance?
I live in Los Angeles and have been to all the major Japanese super markets to no avail. I’ve been on-line also. Can you help me? Thank you so much!
I’m afraid I’ve never
I’m afraid I’ve never seen a tabletop grill like the one you speak of…generally speaking, using a fish grill (ami) on top of a tabletop propane cooker is discouraged since it traps heat underneath, which can be dangerous. So I’m guessing the one you saw is a special grill. Sorry I can’t help you more :/
Hi Maki ! First of all, let
Hi Maki !
First of all, let me say that your site is a pleasure to read when you’re food-curious like me. I’ve tried quite a few of your recipes, and I’ve never been disapointed… and since a few weeks I also need to bring my own lunch at university twice a week, so Just Bento is very helpful to me as well (I’ve tried a good number of your bento recipes too ^^). Keep up the good work ;)
Anyway, a few days ago I bought a bottle of kimchi sauce/pickling liquid when I saw it at an asian store (homemade kimchi… an old dream of mine)but sadly I can’t read the directions in japanese. There picture of bite-sized pieces of cucumber, chinese cabbage and daikon but I could’t figure out how long you need to let the vegetables rest before eating them. Do you have any idea of how long it should take?
Also, since I’ve eaten some in England, I can’t forget the taste of bagels… And I can’t find any decent bagel here in south france. But I had a little problem with your recipe, since it calls for a special kind of flour. Bread and brioche flour I’ve found in stores already have baking powder and the like in them. Could T45 or T55 flour be suitable for making bagels ?
Thank you ! ^^
kimchi and bagels
Re: Kimchi sauce - it really depends on the brand, but I think most require you to massage the vegetables with a little salt first before putting it into the sauce (the massaging w/salt softens them up and gets rid of excess moisture). Then it just takes an hour or so…but it does depend on the brand.
For bagels, you need to get a high gluten or ‘strong’ flour (bread flour is ‘strong’ flour) - which means getting one with the highest percentage of protein . If you look at the ingredients, it should say the percentage of protein her 100 grams…if it’s higher than 12%, it should work.
Thank you,I just did that,
Thank you,I just did that, and it worked perfectly well.
Arg. (Well, most of the time the percentage isn’t on the package, but after some research I found that’s because the french classification of flour already includes that, so I’ll need at least a T80 flour. Wich comes only with additives or other cereals in regular stores.) I think I’ll check at organic stores, or the local mill… If it works, I think I’m going to try putting some cheese and bagel sandwiches in my bentos ! Thank you, you’ve been very helpfull.
tamagoyaki
So this is a odd question; probably stupid too, but If I cook tamagoyaki and place it in a bento, how long can it be stored at room temperature safely? or how cold does it need to be stored at? can this be achieved with ice packs? Or am I doomed to all veggie lunches until I graduate?
It’s not odd or stupid at
It’s not odd or stupid at all - safety is very important for bento. Have you taken a look at the bento safety article? (Also Summer bento safety). If a tamagoyaki is cooked through properly and cooled down before the bento box is closed (to reduce condensation, which can lead to spoilage) it will keep fine in most circumstances at room temperature for a few hours. If you have to make your bento in the morning to eat in the evening, if you want to be extra-cautious or the weather is very hot, you may want to pack it in an insulated bento bag with an ice pack.
Thanks!!
Thank you for the articles! I love Just Hungry and Just Bento they are great resources for making bento or just any boxed lunch. I get compliments on my lunches (which I pretty much copy straight from your site!)at school all the time.
Thanks!
Hi Maki, I just wanted to let you know how much I’m enjoying all the Japanese recipes on your site! I’ve always wanted to learn to cook some homestyle Japanese dishes and have found your recipes and directions very helpful. Thanks!
Liv
Convenience store foods
Hi Maki,
I’m new to the site and would like to say that it’s really great to be able to find so many Japanese recipes with an added amount of insight. I lived in Japan for a few months while doing a study of Japanese history and I took to buying sandwiches from the convenience stores before hopping on the train to Nagoya. I’m wondering, do you have any recipes for the sandwiches that are typical to a Japanese convenience store?
Thanks!
konbini sandwiches
Hi Charlie. I don’t have any konbini sandwich recipes here simply because…they aren’t too healthy ^_^; The typical konbini sandwich is white bread slices (I do think Japanese white loaf bread is the best), with something quite high-fat inside, e.g. tons of mayo, or fried tonkatsu or chicken katsu, etc. Tastes great but… though one of these days I may do a post on Japanese sandwiches (which are closest in spirit to English tea sandwiches).
Konnyaku no tosani
Hi maki
First of all thanks for your two wonderful sites. I check both Just Bento and Just Hungry on a regular basis to see your new yummy recipes.
Can I ask a question about bento no 12? In it you talk about konnyaku no tosani - a salty-sweet konnyaku with bonito flakes. I’d like to try this as I recently bought some konnyaku, but although you mention that the recipe is to follow, I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Can you point me in the right direction please?
That’s one of those things
That’s one of those things that I meant to do and forgot. I’ll post up a recipe very soon.
Edit: and now the recipe is up!
Konbu Crazy!
Hi Maki,
Dare I say how gracious you're to offer up this one of a kind resource for Japanese food on the web. I'm reading Elizabeth Andoh's, Washoku cookbook, and more. She has a section on Konbu, which I'm very hard pressed to find here in Washington State. Yes, even Uwajimaya doesn't carry high quality konbu.
I came across this article
http://www.umamiinfo.com/the_news/news_archive/making_the_most_of_kombu/
The author suggests finding a high class Konbu, like Rashiri, that has been aged properly, and comes from a reputable beach in the northern Hokkaido region.
Now, I've been calling all of Andoh's references in the states, and as well, Eden and Mitoku who supply Japanese food to stores in the USA. No luck!
I've resorted to emailing the site:
ttp://www.konbu.co.jp/ in some form of broken Japanese, asking if they'll ship to the US.
I'm guessing that's a no. What should I do next? Bribe my friends in Japan to go to a small store in some suburb of Tokyou to find it? Ahhh! Help!
Thanks :)
that's a problem
Well, with all due respect to Elizabeth Andoh, that’s a main problem I see with many cookbooks and such about Japanese cooking - they want you to get esoteric products or types of products that may be easy to get in Japan, but simply are not elsewhere. It makes Japanese cooking seem more daunting and out of reach than it needs to be! These authors should be forced to spend time in an area where their readers might actually live, and see what they can do with the ingredients on hand there.
Ranting aside, in regards to konbu, just get the best quality you can get a hold of easily. It should be as thick and leathery as possible, and have a white bloom on the surface. Don’t get hung up on where it comes from or the region or whatever, but just trust your eyes and when possible what the store people might recommend. Uwajimaya is a store with a long history and great reputation, and I’m sure they know what works for their customers.
Concur!
Thanks Maki. I agree! It seems that my days in Japan have caught up with me — and now I understand your point of view more than ever.
Andou’s book is quite a mystery, because she does not mess around with the Japanese pantry items. In fact, she may be writing the most uncookable Japanese book for non-Japanese geographies. You may be her arch nemesis!
I shall take the two hour journey to Uwajimaya and come out with some decent konbu if it’s the last thing I do!…besides kiss my wife.
I’m grateful that this urge for good Konbu hasn’t been while living in some distant farm country. If there’s any farm folks out there reading this, reply and I’ll see what can be done to get you your fair share of some decent seaweed love.
Thanks,
Dogman
Onigiri fillings
I absolutely LOVE Just Hungry and Just Bento. I get so many wonderful ideas from these sites, so thank you for all the inspiration and mouthwatering recipes!
I hope you haven’t covered this elsewhere; I was reading an old thread on onigiri, and as a vegetarian remember enjoying one filled with what seemed to be a sort of salad of seaweed and chilli. Many local japanese conveyor belt sushi restaurants also sell it as a salad. Do you have any idea what this could be? I thought it may be something called sukikonbu, but I may be wrong…I would love to be able to make it myself to put in onigiri, as umeboshi are so expensive! Thanks again for all the delicious recipes.
Kabocha versus American pumpkin
Hey there!
Thanks for your wonderful site!
I want to know how many calories are in 100g of kabocha.
It seems a lot more dense than American pumpkin which is incredibly low in calories.
It seems like the perfect diet super food!
But I want to confirm the calorie content.
Thank you!
Most winter squash, except
Most winter squash, except for spaghetti squash, are about 2x the calories of pumpking from the charts I’ve seen (try looking it up on calorie counter sites like Calorie Lab, Calorie Count, Sparkpeople etc) because they are denser and higher in natural sugars/carbohydrate. This includes butternut squash and so on. Kabocha squash is in this group.
japanese rice crackers
I really like those little crunchy rice crackers (arare? nori maki?). It’s my understanding (and I could be way off here) that they are made of mochi. I’m having to eliminate gluten from my diet, so I am now wondering if they are generally gluten-free?
I don’t have any around right now to check the label, and I can’t find them locally. Amazon doesn’t have ingredients for them. I thought you might actually have some around or that you might know.
I love your blogs! Keep up the good work!
rice crackers
Most traditional type rice crackers are made of rice, so should be mostly gluten free, though there may be tiny amounts in the soy sauce coating. Your best bet might be traditional rice crackers that are deep fried and seasoned with salt instead of soy sauce. Arare can mean several kinds of rice crackers actually.
But there are some rice-based snacks that have wheat flour in them, so you do need to check the labels.
Cool lunch box
I know we’ve just been discussing going overboard with accessories on JustBento but have you seen this?http://swissmiss.typepad.com/weblog/2008/10/food-pyramid-lu.html
It actually sounds like an interesting idea for portioning your lunches.
Hmm, interesting idea, and
Hmm, interesting idea, and very pretty. But a triangle doesn’t seem like the most practical shape to carry around in your bag to me…
How's the wrist?
Hi Maki. Just wanted to say hi! Read your post about the sprained wrist…definitely no fun at all. Wanted to wish you speedy recovery. Hope you feel better soon!
Take care!!!
Hi Wakkun! It’s a lot
Hi Wakkun! It’s a lot better thanks! I’ll update on what/where I am tomorrow :)
best asian grocery shop in zurich
Hi Maki,
Love your site. I have also moved recently to Zurich, and as a Chinese girl I am wondering whether I’m getting a good deal. I always shop at new asia market in feldstrasse. They don’t have everything, but prices are cheap. Or is this there a better place to go? I love Asian fruit and vegetables, where can I get the greatest variety at the best prices here?
And which Japanese/Korean/Chinese restaurants would you recommend in Zurich? So far I have only had mediocre Chinese food here.
Thanks
Loei
For Asian groceries in
For Asian groceries in Zürich, see here. New Asia Market is not bad, though I go more to Lian Hua since it’s more convenient for me.
Asian restaurants in Zürich…is a problem. I want to find one I could recommend wholeheartedly, but so far I can’t… :/
Kimuraya Swiss Roll
Do you know if there is a recipe that will duplicate the Kimuraya Cocoa Swiss Roll that can be purchased in Japanese groceries? The cake is very very light and there is barely any holes in the crumb. Japanese cakes seem to be made the same way in the bakeries. All of the jelly roll recipes I have made so far are nothing like these.
That is really a classic
That is really a classic French sponge. I’m not really fond of that fine texture myself so I’ve never really attempted it, but you may find techniques in classic French pastry baking books. I believe it takes some skill though (of course the cakes sold in stores are made in factories…) FWIW many cakes sold here in Switzerland have that same fine, light texture too!