I would like to introduce you to a really, really cute and informative site about making your own bento boxes called Just Bento. The pictures and ideas are really awe-inspiring. It makes ME want to make a bento and eat off it right now.

Just look at some of the bento boxes you can find there:

What’s awesome about this site is it even does a calorie count for you.

Has anyone every tried this? It looks like a very loose okonomiyaki.

Have you ever wondered what Sumo wrestler’s eat to help maintain that weight and energy for their tournaments? They eat this thing called Chanko Nabe, a type of stew that incorporates various meats and vegetables. Needless to say it is high in calories and is absolutely hearty for cold days. It contains a dashi or chicken broth soup base with sake or mirin to add flavor. The bulk of chanko nabe is made up of large quantities of protein sources (usually chicken (quartered, skin left on), fish (fried and made into balls), tofu, or sometimes beef) and vegetables (daikon, bok choy, etc). While considered a reasonably healthful dish in its own right, chankonabe is very protein-rich and usually served in massive quantities, with beer and rice to increase the caloric intake. Leftover chankonabe broth can also later be used as broth for somen or udon noodles.

Here’s a recipe I am keen on trying, even though i am in no hurry to gain weight. Ever. It’s looks pretty yummy and the main protein for this Chanko Nabe is chicken.

* 1 pack udon noodles
* 12 cups chicken stock
* 4 boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch chunks
* 1 daikon radish, sliced
* 1 potato, sliced
* 2 onions, quartered
* 12 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed removed and quartered (can use reconstituted dried shiitakes, if you like)
* 1 carrot, peeled and sliced into bite-size chunks
* 1 cake fresh tofu (”cotton” or non-silken so it won’t break up on you), cut into small cubes
* 1 cake fresh tofu (also cotton variety), cut into small cubes and fried on all sides in oil til they take on color (if you can find it in the store, get abura-age,which are deep fried thin slices of cotton tofu)
* 1 medium bok choy cabbage, chopped into small pieces
* 1/2 cup soy sauce
* 1/2 cup mirin (sweet sake)
* 2 teaspoons salt

Garnish: gratings of that racy, narcotic shichimi, if you can get your hands on it

Cook the udon noodles according to directions, drain, and reserve.

Bring water to boil in a saucepan, then add the sliced daikon and potato and parboil for a few minutes. Drain, refresh with cold water, and reserve.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil, add all the vegetables (not including the daikon and potato or the cabbage), chicken, and two kinds of tofu and simmer until the fresh vegetables are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Add the daikon, potato, and cabbage and simmer 5 more minutes.

Season the broth with soy sauce, mirin, and salt to taste, simmer a few more minutes.

Place the cooked udon noodles in deep soup bowls, then ladle the soup over them and serve piping hot, passing the shichimi separate, to grate over the soup to taste.

Recipe from HERE..

Apparently, I just missed out on the Foodex 2008 in Japan recently - it was on March 11-14, 2008. It’s an exposition on food around Japan featuring local and international cuisine. But anyway, even if we’ve missed it this year, they’ve already scheduled a date for next year. FoodEx 2009 will be on March 3rd to 6th 2009.

Visitors would need a registration card for entry to savor all the food from various cuisines. Online Purchase (by credit card)
Prior purchase will cost JPY 4,000 per visitor per day. It is possible to to register up to 6 persons for multiple days of visit. Access the “Online Overseas Visitor Registraton” icon and follow the instructions. Online purchase is strictly for persons residing overseas.
* Onsite Purchase
Visitor Badges can be purchased at the onsite ticketing desk for JPY 5,000 per visitor per day. Visitors will be required to submit TWO business cards (in English) as proof of profession onsite.

http://www2.jma.or.jp/foodex/en/index.html

I know that I have a soft spot for Miso soup but did you know that there are at least 3 kinds of Miso in the market? The miso we know is made from fermented soybeans but the term miso also applies to the product created from fermented barley and rice. The three varieties of Miso I know off are:

# Shiromiso, “white miso”
# Akamiso, “red miso”
# Kuromiso, “black miso”

The red and white miso are the ones most commonly used in miso soup that we drink and it’s sold worldwide as a generic term, “Miso”. The raw materials used to produce miso may include any mix of soybeans, barley, rice, buckwheat, millet, rye, wheat, hemp seed, and cycad, among others. Lately, producers in other countries have also begun selling miso made from chick peas, corn, adzuki beans, amaranth, and quinoa. Fermentation time ranges from as little as five days to several years. The wide variety of Japanese miso is difficult to classify, but is commonly done by grain type, color, taste, and background. Black Miso in this case is perhaps produced from buckwheat or other dark colored grains.

Here’s a very ritualized video …almost artsy fartsy… video of making miso soup with some noodles.

Rice for breakfast in Japan is not an unusual thing. In the west, eating rice for breakfast may seemed a bit weird because it’s just not the same as bacon, eggs, toasts or cereal and milk. But look at it this way, people eat healthy carbs for breakfasts, the Japanese does too - with rice.

Tamago kake Gohan is essentially piping hot rice with an egg broken into it. The concoction is usually stirred and the hot rice will semi-cook the egg. It is not unlike softboil egg on rice except it is all mixed together.

What you need is:
1 egg
1 bowl of hot rice
soy sauce

Method:
1. Crack egg in a plate, season with some soy sauce to taste. Stir to combine.
2. Take out the bowl of hot rice, make a center in the middle and pour the egg mixture in. Stir well and eat it with your favorite Japanese pickle and a side of miso soup.

This is the easiest, most nutritious breakfast on the go if you think about it. If you have left over rice from last night, just heat it up in the microwave with a sprinkle of water and crack and egg in. Hey, Rocky drank eggs every morning, i don’t see why we can’t eat eggs and rice. Seems like a yummier version, if you ask me :)

Since Aomori is located by the sea, naturally their cuisine involves a ton of seafood. In my opinion, produce from the seas offers the BEST in terms of flavors. Fresh seafood like fish, clams, crabs and shrimps has a type of sweetness in its flesh that requires very little seasoning. One main reason why sashimi needs sushi-grade fish is for this reason.

One of the local specialty in Aomori is the Ichigo-ni, which literally translates to stewed strawberries. It’s nto made out of strawberries but sea urchin eggs decked ontop of a soupy delicious broth. It needs little seasoning and is eaten with a touch of Shiso. Writing this, my mouth is salivating as sea urchin eggs are my favorite. The texture and creaminess of the eggs is unbeatable and I would say, liken to the roes of Hairy Crabs roes from China.

Read more about Aomori’s regional cuisines.

Here’s a video on how to eat sea urchin:

Do you like tamagos? The sweet savory Japanese omelette is no stranger to sushi or eaten as it is. I sometimes find tamagos to be a tad too sweet for my liking but I don’t mind them in general. This video teaches you how to make them just like in the restaurants:

Do you buy Teriyaki sauce from the store? That small bottle costs quite a bit, doesn’t it? Well, I have a homemade recipe for Teriyaki that beats the rest of those store bought ones anytime. That is just in my humble opinions anyway but it’s true. This simple sauce can be made at home and then customized to your liking.

Not all teriyaki sauce tastes the same from household to household in Japan. This sauce will be a useful one in your pantry; whether it’s just for stirfry or for a marinade.

Here’s what you need:
1 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

Method:
1. In a saucepan, combine all of the ingredients together and turn the heat on to medium.
2. Stir until all sugars dissolve and until the mixture comes to a soft boil.
3. Continue simmering for about 10 minutes, the liquid will be slightly thicker by then. Take off heat and let it cool down.
4. Store in a bottle and refrigerate until ready to use.

This Teriyaki sauce is great with meat, vegetables and even for BBQ.