Ok, so we have some serious catching up to do. If I had ten pounds for every time I've used the phrase 'catching up' on this blog, I'd have enough money to buy myself an outfit for the party I'm going to this Saturday. Regrettably there's no known source of remuneration for being repetitive online, but I'll probably buy the outfit anyway. That's beside the point though.
So first of all what I want to let you know is that I'm not in Japan any more. But I will continue to post about my trip retroactively, because there is so much to tell you about. I couldn't write about it concurrently because I was busy doing it all. Occasionally it's better to just pack in more doing and sacrifice the running commentary, don't you agree?
The next thing I wanted to share is that as of about two weeks ago, I am officially a journalism student. I've enrolled on a part time course, still doing my day job and trying to fit everything else around it. I'm also waiting on a promise from work that I will be able to go down to four days a week in a month or so. Let's hope they're as good as their word.
The course runs two nights a week, and all day Saturday, which looked manageable on paper, but is in fact turning out to be pretty gruelling. It will only get more intense as exam dates and deadlines for our coursework get closer. It's also quite tough juggling so many sub-sections to the course all at once. No sooner have I got my brain in shorthand gear, and got down to practicing, than we have a features class. I spend a few days wrestling with feature and interview ideas, to find I've neglected shorthand practice. Then we have news writing and both shorthand and features go out the window while I focus on that. It's exhausting, but it feels good to be using my brain in a slightly more academic way again.
So look forward to pithier, more eloquent and newsworthy posts as the course progresses... or maybe not. If a girl can't be vague and tangential on her own blog, then where, pray?
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
We Need To Talk
Monday, 4 May 2009
Special Catch
Kushikino, my home for 2 years from 2005 - 2007, boasts a number of specialities. It's a fishing town where the main catch is tuna, together with some more obscure swimmers, like kibinago - small fish about the size of whitebait, a variety of herring I believe - which boast a distinctive silver stripe and make delectable, melt-in-the mouth sashimi.
Type rest of the post here
Another fishy product that finds its way frequently into local dishes is chirimenjako; not strictly a variety but a generic name for tadpole-sized baby sardines or anchovies simmered in saltwater, then dried in the sun. They often end up as sprinkles over vegetable dishes.
I went back to Kushikino for about two days, staying one night with my friend Miyoko, my former landlady. Miyoko is one of those very enviable women who manage to juggle a bunch of activities without missing a beat - two businesses, a big role in the community, particularly the town's exchange programme with its sister city of Salinas, California. She also makes it look effortless.
I went shopping with her to the fishmongers, and after she had resisted all help in the dinner preparations, our purchases appeared on the table. The glistening kibinago sashimi, and two varieties of tuna, or maguro - lean red fillet, and strips of the prized fatty part or toro. Laid out separately were seasoned sushi rice and sheets of nori for making te-maki (hand-rolled maki sushi) at the table.
Pictured you can see kibinago on the left, and the two types of tuna on the right.
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Daily Miso
Since Shoo and I arrived, we've spent plenty of time with his mum, Yoko, who is adorable and has been spoiling us rotten with amazing food. She makes an amazing miso shiru (miso soup) with lots of variants, and since Shoo dropped the hint that I love aubergines, she's delivered my favourite vegetable in various incarnations - yay!
Top is white miso soup (popular down in Kagoshima, as opposed to red miso) packed with beansprouts, tofu and a green vegetable similar to choi sum, called komatsuna.
Miso soup is usually made by mixing miso into dashi (stock) made by infusing boiling water with kombu and/or bonito flakes. Bonito is a fish similar to tuna, with very dark red flesh, but the dried flakes look kind of like tree-bark.
Below is today's lunchtime soup: fresh bamboo shoots, wakame, thinly sliced abura-age (deep fried tofu) and a little bit of tofu. I just love the taste and texture of the bamboo shoots - the satisfying crunch and delicate taste are miles away from the canned bamboo shoots you buy in UK supermarkets for chinese dishes.
There was also a stir-fry dish that had me in aubergine heaven! This time with minced pork in a sweetish sauce. Thank you Yoko-san!
Friday, 24 April 2009
MOS Burger
A bit of catching-up is required - after five days on the go darting around town to meet friends I've had almost no time to post. So we're back to day one in Fukuoka, where before getting on a Kagoshima-bound bus we stopped at MOS burger for a cheapie lunch.
I've never been a fan of fast food and burger joints especially. I've barely stepped inside a MacDonald's since I was in high school. But MOS won me round, with it's slightly dinky portions, ingredients that actually taste pretty natural, and enthusiastic use of Engrish.
Sadly, their cute cow illustrations grimly subtitled 'Hamburger is my life' were no longer present in the branch we visited.
I didn't try the signature MOSburger, (top photo), as they changed the recipe when I still lived in Japan, and I never approved of the new sauce - it had a definite cheap nastiness about it. Instead I plumped for a reliable rice burger (above and below) - and here the recipe had improved I think - the rice 'cakes' used to fall apart really easily, but this time they held together until the last bite. Inside is a fried cake made of carrot, onion and seafood bits - squid and prawn. I think we could do with the delights of MOS in the UK... Maybe I'll start a facebook campaign...
It Started With Bibimbap
This was the reason Shoo was so looking forward to flying Korean airways!
Gotta say I prefer the version I've eaten in Korean restos in Japan before, and it in no way compensated for the lack of a personal in-flight entertainment system - and what is an intercontinental flight without movies if not dull, ankle-swelling and head-frazzling? The few large screens were little consolation, as they seemed to be showing the dregs of Korean TV...
I admit though, that the bibimbap (henceforth known as bbb) provided a temporary diversion. It had a kind of playschool DIY quality that was quite satisfying - tip in various ingredients, give it a good mix with a the oversised metal spoon, and shovel it down interspersed with gulps of swamp-in-a-cup (seaweed soup). That killed about half an hour, leaving only about 10 and a half before our stopover in Seoul.
I love, love love the searing, tangy but sweet chilli paste that flavours the whole thing - gochujang. It took me ages to work out the packaging it comes in, in Asian grocers in the UK, but now that I've identified it I use it in loads of sautees, stir-fries and stewed dishes.
