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NancyAndFriends Dec 29, 2005

I have been doing some serious studying in Japanese cooking and how healthy these folks are...I am going to get the book by Naomi Yokimono  (I am sure I don't have the last name spelled correctly...have to look it up). Anyway, I would like to gather some good "home cooking" Japanese recipes. 
Does anyone have any to share?

Nancy

kbonsall Dec 29, 2005

I am sure Marie does!!   I would like some too...

Judi Dec 29, 2005

Japanese people are some of the healthiest in the world.  They have a wonderful diet.  I LOVE Japanese food...just hate to cook.  

jenny Dec 29, 2005

How about turkey sushi?  Only kidding!!!

kbonsall Dec 29, 2005

I love Hibatchi (sp?) grill!!! YUM YUM... we have a japanese restaurant in my area - it is soooo good!!! I dont do sushi yuck... I am allegic to lobster anyway so I am afraid to try things like that... doesnt look appetizing anyway LOL

NancyAndFriends Dec 29, 2005

Good for you Judi...you are up on the health benefits...they actually are the healthiest people, so I have read.
Turkey sushi....hahaha!  What a way to use up that left over turkey, Jenny!!!
Kim, the 'home cooking' is quite different from what you are used to in the restaurants.  Like almost all the asian restaurants, they have been 'Americanized' to suit our tastes.  I agree, ummmm so good, tho.
I will be anxious to see if there are some authentic Japanese recipes, floating around out there. :dance:

Nanc.....

WildThyme Dec 29, 2005

Nanc,  Good girl... I've read the same thing... I guess that it's a combination of the foods themselves, the cooking methods, as well as even some of the food combinations that produce such great health benefits!!!!
No Japanese cooking expert here at all though.  It is a fabulously healthy and delicious cuisine though!  Now.... when it comes to Middle Eastern cooking I could be of some assistance... days and days in the kitchens of my husband's family and family friends have given me a good leg up on that! 
I know that our community learning center did a class on traditional Japanese cookery.... have you looked into any classes in your area Nancy?

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild thyme Originals

thumperantiques Dec 29, 2005

Hi Nancy,
     My son has lived in Japan for almost 6 months and loves the food.  He also lived in South Korea for 6 years.    I only know that they do not have ovens, in either country.  All their meals are prepared on the "stove top" (you would think that wouldn't be so healthy).  I'll have to ask him more about it, and see if he has any useful tips.

                                                           Hugs,

                                                           Brenda

Just Us Bears Dec 29, 2005

Hey Kim,
How about sharing your favourite middle eastern recipe with us then? Mind you...if it's something that takes more than half an hour to throw togather..forget it!  
What kinds of foods are middle eastern? I'm thinking wraps and curries but I'm probably way off base there!

Dilu Dec 29, 2005

What a nice topic.

In Hawaii we had Japanese friends who were always trying to feed us, and you are right it was delicious, simple fare.  By simple I mean that there weren't fancy sauces and you could actually taste the different vegys ( which I love) . 

I don't do sushi either- but mostly because of a parasite that many many Japanese folks tend to get from the raw fish.....PBS show ruined that for me....

I am sure Marie would love to give us some pointers and recipies

dilu

NancyAndFriends Dec 30, 2005

Dilu, I don't do sushi either because of the parasites...nope, not for me.  However we do have a grocery chain here, called Publix and they have a little Japanese gal making sushi all day long.  she is the sweetest person and smiles all the time.  I think she likes doing what she does. I didn't realize that in a rural Georgia town...here in the SOUTH, there were so many sushi lovers.  Hey, what happened to grits?

Brenda, I would love to hear what your son has to tell !!  How wonderful.  I know that they do not have ovens in their kitchen...that should tell us something !

In this book I am reading, the author said she always wanted to come to America.  She was born in Tokyo.  To make it very short....she won a scholarship to a college in Illinois.  Landing at O'hare...she was speechless, when she saw how big our roads were and all the open space.  You can imagine....Illinois and all the farmland. Anyway, she gained 25 pounds in just a few short months, eating American fast food.  Her poor body went into a tail spin.  When she went back home for a visit, her mother immediately got her back on the foods she was raised on and quickly lost the extra poundage.
So, the book is extremely interesting.

Kim, I think your mid-eastern cooking sounds very fascinating.  Where did you meet your husband?  I have to say that I am like Hayley and think of curry.

A couple of doors up from us, we have a retired Professor...and his wife, Anna is Korean.  I enjoy her so much...a little hard to understand, but she is always bringing us some tasty fresh fruits.  She is so tiny and I will see her coming down the street in her little hat and I know, fruit is on it's way! 

Correction...the author of this book is Naomi Miroyama.

Nancy

Carolyn Green Dec 30, 2005

I agree with Judi that Japanese food is so  healthy for us.
We enjoy going to a Japanese Restaurant about once a week and the food is superb.
I love the tempura shrimps and vegetables and the green tea.

You feel so healthy afterwards and not bloated after eating a lot of Western style of food..

I Love Teddies Dec 30, 2005

I'd be interested in some recipes for Japanese cooking.  I don't eat sushi but DH does.  We cook stirfry at home (not sure if that's Japanese), but we usually eat Japanese by ordering out. 

Kim,
I'm interested in Middle Eastern cooking.  Is it spicy?

sewzanne Dec 30, 2005

Kim- I always think of tabouli and tsatziki(sp?) and gyros when I think of middle eastern cooking. Are they middle eastern or am I confusing them with Greek foods? We get enlightened about all sorts of stuff here!

Marie_ Dec 30, 2005

Hi Nancy & everyone !!

Oops....  Japanese food ? ? I was hoping no one will ask me this
because I'm not a good cook....  :redface:
I do cook everyday and I even went to cooking school for
Japanese foods. I have many cooking books at home and
I can't cook without my books!!!!    hee hee
I found this website and they have English page too... 
http://www.kyoto-su.ac.jp/information/r … index.html

I love Greek foods too ! 
well....I'm sure you all have wonderful recipes !
If you do, please help me !!! I love to learn cooking. 

Hugs/Marie

WildThyme Dec 30, 2005

Hey all!  I certainly didn't mean to deflect the conversation away from Japanese cooking!  Egyptian cooking is not particularly healthy... many foods are fried.  Though, it is a country where until recently, meat was not abundantly & readily available to the masses, so much of it is fairly vegetarian.  Plus, the Copts (Egyptain Orthodox Christians) do SOOOO much fasting where meat, as well as animal products are not allowed.... I guess that is one of the reasons why it appeals to me so much!  Curry is really more of an Indian thing... Egyptian cuisine has much in common with Greek, Lebanese, and Palestinian cuisine.  The most common things you are likely to run into in the US are babaghannuug (a baked eggplant puree, seasoned--- like a dip), tabuli (like a chopped salad with bulgur wheat, tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers, oil & lemon juice), and falafel ( a delicious fried bean patty-- they eat them over there mostly for breakfast    but you can also buy them from vendors that push carts around... kind of how we might grab a quick hot dog in the city here!) 

Here's how we do falafel:

Take about 2 cups of dreid white broad beans (like you'd find in a bag next to the dried split peas in the grocery)... soak them in enough water to cover them overnight.  In the morning, drain them and mince them up very fine with about small handfull of fresh dill leaves and small handfull of fresh corriander leaves.  Add in two minced onions, 10 (YES, 10 !) minced garlic gloves, a good handfull of chopped fresh parsley, the chopped white part of one leek, 3 big pinches of cumin (maybe about a teaspoon?) a pinch of good cayenne pepper, and teaspoon of baking soda.  They then knead up this mixture with their hands and let it sit out on the counter for at least a hour or so.  Then you wet your hands and scoop out a golf ball sized piece... you flatten it into a disk shape, maybe an inch thick. You spinkle sesame seads on one side of each of the disks.  Then you fry them on oil till they are brown.  They eat them plain, or with tahina sauce.  Tahina is a paste made from ground sesame seeds.  You just add water to make it sauce-like.  You can also put them in a pita with some lettuce leaves and tabuli. 
the one thing I don't really like about Egyptian cooking... they don't have nearly enough dished prepared with CHEESE!  I am half mouse when it comes to cheese consumption!  They do make a kind of soft yougurt based cheese that is delicous... called labna or labaneh.  You just take plain yougurt and mix in a few pinches of salt.  Then you put it in a cheesecloth bag and let it hang over your sink for about a day.  You open up the bag, and scoop out little balls of it, roll it in your palms... then you throw it into a jug filled with olive oil.  It's almost like a fresh motzerella.... MMMMM.   

Nancy... I met my husband when I was finishing my undergrad degree and he was finishing law school.  He and his family came here in the late 60's.  100% Egyptian, but really quite "Americanized" though he speaks fluent Arabic.  The Coptic people are really quite persecuted in Egypt, which is why his family fled and came here.  My husband has been back to Egypt several times, but I have never been... would love to go someday though with the kids... maybe when things are a bit safer over there.

Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
  Wild thyme Originals

kathytaylor Dec 30, 2005

I love exotic food. Well anything beyond cheeseburgers is exotic.
When I was  kid I worked in Japanese restauraunt, in the back washing dishes. They made the best food in the back that was never on the menu. Once on a particularly cold night they made a black bean soup with sake, it was the best thing I ever tasted. never had it again though.

Kim, that falafel sounds great, too. Now I'm hungry.

Kathy

NancyAndFriends Dec 30, 2005

:doh: Oh no, Marie...I know everyone was thinking, "Just wait til Marie jumps in on this chat"  hahahaha, that is so funny.  BUT, I do appreciate the website you linked us to.
Sooo, Marie, what do you eat?  Ummmm, I do love greek foods too.  We have some wonderful greek friends and that is all they do...is eat!  Everytime you go to their house you HAVE to eat.  It is part of their social status, I think......but don't mind me...I am always quick to pull up a chair!
Kim, your recipe sounds just wonderful and I am going to try it.  I have eaten a lot of Lebanese food in my day and the cumin etc, reminds me of this.  Of course one of my fav's was Kibbee, raw or cooked...love it both ways.
Does your hubby have those dark dreamy eyes?  Just curious!
Years ago (in much better times) my husband was VP of a commercial construction company in St. Louis.  I was the Office Manager (that's what they called it then, who knows what fancy title the 'head gopher' has now)...anyway we did a lot of construction for foreign clients, namely Saudi's.  We had a big meeting one afternoon and my job was to entertain his wife, while the final specs were ok'd.  I was amazed when this darling blonde (natural) lady walks in.  She was originally from St. Louis and was working at a Wendy's...that was how they met.  Can you imagine?  He fell head over heels in love with this blonde and she marries this very wealthy man.  After moving to Saudi with him, cultural shock set in.  She couldn't drive, she was basically a second rate citizen.  Her in-laws hated her.  What a mess...but it was funny to listen to her stories...like when her children saw a squirrel for the first time.  "Mommy, look at the American rats, they have fluffy tails"...  well, come to think of it I guess they were pretty close. When she returned home she had a beautiful 18K gold necklace  handmade for me ,that was my name in Arabic and sent it to me.  Only problem is it looks like it says grub or something equally as icky. hahaha

I should have talked recipes with her. 
I have made that cheese you are talking about...the Lebanese also make it.  I am pretty well versed on Lebanese foods and I do love their foods.  The first time I saw their bread, I thought it was the dinner napkin !!

Ok, I have probably exceeded my 'character limit' here...
Nanc....