July 9, 2011

Iwashi no Ume Shiso Fries/イワシの梅シソフライ

I finally bought two "iwashi no ume shiso fries" (and two ebi cream korokke) yesterday.
昨日、やっと「イワシの梅シソフライ」二つ(と海老のクリームコロッケを二つ)買いました。
Iwashi = Sardine
Ume in this case means umeboshi.
イワシ = Sardine
この場合、梅とは梅干のことです。

One fry after two bites:
ふた口食べた後のフライ:
Can you see an ao jiso (green shiso)?
青ジソが見えますか?

Both my wife and I have been rather busy these days, and cannot make decent dishes.
最近、私も妻も忙しく、まともな料理ができません。

Nasu miso (Eggplants (and green pepper) pan-fried with miso), made by my wife's father, store-bought gobo (burdock root) salad, and store-bought kobu (< kombu) maki (rolls) with salmon in them: 妻の父が作ったナス味噌、店で買ったゴボウサラダ、店で買った、鮭入り昆布巻き:


Cross section of one kobu maki:
昆布巻きの断面:
I hope I can get back to my normal life next week.
来週は元の生活に戻りたいと思います。

22 comments:

  1. ( ゜ Д゜)
    I never expect konbu can be eaten too, besides extracting the flavor. This is my first time to see kobu maki!

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  2. fred: Kombu is great as an ingredient of a dish, too, like oden.
    And, try some su kombu (vinegared kombu) if you can get the chance:
    http://www.nakanobussan.co.jp/

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  3. Hiroyuki, do you think I can eat the "used" konbu after having made the primary and the secondary dashi??? i always throw it away and think it's such a pity...
    Were the sardines whole? With bones?
    On a completely different topic... I have ordered a Japanese dvd, the film's title was "Instant Swamp". Completely crazy, although we enjoyed watching it! The girl drinks every day something called "Milo". Is it popular in Japan?

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  4. Sissi: You've come to the wrong person! I don't make dashi from scratch! Here is some great info in Japanese:
    http://www.kombu.or.jp/power/katuyou.html
    furikake, tsukudani, shio kombu, minomo with soy beans, etc.
    Which one are you interested in?

    The sardine was deboned. You can debone sardines easily with your hands, after scaling and removing the head, as shown in this video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thfiLtyE2Uw&NR=1

    You mean Milo from Nestle?
    http://milo.jp/
    Yes, it is popular, especially among small children.
    But, is it sold only in Japan??

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  5. Hiroyuki, thank you for the suggestions of the use of konbu. I will not bother you with the exact recipes, but will look for the dishes you mentioned on my own (I'm sure I will find in English).
    I have never seen Milo here or in France and have just checked on wikipedia: apparently it is no longer sold in France since the 90s for unknown reasons. Nothing is mentioned about Switzerland, but I have never seen it here (and Nestlé is Swiss!). Apparently it exists for example in the USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Malaysia and Ghana(!).
    Thank you for the sardine deboning video link. It looks very easy indeed! (You can't imagine how rarely I see sardines as fresh as the one on the video...).

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  6. I'm sorry to bother you again, but I have clicked on one of the videos just under the sardine deboning one and saw this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCHLp8xSmTw&NR=1
    What is this magic tool? I am impressed by what can be done with it in 20 seconds! Is it a special tool for filleting small fish? If I go to Japan it will be my first buy!!

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  7. This one is even more "out of space"!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX_uz5CoCjc&NR=1

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  8. Sissi: The videos you linked to are contained on this site:
    http://marron-dietrecipe.com/sakesakana/sakesakana_iwasisashimi.html
    You don't have to come all the way to Japan to buy this tool, because it's hand-made (laugh). Unfortunately, no other details of this tool are given on this site.

    The second "tool" is just a plastic band called "PP band" in Japan. PP stands for polypropylene. Simply staple both ends of a piece of PP band together, and you will get the tool.

    The site says you can also use a tea spoon instead of the PP band.

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  9. Sissi: But, don't forget that a PP band, the hand-made tool, and a teaspoon work on small sardines only!

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  10. Hiroyuki> Su konbu is a snack, isn't it? maybe I can find it here!
    and lucky, I want to go shop at Japanese groceries tonight!^^
    Konbu sure interesting to taste(笑)
    --

    Ah, talking about Milo, it reminds me of my childhood... Even now, sometimes I still drinks Milo in the morning!! :)

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  11. fred: YES! Dagashi 駄菓子, cheap sweets for kids!! I have a lot of fond memories of dagashi!

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  12. Thank you, Hiroyuki! I was sure it was available in Japanese shops... It is a very intelligent invention (especially the first one). I have seen the website, unfortunately it is in Japanese only (some videos by this person on youtube have English explanation too). My ignorance of the Japanese language becomes really annoying. I have put some ads about Japanese classes, I hope I will find a teacher!

    Fred, if you get nostalgic about Milo, you should absolutely see the "Instant Swamp".

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  13. This sardine boning tool made from "Umreifungsband" - some sort of extra strong and stiff plastic (PET) tape is really nice. A good idea. Reminds me of my grandma. She made her personal cherry corer from the scratch with a hair pin and a small piece of wood.
    I've eaten kombu in sweet sour soysauce marinade before: Kombu no Tsukudani. Easy to make with leftover kombu from cooking dashi - and yummy with a peace of fresh tofu. But I never made sushi rolls with kombu wrapping. Must try!

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  14. Sissi: Anyway, you can also fillet small sardines with your hands only, as shown in this video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPb73xyMwaU

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  15. Kiki: Cherry corer!? Sounds very nice!

    Kombu no tsukudani is good, but I certainly don't want to have it with rice every morning!

    I think that the recipe for making kombu snack, given at the bottom of the site above, is a good one:
    Cut used kombu into appropriate sizes, apply mirin with a brush, and sprinckle white sesame seeds. Heat in microwave until crisp. Sprinkle salt to taste.

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  16. Hiroyuki, this "hands only" method looks even more like magic (I would never be able to do this... although I will try just to be sure!).
    Thank you for the konbu snack recipe. It sounds good! I will be making dashi tomorrow probably, so I will be able to try it too!

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  17. Hiroyuki> I can't find su konbu
    (T▽T)
    I saw only konbu crackers and boricha (korean mugicha)!!

    (but, why I found something I don't need anymore...orz )

    anyway, thanks for the method to make it!
    --

    Sissi> I've found the trailer on youtube and it looks interesting! (and the theme song is good too!!)

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  18. Sissi: I hope you can find sashimi-grade small sardines first...

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  19. fred:
    But you found boricha! Lucky you!

    That recipe is not for su kombu.

    Here is one simple recipe for su kombu:

    1. Mix 1 cup (200 ml) vinegar, 1 tsp salt, and 4 tbsp sugar.
    2. Cut kombu into 1-cm square, and put in the vinegar solution.
    3. Let it stand for several days. You can have it immediately or after sun-drying.

    You can use used kombu, but unused kombu will make better-tasting su kombu.
    from here:
    http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/10995.html
    (Japanese only)

    You can also learn how to make su kombu from here (Japanese only):
    http://benridegozaru.com/raku/cat6/cat14/sukonbu.html
    http://little2sugar.blog64.fc2.com/blog-entry-50.html

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  20. Many thanks!! The second link explain it clearly!
    I should try it soon, but the weather just often cloudy and not so good for sun drying lately...orz

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  21. I bought this dashi konbu several days ago, a and b

    I've tried to soak it in vinegar mixture, but without sun-dried. Taste good! like a plum candy for me(笑)
    To treat my curiosity about konbu, I also tried to ate it directly! surprisingly umami and slimy!

    Maybe later I must try to make dashi from ths konbu!(笑)

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  22. fred: Good job! I think I should make su kombu, too!

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