Posted by Ginny
Have you ever tried Ramune (ラムネ)? Ramune (ラムネ) is a soft drink with a twist! Ramune (ラムネ) bottles are known for the way they look rather than the way they taste. Ramune bottles are made of glass. The neck and top of the bottle is very unique looking. The interesting part of a Ramune bottle is that inside of the bottle is a marble that seals the opening of the bottle. To drink Ramune, you’ll have to push the marble back and let the liquid flow through the sides.
For me personally, the first time I drank Ramune, it was a disaster. Every time I tried to tip the bottle to drink it, the marble would block the opening and the liquid. When I tried to quickly tip the bottle before the marble floated to the top, all the liquid would rush out and spill all over my neck. Yes, it definitely takes some talent to drink Ramune!
Ramune drinks are carbonated, so when the marble sinks to the bottom, you can see all the fizziness of the soda. The marbles sometimes rattle on the bottom of the bottle. Drinking Ramune is almost like playing with a new toy you’ve never played with. It’s exciting and at the same time you’re trying to figure out how everything works.
There are several different Ramune flavors. My favorite is strawberry and kiwifruit. The original flavor for Ramune was a citrus like lemon flavored drink. In fact, the name Ramune comes from the English word for lemonade. There’s also a curry flavored drink. Let’s hope that it tastes better than it sounds.
If you type Ramune on Youtube, you can see various people’s attempts to open ramune. Some of videos are pretty funny!
Posted by Ginny
Matsumaezuke (松前漬け) is a pickled dish consisting of surume (するめ) or squid and konbu (こんぶ) or seaweed. Other ingredients include kazunoko (かずのこ), which is a type of fish. Some carrots (にんじん) or ninjin, along with sake (さけ), soy sauce (しょうゆ) and mirin (みりん) are mixed together. Mirin (みりん) is a type of rice wine with low alcohol content. Mirin (みりん) is used a lot in Japanese food.
Bettarazuke (べったら漬) is a pickled daikon (だいこん) or radish. This is a common side dish served in the homes of Tookyoo (とうきょう) residents. Bettarazuke (べったら漬) includes sugar, salt, and some sake (さけ). The taste of bettarazuke (べったら漬) is sweet and somewhat crisp when fresh.
Fukujinzuke (福神漬) includes radish, eggplant (なす) or nasu, lotus root (れんこん) or renkon and cucumber (きゅうり) or kyuuri. Other ingredients include soy sauce, shiitake (しいたけ) mushrooms, and sesame seeds or goma (ごま).
Narazuke (ならずけ) is a dish of pickled vegetables or yasai (やさい) and sliced melon (メロン). Sometimes watermelon rind is used. The fish or sakana (さかな) version of narazuke (ならずけ) includes sake and soy sauce. The fish is cut into square or rectangular pieces. The fish is either raw or grilled. It tates quite sweet, but the smell of the fish can be very strong.
Posted by Ginny
Here is a vocabulary list containing some items you’ll probably see in a Japanese grocery store.
やさい - vegetable
たまねぎ - onion
トマト - tomato
ブロッコリー - brocolli
レタス - lettuce
きゅうり - cucumber
ポテト - potato
にんじん - carrot
まめ - bean
ほうれんそう - spinach
だいこん - radish
ズッキーニ - zucchini
ししとう - green pepper
わかめ - seaweed
Posted by Ginny
Sekihan (赤飯) is “red bean rice.” The rice is usually steamed with azuki (アズキ) beans. The azuki (アズキ) beans are dark red. When the beans are steamed with the rice, the color leeks into the rice, forming a pinkish color on the rice. Sometimes red food coloring is added to enhance the color. On top, the sekihan (赤飯) is sprinkled with gomasio (ごま塩). Gomasio (ごま塩) is a dry mixture of goma (ごま) or seasame seeds, and shio (塩) or salt.
Long ago, sekihan (赤飯) was served when a girl first got her period. The pink/red color of the rice is supposed to represent fertility. Nowadays, sekihan (赤飯) is served for special occasions, like birthdays, weddings, and graduations. The color red also represents happiness. Sekihan (赤飯) is usually served on happy occasions.
Sekihan (赤飯) is really easy to make. Take about three cups of glutinous rice, 1 tbsp of salt, 1/4 cup of azuki beans and three cups of water. 1/4 cup of food coloring is optional. Cook everything until the rice and beans are soft. It’ll probably take around 30 minutes. Then sprinkle the top with seasame seeds and some salt.
Posted by Ginny
It’s time for the monthly dose of Kyoodo Ryoori (郷土料理). If you don’t know what that is, look back at some old posts and it’ll be clear as day and night. Today we’re going to take a walk on the wild side to Nagano (長野市). Nagano (長野市) is located in central Japan. It’s the city that hosted the 1998 winter Olympics.
The special cuisine that we’re going to take a look at is basashi (馬刺し). Basashi (馬刺し) is horse meat. It’s sometimes nicknamed as sakuraniku (桜肉). Sakura (桜) flowers are pinkish, and so is horse meat. Hence, sakuraniku (桜肉) means sakura meat or pink/red meat. The common assumption people make about why people eat horse meat stems around the issue of poverty. It’s assumed that only poor people would eat horse meat because they can’t afford beef or chicken. In reality, horse meat is more expensive than beef or chicken. It’s actually only middle class/rich people that afford such meat. In Japan, it’s not uncommon to find restaurants that serve horse meat. You certaintly don’t have to go to Nagano to get it, but that’s what Nagano is known for.
Basashi (馬刺し) can be served raw. The meat is thinly sliced and dipped into some soy sauce, ginger, onions and sake (さけ) mix. There’s also baniku (ばいにく) which is a horse barbecue. The meat is marinated and grilled on a burner. Sometimes the meat is consumed with a shiso (しそ) leaf. A shiso (しそ) leaf is a edible green leaf with jagged edges. Shiso (しそ) tastes like mint. The meat (and sometimes rice) is placed within the leaf and consumed like a leaf wrap. Then there’s also bagushi (ばぐし), which is skewered horse meat on a stick.
The last thing I want to add is that you should keep an open mind about basashi (ばさし). You may find it revolting to eat horses, but think about some of the foods in your own culture and how some cultures might find that particular cuisine despicable. It’s all relative.
