Japanese News and Culture Blog Roundup: 10/22/09-10/28/09

An Englishman in Osaka

Kurama Fire Festival 10/24/09: Kurama in flames
Coverage of the Kurama Fire Festival (Kurama no hi matsuri – 鞍馬の火祭り) which was held on 10/22. People with huge lit torches parade through the streets on the way to the Yuki-jinja Shrine. More pictures and information can be found here.

GaijinSmash.net

10/28/09: Cultural differences, again
Humorous article on the differences between how celebrity gossip is covered/prosecuted in Japan and in the US. Answers the all-important question: “What’s wrong with being naked?” (quite a lot, apparently). Written by a former JET teacher who is now married and living in Japan.

Japan Probe

Japanese Mascots 10/25/09: Japanese mascots hold summit in Hikone
Many towns and cities in Japan have their own mascots used to promote tourism. What do you think New York’s mascot would be? I can think of a few unsettling examples, but a big apple would probably be the most kid-friendly.

Japanese Pod 101

Soba Package 10/26/09: Learn Japanese Kanji – Everyday Kanji (Food Packaging)
Another very useful post from Japanese Pod 101. Venture into Japanese grocery stores without fear!

Néojaponisme

Japan Peace Sign 10/26/09: Contributing factors to the popularity of the “Peace” sign in Japanese photography
This is something I’ve often wondered myself. The best explanation I got while in Japan was, “It’s just something you do in pictures.” This post gives some much more detailed theories as to the origins of the practice.

Pink Tentacle

stereoview_19 10/28/09: Animated stereoviews of old Japan
Really cool colorized 3-D images from Meiji-era Japan. The animation makes me a little dizzy, though…

10/26/09: ‘Tele Scouter’ retinal-display translation glasses
The concept is awesome: glasses that display translations for foreign languages as you hear them (via a built-in microphone). However the reality is not quite up to par since machine translation technology is simply not advanced enough. However the glasses, which are set to go on the market in 2010, could still be used in other situations to display text for workers.

Ryouri o tsukurimashou! Yellowtail Teriyaki

In addition to hitting the books, a fun way to learn new Japanese vocabulary is by making a Japanese dish. While I lived in Japan, it was tempting to resort to Cup Noodle or instant curry every night, but I eventually bought a video game called しゃべる!DSお料理ナビ (Shaberu! DS o-ryouri nabi) for my Nintendo DS when it was released in 2006. This game—which will work on Japanese and American systems alike—is a portable, interactive cookbook with 200 common Japanese recipes. Sadly, an English translation of the game was never released, though an American version with mostly Western recipes called Personal Trainer: Cooking can be bought on Amazon.

A little animated chef walks you through each recipe, timing steps as needed and providing helpful videos regarding cooking techniques. As such, it’s perfect for beginner chefs, and all the often-repeated cooking vocabulary makes for great language study!

Some of my favorite recipes are some of the easiest such as teriyaki fish/beef or sukiyaki (a one-pot meal where almost anything can work as an ingredient). Though cooking authentic Japanese food in the states can be difficult because of a lack of ingredients, NYC has ample resources for international chefs, which I’ll soon cover in a future article. In my opinion, one of the biggest differences between Japanese and American cooking is the relative subtlety of flavors in Japanese dishes. Flavors tend to be balanced, but understated compared to some American classics like spicy BBQ or hamburgers with spices folded into the meat. That and traditionally, much Japanese food is cooked using very long chopsticks instead of a wooden spoon for sautéing. I cheated and used a spoon most of the time because I was tired of clumsily dropping and ruining my food.

Anyway, here is a simple recipe translated from the DS game that you can make yourself! Most of these ingredients can be easily found in most US grocery stores, but there are a few such as pickled ginger and mirin that might be a little more difficult to locate. I’ve included the ingredients list in English and Japanese, and more useful cooking vocabulary is listed below. Enjoy!

ぶりの照り焼き – Yellowtail Teriyaki

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

English Japanese
4 yellowtail fillets ぶり(切り身) 4切れ
Flour (as needed) 小麦粉 適量
2 Tbsp salad oil サラダ油 大さじ2
40 g pickled ginger しょうがの甘酢漬け 40g
4 Tbsp mirin みりん 大さじ4
4 Tbsp soy sauce しょうゆ 大さじ4
1 Tbsp sugar 砂糖 大さじ1

teriyaki04_sm

Preparation:

In a small bowl, mix together 1 Tbsp sugar, 4 Tbsp mirin, and 4 Tbsp soy sauce. Set aside.

In another bowl or plate, add some flour. Coat each side of the fish evenly.

teriyaki05_sm

Add 2 Tbsp salad oil to a frying pan and set on medium heat. Place the fish in the pan skin side down. Cook until you see a nice brownish golden color and flip over (a few minutes per side). Turn the heat to low. Soak up the excess oil with some paper towels.

Add the soy sauce mixture to the pan. Cook until the fish looks nice and coated.

Put the fish on a plate and add the ginger on the side for garnish. (I also cooked up some rice to make this more of a meal.)

teriyaki06_sm

Vocabulary:

Japanese Romaji Meaning
ぶり buri Yellowtail
小麦粉 komugiko Wheat flour
適量 tekiryou As needed
しょうが shouga Ginger
しょうがの甘酢漬け shouga no amazutzuke Pickled ginger
しょうゆ shouyu Soy sauce
砂糖 satou Sugar
タレ tare Sauce
計量カップ keiryou kappu Measuring cup
計量スプーン keiryou supuun Measuring spoon
入れる ireru To put in (an ingredient)
混ぜ合わせる mazeawaseru To mix
まぶす mabusu To cover (smear, sprinkle) (with)
熱する nessuru To heat
中火 chuubi Medium heat
弱火 yowabi Low heat
焼く yaku To bake or grill