Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Surimi Posted by Ginny on Jun 8, 2010
Surimi (すりみ) is a type of pulverized fish meat. Here are some interesting types of すりみ. Satsuma age (さつまあげ) is a type of すりみ made out of fish. Flour and surimi are fried together until the paste hardens. Here is a video showing how it is made : Chikuwa (竹輪) is a type of surimi…
Japan’s New Prime Minister Posted by Ginny on Jun 5, 2010
On June 2nd, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (鳩山由紀夫 or Hatoyama Yukio) announced his resignation as Prime Minister. The former Prime Minister (pictured left) broke his promise to close an American military base in Okinawa (沖縄). Poor public opinion in the polls and with an upper house election coming up next month, Hatoyama was forced to…
Japanese Condiments Posted by Ginny on May 29, 2010
ポンず (ponzu) is a dark and watery dipping sauce made of rice vinegar, seaweed, fish flakes, lemon and sometimes soy sauce. からし (karashi) is a type of mustard made from crushed seeds. It is a dipping sauce that is yellowish in color. わりした (warishita) is a sauce made of soy sauce, salt and sugar. It is often…
Imperial Mothers Posted by Ginny on May 5, 2010
In honor of this coming Mother’s Day, I thought I’d introduce some exceptional imperial mothers. Like other countries, Japan celebrates Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May. However, it used to be that Mother’s Day was celebrated on Empress Kōjun’s (香淳皇后) birthday. She was the longest reigning empress when she passed away at 97 years of age. Another important…
May Day Posted by Ginny on May 2, 2010
May Day isn’t really a national holiday in Japan, but it’s considered an informal day off for public sector workers. While most people view it as a day of rest, trade unions try to maximize their exposure on this day. There are three major trade unions, but the trade union with the most members is…
Egg Based Dishes Posted by Ginny on Apr 8, 2010
Do you have a lot of leftover eggs from Easter that you don’t know what to do with? How about putting the eggs to good use and making some classic egg based Japanese dishes? オムライス is a Japanese style omelet. The omelet is made of a thin egg layer and underneath it is tasty fried rice…
Making Requests Posted by Ginny on Apr 5, 2010
To make a polite request, use the て form with ください : 急いでください = Please hurry (いそいでください/急いでください = please hurry) You don’t always have to use the て form with ください : 明日電話をください = please call tomorrow (literally “please phone tomorrow”) (あした/明日 = tomorrow. でんわをください/電話をください = please call) The reason the て form is not used…