Most Italians use the moka pot at home anyway, so you might find it to suit you. It's cheap enough to experiment!

Awww that's sweet.

Does LC give free replacements? If so, then I suggest you should replace it anyway, and then you would have 2 usable pieces. If you have no space, give it to a loved one or sell it? I really hope you didn't chuck it.

Do you pre-cook/salt the nasu before spreading the miso? I've seen recipes that do and recipes that don't. My problem is that the flavor doesn't seem to penetrate fully, like they do in the shops.

Hello Kobetobiko!

Heheh I guess there's not so much else to do with white miso! How do you pre-cook your eggplants? Mine never come out too well.

I had a look at cookpad.com, a recipe site. It seems you can also use (white) miso in meatballs. The recipe I saw called for minced chicken, miso, mushrooms, corn starch, an egg and onions. Mince the veggies, mix it all into a paste, shape into patties and panfry. If you can get your hands on shiso, you can slap it on top of the patty.

White miso is a bit of a big thing in my town (Kyoto). It has a shorter fermentation period and less salt than the red stuff, so the taste is a little sweeter. The recipe that greenstate put up which included miso, mirin, sake and sugar is very "standard" - and when used for fish is called Saikyoyaki. (Saikyo means Western Capital, c.f. Tokyo which is Eastern Capital; Yaki is grill)

However, I prefer something called Dengaku, which usually involves eggplant or tofu. The eggplant might benefit from some pre-cooking like deepfrying or grilling with salt. Then smear on a paste made from 2 parts miso, 1 part mirin/sake and a bit of sugar, then grill it until it has some brown bits. You can fling on some sesame seeds or chives or spring onions if you want. Also, you can dump a bit of cheese on there if you want a non-traditional but very tasty concoction.

http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/take470... (the pic is a red-miso based dengaku, though)

You certainly can. Japanese housewives tend to make up a big batch, and freeze portions in ziploc bags for later use. I don't know how long they can last like that but I would use it within 2-3 weeks.

Wow...just wow. How old are you anyway.

Hahaha. Touchy. I looked around in the "Japanese blogosphere" and while there are a few instances of people using うまいそ、it seems pretty rare. Maybe it's just your circle or just a few people who want to be different. I've got no beef with it, I don't really care how people choose to use language. I just thought it might be a common mistake by a beginner and give you a headsup but if you had meant to say that then my bad.

As I understand, Tenkaippin has branches throughout Japan. As luck would have it, the original honten is a 10 minute cycle away! I used to go to another branch also, and surprisingly for a franchise operation, quality changes drastically from branch to branch. The chashu is not particularly impressive, though, but the soup is unique. Tastewise, however, I enjoyed the assari (normal, non wet cement type) soup more!!

As for Karako - unfortunately the increases in oil prices and wheat has probably let to some budgeting, so instead of 3 freaking huge pieces of chicken, you get 2 medium sized chunks now. But i think the rule still stands that if you go with a group of 5 or more, everyone gets free fried chicken.

While Silverjay's advice is fantastic as always, I'd just like to point out the typo. It's not "tsukunai" but "sukunai".

Dear I-heart-ramen,

I can't offer anything on Tokyo ramen list, and I think you are in very safe hands with the likes of Silverjay. I just wanted to give you a heads-up - have you ever tried Japanese style pasta? It's a very different experience from the original stuff but I think it's definitely worth a taste.

If you'd like to give it a shot, this chain of shops is pretty decent - Goemon (go-e-mon), I'd recommend the maccha warabi mochi dessert. One of the better chains around!

http://www.n-rs.co.jp/brand/youmenya.html

List of shops:
http://www.n-rs.co.jp/brand/shoplist/...

Actually it's うまそう～ or うまそ～ :P you drop the い when using ～そう.

As some will tell you, when in Kyoto, ramen shouldn't be the focus. However, I think it depends all on your taste. Personally, while I enjoy tofu and buy it often, I don't believe yudofu is worth the kaiseki prices.

Even when Japanese tourists come to Kyoto, they don't think they have GOT to eat Kyoto-style stuff. Maybe one meal would be a Kyoto-style thing and the rest will be just "normal" restaurants.

So having said that - tonryu soba makes a lovely bowl to slurp. When in the shop they will give you a menu with pictures, so dont worry. I recommend their karaage fried chicken and shrimp gyoza (ebi gyoza).

Kyoto station has a "ramen street" in one of the higher floors (8th? 9th?). It has the famous ramens from around Japan.
http://www.weddingmapper.com/g/kyoto/...

A very popular one is Sumire, from Hokkaido. Personally it was far too oily for me. I have absolutely nothing against fat but this was a bit much in terms of mouthfeel and then keeping it safely in your tummy.

I am sorry that I can't be of very specific help in naming restaurants, but from what I can tell, Kanazawa would be a wee bit better for kaiseki. I have had kaiseki there and it blew me away. Kanazawa has one up over Kyoto city in the proximity of the ocean i.e. fresher fish. May isn't fantastic for sashimi but it's not as bad as August.

Also, I believe that Kanazawa has a more affordable price for kaiseki. You kind of pay more simply because its "Kyoto" kaiseki. I live in Kyoto but I loved Kanazawa. It was beautiful and lacked the hordes of tourists.

As a side note - I also recommend Tonryu soba for ramen in Kyoto, sort of near Silver Pavilion (Ginkakuji). It whips the llama's arse.

This is not a joke - Hokkaido people dump them into hot tea. The usual sencha would be ok.

Alternatively you can chop them up and use them as an ingredient in fried rice with them - well, not all types but this works very well with takana.

I'd like to help out more but I dont know what kind of pickles you have access to. The different types have pretty different functions. Pickles made from green leafy vegetables can be used with a tarako or mentaiko pasta. Just mix it in.

Here in Japan, white miso is a speciality of kyoto and tends to be on the sweet and mild side. I personally love it in the Dengaku form - either daikon or eggplants. Mix the miso with sake, mirin and sugar, then use it as a topping for cooked eggplants or daikon. You could braise the daikon or deepfry the eggplants. Finish off in the oven to make it a bit more interesting.

Yep, , niku in Japanese doesnt include fish. Menus will separate into niku and sakana (much like English menus come to think of it) dishes. It would be better to say something like "bejiterian desuga, niku ya sakana nado haitteimasuka?"

I have no idea how true this is, but I heard in general the warmer waters surrounding Okinawa results in lower-quality fish for sashimi. Certainly it depends on the specific fish type but for the old favourites like maguro etc it seems to be better up north (hence the love affair with Hokkaido's seafood).

Right now, I am about 15 minutes away from Karako by bicycle (researchr in Kyoto University). The dinner thing is a great deal. Did you stay near this area when you were here in Kyoto?

Strangely enough, Karako isn't my favourite ramen here in Kyoto! I like it for the chicken though. Did you manage to try Tonryu soba (near Ginkakuji)?

However, as with any foreign countries, you've got to take what you hear from the locals with a pinch of salt. I have heard that ramen shop cooks get very happy when you finish your soup because that really means you love it. And have seen loads of people finish their soups in the ramen shops I go to.

Also, as someone from Cantonese stock (pun not intended), we definitely see soups as part of the main food!!