Food question - are other forms of mochi like this one? This was the type and brand of mochi I tried. I think I finally got used to the rubbery feel - any suggestions what to try next that builds on this success?? I am not having any luck with images so here is the link to the pics of what I tried (it was mango flavored): http://community.livejournal.com/bentolunch/3490421.html

Hello! How do I know what Fruits and Veggies are in season? I know some obvious stuff like apples and squash in fall, and watermelon in summer. But there are lots of produce that I'm not sure.... People say look at the prices, but I haven't been shopping for myself much - and when I wanted strawberries in the dead of winter - I'd buy them. Now I want to be a financially sound consumer... P.S. I live in the Northern Hemisphere - PA - USA....

Hello everybody Well, this is my first post in this forum and I hope you can help me out with a tiny little problem... I read about the yatsuhashi, which I have longed for ever since my holiday in Japan, so I wanted to try it out myself and went out to buy rice flour. But the problem is now, that I bought unsweetened rice flour... Now my question: Is it even possible to make yatsuhashi without sweet rice flour / can I add a sweetener like sugar ? Thanks in advance. Andy

Does anyone know if they make a vegetarian or soy product that is similar to crabstick found in sushi? We want to add a little protein to our carrot, cucumber maki. Thanks!

Hello! I bought this bag of lotus root just before Christmas, and I have no idea how long it lasts. I'd tried buying fresh lotus root, but around here I'd only found really beat up, bruised, shriveled ones, so I reckoned I'd try this. However, I'm wondering how long it keeps! I've posted pictures of the front & back of the bag here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mosaica/ Any ideas most welcome :-)

Well, the question is basically in the title... I've wanted to try mochi-sweets (daifuku?) ever since I know what they are, but all my asian market cares are korean rice-things with read bean filling called mozzi. Is it the same thing? They are a little wobbly on the outside and come in milky white or green-ish colors. Hard to explain... Here is a picture of one. They come in different sizes and are generally very sweet, hard to compare to any western food in texture and, well, way too expensive for their size actually.

Hi guys. This thread is about Japanese Groceries. What are you favourites? What Japanese food have you been dissapointed in? What do you want to buy soon? Here's my list: Favourites: Kewpie Mayo S&B Mild Curry / Hokkaido Corn Cream Stew Okonomiyaki flour and sauce / Yakisoba Sauce (plus aonori, red ginger, katsuobushi etc.) Instant Miso Soup and Dashi Sushi rice plus nori, vinegar, wasabi etc. Pokka Coffee/Royal Milk Tea/Calpis WASABI PEAS! Furikake (especially wasabi flavour) Morinaga Pancake Mix (guilty pleasure!) Natto Dissapointments: