Nori

Bahan Pembuat Sushi

Nori (海苔, のり ^?) adalah nama dalam bahasa Jepang untuk bahan makanan berupa lembaran rumput laut yang dikeringkan. Nori digunakan sebagai hiasan dan penyedap berbagai macam makanan Jepang, lauk sewaktu makan nasi, dan bahan makanan ringan seperti senbei. Bahan baku adalah alga jenis Porphyra seperti Porphyra pseudolinearis Ueda yang dikenal sebagai Iwanori dan Porphyra yezoensis Ueda.

Walaupun warna tidak dapat dijadikan pegangan kualitas, lembaran nori berkualitas tinggi umumnya berwarna hitam kehijauan, sedangkan nori berkualitas lebih rendah berwarna hijau hingga hijau muda.

Jepang, RRC, dan Korea merupakan produsen nori terbesar di dunia. Di RRC, nori disebut sebagai hǎitái (海 苔), dan di Korea disebut gim (김).

Korea terkenal dengan nori berbumbu minyak wijen, cabai, dan butiran garam yang agak kasar sehingga berbau khas dan terasa agak pedas.

Mmmm..ayo kita buat Japanese Food dengan nori!

Source: http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nori

Ramen: Mie Jepang dan Film The Ramen Girl

Beberapa hari yang lalu, makan di Shin Men Restoran di Blok M dengan teman-teman. Berbagai macam pilihan makanan Jepang tersedia disana, misalnya saja beef teriyaki, berbagai macam sushi dan tentu saja: Ramen! Rasanya pasti beda dengan mie-mie lain. Tentu saja, karena ramen adalah bukan mie biasa. Ramen dengan mie buatan sendiri ini dipadu dengan kaldu yang khas. Aku jadi teringat salah satu film tentang seorang gadis yang pergi ke Jepang tanpa sengaja ia jadi ahli ramen. Film ini memperlihatkan perjuangan yang berawal dari kekecewaan. Lucu, ironis sekaligus menginspirasi. Bahwa hidup selayaknya diawali dari minat kita. Seperti juga hidangan yang beragam, kita tinggal pilih satu yang paling delicious menurut selera kita.
Nah, berhubung kita suka ramen, maka ramen-lah yang menjadi pilihan. Hidangan ini nikmat sekali disajikan panas-panas. Yummy... Bukan hanya ramen yang jadi andalan restoran ini, tempat makan enak ini pastinya juga nyaman untuk berbagai acara. Kita bisa santai sambil bercanda ria dengan teman-teman atau keluarga di restoran ini sambil foto-foto karena suasananya memang mendukung untuk kegiatan-kegiatan semi formal.

How to eat ramen

When I first saw a Japanese eating ramen, I have to say that I am a bit intimidated. I mean I love the japanese food, but the hot piping broth, slicky and slimmy noodle, and chopsticks and a spoon? how to manouver all of those? I tried to google the tips on how to eat ramen especially for a non Japanese. I encounter lots of tips but I think I have compiled a quite extensive list.

How to eat ramen:

1. Ramen is casual food that usually eaten quickly and with relish or topping. Once you have ramen ready to be eaten in front of you, put the chopsticks in your right hand and the spoon in your left.
2. Use your chopsticks to gracefully shovel or lift noodles into your mouth, and also to handle all the solid goodies, meat or egg.
3. You can also use the spoon to lift some noodles into your mouth and then slurp them off.
4. But the spoon’s main use is to transport the hot broth to your mouth.
5. Don’t add condiments until you’ve tasted your soup.
6. Enjoy the broth, especially if it's homemade broth. It’s even acceptable to pick up the bowl and tilt it directly into your face.
   

Bumbu utama makanan Jepang

If you are interested to cook your own japanese food here I found an interesting info about the main ingredient of japanese food. The artikel is taken from okefood.com

MAKANAN Jepang tidak menggunakan bumbu rempah dari biji-bijian seperti merica atau penyedap yang mengandung biji seperti cabai yang harus ditumbuk. Masakan Jepang juga tidak menggunakan bumbu berbau tajam seperti bawang putih. Kacang kedelai merupakan bahan utama makanan olahan dan penyedap yang digunakan biasanya berupa sayuran beraroma harum yang dipotong-potong halus atau diparut.

Bumbu asli masakan Jepang meliputi mirin, shoyu, hondasi (penyedap dari ikan), dan vinegar. Umumnya terdapat lima bumbu utama yang harus dimasukkan secara berturutan sesuai urutan sa-shi-su-se-so yang merupakan singkatan dari gula pasir (sato), garam (shio), cuka (su), shoyu (seuyu: ejaan zaman dulu untuk shoyu), dan miso (miso).

Menariknya, sesuai dengan peraturan sa-shisu- se-so, gula pasir adalah bumbu yang dimasukkan pertama kali, diikuti garam, cuka, kecap asin, dan miso. Selain bumbu utama tersebut, ada pula sogayaki dengan bumbu jahe dan manisan jahe. Sake yang merupakan istilah umum untuk minuman beralkohol khas Jepang juga adakalanya ditambahkan dalam masakan. Kandungan alkoholnya maksimum 20 persen. Minuman yang dikenal sebagai rice wine ini memiliki aroma khas, dengan rasa sedikit asam dan manis.

Jenis rice wine lain yang lebih sering ditambahkan sebagai bumbu makanan Jepang adalah mirin. Rasanya lebih manis dengan kandungan alkohol lebih rendah. Mirin juga digunakan sebagai teman menyantap sushi. Pada pembuatan saus teriyaki dan saus tempura, mirin dapat diganti dengan campuran sake dan gula dengan perbandingan 3:1.
(Koran SI/Koran SI/tty)

Tips when eating sushi

Tips that I think very helpful for a non-japanese like me while eating sushi.

1. Don't put too much soy sauce in the small dish. It's better to add as you need it.
2. Don't dip a whole sushi piece into the soy sauce. The rice part tends to fall apart.
3. Try to eat pieces of pickled ginger between different kinds of sushi. It helps to clean your mouth and enhance the flavors.

I think tips number 3 is definitely important. Sometimes I cannot get rid of after taste of sushi made of seafood.

Stay tune for more tips on eating japanese food!

How to eat sushi

I love sushi. Especially the fusion kind of sushi such as california rolls or another new creation of the restaurant. But sometimes eating them can be a tedious task, especially when the size of the sushi is not one bite size. I often left with scattered sushi because I can't handle to eat it at once.

I found an interesting information on how to eat sushi in gojapan.about.com. I am going to share it here.

1. Clean your hands by using an oshibori (hot towel).
2. Put soy sauce for dipping in the small dish.
3. Mix a bit of wasabi (Japanese horse radish) with the soy sauce if you want. Since wasabi is already placed in each sushi piece, you don't need to do this.
4. When you eat nigiri-zushi (hand-pressed sushi), pick up one sushi piece between your thumb and middle finger, putting the index finger on top.
5. Dip the end of the neta (ingredients/fish slices side) into the soy sauce.(not the rice part)
6. Bring the sushi to your mouth and bite in half.
7. Before your next bite, again dip the neta side in the soy sauce.
8. When you eat maki-zushi(rolled sushi), place the whole piece in your mouth if you can. Maki-zushi falls apart easily when you bite.

It might sound hard and persnickety, but really worth to try. After all, sushi is one of the most favorite japanese food.

Japanese basic table manner

If you are a fan of japanese food, I bet you also know that japanese use chopstick instead of spoon and fork, they sit on tatami facing low table and use bowl a lot instead if plate. But Japanese table manner doesn't stop there.

Let's learn Japanese basic table manner.

1. When you are eating with Japanese people, it's important to say "itadaki-masu" before a meal and to say "gochisou-sama" after a meal. These phrases indicate the beginning and the ending of a meal and express appreciations for the meal as well.
2. To eat a bowl of rice or soup or ramen, lift the bowl with one hand. It's proper to sip Japanese soup out of the bowl directly. Eat the ingredients with chopsticks, holding the bowl with one hand.
3. To eat side dishes, you don't need to lift plates or bowls. Cut large pieces of food into small pieces with your chopsticks and move to your mouth.
4. To eat from large serving plates/bowls, you may use the clean top ends of your chopsticks to pick food to your own bowl or plate, if serving chopsticks are not available.
5. To eat sashimi (raw fish slices), mix wasabi (Japanese horseradish) into soy sauce in a small plate and dip sashimi pieces in the sauce. If you like wasabi, put wasabi directly on a sashimi slice and dip it in soy sauce to eat.
6. To eat tempura, dip it in tempura dipping sauce.
7. To eat sushi, clean your hands at first. Pick up nigiri-zushi (hand-pressed sushi) between your thumb and the index finger and the middle finger. Dip the end of the topping (not sushi rice side) in soysauce and bring the sushi to your mouth. It's good to eat the whole piece all at once if you can.

Source : About.com

How to make delicious ramen.

Of course you can always buy instant ramen and simply add hot water to make it but nothing beat the ramen made from the scratch. Below are recipe made from scratch and taken from about.com

Making delicious ramen noodles isn't easy. Ramen chefs in Japan usually train hard to make good ramen. This is a quick recipe to make soy sauce flavored ramen at home.

Ingredients:
•2 Chukamen (raw Chinese noodles)
•1 clove finely chopped garlic
•1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
•1 tsp sesame oil
•2 cup chicken soup stock
•1 cup kombu dashi soup stock
•1 Tbsp sake
•1 tsp salt
•1 tsp sugar
•3 tbsp soy sauce
•*For toppings:
•Chopped negi
•Nori (dried seaweed)
•Pepper

Preparation:

Heat sesame oil in a deep pan. Saute chopped ginger and garlic in the pan. Lower the heat. Add chicken soup stock and kombu dashi soup stock in the pan and bring to a boil. Add sugar, salt, sake, and soy sauce in the soup. Run the soup through a strainer. Serve hot soup into individual bowls. In the meantime, boil water in a large pan. Add chukamen noodles in the boiling water and cook for a few minutes. Drain the noodles and serve in the hot soup. Place toppings, such as chopped negi and nori seaweed. Sprinkle some pepper if you would like.

*Makes 2 servings


source : about.com on japanese food

Ramen, one of popular japanese food.

Ramen is one of many popular japanese food. I don't think I even across someone who does not like ramen. Instant noodles with beef broth or other stocks unmistakably the most favorable japanese food to make and even becomes comfort food to some people.

While udon and soba are also believed to have come from China, only ramen retains its image as Chinese food. Ramen is thin egg noodles which are almost always served in a hot broth flavored with shoyu or miso. This is topped with a variety of ingredients such as slices of roast pork (chashu), bean sprouts (moyashi), sweetcorn and butter. Ramen is popular throughout Japan and different regions are known for their variations on the theme. Examples are Corn-butter Ramen in Sapporo and Tonkotsu Ramen in Kyushu. Instant ramen (the most famous brand is Pot Noodles), to which you just add hot water, has become very popular in recent years.

Surce : Japan - Zone.com

Japanese food : Sushi part 2

Main ngredients that are commonly used for making Sushi are :

• Short-grain white rice
• Nori (seaweed)
• Mirin (sweet rice wine)
• Seasoned rice vinegar
• Prawns
• Barbecue or regular eel
• Caviar
• Albacore
• Avocado
• Alpha or bean sprouts
• Asparagus
• Shitake mushrooms
• Cream cheese
• Tempura batter

There are countless ingredients that can be incorporated to Sushi. While you can create any ingredient combination that sounds appealing to you, the one thing you want to do is maintain the integrity of this Asian food. This means serving the Sushi with a choice of soy sauce or wasabi, along with either pickled ginger or green tea as a way to cleanse the palette.

Next subject will be all about Ramen.

source : Asian Artmall

Japanese food : Sushi

Anybody who loves japanese food absolutely knows what sushi is. The list of sushi can be daunting but basically people can combine seafood, vegetables and rice and anything into their sushi.

Some of the most common ways in which Sushi is made:

• Bara Sushi – The vinegar rice and ingredients are mixed as a salad
• Chirashi Sushi – The rice bed has various layers of fish and is served in a bowl called Gomoku Sushi or Iso-don
• Futomaki – This is a large Maki roll that has many different ingredients using Nori, which is a seaweed wrap
• Inari Sushi – Instead of using the traditional vinegar rice, brown, fried tofu is used
• Nigiri Sushi – Vinegar rice topped with a slice of raw or cooked fish, or vegetables
• Okonomi Sushi – This is home-style Nigiri
• Onigiri – This Sushi is made with regular steamed rice and rolled into a ball with other ingredients
• Oshizushi – Vinegar rice and other ingredients of choice pressed into a mold
• Temaki – These are cone-shaped seaweed rolls also called a hand roll
  
  source : Asian Artmal

Bento: one of Japanese favorite food

Other favorite japanese food is Bento. According to wikipedia, bento is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware.

Bento can contain rolls, such as california rolls, sushi rice, or grilled misho chicken. I don't think ramen can be an ideal item for bento because it's soupy.
Or as we can say in other word, Bento is japanese lunch box. It is often created beautifully, almost too pretty to eat it.

Popular Japanese food

Lanjutan:
Several kind of japanese food that are popular

Yakitori : there are various varieties but usually small chunks of chicken and vegetables are grilled on skewers.

Shabu-Shabu : can best be described as the Japanese version of steamboat where, items such as thin slices of beef, chicken, prawns, squid, are simmered with bean curd, vermicelli and various vegetables. You dip the slices in sesame or soy source.

Kitsune Udon : comprises wheat flour noodles cooked in fish broth with fried bean curd and vegetables such as leeks.

Ramen Noodles : are Chinese-type noodles cooked in a meat broth with thinly sliced meat, spinach and leeks.

Tonuki-Sabe : comprises buckwheat noodles cooked in fish boullion and topped with fried flour crust, spinach and fish cake.

Just reading it makes me want to have japanese food for dinner!

source : allsand.com

Main or mostly known japanese food

Japanese food are very rich in variety. Everytime I try one new dish, there is always some new ingredients that I cannot recognize. Even in several very popular japanese dishes such as sushi, tempura, udon, the variety is astonishing! Based on several articles, there are main kind of Japanese food.

1. Sushi : raw fish, rice,
2. sashimi : fresh raw seafood with soy sauce
3. Sukiyaki : paper-thin slices of beef (or sometimes chicken), vegetables, and cubes of tofu cooked in broth
4. Gohan : boiled / steamed rice

To be continued

Info Japanese Restaurant : Hachi - Hachi

Salah satu restoran jepang yang sering mendapat review bagus dari para penggemar makanan jepang adalah Hachi-Hachi. Bahkan banyak orang yang mengklaim inilah satu-satunya restoran Jepang yang mereka suka.
Dari banyak restoran jepang di Jakarta dengan beragam jenis makanan yang berselera, sepertinya Hachi-Hachi bisa dijadikan salah satu rekomendasi untuk menghabiskan hari sambil makan sushi, udon, ramen dan teppanyaki. My favorite Japanese food ever. Berdasarkan hasil browsing makanan yang jadi favorit di Hatchi-Hachi adalah Black Dragon Roll, Spicy seafood Yaki udon, Teriyaki Chicken Salad, Spicy Bulogi Yakiniku, Volcano Roll, sounds so good!

Lokasi Hachi-Hachi adalah Mall Taman Anggrek, Lt. 3 Unit 311, Jl. Letjen. S. Parman Kav. 21, Slipi

Informasi dasar tentang japanese food

Traditional Japanese food uses ingredients available during the season.
Breakfast might consist of miso soup, gohan (rice), nori (dried seaweed), pickles, and green tea.
Lunch is usually simple and consists of noodles (udon or soba).
Dinner might consist of rice, a main dish of fish or meat, sushi, a side dish of vegetables, miso soup, and pickled vegetables.
Before eating the meal, the Japanese say "Itadakimasu" which is a polite phrase meaning "I receive this food." This expresses thanks to the person who prepared the food.
At the end of the meal, the Japanese say "Gochiso-sama" which is a polite expression to give thanks for the delicious meal.

Traditional Japanese meals are often eaten on a tatami around a low table.

Informasi dari http://www.amphi.com/~psteffen/fmf/basicfood.html

My favorite japanese food is Ramen and several kind of sushi, such as sushi made from maki, california rolls . I think this info is really helpful.

Info Restaurant Jepang di Jakarta : Pasta de Waraku

Pasta de Waraku adalah salah satu restoran jepang yang menyediakan japanese food, japanese casual pasta. The first Waraku Japanese Casual Dining outlet opened at the East Coast parkway in June 2000.
Beberapa cabang restoran yang menyediakan makanan jepang berjenis pasta ini adalah :

1. Grand Indonesia, Lt.3A Unit 5 Garden District, Jl. MH. Thamrin No.1, Thamrin
2. Pondok Indah Mall 2, Lt. 3 Unit No. 343A, Jl. Metro Pondok Indah Blok 3 B, Pondok Indah
3. Mall Taman Anggrek, Lt.2 # Unit E 16, Jl. Letjend S. Parman Kav 21, Slipi

Info mengenai japanese food resto ini bisa juga dilihat di situs info restaurant.

Info Restoran Jepang di Jakarta - Sushi Tei

Sushi Tei – Since our debut in 1994, we have combined the best that the expansive Japanese food has to offer, marrying the intricacies of sashimi to the theatrical flair of teppanyaki with an innate intuition of local tastes to forge an inimitable identity of our own.

Sushi Tei is no ordinaire dining restaurant, notably we believe in providing an ethereal with an alluring ambience more than a dining experience just for you by setting ourselves apart from the norm.

We present an assortment of scrumptious and creatively designed Japanese gastronomy -appealing to the delight of aficionados of Japanese food. Our menu features Japanese offerings and innovative dishes illustrating the emerging influence of Asia on modern Japanese cuisine. A revolving selection of appetizer, dinner, sushi specials guarantee a new experience with each visit to our restaurant outlets. More than often, seasonal themes sprung up to unleash the inquisitive mind of our customers with the likes of Hokkaido's promotion and more that has yet to come following the changes accordingly to Japan’s season, Salmon harvesting season, Autumn's special the coldest season, Aburi Spring season special, etc.

With also the modest and unassuming homegrown Japanese Kaiten (conveyor belt) chain, it is by no revelation that we conform to an open-kitchen concept that allows our patrons the prerogative to relish the mouth-watering savories amidst the gazing of the culinary skills of the restaurants' chefs.


Alamat Sushi TEI di Indonesia :

1. Plaza Indonesia, Lt. 1 Unit 102 A - 102 C, Jl. MH. Thamrin, Thamrin-
2. Mall Kelapa Gading V, Lt. 1 Unit 47, Jl. Raya Boulevard Kelapa Gading, Kelapa Gading
3. Pondok Indah Mall II, Unit 124, Jl. Metro Pondok Indah, Pondok Indah
4. Central Park, 1st Floor Unit No. L1 - 113, Jl. Letjen. S. Parman Kav. 28, Slipi
5. Senayan City, Lt. 4 Unit 08 , Jl. Asia Afrika Lot. 19, Senayan
6. Plaza Senayan, 2F Unit 285 C, Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8,
7. Senayan Emporium Pluit Mall, Lt. 2 Unit 48 - 49, Jl. Pluit Selatan Raya Blok S - 6, Pluit

Info : www.sushitei.com