Familar Products with Unfamiliar Names, Part 2

Buy hard with a vengeance! щ(ﾟДﾟщ)

Anti-cavity mouthwash
クリアクリーンデンタルリンス仕上げすすぎ　(Kuria Kuriin Dentaru Rinsu Shiage Susugi/ Clear Clean Dental Rinse Finishing Rinse)

Finishing Rinse

The yellow attachment on the package claims to reduce the number cavities in elementary- and junior-high schoolers. Yeah, I know we’re all adults here, but I’m pretty sure most of us don’t like getting cavities filled at home or abroad. I personally find Listerine pretty foul and like to use fluoride mouthwashes, but in the land of no fluoride, I’ll settle for a benzethonium chloride (塩化ベンゼトニウムor BTC) mouthwash like this one. Benezethonium chloride is a disinfectant that kills microbes, and in mouthwash, it reduces plaque; helps prevent gingivitis; and fights halitosis. The Finishing Rinse mouthwash does NOT contain alcohol (ノンアルコール non arukohru) like Listerine does. The liquid is clear; the mint flavor is pretty mild.

To use: After brushing your teeth, rinse your mouth with a 1/3 of a capful for 30 seconds and spit (do not swallow—BTC is not meant to be ingested). You don’t have to rinse your mouth out with water afterward.*

Tahini
練りごま　nerigoma

I could not find tahini for the longest time because I had no idea what it was called in Japanese or where it was in the store. It’s called 練りゴマ (nerigoma), which roughly translates to sesame paste. It’s used in hummus, some Japanese dishes, and some Japanese fusion pasta dishes. It’s located with the other sesame products in your grocery store.

Laurel and Bay leaves
ローレル　rorehru
I also really to cook with bay, but I haven’t been able to find actual bay leaves up in the Noto. As it turns out, laurel leaves are what the Japanese tend to use—they’re even featured on the 10 yen coin! Laurel is also referred to as sweet bay. Now, with bay leaves, you usually use the whole leaf when cooking and then remove it before eating. However, laurel is slightly different chemically, and the crushed laurel you will find at the grocery store is perfectly safe to leave in your meal. However, crushed laurel is much more potent than bay leaves due to its increased surface area, so season carefully. It’s not quite the same, but laurel may be easier to find and cheaper.

Laurel spice is ローレル (rohreru) in Japanese, or 月桂樹 (gekkeiju; bay laurel).
Bay leaf is ベイリーフ(beiriifu) or　ローリエの葉 (rohrie no ha).

-Leah

Notes
*I realize most of you know how to use mouthwash. However, if you’re like me and are convinced that you might accidentally kill yourself if you don’t read the label on things like Japanese cleaning products and health-care products, I translated this just for you.

Becoming a Japanese Millionaire: Step 2

Photo:  the_toe_stubber

Okay, I’m late with this post — but better late than never, right?  Check out Step 1 for becoming a Japanese Millionaire if you’re new.

For the rest of you, you’ve been dutifully saving your receipts (and updating your bankbook), right?  Let’s get started.

Start by pulling out that pile of receipts with a category written at the top of each one.  Haven’t written categories on them? Do that now if you can decipher them. Then…

• Add up just how much you spent within each category in one month. (I recommend using a spreadsheet program for this (Google Documents has a free one), but anything can work.  Use a notebook you have lying around.  Write your categories at the top of the spreadsheet (I had 14 categories or so) and then, going down the side of the page write a few months  (Oct 2009, Nov 2009, Dec 2009, etc.)  Record the total of how much you spent for each category during each month.  For example, I may have spent 9,800 yen on “beauty” in September and 1,500 in October.  That’s fine.  Overtime you’ll see an average and get a realistic idea of what you spend.

• Separate your essential spending from your fun spending.  Rent is essential.  Food is essential.  Paying loans is essential.  Books are not.  Eating out is not.  Be honest with yourself about what your bare minimum requirements are.  Don’t forget about things like visiting the doctor, which cost money but may not happen every month!
• Find out how much money you’ve spent on everything (essential + fun spending).  Hopefully it’s less than you make in a month.  If it’s not you have some serious soul searching to do (but we’ll get to that. no worries.)
• Decide how much you need each month for essential spending (you have my permission to make an educated guess — use the numbers you got from your receipts and bankbook to do this).  For me, my electricity varies from 3,000 yen per month to 11,000 yen per month, depending on whether it’s summer or winter, so I’m going to assume that I spend 7,000 yen per month on electricity.  My opinion is that it’s better to over-estimate when budgeting for essential items.  I don’t want to be without heat one month because I didn’t budget well! (Again, don’t forget to budget a few bucks each month for dental and doctor checkups — as well as any other “maintainence” types of essentials that may not have come up this month).
• Figure out how much money is left. Subtract your “essential spending” money from your income.  For example: If I get paid 250,000 yen each month and I need 100,000 yen each month for essential purchases, then I know I have 150,000 yen each month to use to pay myself and to use for fun spending.

Okay, that’s enough to do for now.  Go out and make your spreadsheet for essential spending and fun spending you did in the past month or two.  Then, estimate how much you need to budget for your monthly essential spending.  Finally, find out how much money you have left to spend on yourself.  We’ll use that number next week and do some fun stuff!

Lupicia Tea

There is a tea shop called Lupicia that recently opened in the basement of Forus.  It is a great, small shop that specializes in nearly every kind of tea imaginable and offers them up at reasonable prices.  For those of you living in or around Kanazawa, it is definitely worth stopping by, especially since it is conveniently located in Forus.  At the store they have several dozen teas available to see and sniff to help you decide which ones are right for you.  Prices vary from 500yen-3000yen for a 50g tin (10% discount for a bag).  Also, for those of us who can’t regularly make it to Kanazawa, Lupicia has a website where you can view their catalog and print out an order form to have tea delivered.

-Matt

Simple Flu Prevention

Photo: siukankay

November came and the weather dropped.  The past 2 years in a row I’ve gotten sick at the end of November, so I’m doing my best to try to beat the viruses this year.  I’m sure you’ve been getting lots of information about flu prevention (we’re talking any kind of flu here, not just the dreaded H1N1), but some of it may have been in Japanese.  With exams, the English Drama Festival, and the Mid-Year Conference coming up, there’s no time like the present for some basic health reminders:

Remember, viruses can only enter through your nostrils and mouth, so those are the areas you’ve got to monitor.

- Wash your hands frequently.  I also recently found some hand sanitizer gel at The Daiso (100 yen shop), so you can keep a bottle in your desk or car or purse (or all of the above!) and they will last quite a while.

- Keep your hands away from your face.  Obviously you’ve got to eat, but try not to rest your chin on your hands when you’re bored. This keeps your potentially virus-infested hands away from the main ways into your body!  Your skin will thank you, too.

- Gargle twice a day (the Japanese advocate 3 times) with warm salt water.  It’s cheap and everyone can make it.  Use a mouthwash if that makes you feel better protected.  The reason gargling works is because viruses can thrive in your throat.  You want to get them out of there!

- Clean your nostrils once a day. Yeah, I hadn’t heard of this, but it makes sense.  Viruses can enter through your mouth (thus we gargle).  They can enter through your nose, too.  Dip a cotton swab in some warm salt water and swab out those nostrils for a squeaky clean feeling.

- Get vitamin C (from citrus …or C.C. Lemon) and zinc (which helps absorb the vitamin C) to keep your immune system strong. Natural sources of zinc include shellfish, nuts, wholegrains, cheese, wheatgerm, tofu, and figs.

- Drink lots of warm liquids, such as this fabulous homemade ginger tea!  This is similar to gargling, but in the reverse direction.  Instead of getting the virus off of your throat and spitting it out, you’re swallowing the virus and putting it in your stomach, where it can’t survive.  It becomes harmless in there.  Have you heard a better reason to go to Starbucks yet?

Photo:  Y

Also, I found this article about face masks form the LA Times, which is worth a read if you’re curious how effective all those face masks are.

Remember, many foreigners in Japan work at schools (and thus are around crowds), so exposure to the flu is virtually guaranteed.  What matters most is that you keep the flu from setting up camp in your body.  Keep those fluids working all winter, and don’t underestimate the importance of gargling.

Have some other tips?  Weigh in in the comments!

Notojima Glass Museum 能登島ガラス美術館

Cafe at the Glass Museum

The Notojima Glass Museum is a great place to visit on a rainy day. The building itself is a visual treat in and of itself, and the glass work in the exhibits and the permanent collection is fascinating. The museum has a section on the history of glassmaking in Europe, which includes some beautiful pieces from Venice and Germany. There are pieces from Qing Dynasty China. Collection B houses pieces by modern artists from around the world. Since this is in the Noto, you may be surprised to learn that this permanent collection houses a Chagall, a Picasso, and, not one, but two pieces by Dali.

The other galleries are rotating exhibits. I went during the exhibit on Art Nouveau and Art Deco glass art. The current exhibit, which will run from 31 October 2009 to 15 March 2010 is 色彩のパレード (Parade of Colors), which will feature colorful glass pieces from around the world. The next exhibit, which will run from 20 March to 14 June 2010, will be ガラスのかたまり (Masses of Glass).

Aside from the titles of the works and the names of the artists, the museum’s displays are in Japanese. If you don’t read Japanese, it’ll take you about 30 minutes to look at all the pieces. If you do read Japanese (and you like to read the information about the pieces and exhibits), give yourself about 2 hours. Be sure to check out the pieces outside on the hill!

The museum is about a ten-minute drive from the Notojima Aquarium, so you could visit that while there. Also, Notojima is about a 40 minute-drive (or a 30 minute bus ride and short train trip) from Nanao, which has a Uniqlo and a Book-off, in addition to other shopping.

-Leah

Click the link for information!

Watching American Football

It’s the middle of football season in America and for fans of the sport it can be difficult figuring out how to catch games in Japan.  Here is a site that offers multiple links to nearly every game.  In my experience, the links work well and the video plays in reasonable quality; it’s not HD, but it does the job.  There is one catch in that the games are shown only live, which makes them difficult to watch given the time difference.  But if your team has a 4:30 game (EST) on Sunday, then you can catch most of the second half before going to work on Monday morning.

If someone knows a better site for watching American football games, please leave the link in the comments section.

~Matt

Recipe: Ginger Tea

When I was in grad school, I caught a horrifying series of colds that lasted from August to December. Around that time, a friend shared a recipe for ginger tea, which he describes as “reputed to raise the dead and fix broken marriages. I don’t know about all that, but I do know that it does WONDERS for a sore throat.” It’s a great for cold prevention and as a cold remedy if you’ve already got one. It’s also delicious. Michiganders among us, this is similar to the Ginger Dragon tea at Espresso Royale.

Ginger Tea
Reproduced with permission of Mike Bierschenk

800 ml water (4 Japanese cups)
50 ml or 1/4 cup honey (adjust to taste)　はちみつ　hachimitsu
5-7 cm (2-3 inch) knob of ginger, peeled and sliced into thin rounds* しょうが shouga
1 lemon, juiced, or 45 ml of lemon juice (one Japanese brand is ポッカレモン１００ Pokka Lemon 100)

A handy visual guide for you!

This is about 9 cm of fresh ginger.

Left: Honey (Hachimitsu); right: Lemon juice (Pokka brand "Remon 100")

Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and add ginger, lemon juice, and honey; stir to dissolve. Let steep 1 hour, then strain. Store in the fridge; serve cold or reheat and enjoy.

Interestingly, the ginger I get around here tends to turn the tea pink.

Itadakimasu!
-Leah

Notes
*Remove the skin by scraping it off with a spoon under running water or use a vegetable peeler.

Korean-Style Fried Chicken

I used to post for this thing, but I quit.  Now I’m back and it feels great.

And first topic up after about seven months of hard thinking – cooking.

This recipe comes courtesy of the New York Times, which two weeks ago covered New York City’s new love for various Asian styles of fried chicken.  This recipe is meant to be a take off of Korean-style fried chicken, as it uses gojuchang chili paste, which if you trust the NYT, is commonly used in Korean cooking.  Personally, I’m a bit skeptical as to whether or not this is genuine Korean fare, as the gojuchang chili paste is mixed with equal parts ketchup.  But who am I do speculate about the authenticity of Korean cuisine?

Here’s the recipe and the link:

Time: 30 minutes, plus one hour’s marinating

1 small yellow onion, coarsely grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for coating

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for coating

8 to 10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, quartered, or 24 wings

3 tablespoons Korean chili paste (gojuchang)

3 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, more for garnish

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Oil for deep frying

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup cornstarch.

1. In a medium-size bowl, combine grated onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat well. Cover and set aside to marinate for about 1 hour.

2. In a large bowl, stir together chili paste, ketchup, sugar, sesame seeds and lemon juice. Taste and adjust flavors to get a spicy-sweet-tangy finish. Set aside.

3. Pour oil into a large heavy pot to a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Heat to 350 degrees. Combine flour and cornstarch in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.

4. Working in batches to avoid crowding, lift chicken from marinade, dredge lightly in seasoned flour and cornstarch, gently drop into oil and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining chicken, checking oil temperature between batches.

5. For wings only, when all pieces are done, increase oil temperature to 375 degrees and refry in batches for 30 to 60 seconds, until very crisp. Drain once more on paper towels. While chicken is still hot, brush thickly with chili sauce. Serve hot, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Tips: The people who will actually make this chicken likely do not need tips about frying, as their initiative is suggestive of a pre-existing interest in cooking.  But I’m going to give tips anyway.  First, if you don’t have a thermometer and want to test the temperature of your oil, just poke in a wooden chopstick and if bubbles shoot up after about two seconds, you’re ready to go.  If bubbles shoot up immediately, then that means the oil is too hot.  If it takes longer than three seconds, then the oil is not hot enough.

On the second fry, be prepared to fish that chicken out fast because it can burn very easily.  The recipe says to leave in for a minute, but keep it down closer to forty seconds.  The second fry is your friend, as it is the key to forming a crispy crust.  But be aware, that it can quickly turn your enemy and scorch the chicken.

These wings are wonderfully delicious, perfect for parties, and go well with beer.  So give it a shot and if you find the time, tell me what you thought in the comments section.

~Matt Savas

The Foreign Buyers’ Club

A few weeks ago, I was asked what I liked to eat for breakfast. I replied that I often eat oatmeal and got blank stares from all the Japanese people in the room. Oatmeal, or hot cereal, isn’t popular in Japan, and, in my town, you can only buy “baking oatmeal.” My treasured bag of oatmeal came from the FBC, or the Foreign Buyers’ Club.

Oats from the FBC

The Foreign Buyers’ Club is a dual-part website where you can buy goods from home.

Keijiro Monogatari

This post comes courtesy of dipstar.  Read on for more information about an interesting performance taking place soon!

“Keiji Monogatari” is a show based on the life of Maeda Toshimasu, whose uncle was Maeda Toshiie – famous for ruling Kaga Hyakumangoku. (Keiji was adopted by Toshiie’s older brother.) Maeda Toshimasu (often depicted under the name of Keiji or Keijiro) is often portrayed as a prankster and is often dubbed crazy, or kabukimono, by others for his wild ways.

The performance incorporates acting, street dancing, audio-visuals, and also a rare chance to see kenbu sword dancing performed by the only kenbu sensei in the Hokuriku area, Murata Hikoji.

Kenjiro Monogatari takes place at the Kanazawa Citizens Art Center, Performance Square.

There will be 3 performances:

■ Saturday Nov 7th: 18:00 
■ Sunday Nov 8th: 14:00 and 19:00

Tickets are 3000円 advance/3500円 door.

If you would like to reserve tickets, please contact “dipikasoni18 [at] gmail [dot] com” (the earlier the better) with your name, date & time of the performance you’d like to attend, and number of tickets.