Monday, February 21, 2005

JAPANESE COOKING

▼ “Okra will be in fashion next to edamame (green soybeans).” An expected boom in Okra is talked about at a restaurant in New York City in an American TV drama. A chef who made okra dishes is proud of his cooking, saying, “Isn’t it delicious!”

▼ Green soybeans are fairly popular now in the United States and Europe. They have spread as a handy snack for health-oriented people as tofu did. What will become of okra? At present it is no more than an unusual cooking ingredient. Will day come when okra takes the place of green soybeans?

▼ Talking of Japanese dishes, once sukiyaki and tempura were popular, but people’s interests were gradually switched to ingredients such as tofu and shoyu (soybean sauce). Sushi has spread more widely than anticipated. In Britain where sushi bars are rapidly increasing, Japanese food markets have become twice as many in five years since the end of 1990s.

▼ In the midst of such a trend, a Japanese cooking book in English version was published in London last year. The book was called “Harumi’s Japanese Cooking” written by Kurihara Harumi. She won the grand prize at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, and the ceremony was held in Sweden the other day.

▼ The book was introduced by overseas media. There was such a stereotyped misunderstanding that “eating meat has been forbidden by Buddhism in Japan but Harumi enjoys using it.” But most of the comments were favorable saying that “though based on a long tradition, it is light and modern.” As a matter of fact, some commented her as “a charisma housewife in Japan.”

▼ She does not emphasize the seasoning of dried bonito too much in Japanese dishes. She thinks it possible to replace it with something else. It might be better to call her a “charisma housewife” without “mysteriousness and enigmas” of Japanese dishes.

Monday, January 31, 2005

Some Remarks Worth Quoting

▼ These words are quoted from some of the recent remarks. It is the 60th New Year since the termination of World War II. Ikezawa Natsuki, a writer who was born in the year when the war came to an end, said, “What is important more than anything else is that Japan has not been involved in war during the past sixty years. Peace has never lasted so long as this since the Meiji Period.”

▼ Osada Hiroshi, a poet, wrote about the power of language. “Words to express what should be done are used to describe heroic actions and often to initiate war. Words to express what should not be done are used to reserve actions and are often used at the end of war.”

▼ Ten years have passed since the Great Hanshin Earthquake. Sugawara Shohei, a fourth grader in Kobe, was born on that day. His father is thinking of telling him some day, “On the day when so many lives were lost, you were born with the help of many people. Whatever difficulties you may face in the future, you should never be daunted by them.”

▼ Paul Krugman, an American economist, expressed his opinions on “These Ten Years.” ”‘Free market’ and ‘free capital flows’ have been believed to be ideal. We should be awoken from the fever to recollect what is buried in oblivion.”

▼ President Bush said in his second inaugural address, “The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. We will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Some have unwisely chosen to test America’s resolve, and have found it firm.”

▼ On the day when great tsunami devastated Sri Lanka, a baby girl was born in the southern city of Galle. She was named “Angela Shehani,” which means “angel.”