Even though my budget is completely out of whack thanks to many recent visits to Uniqlo, I still caved and bought the Ojue 63010 Lunch Box (in white) by METAPHYS. It's a bento box that comes with chopsticks and 3 containers that stack vertically so it can fit nicely into slim bags--like tote bags, messenger bags, briefcases, etc.
I've been wanting it ever since I read about it in a Japan Times Online article last week. With the Chuutairen only a week and a half away--not to mention with some stores on Rakuten offering 10x points on the purchase--I simply couldn't resist.
It should be delivered sometime Saturday morning. ^_^ Now I feel extra motivated to do a good job with the tamagoyaki! =P
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Fight & make up
Just before the beginning of one of my classes today, two male students got into a bit of a tussle at the back of the classroom.
Since that particular class is mostly boys, they often horse around so I didn't realize they were fighting for real until just before/right around the time my JTE rushed back there to break things up.
I don't know the particulars, but it seems like there was some sort of mutual misunderstanding--and seemingly with some sort of build-up from earlier--that just escalated. It wasn't the conflict itself that really struck me, however, but the aftermath/resolution.
After my JTE heard both of them out (this was at the back of the classroom while the rest of the students were diligently doing questions from their workbooks with me supervising/helping), both of the boys started crying.
And it wasn't because they were hurt. They were crying because they were upset/remorseful about the fight. (When their homeroom teacher talked to them about it, both of them said they felt that they had been in the wrong.) Even after their injuries (minor) had been tended to, apologies had been made, and class had resumed, both of them were still sniffling for a fair period of time.
It sounds a bit odd to say this, but I've got to admit that I thought it was rather cute/admirable. I mean, I've had elementary students come to me crying while apologizing for tearing the corner of one of my flashcards (I didn't even notice, but their teacher obviously did and made sure they apologized properly), but it was a bit of a surprise for me to see such reactions from junior high students (and they aren't first years either).
I guess it impresses me to see teenagers display that kind of sincerity/pure heartedness. And it makes me glad to know that they haven't become "too cool" to openly express their feelings--especially in apologizing.
And I thought my JTE's response to the situation was also quite admirable. Once things had settled down and we were ready to start class, she briefly talked to everyone about the importance of talking things out to avoid misunderstandings, as well as the importance of being careful with words (because they can hurt and once said, they can't be taken back) and apologizing and making up after conflicts.
Such basic, simple things, really.
If only more people made greater efforts to do these simple things, I think the world would be a much better place.
Since that particular class is mostly boys, they often horse around so I didn't realize they were fighting for real until just before/right around the time my JTE rushed back there to break things up.
I don't know the particulars, but it seems like there was some sort of mutual misunderstanding--and seemingly with some sort of build-up from earlier--that just escalated. It wasn't the conflict itself that really struck me, however, but the aftermath/resolution.
After my JTE heard both of them out (this was at the back of the classroom while the rest of the students were diligently doing questions from their workbooks with me supervising/helping), both of the boys started crying.
And it wasn't because they were hurt. They were crying because they were upset/remorseful about the fight. (When their homeroom teacher talked to them about it, both of them said they felt that they had been in the wrong.) Even after their injuries (minor) had been tended to, apologies had been made, and class had resumed, both of them were still sniffling for a fair period of time.
It sounds a bit odd to say this, but I've got to admit that I thought it was rather cute/admirable. I mean, I've had elementary students come to me crying while apologizing for tearing the corner of one of my flashcards (I didn't even notice, but their teacher obviously did and made sure they apologized properly), but it was a bit of a surprise for me to see such reactions from junior high students (and they aren't first years either).
I guess it impresses me to see teenagers display that kind of sincerity/pure heartedness. And it makes me glad to know that they haven't become "too cool" to openly express their feelings--especially in apologizing.
And I thought my JTE's response to the situation was also quite admirable. Once things had settled down and we were ready to start class, she briefly talked to everyone about the importance of talking things out to avoid misunderstandings, as well as the importance of being careful with words (because they can hurt and once said, they can't be taken back) and apologizing and making up after conflicts.
Such basic, simple things, really.
If only more people made greater efforts to do these simple things, I think the world would be a much better place.
Monday, June 7, 2010
卵焼きの物語 Chronicles of Tamagoyaki
As I mentioned in previous posts, motivated by the upcoming 中体連 ("Chuutairen" the Kamikita District (Junior High School) Sports Tournament) and inspired by Shinya Shokudo (both the manga and drama), I've recently set myself a goal of learning to make 卵焼き ("tamagoyaki" = Japanese style omelette) "reasonably well."
My aim is to have a nice-looking bento for the Chuutairen.
Friday night I went to Shimoda Jusco to buy the tamagoyaki pan from Muji. I could've bought the pan anywhere, I suppose, but the first time I went to Muji in Japan (Oct. 2007, between arriving by night bus at Tokyo Station and taking the train to Narita Airport to fly back for A&L's wedding) I really wanted to buy it--even though I knew at the time that I knew I wasn't likely to cook anything, much less tamagoyaki! Considering my usual spend-thrifty ways, it's quite amazing that I actually held off on buying it for almost three years! =P
Anyway, I put my purchase to use pretty much right away. I happened to have two eggs in the fridge that needed to be used up before Sunday (Jun. 6), so I made my first tamagoyaki attempt on Saturday afternoon.
Here's a basic recipe (from the magazine 毎日ラクちん!朝つめるだけ!3分弁当―おかず&アイデア214, "Every day's a cinch! Just assemble in the morning! 3min. bentos-214 side dishes & ideas"):
基本の卵焼き (１台分) Basic Tamagoyaki (makes 1 roll)
材料 Ingredients:
卵...２個 Eggs - 2
砂糖...小さじ２ Sugar - 2 teaspoons*
しょうゆ...小さじ1/2 Soy Sauce - 1/2 teaspoon
水...大さじ２ Water - 2 tablespoons
サラダ油...少々 - "Salad" (vegetable) oil - a little
*This recipe is for 甘い卵焼き ("amai tamagoyaki") so feel free to adjust the amount of sugar/soy sauce to suit your tastes
Directions:
1. Mix the eggs, sugar, soy sauce and water in a bowl.
2. Heat oil in a pan* on medium-low heat, making sure to coat the pan evenly with oil.
3. Pour about half of the egg mixture into the pan, spreading evenly
4. When the bottom starts to solidify, roll the egg into the omelette shape (from the "top" of the pan (i.e. the side of the pan furthest away) towards yourself)
5. Place the omelette on the "top" side of the pan
6. Put a bit more oil into the pan**
7. Repeat steps 3 & 4 using the remaining egg mixture
* If you don't have a rectangular tamagoyaki pan, it's possible to make it using a circular pan, but it's more work. Basically before step 4, you need to fold in the sides of the egg to make it a rectangular shape.
** So far I haven't actually used this step...Maybe that's part of the problem?
Note: If you're making tamagoyaki for a bento, to prevent it from spoiling easily after you've cooked it, wrap it in plastic wrap and microwave it for about 30s to ensure that it's completely cooked through to the center. (If you serve it fresh/hot off the pan, it's OK if it's slightly undercooked in the middle...)
I think I had beginner's luck on my side the first time since I actually managed to roll it quite nicely and the shape turned out pretty well. The insides were kind of unevenly cooked, though, so I did end up microwaving it, just to be safe.
You can see that although the ends look deformed, when you cut them off, you get the proper looking tamagoyaki. Looking at the colour variation between the two different ends of the omelette (particularly the side with all the white showing), however, you can tell that it wasn't cooked evenly/properly. ^^;;
Still when I plated it with octopus shaped wieners (I only used half the bag the first time I made them), it looked very cheerful and made me feel really happy eating it.
In my two attempts since then, I managed to cook it more evenly in the middle, but I messed up on the rolling part so it ended up not looking as nice.
My second tamagoyaki (made today, Mon., Jun. 7) was just an overall disaster. The egg "ripped" when I was rolling it, and one side was really bumpy and uneven (although I placed it on the plate bad side down, so it actually looks better in the picture than in reality)..
It was pathetic that I had to try to redeem myself and made another one (third overall) right away. This time the the first half was really nicely cooked and shaped, but I messed up when I was trying to roll the omelette the second time. I think I tried to roll it a bit too early so it ripped and again made the final product look rather deformed.
But when I sliced it up, it turned out to actually have quite a nice, well-balanced oval shape, so I was able to make decent looking hearts out of them!
Here you can see what happens if you try to make hearts with an omelette (i.e. tamagoyaki #2) that wasn't rolled nicely and therefore had an uneven/deformed oval shape:
Anyway, as you may have guessed, my dinner tonight was two (rolls of) tamagoyaki. Not the healthiest or most balanced meal, but considering that lately I've been forgetting to eat dinner, I guess it's better than nothing. ^^;;
Given that the Chuutairen is only 12 days away, I suspect I will have many more meals of tamagoyaki in the near future--unless I can learn to make them "reasonably well" quickly. =P
My aim is to have a nice-looking bento for the Chuutairen.
Friday night I went to Shimoda Jusco to buy the tamagoyaki pan from Muji. I could've bought the pan anywhere, I suppose, but the first time I went to Muji in Japan (Oct. 2007, between arriving by night bus at Tokyo Station and taking the train to Narita Airport to fly back for A&L's wedding) I really wanted to buy it--even though I knew at the time that I knew I wasn't likely to cook anything, much less tamagoyaki! Considering my usual spend-thrifty ways, it's quite amazing that I actually held off on buying it for almost three years! =P
Anyway, I put my purchase to use pretty much right away. I happened to have two eggs in the fridge that needed to be used up before Sunday (Jun. 6), so I made my first tamagoyaki attempt on Saturday afternoon.
Here's a basic recipe (from the magazine 毎日ラクちん!朝つめるだけ!3分弁当―おかず&アイデア214, "Every day's a cinch! Just assemble in the morning! 3min. bentos-214 side dishes & ideas"):
基本の卵焼き (１台分) Basic Tamagoyaki (makes 1 roll)
材料 Ingredients:
卵...２個 Eggs - 2
砂糖...小さじ２ Sugar - 2 teaspoons*
しょうゆ...小さじ1/2 Soy Sauce - 1/2 teaspoon
水...大さじ２ Water - 2 tablespoons
サラダ油...少々 - "Salad" (vegetable) oil - a little
*This recipe is for 甘い卵焼き ("amai tamagoyaki") so feel free to adjust the amount of sugar/soy sauce to suit your tastes
Directions:
1. Mix the eggs, sugar, soy sauce and water in a bowl.
2. Heat oil in a pan* on medium-low heat, making sure to coat the pan evenly with oil.
3. Pour about half of the egg mixture into the pan, spreading evenly
4. When the bottom starts to solidify, roll the egg into the omelette shape (from the "top" of the pan (i.e. the side of the pan furthest away) towards yourself)
5. Place the omelette on the "top" side of the pan
6. Put a bit more oil into the pan**
7. Repeat steps 3 & 4 using the remaining egg mixture
* If you don't have a rectangular tamagoyaki pan, it's possible to make it using a circular pan, but it's more work. Basically before step 4, you need to fold in the sides of the egg to make it a rectangular shape.
** So far I haven't actually used this step...Maybe that's part of the problem?
Note: If you're making tamagoyaki for a bento, to prevent it from spoiling easily after you've cooked it, wrap it in plastic wrap and microwave it for about 30s to ensure that it's completely cooked through to the center. (If you serve it fresh/hot off the pan, it's OK if it's slightly undercooked in the middle...)
I think I had beginner's luck on my side the first time since I actually managed to roll it quite nicely and the shape turned out pretty well. The insides were kind of unevenly cooked, though, so I did end up microwaving it, just to be safe.
You can see that although the ends look deformed, when you cut them off, you get the proper looking tamagoyaki. Looking at the colour variation between the two different ends of the omelette (particularly the side with all the white showing), however, you can tell that it wasn't cooked evenly/properly. ^^;;
Still when I plated it with octopus shaped wieners (I only used half the bag the first time I made them), it looked very cheerful and made me feel really happy eating it.
In my two attempts since then, I managed to cook it more evenly in the middle, but I messed up on the rolling part so it ended up not looking as nice.
My second tamagoyaki (made today, Mon., Jun. 7) was just an overall disaster. The egg "ripped" when I was rolling it, and one side was really bumpy and uneven (although I placed it on the plate bad side down, so it actually looks better in the picture than in reality)..
It was pathetic that I had to try to redeem myself and made another one (third overall) right away. This time the the first half was really nicely cooked and shaped, but I messed up when I was trying to roll the omelette the second time. I think I tried to roll it a bit too early so it ripped and again made the final product look rather deformed.
But when I sliced it up, it turned out to actually have quite a nice, well-balanced oval shape, so I was able to make decent looking hearts out of them!
Here you can see what happens if you try to make hearts with an omelette (i.e. tamagoyaki #2) that wasn't rolled nicely and therefore had an uneven/deformed oval shape:
Anyway, as you may have guessed, my dinner tonight was two (rolls of) tamagoyaki. Not the healthiest or most balanced meal, but considering that lately I've been forgetting to eat dinner, I guess it's better than nothing. ^^;;
Given that the Chuutairen is only 12 days away, I suspect I will have many more meals of tamagoyaki in the near future--unless I can learn to make them "reasonably well" quickly. =P
Monday, May 31, 2010
Octopus-shaped red wieners
I'd seen them plenty of times in various anime/manga, but I was never inspired to make them myself until I read/watched 深夜食堂 (Shinya Shokudou, i.e. "Midnight Restaurant").
深夜食堂 is a series about a restaurant that is open from 12am-7am. The only things on the menu are 豚汁定食 (tonjiru teishoku, i.e. pork miso soup set), beer and sake, but you can order anything you want to eat, and if he can, the master (a.k.a. chef/owner) will make it.
The very first episode of both the manga and drama is 赤いウインナー (Akai (red) Wiener), a story about a Yakuza named Ryuu, who, surprisingly always orders a plate of tako (octopus)-shaped red wieners. Obviously there's a bit more to the story than that, but the point is, reading the manga and watching the drama made me want to try making them for myself.
I'd never seen red wieners in the hot dog/sausage section of Jusco, though, so it took a little bit of searching on Saturday before I found them. They were about an aisle down from the other hot dogs/sausages in a small section dedicated to various bento (弁当) "toppings" (for lack of a better word).
Since I had an office day today (Monday) I decided that I would get up a little earlier than usual and make the tako wieners for my lunch.
It's really quite simple; all you have to do is cut the wiener lengthwise from about halfway to the bottom. Then turn the wiener 90 degrees and cut it lengthwise into four strips (again, from about halfway to the bottom). This gives you the eight "legs" of the octopus. Then you simply cook the wieners in a fry pan on medium heat until the legs are nice and curled. ^_^ (There are even instructions on the back of the package in case you can't figure it out on your own!)
Objectively speaking, the wieners themselves really aren't anything special, but somehow just having them in the octopus shape makes them extra special/delicious. ^_^ For my chuutairen bento, I am definitely going to have tako-wieners as well as tamagoyaki!! (I plan to purchase the pan sometime this week, and I'll probably spend my free nights next week practicing making tamagoyaki like mad! =P
Speaking of bento lunches, I learned from some female Japanese friends a while ago that a "nice/proper" bento should have red, yellow, and green items. Even if all the food is really tasty, if it's all brown/the same colour, it's perceived as an "obaachan" (old lady) bento. Seeing all the books for making cute/attractive bentos, I'd already figured that appearances were considered important for (homemade) bentos, but I'd never heard about this 3-colour rule before...
Even though today's bento mostly followed the 3-colour rule (the potato salad was more white than yellow) and was considerably "better" than my usual tuna onigiri and raw veggie--mini tomatoes and carrot & cucumber sticks--bento, I know I've still got a long ways to go in my bento-making skills...
In particular, today's top and bottom trays, while individually OK didn't really go together taste-wise. With the more "Western-style" side dishes in the top tray, I probably should have gone with sandwiches and/or pasta for the "main dish" in the bottom...
(Incidentally, the potato salad was also 深夜食堂-inspired. Usually I just put apples and/or hard-boiled eggs into my potato salad, but in the 深夜食堂 drama I saw that the Master used cucumber, carrot and ham, so I decided to try it out...Quite tasty!
Another side note: Even though iI know it's a fictional story, I can't help but wonder where the Master buys his 赤いウインナー. I mean, the bag I bought was 98yen for only 7 wieners, but he serves Ryuu a whole plate of them! I wonder if there's a place that sells them in bulk? =P)
But at any rate, just eating a bento that I put a little more care into than usual enabled me to really enjoy my lunch today. ^_^ As I said before, the tako-wieners especially made me happy! I guess I'm still a kid in that sense--cute shapes make me excited about even the simplest foods, like rabbit-shaped apples, for example! Now that I've mentioned it, I think I'll also include those in my chuutairen bento!! =P
深夜食堂 is a series about a restaurant that is open from 12am-7am. The only things on the menu are 豚汁定食 (tonjiru teishoku, i.e. pork miso soup set), beer and sake, but you can order anything you want to eat, and if he can, the master (a.k.a. chef/owner) will make it.
The very first episode of both the manga and drama is 赤いウインナー (Akai (red) Wiener), a story about a Yakuza named Ryuu, who, surprisingly always orders a plate of tako (octopus)-shaped red wieners. Obviously there's a bit more to the story than that, but the point is, reading the manga and watching the drama made me want to try making them for myself.
I'd never seen red wieners in the hot dog/sausage section of Jusco, though, so it took a little bit of searching on Saturday before I found them. They were about an aisle down from the other hot dogs/sausages in a small section dedicated to various bento (弁当) "toppings" (for lack of a better word).
Since I had an office day today (Monday) I decided that I would get up a little earlier than usual and make the tako wieners for my lunch.
It's really quite simple; all you have to do is cut the wiener lengthwise from about halfway to the bottom. Then turn the wiener 90 degrees and cut it lengthwise into four strips (again, from about halfway to the bottom). This gives you the eight "legs" of the octopus. Then you simply cook the wieners in a fry pan on medium heat until the legs are nice and curled. ^_^ (There are even instructions on the back of the package in case you can't figure it out on your own!)Objectively speaking, the wieners themselves really aren't anything special, but somehow just having them in the octopus shape makes them extra special/delicious. ^_^ For my chuutairen bento, I am definitely going to have tako-wieners as well as tamagoyaki!! (I plan to purchase the pan sometime this week, and I'll probably spend my free nights next week practicing making tamagoyaki like mad! =P
Speaking of bento lunches, I learned from some female Japanese friends a while ago that a "nice/proper" bento should have red, yellow, and green items. Even if all the food is really tasty, if it's all brown/the same colour, it's perceived as an "obaachan" (old lady) bento. Seeing all the books for making cute/attractive bentos, I'd already figured that appearances were considered important for (homemade) bentos, but I'd never heard about this 3-colour rule before...
Even though today's bento mostly followed the 3-colour rule (the potato salad was more white than yellow) and was considerably "better" than my usual tuna onigiri and raw veggie--mini tomatoes and carrot & cucumber sticks--bento, I know I've still got a long ways to go in my bento-making skills...In particular, today's top and bottom trays, while individually OK didn't really go together taste-wise. With the more "Western-style" side dishes in the top tray, I probably should have gone with sandwiches and/or pasta for the "main dish" in the bottom...
(Incidentally, the potato salad was also 深夜食堂-inspired. Usually I just put apples and/or hard-boiled eggs into my potato salad, but in the 深夜食堂 drama I saw that the Master used cucumber, carrot and ham, so I decided to try it out...Quite tasty!
Another side note: Even though iI know it's a fictional story, I can't help but wonder where the Master buys his 赤いウインナー. I mean, the bag I bought was 98yen for only 7 wieners, but he serves Ryuu a whole plate of them! I wonder if there's a place that sells them in bulk? =P)
But at any rate, just eating a bento that I put a little more care into than usual enabled me to really enjoy my lunch today. ^_^ As I said before, the tako-wieners especially made me happy! I guess I'm still a kid in that sense--cute shapes make me excited about even the simplest foods, like rabbit-shaped apples, for example! Now that I've mentioned it, I think I'll also include those in my chuutairen bento!! =P
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