prettytin wrote: i visited a japanese grocery store yesterday and i had a hard time deciding what to buy. i don't know any japanese products. i ended up with Pocky coz it's what nino (of arashi) endorses, so that's what i only know of. can you recommend what best stuff (with brand) i can buy?
Real food food? Or sweet/snack food? What kind of (non-Japanese) stuff do you like?
For food food... curry is pretty good and easy to prepare... you'll probably find two kinds... the kind in the pouch (just boil the pouch, or empty it into a bowl and microwave) and the roux cubes for making it yourself (boil potatoes, carrots, meat, veggies etc, add roux, boil some more and you're done)
It's obviously not an ancient Japanese cuisine, but it is very popular in Japan, and different from the original Indian and southeast Asian curries. House is probably the biggest brand, and then S&B. They are usually categorized into 甘口 (mild), 中辛 (medium), and 辛口 (spicy)... but the spicy is still probably nowhere near the level of Indian or other curries (I mean the grocery store stuff)
For sweet stuff or snacks... Haichu is popular (chewy, fruity candy), Milky (sweet milk flavored candies) is pretty popular... I like Toppo... it's like inside out Pocky... Rice crackers are good... I like "kakipii" (small orange moon-shaped rice crackers with peanuts) and kabuki-age (the ouside is rough, not smooth like other rice crackers)
They'll probably have some mochi with red bean paste... personally I like the fresh stuff better, and not everyone likes red beans, but worth a try...
Umeboshi (pickled plums) are hit or miss... I love them... I know A LOT of foreigners who hate them... they are really sour, but sometimes a little sweet... the most popular way to eat them is with rice... some people don't like the sweetness with the rice... but for beginners I would try one of the sweeter kinds (usually with added honey) because it cuts the sourness a little.
Furikake or ochazuke are good... the concept is similar... furikake is usually a combination of dried seaweed, sesame, dried fish, shiso, etc that you put over rice to flavor it a little... ochazuke is similar but with dried green tea powder too, so you put it on your rice and poor hot water in for a kind of rice soup... (of course you could make actual green tea and use that too)... ochazuke is good if you add umeboshi or fresh salmon, or something like that too...
roseprincess:
bannie:
