Otaku no Podcast » food

Episode #0033 – The Japan Travel Extravaganza, Part 1

The Ghost in the Machine — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:53:51 +0000

Today we begin a series of episodes which I am calling “The Japan Travel Extravaganza!” And as its name implies, we will be talking about travel to Japan, and the various things you can see and do while there. You’ll find out that it’s alot easier and cheaper to do than you might have thought.

Newsflash: Pop Japan Travel (whom we interviewed in this episode) are back and have announced their latest tour!

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Today’s Theme: “***Passionate” (***パショナート ***Pashonāto?) by Iori Nomizu; OP to the second season of Is this a Zombie? (aka Kore wa zombie desu ka?). Watch Season 1 on FUNimation’s website (season 2 will start streaming later this spring).

Links:

FanimeCon, May 25-28, San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, CA
AM2, June 15-17, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA
Anime Five Cities (website, Twitter), date and location TBA
Anime Expo, June 29-July 2, Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA
Otakon, July 27-29, Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD
AnimeNEXT, June 8-10, Garden State Exhibit Center, Somerset NJ
Anime North, May 25-27, Toronto Congress Center, Toronto ON CA
Anime Central, April 27-29, Hyatt Regency O’Hare/Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL
San Diego Comic-Con International, July 12-15, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA
List of more upcoming anime cons
Pop Japan Travel

Our Picks:

Urusei Yatsura (sadly AnimEigo lost the license and it is now out of print)
Planetes
One Piece

Planetes
$34.35

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

No related posts.

How to Subscribe to Otaku no Podcast Directly on your iOS or Android device (Updated)

Donald Burr — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 22:34:37 +0000

Most people, when they listen to podcasts, download them on their computer (using a program like iTunes, Winamp or similar) and sync them to their portable device when they plug it in. The main disadvantage of this is that you are tethered to your computer; if you are away from your computer you are unable to download the latest episodes of your favorite podcasts.

Fortunately there are now apps for both iOS and Android devices that make it easy to subscribe to and listen to podcasts without the need to sync with your computer. These apps work really well, and are very inexpensive (some are even free).

I’ve put together a short video on how to subscribe to Otaku no Podcast using four of the most popular of these type of apps on the iOS platform (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad). If you’re an Android user, I’m sure there are equivalent programs available for Android; search the marketplace for “podcatcher” or “podcast client” and you’re bound to find a few of them.

Watch the video on YouTube or in the embedded player below the cut.

Update: I’ve created a supplemental video, showing the same four programs I demonstrated, only this time on the iPhone/iPod touch. Watch it on YouTube or in the embedded player below the cut.

PC dating-sim games @ J-List

Video #0013 – Japanese Classic Cuisine: Curry with Rice

The Ghost in the Machine — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:20:28 +0000

In today’s episode we show you how to make another classic Japanese dish, one you’ve no doubt seen at one time or another: Curry with Rice.

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Watch this video on YouTube

INGREDIENTS:

For the roux:

3 tbsp. Butter
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp. garam masala (or curry powder)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, add to taste
black pepper, add to taste
1 tbsp. ketchup or tomato paste
1 tbsp. tonkatsu sauce or worcestershire sauce

For the curry:

2 tsp. Oil
2 Onions, sliced thin
2 lb. chicken thighs, cleaned and cut into chunks
2 carrots, cut into chunks
4 cups water
2 yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
1 apple, peeled, cored and pureed
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. garam masala
1/2 cup peas

METHOD:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium low heat and add the onions. Saute the onions until they are golden brown and caramelized (about 30 minutes). Turn up the heat to high, add the chicken and brown.
Add the carrots, and the water then bring to a boil. Skim off any foam or oil that accumulates at the surface then lower heat to medium and add the potatoes, pureed apple, salt and garam masala. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until you can pass a fork through the carrots and potatoes and the meat is tender.
For the roux, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the flour and garam masala, stirring until you have a thick paste. Add the cayenne pepper and some fresh ground black pepper and incorporate into the roux. Add the ketchup and tonkatsu sauce and combine. Continue to cook until the paste starts crumbling. Remove from heat and set aside until the meat and veggies are ready.
To make the curry, just ladle about 2 cups of liquid into the roux then whisk until it’s smooth. Pour this mixture back into the other pot and gently stir until thickened. Add the peas and heat through.
Serve over rice or noodles.

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Video #0011 – Asian Classic Cuisine: Mapo Tofu

The Ghost in the Machine — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 21:10:29 +0000

Last week, one of my favorite recent-vintage anime, Angel Beats!, was released on DVD and Blu-ray. In honor of this release, we return to the Otaku no Podcast test kitchens where I show you how to make “Tenshi” Tachibana Kanade’s favorite dish, Mapo Tofu.

Watch this video on YouTube (in case the embedded player below doesn’t work)

Buy Angel Beats on iTunes:

Watch Angel Beats! online at The Anime Network

Ingredients:

15 -16 ounces tofu, regular
1/2 teaspoon salt
water, for parboiling tofu
3 ounces ground pork
1/2 cup green garlic chives, chopped in 1/2 inches (nira)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chinese chili bean sauce (toubanjan or doubanjiang)
1 tablespoon chinese brown bean sauce (tenmienjan, tenmenjan, or tenmenjiang)
2 teaspoons fermented black beans, chopped finely
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ichimi togarashi pepper or 1/4-1/2 teaspoon japanese dried red chili pepper, minced
1 teaspoon chili oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon sake or 1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon szechuan peppercorn (optional)

For the cornstarch paste:

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

Directions:

Cut tofu into 1 inch cubes. Heat enough water in a large saucepan, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and tofu pieces. Bring to boil and cook tofu on medium high heat for 8 to 10 minutes and remove from heat. Precooking tofu in water prevents tofu from breaking apart easily later. Set aside.
While tofu is cooking, make cornstarch paste by mixing 1 T cornstarch and 1 T water. Set aside.
Set wok on high heat for 1 minute until hot. Add 2 T vegetable oil and swirl the pan, then add ground pork, stirring to separate
When ground pork is browned, add Chinese brown bean sauce ie tenmenjan, tenmienjan, or tenmenjiang, Chinese chili bean sauce ie toubanjan or doubanjiang, fermented black beans, and ichimi tougarashi or minced dried red chili pepper. Continue to cook for 1 minute.
Add chili oil, drained tofu pieces, chicken stock, garlic chives, soy sauce, and sake. Stir fry gently for 1-2 minutes.
Add cornstarch paste to thicken and add sesame oil. Swirl gently and cook for another 3-4 minutes on medium high heat. Sprinkle Szechuan peppercorn on top.
Serve with steamed white rice.

Video #0007 – Japanese Classic Cuisine: Yakitori

Donald Burr — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:48:52 +0000

Yes, I’m taking another break from audio podcasting. Today I show you how to make a classic Japanese dish that you’ve probably had many times before, Yakitori.

Ingredients:

1 package chicken thighs (about 6 pieces)
1 small bundle green onions (negi)
2 tbsp. sugar
2/3 cup soy sauce
6 tbsp. sake (Japanese rice wine)
2 tbsp. mirin (Japanese sweet cooking sake)

Directions:

Soak skewers in water, at least 30 minutes before cooking.
Combine soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar; cook until boiling. Boil about 1 minute then set aside.
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces (about 1 inch or so), removing bones if necessary. Peel off the skin, and trim any excess fat and skin with the knife.
Thread chicken and negi onto skewers, alternating between chicken and negi.
Cook over charcoal or bake in an oven (I usually set it to 350 degrees).
Cook until meat is firm but not tough, and/or an instant read thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Notes:

Those of you wishing to avoid alcohol can leave it out of the sauce. The taste won’t be quite the same, but should still be good. Also, mirin is available in a version without alcohol as well (basically has the flavor of mirin without the alcohol).
If desired, lightly sprinkle salt and pepper (to taste) on the skewers before coating with sauce.
If you’ve got the time, marinate your chicken and negi in the sauce. Let it soak at least 1 hour, preferably all day (prepare it in the morning, eat it for dinner).
For improved texture and to caramelize the sauce, finish your yakitori under the broiler for an additional 5 minutes or so at the end.
Boneless skinless thighs can sometimes be found in your market’s frozen foods section.
Some people like to shake some toasted sesame seeds on them right before serving.
It goes well with edamame (soybeans in the shell). And, of course, beer.
Traditionally, yakitori is made with just about every part of the bird, including the innards (gizzards, etc.). I’m not really a big fan of chicken innards (as I suspect is true of much of the American viewing audience), so I leave them out.

PC dating-sim games @ J-List

Cool Find: Cooking with Dog

Donald Burr — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:01:34 +0000

(no, it’s not what you think…)

I’ve talked and blogged about Japanese food before, as have our friends over at TJX. In fact I’ve even made a video or three on the subject. (In all fairness, the TJX crew did this as well.) But there’s something missing from our videos, something that would give them that extra “bam!” — a cute toy poodle, perhaps?

Meet Francis, the aforementioned toy poodle. In his series of videos, he (with the help of his unnamed human sous chef) shows you how to make a wide variety of traditional Japanese dishes — the traditional fruity sponge cake served during the holidays in Japan, to fried shrimp, nikuman (those steamed pork buns that the TJX crew have gone on about), mapo tofu (favorite dish of Tenshi!), and many more.

You’ll definitely want to have a large supply of snacks handy while you watch these.

In the video (below the cut), Francis shows you how to make the classic Japanese bento (complete with those cute octopus sausages that you see all the time in anime). Be sure and check out their YouTube channel to learn how to make even more traditional Japanese dishes.

(thanks to our cohost Danny Barer for this cool find!)

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

Otaku no Podcast is proud to announce that we are now a Friend of JList!

Donald Burr — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 06:30:14 +0000

Click for J-List

Do you look at all those cool anime figurines, artbooks, toys, posters, and related goods that all the J-bloggers are gushing over, only to have your heart filled with sadness because you live in an area absolutely bereft of any sort of Japanese import store? Do you drool and salivate when certain podcasters talk about the Japanese snacks and drinks that they love, only to get mad because the nearest Japanese market is over 9000 miles away from you? Well cheer up, because little did you know, you have a friend in Japan, who would be more than happy to purchase said items for you and ship them to you. And that friend’s name is J-List. J-List has been putting a smile on otakus’ faces since 1996, and they stock a truly mind-boggling selection of goods straight from the land of the rising sun: artbooks, figurines, magazines, photobooks, DVDs, dating-sim games, toys, calendars, t-shirts, cosplay costumes and accessories, dating-sim games (many of which are direct-to-download titles, no need to wait for a physical CD!), all manner of Japanese snack food and drinks, traditional Japanese items such as bento, charms, chopsticks, etc. — and yes, “those” kinds of products as well. Their selection really is unbelievable, their prices are reasonable enough (considering that these are imports we’re talking about here, people), they offer many different shipping options depending on how impatient you are , and their customer service is top notch, always friendly, knowledgable, and quick to respond.

Do give them a look, why don’tcha? If you’re of age and interested in all items that they stock — including adult items — check out JList; otherwise, JBox is your friend.

We are pleased to announce that we are now part of the JList affiliate program — we are a Friend of JList. If you order through any of the search boxes or ad banners sprinkled throughout the site (such as the ones below) we will get a small percentage (this doesn’t cost you anything extra), which we will gratefully use to help keep this ship afloat.

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

The TJX Crew Invade J-Town

Donald Burr — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:49:32 +0000

If you live in or near a city of reasonable size, odds are that it has a fairly sizable Japanese-American population, and that it would have some form of Japantown. Perhaps it’s nothing more than a collection of several Japanese or Asian markets or restaurants along a particular city block, or perhaps it’s a huge section of town completely devoted to Japanese-American businesses. Some of the more famous are San Francisco’s and San Jose’s Japantowns (San Francisco’s being one of my favorites), and Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo (which I still haven’t made it to, despite the frequent protestation of one of my co-hosts). Whatever your town has, though, it should be your sworn duty as otaku to visit such a place. Because you will find all manner of things that will interest you there — anime and related goods (Japan Video and Media remains one of my favorite stores to find this kind of thing, and I make it a point to stop in whenever I’m in the area); Jpop, Jrock, and other Japanese music; Japanese household goods; cultural items (decoration, bonsai, etc.); clothing (get your cosplay on!); and, most importantly, FOOD!!! It’s the next best thing to visiting Japan, and is a hell of a lot cheaper (maybe…)

The TJX crew recently visited Markham, Ontario‘s J-Town (map) and shot this nifty little video in which they sample such delicacies as yakitori (one of my favorites), Mitsuya Cider “ALL ZERO,” onigiri (I have fond memories of these – during our Japan trip in 2004, most nights we’d pick up a pair of these at a konbini and they’d serve as our breakfast the next morning); and “korokke,” or croquettes.

Be warned tho – watching this is gonna make you hungry! (A trip to your local Japantown should take care of that though!)

Video #0004 – The Sushi Experiment 3.0: Nigiri, Temaki, Chirashi, and Facing the Fish

Donald Burr — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:45:34 +0000

Greetings, and welcome to the third and final installment in this series of sushi making videos. It’s finally time to run with the big dogs and face your fears – raw fish. But don’t worry, it’s not as difficult as it sounds, and assuming you have access to a reasonably good Asian foods market (or are willing to order frozen products shipped to you in dry ice over the internet) you’ll be just fine. (Look at it this way, not only do you get good quality raw fish, but also dry ice to play with. Fun!) Today we learn how to make Temaki, or hand rolls; and Nigiri, or pressed sushi. We also take a brief detour and learn the Way of the Blade – handling sushi knives.

This is the final video in the Sushi series. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed it. I’ll be returning to audio podcasting after this. But stay tuned until the end of the video, because I’ll be talking about the future of Otaku no Podcast and these video podcasts.

Links to some of the products mentioned in this video:

A good seller of frozen sushi/sashimi-grade seafood Reasonably priced carbon steel yanagi (sushi knives) on eBay – if this one is sold out, use the “see other items” link to find more) The more high-end sushi knife I own – again use the “see other items” link to find more, if you’re interested A source of good Japanese water stones A really lengthy article about proper knife care, sharpening, etc. Another article on the proper care of carbon steel knives How to make proper Nigiri Sushi (this is pretty intense) Another method of making Nigiri Sushi (somewhat less intense than the previous one, but not by much!)

Click for J-List now!

Video #0003 – The Sushi Experiment 2.0: Rolled Sushi

Donald Burr — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:38:09 +0000

Well, I didn’t get any angry e-mails or death threats, so I’m assuming that you folks liked our first videocast (or were at the very least willing to tolerate it). So we’re back with another. In this, our second installment in the Sushi series, we’ll be talking about how to make maki sushi, or rolled sushi. We’ll be making two of the most popular examples of this – kappa maki, or cucumber roll; and the infamous California Roll.

(To those of you wondering when Anime on the Cheap Part 2 is coming, the answer is – “sometime, hopefully soon.” I’m taking a break from audio podcasting mostly because I’m procrastinating, and also because I have fun new toys [video camera, mic, sushi making equipment, knives, etc.] to play with )

Links to some of the products mentioned in this video:

PC dating-sim games @ J-List

Video #0002 – The Sushi Experiment 1.0: Inari Sushi

Donald Burr — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:34:58 +0000

Welcome to our first ever videocast. Okay, technically this is our second videocast, but since the first one was an Anime LA highlights video I put together over 9000 years ago, it doesn’t really count. In this first videocast, we take a brief journey away from anime, and into the kitchen, and I teach you how to make Inari Sushi, a tasty treat perfect for munching on during anime watching parties. (I mentioned this in Anime on the Cheap part 1) And no raw fish is involved!

This is really an experiment for me. I won’t do these videocasts very often – maybe one every few months at best – so don’t worry, your bandwidth won’t be choked up with huge downloads every week.

Products mentioned in the video:

How to make Okonomiyaki, TJX style!

Donald Burr — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:23:27 +0000

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese food best described as a sort of Japanese pancake (or perhaps omelette), with various other ingredients (meats, seafood, vegetables, cheese, etc.) mixed in. It may be difficult to type, but it’s pretty darn tasty. Like many other Japanese dishes, it is enjoyed throughout the country, and each region has its own variation on the dish. It’s sometimes cooked in front of you Benihana-style, and sometimes the restaurant leaves the cooking to you – each table has a grill on it, and you basically get a bowl full of mixed ingredients that you can grill to your liking. The most well known ones comes from Osaka (where it is said that okonomiyaki was invented) and Hiroshima. In our 2004 Tokyo trip, we had the pleasure of enjoying some Hiroshima okonomiyaki during a break in our tour schedule. It was indeed mighty tasty.

In their latest episode (and their first video episode), the TJX crew demonstrate how to make this delicious food. Be warned tho, you might want to at least have some snacks nearby, you’ll get hungry watching it! Watch it here.

EDIT: If you want to “kick it up a notch,” (ha!) and you have some decent cooking skills and have access to a decent Asian foods market or specialty store, I found this recipe for completely made-from-scratch okonomiyaki. And if you’re a wimp and/or rather use the pre-made stuff, but can’t find it anywhere locally… well, you can order anything on the Internets these days… Amazon has both the mix and the sauce!

EDIT 01/05/2010: Locally-mirrored copy of the video removed at the request of TJX, because it was causing confusion. This video is theirs, and I ask that you please direct any inquiries, comments, etc. to them directly. You should be able to play the video directly from their website, but if you can’t get the video to play in their embedded player (like I did), there IS a link to directly download it (look for “Podcast: play in new window / download” below the black video box). Or you can subscribe to their podcast – I’m sure they wouldn’t mind having a few more subscribers Sorry for the confusion guys. Gomen nasai.

EDIT 09/27/2010: The embedded version is back!

The Japan Xperience: The Okonmiyaki Experiment from Ron M on Vimeo.

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

The TJX crew talk about one of my favorite subjects – FOOD!

Donald Burr — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:49:34 +0000

The good news is that my two work projects went very well, and I’ve been having a great time at BlogWorld and New Media Expo, learning a lot of good blog/podcasting stuff and meeting and networking with a lot of cool people. I even took the opportunity to upgrade my podcasting setup – I got a new, much less crappy microphone, so the next podcast should sound pretty good.

Speaking of the next show, I’m actually working on it. We’re still in Vegas for another few days, and unfortunately the Internet access is pretty lousy, so I doubt I’ll be able to post the show before I return this weekend. But you should definitely have a new show by next week.

In the meantime, I’ve got something to tide you over. Your friends and mine, DJ City and DJ Gladiator of TJX – The Japan Xperience – have released a new episode in which they talk about one of my favorite subjects in the world – FOOD! More specifically, they take a gastronomical tour through Japan, and focus in on the most well-known/famous foods for various regions/cities of Japan. Give it a listen, you’ll like it. But beware – better have some snacks handy, as listening to these guys talk is gonna make you hungry!

Gothic & Lolita Products, magazine subscriptions from Japan

Want to find good places to eat in Tokyo? There’s an app for that!

Donald Burr — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:55:48 +0000

One of the latest buzzwords in mobile technology these days is augmented reality. It’s the combination of a live (real-time) view of the world that is overlaid – or augmented – with computer-generated imagery that somehow builds on what you are seeing and enhances it. Probably the most well-known example of this is a heads-up display, where the computers in an aircraft display projections on the windshield that assist pilots in navigating or firing on enemy planes or whatever. This technology is beginning to see widespread adoption, at least in an experimental stage, in both the commercial and military sectors.

This technology is now starting to see its way onto the so-called smartphones many people are now carrying in their pockets. Phones based on the Google Android OS have had this capability for a while, and now with the recent releases of the iPhone 3Gs and iPhone OS 3.1, that device is starting to see applications of augmented reality technology as well.

Tokyo Underground (iTunes App Store link, $0.99) is one such app that recently came on the scene. It’s a pretty useful travel companion, featuring all sorts of maps, guides to the various rail and subway lines in Tokyo, and a trip planner. But if you hold the phone up (so that the camera is facing where you’re looking) and activate the “Your New Eye” feature – new in version 3.0 of this app – you will see a view of whatever you’re looking at, overlaid with icons to various user-selectable Points of Interest (POI’s). Looking for a nice place to eat? Choose the type of restaurant you want (Japanese? Western-style? etc.), activate “Your New Eye,” and wherever you point your phone, if a restaurant that fits your criteria is within 1 km from where you are (determined by the iPhone’s built-in GPS and compass), you’ll see an icon on your screen representing where you should go. You can get more detailed directions if you need them, and the display updates in real-time — so as you walk toward it, you can see how far you have to go, or if you manage to drift off-course.

This is pretty cool stuff. Granted, it’s not quite on the level of something like a VISOR or Borg implants, but it’s still pretty neat, and will definitely come in handy especially if you’ve never been to Japan before.

The app is available now for purchase in the iTunes App Store for $0.99. While the rest of the features (mapping, route planning, etc.) will work on any iPhone (or even an iPod touch), the fancy Augmented Reality features are only available if you have the latest model iPhone, the iPhone 3GS.

More information on this app can be found at the iTunes App Store as well as the developer’s website.

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you