... in response to Free Squid!, posted by Ray on Jul 30, 2002I was out on the party boats twice last week getting free giant squid. They've been spawning and the evening boats out of Newport Beach were hauling them in by the bushel load. Not only did I stock my own freezer but many of my wife's friends.
Anyway, yes, we eat with hashi (chopsticks) when eating Japanese food at home or in a resturaunt. I find them far more convenient for some things (like whole fish with bones) and a pain for others. We're not overly ritualistic about it and use silverware when more convenient - like chopsticks for steamed rice that's easily picked up in clumps, and forks for fried rice - difficult to eat with sticks.
Hmmm - Mariko rinses rice three times also. I suspect not because of a superstition, more likely, something passed down from her mother. From what I read, you're supposed to rinse until the rinse water is clear. When I tried rinsing it, the rinse water is still cloudy after six or eight tries - so I usually just figure "good enough" after three or four.
Lately we've been eating more brown rice - less milled than the white variety, though the same type. It has more fiber. At one time it was considered lowly and crude, suitable only for the poor people but now considered better nutritionally than the more refined rice. It's funny about how attitudes change - spare ribs for instance, considered the worthless part of the pig - delegated to the slaves because they had to be picked up and eaten with the fingers - not considered proper behavior by the gentry. Now, resturaunts run ads showing patrons dressed in oilskin slickers getting ready to pig out on ribs.
-- Jeff S.
