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jezebel
Joined: 18 May 2005
Posts: 53
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 Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 6:37 pm Post subject: Coriander (cilantro) |
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Does Japanese cooking make much use of coriander (cilantro)? I know that Thai food seems to use it a lot but I've never seen it in North American Japanese food.
The reason I ask is that one tiny millimetre of cilantro tastes to me like my mouth is filled with soap. It's impossible to pick out of food, and really difficult to request it to be left out of a dish, especially if the cook speaks a different language. For that reason I don't think I could ever live in Thailand, Mexico, or any other country that uses the herb frequently in food. Do you come across it often in Japanese food? |
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furiousmilksheikali
Joined: 31 Jul 2006
Posts: 1660
Location: In a coffee shop, splitting a 30,000 yen tab with Sekiguchi.
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| Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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| No. It is rarely used in Japanese cooking. I know of a lot of Japanese who hate it and say that when they visit Thailand, corriander is the taste they remember most for better or worse. |
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bshabu
Joined: 03 Apr 2003
Posts: 200
Location: Kumagaya
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:14 am Post subject: |
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| furiousmilksheikali is dead on. I happen to love the stuff. I have only found in one store in my town here. And you MAY find it in some Chinese food here put never in Japanese food, And in case you what to ask, it's called SHAN-SAI here. |
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6810
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 309
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:23 am Post subject: |
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Shan-sai? I always new this in Japanese to be Paku-chi... well, I guess you learn something new everyday.
But everyone here is right. Japanese generally hate the stuff. Whip it out and watch them cover their noses and say "Kitsui~!!"
Seriously, the Americans could have forced a Japanese surrender back in the day by dropping bombs of coriander instead of fire. People would have keeled over dead...
That said, I love the stuff and grow it at home (as well as Chillies, basil, curry leaf, parsley, artichokes [yes, artichokes! Have you seen how much a small jar of these suckers retails for here!?!] as well as tomatoes and the odd turnip...).
Growing it is your best bet since it grows like a weed and required virtually no maintenance. Just chop off the flower buds when you can to stop it going to seed until you're ready for it to go to seed! |
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Quibby84
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 643
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:50 am Post subject: |
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| it is soooo yummy in salsa |
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wolfman
Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 189
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:13 am Post subject: |
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I put it on my pizza.  |
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JimDunlop2
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Posts: 2286
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:39 am Post subject: |
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| bshabu wrote: |
| I have only found in one store in my town here. And you MAY find it in some Chinese food here put never in Japanese food, And in case you what to ask, it's called SHAN-SAI here. |
Actually, funny thing about that. Yes, it's a little hard to come by if you DO like to cook with it (like I do). But it goes by a variety of different names here as it does back home too. That's why you need to look extra-hard for it -- because you may miss it if you are only looking for the sign to be written in any one way.
Sometimes, depending on the store, I've seen it identified as "cilantro" in katakana, or "(Chinese in kanji) (parsley in katakana)", and even "coriander" in katakana... The only way to be sure is to rub the leaves and take a nice, deep sniff (as they sell various herbs that tend to look a little bit like cilatro but aren't).
It's a little sporadic in when/where you can obtain it. I usually get mine from a grocery chain called "Pax". I don't know if that's a local, regional or national chain, but they are an upscale supermarket, and tend to have higher prices, but also superior quality fresh goods and LOTS of foreign foods, spices and many rare/unusual items not available in your average, local Ogino or whatever. |
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ripslyme
Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 481
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 4:14 am Post subject: |
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| 6810 wrote: |
But everyone here is right. Japanese generally hate the stuff. Whip it out and watch them cover their noses and say "Kitsui~!!"
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"It's tight!"? I think the word you're looking for is "kusai".  |
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6810
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 309
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:20 am Post subject: |
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no, it's deinitely "Kitsui".
kistsui is often used to describe strong, rich or particularly acrid smells. Someone's armpit or a (ahem) f@rt in an elevator, or really strong perfume/cologne might all be described as kitsui.
kitsui is when something smells extremely potently, not necessarily badly. |
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JimDunlop2
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Posts: 2286
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:54 am Post subject: |
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I guess that makes sense. It's not like we don't do the same thing in English -- using words whose regular meaning is completely different from the feeling we're trying to express.
My favourite example -- if I see a motorcycle that I REALLY like, I might say, "That bike is SICK!"
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6810
Joined: 16 Nov 2003
Posts: 309
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:02 am Post subject: |
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it's like "yabai" it can mean dangerous/bad or really frickin' awesome.
Then there's atsui as in 厚い and atsui as in 暑い, the former meaning thick and the latter meaning hot.
On a slightly related topic... I remember seeing on mezamashi TV last year an article about the overuse of ~kunai among teens.
eg
How's this sweater?
Yokunai... not so good
Yokunakunai... kinda not "not so good"
Yukunakunakunai... back to the original... but kinder... |
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bshabu
Joined: 03 Apr 2003
Posts: 200
Location: Kumagaya
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| Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:17 am Post subject: |
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I cooked with it a lot back home both in Mihigan and Florida. Both have workers from Mexico looking for work(michigan) during harvest time. And nice benifit is that all the supermarkets carry things like cilantro, corn(not just flour) tortillas among other things. Talked to a lot of the workers about good recipes too.
But back to the cilantro topic. I do agree that most Japanese avoid it if they can. But I disagree that it is expensive, I can get it here for under 200 yen. So it is not bad at all. I also tries growing it too. A long with peppers, basil, and others. But I couldn't grow it fast enough and my balcony is small. |
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jezebel
Joined: 18 May 2005
Posts: 53
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:16 am Post subject: |
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Ahh.. Japan must be the perfect place for me, then! Even here in Toronto it's getting harder and harder to go out for dinner (Mexican, Thai, Indian, Chinese.. even the North American chain restaurants pollute their food with it these days!)
I swear I'm not a gastronomic freak. But I did read on wikipedia that there is a genetic defect that causes certain people to taste cilantro like soap. So there you have it, it's a genetic deficiency - and maybe one that many Japanese share with me. Either way, it's good to know I can eat safely in Japan. And bonus points for their low-wheat diet, which is the other food I have problems with. |
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ripslyme
Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 481
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:31 am Post subject: |
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| 6810 wrote: |
no, it's deinitely "Kitsui".
kistsui is often used to describe strong, rich or particularly acrid smells. Someone's armpit or a (ahem) f@rt in an elevator, or really strong perfume/cologne might all be described as kitsui.
kitsui is when something smells extremely potently, not necessarily badly. |
Ah ok, it was the nuance of this meaning that I had missed. gotcha. |
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