Snow Crabs, or Zuwagani in Japanese are very popular not only in Japan, but also in Russia, Canada and many other countries.

In Japan, they are also known under the following names: Matsubagani, Echizengani and Yoshigani.
The females are also called Seikogani, Megani or Koubakogani.
They are caught mainly in Autumn and Winter.
Their number have decreased in the Japan seas down to a yearly catch of 5,000 tonnes while 60,000 tonnes are imported from Russia and Canada.

(Male Snow Crab)

(Female snow Crab)

Male and female snow crabs are equally succulent, but the males contain more flesh and are accordingly more expensive.

The “thorns” of a male snow crab are bigger.

The “teeth” of a male snow crab are triangular in a seesaw shape.
The female “teeth” are in a straight line.

The underbelly of a female snow crabis flatish.

When buying a female (10 tmes as cheap) snow crab, choose a specimen with as few eggs as possible. Above speciman just has too many!

A female snow crab should contain plenty of succulent orange egg sacs (the eggs not yet “born”). Otherwise, there is very little reason to buy any!

Crabs can be eaten in many ways, even raw, but my favourites are on sushi!

Male Snow crab leg Sushi Nigiri and Female snow crab Sushi Nigiri and its egg sacs!

Suwagani/Snow Crab legs, when lightly boiled can make for beautiful sushi nigiri.

Cheaper varieties can still make fr some remarkable gunkan sushi combining the boiled white flesh and “miso”/brains!

If the Japanese can get their hands on the whole crab, will simply boil it and eat the meat directly out of the shell with a sweet vinegar dressing.
As for the “miso”/brains they will be served in the shell heated again with a big helping of Japanese sake!

Now, live snow crabs make for extravagant sashimi!

The same can savoured in shabu-shabu!

Italian restaurants in Japan regularly serve it in pasta!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Social Culinaire, Sushi Nomads, Cook, Eat & Share, Gourmet Fury, 5 Star Foodie

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Click on the title for the full details or here to be redirected to another site

Japanese people typically eat cakes and roast or fried chicken on Christmas Eve. Popular Christmas cakes found in Japan are round sponge cakes with whipped cream toppings. Make sure to whisk eggs very well so that you can bake a fluffy sponge cake.

Zosui is Japanese rice soup made from pre-cooked rice. When we make Nabe (japanese hot pot), we make zosui after with the hot pot soup. It good to eat when you are feel sick or have a hangover and is also easy on the waistline.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes

• 2 bowls of steamed rice
• 2 beaten eggs
• chopped green onion (handful)
• chopped seaweed (optional)

Spices

• 8g Hondashi
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• dash salt

1. Boil 3 cups water and steamed rice in a sauce pan for 15 min on low
2. Add hondashi and dash of salt
3. Drizzle egg over mixture in rice, then add soy sauce and green onion
4. Serve in a bowl and add seaweed on top (if you like)

Click on the title for the full details or here to be redirected to another site

As this is my seventh year in a row in East Asia and I’ve never stayed anywhere more than two years before, this is the first time I’ve noticed this effect. I now have the knowledge and ability to sniff rather than blow, slurp my noodles, eat sea urchins, survive on green tea rather than PG Tips, eat sweet garlic bread, accept tomatoes as part of a fruit salad, etc etc, but have recently decided I just will not.

I had a fast forward version of this when I was staying with my in-laws for five weeks and round about week two I just couldn’t force another stone cold and rock hard fried egg down my throat (eggs- the black hole in the centre of the otherwise fabulous Japanese cuisine) and lost all my usual (natural and developed) Japanese politeness as I straightforwardly told my wife I was starting each day feeling nauseous and could stand it no more. Alternatively, maybe I was just tired from midnight feedings then and have lost my new country buzz in East Asia now and so generally tired now. Alternatively alternatively, maybe I’m just getting old and becoming more traditionally British in the same way as I seem to be losing the last vestiges of the results of my teenage rebelliousness and turning into my father.

Anyone else experienced this? Any theories on what the most likely explanation might be?

More Details Here

A 37-year-old woman diagnosed with premature menopause had a baby boy earlier this month from an egg grown through the administration of a hormonal agent, her doctors said Saturday.St. Marianna University School of Medicine in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, stirred the formation of ovarian follicles by administering the hormonal agent to pick up eggs from it, and grew them using culture fluid for external fertilization. (Japan Times)
Check out more details here

Kakitamajiru is a typical Japanese clear soup with eggs. This soup is lightly seasoned to enhance the dashi flavor. Serve kakitamajiru with Japanese rice dishes, such as sushi and rice bowls.

Kakitamajiru is a typical Japanese clear soup with eggs. This soup is lightly seasoned to enhance the dashi flavor. Serve kakitamajiru with Japanese rice dishes, such as sushi and rice bowls.

☆Baked Cheese Cake ☆
Ingredients
☆2 pack cream cheese
☆ 1 cup sugar
☆ 4 eggs
☆ 200g sour cream
☆ 2 tbsp flour
☆ 1/4 tbsp salt
☆ 1 tsp vanilla extract
For Crust
☆ 1 box graham crackers
☆ 75g butter
☆ 1/4 tsp nutmeg
☆ 1/4 tsp cinnamon
☆ 1/4 cup sugar
Direction
1. To make crust: Crush the cracker in a bowl until like bread crumbs, add [...]

Click on the title for the full details or here to be redirected to another site

Goya is a bitter gourd and is rich in vitamin C. It’s said that the bitterness enhances the appetite, and goya is often cooked during the summer. Chanpuru are stir-fried dishes which are speciality food in Okinawa. When making chanpuru with goya, adding eggs helps to soften the bitterness.

Click on the title for the full details or here to be redirected to another site