Unagi & Doyo-no-ushinohi -Eel day うなぎと土用の丑の日

　There are so many good and interesting things in Japan, but probably you don't know much about them if you cannot speak or read Japanese easily. I will give you tidbits of information on Japanese custom,life and food.

You may find of the nice smell of Kabayaki ( 蒲焼 かばやき ) eel ( Unagi, 鰻 うなぎ)　 in supermarkets these days. Why especially this time of year ? Apparently, there is some mysterious Japan power that came from the humid Japanese summer and it is connected to eels. I will tell you a tidbit about Unagi story today.

What’s ‘Doyo-no-ushinohi’?

There is a traditional Chinese philosophy, which is called Gogyo 五行. We used to use this idea for the name of a season as well. Doyo 土用 means the end of each season and there are four Doyo in a year. On this calendar, we call the just beginning of each season, Rittshun立春 ・Rittka立夏 ・立秋 Rittshu ・立冬 Ritto . Doyo 土用 is 18-19 days before the beginning of each season. So Doyo day is slightly different each year because the calendar is based on the Sun’s path. We call the summer’s Doyo-no-ushinohi, ‘Doyo-no-ushinohi’ in general. The Doyo of this year (2007) is from 20 July to 7 Aug and Ushinohi is 30 Jul. Doyo-no-ushinohi is the busiest day of the year for eel restaurants.

Why ‘Eel’ (Unagi) ? -Eal story-

There was a famous old story about an eel on Doyo. One eel-selling owner had a hard time for business and he asked to a famous physician ( pharmacologist , author, painter and inventor ) Gennai Hiraga how to manage his situation. Hiraga suggested that eel seller put a sigh in front of his shop. The sign read: ‘Today is Ushinohi’ This advice was given because there was a old saying ‘If you eat some foods whose name starts with ‘U’, you will overcome very hot summer.’ The eel selling owner followed this advice and the eel seller prospered.

Kabayaki & Shirayaki

The famous cooking style for eel is Kabayaki where the eel is grilled and coated with a kind of teriyaki sauce.
Cooking process depends on the area of Japan you are in.
One example is : cutting →skewering →steaming →grilling →putting sauce →grilling →putting sauce→grilling→putting sauce→grilling.
Kabayaki is popular, but there is Shirayaki 白焼where the eel is grilled without sauce and the color is white. On this eel, you can add with any flavorings you wish.

Nutrition

Eel has high nutritional value. It’s high in vitamin A, B1,B2, D, E, DHA and EPA.
About vitamin A, there are two types of vitamin A, one is retinol and another is β-carotene. β-carotene change to vitamin A in the body, but absorption rate is 30 percent only. Eel includes retinol which works as vitamin A completely and it’s higher nutritious thanβ-carotene. Vitamin A is good for eyes, skin, mucosa and immune system. Vitamin B1 is used on process producing energy from glucose and it’s good for tiredness. Vitamin B2 is good for the skin and it works on the conversion process from lipids. Vitamin D is an important for calcium absorption and Vitamin E is famous as anti-oxidant. DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA(Eicosapentaenoic acid) are unsaturated fatty acids , known as Omega-3 fat , most often found in fish oil, young yellowtail, saury, tuna, sardine, etc. They have been shown to benefit people suffering from diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cholesterol, brain, cancer, allergy, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.


Eel is very healthy foods and good for your energy level. Have a eel dinner and brace yourself against summer’s heat and humidity !!

TSUYU -Rainy Season 梅雨 つゆ

　There are so many good and interesting things in Japan, but probably you don't know much about them if you cannot speak or read Japanese easily. I will give you tidbits of information on Japanese custom,life and food.

It is pretty rainy from June to July in Japan. 　We call this season 梅雨 つゆ tsuyu or ばいう baiu. 　It’s humid and unfortunately we have many mold problems. 　I’ll let you know some ways to manage during this unpleasant time.

　Why do we call it as 梅雨 ’baiu ’ ?

There are many stories that explain why we call as the rainy season 梅雨 tsuyu or baiu. 　One story is that during this season we have many 黴 カビmolds grow abundantly so we call this season 黴雨 baiu. 　Unfortunately this word 黴sounds not very beautiful 　and so the word was changed to 梅 ume=bai 　. Another story is that in the rainy season, we can get many 梅 plum fruits and we call this season 梅雨. 　There are other stories and actually we don’t know the real history of this word.　

　Big three problems !　

It’s well known that we have カビmold problems in Japan　　, but actually we have three big problems. One is ‘カビmold’ and other two are ‘ダニmite’　 and ‘結露けつろwatery (moist) walls and windows’　 It’s said there are 5-8 liters of water in a house with 4 family members. 　About 結露 watery wall, it’s visible in a winter, but we have it in a summer as well. 　When it rains and the sun comes out it increases the moisture in a house and that moisture typical condensates on the walls. It definitely will bring mold later. 　

* I wrote about ‘mites’ in Sep 2006 on my weblog , please check it out.

　What should we do ?

Room →　Open windows as often as possible to circulate air.

Kitchen→ Use a ventilation fan to dry the kitchen. Clean the kitchen well to avoid mold.　

Closet→　Keep dry inside. Use すのこ sunoko to make space between box or cloths and floor.　 Putting some dehumidification devicess in the closet will also help reduce moisture and thus mold.　

Windows→ Wipe up the water on windows.

Floor → Vacuum well, at least 3 mins. for 6 tatami-room.
Shoes box→ Open door and let air in to the hall way where the shoe box resides.　 Put some dehumidification devices in the shoes box.　　

Bath room→ Clean dirt and soap off the shower with hot water,　 then change to cold water and rinse off the soap. Then dry the walls thoroughly.　　

Air conditioner→ Clean well and keep dry inside. Before turning off, change a switch from ‘冷房cool’ or ‘除湿dry’ to ‘送風wind’ to dry the inside. 　

Linen & Futon→ On sunny days　, dry them up outside. If there are mites on them, vacuum well to remove them from the futon.

Washing→ Use dryer. 　If you don’t have one, spin dry them well and then dry them outside for 2-3 hours.　 Then dry them near a dehumidifier or air conditioner with dehumidification function. 　And get wind from air conditioner or fan vertically.

Furniture→ Make some space between a furniture and the wall for air circulation.　

Food poisoning

In the rainy season, food poisoning could happen. 　If you make a lunch box, you should be careful about these things.

Bacteria propagate near 37℃. If you cook, heat them up over 65℃ and keep them 5℃.

Wash your hands well.　

Don’t use raw food and heat up the foods well.

Avoid watery recipes.

If you put rice into a lunch box, cool them well before putting in.　

Use 梅干ume plum わさび wasabi for recipes.

　When cleaning the lunch box, wash each part separately, 　then rinse with boiled water and dry them well. 　Use vinegar to wipe them up.


Do what you can to keep your room dry and make yourself happy. 　Life in Japan can be great, even during the rainy season !!　　

HARUYASAI -Spring vegetables 春野菜

　There are so many good and interesting things in Japan, but probably you don't know much about them if you cannot speak or read Japanese easily. I will give you tidbits of information on Japanese custom,life and food.

You can find many kinds of spring vegetables 　in the shops these days. 　They are very fresh and taste wonderful. 　Even if you only cook them in simple way, the taste is still really nice. 　Today I’ll tell you about Spring vegetables. 　

　旬　Shun

We call the seasonality of food, 旬shun, the times of year when the food’s taste is most delicious 　and the harvest is at its peak　. You can buy the freshest vegetables in the market at this time. 　There are many kinds of Spring Shun vegetables now. 　Probably Spring cabbage and asparagus are popular, but I’d like to introduce others, typical Japanese spring vegetables today.　

　筍 TAKENOKO Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo shoots are high in fiber 　and potassium and have low in calories. 　Bamboo shoots are also supposedly good for constipation, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. 　They include Tyrocine, an amino acid, 　that produces a white color in the pot when you boil them. 　Oxalic acid in the bamboo shoots can create a bitter baste, 　so neutralize that taste by adding a bit of rice bran during boiling. 　Cook bamboo shoots for tempura, stir fly, deep fry, soup, etc. You can also steam bamboo shoots with rice which is popular for Japanese lunch box at this time.　　

　菜の花 NANOHANA Rapeseeds, Canola

Rapeseeds are high in carotene, vitamin C, iron, potassium and calcium. 　Rapeseed is good balanced nutritional vegetable. When you boil them, boil for only short time. 　Otherwise vitamin C will come out in the water. 　It’s said that rapeseed is good your immune system, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. 　The spicy component is allyl isothiocyanate which is known to fight against cancer and blood clots. 　Cook Rapeseeds for ohitashi (tasty boiled vegetables ), stir fry and tempura.　　

　蕗 ふき FUKI ＆ 蕗の薹 ふきのとう　FUKINOTOU　 Butterbur

Fuki is the leaf stem of Butterbur. Fukinotou are the short spikes of flowers that are produced just before these leaves in the Spring. 　Fuki is high in fiber, calcium and potassium. It’s said to be good for high cholesterol, inflammation, constipation and high blood pressure. 　The bitter taste is a kind of an alkaloid. 　When you boil stem part of Fuki, put some salts on them and roll them on chopping board. We call this procedure ‘板ずりItazuri’, 　then boil them and peel their skin. 　Normally stew with soy sauce and sugar. You can find souvenir from countryside きゃらぶき Kyarabuki is kind of Fuki cooking.　 Fukinoto is popular for tempura. ふき味噌 Fukimiso which stewed with miso taste is also popular.

　独活　うど UDO Aralia cordata

There are two types of Udo, one is 白独活Shiroudo 　and another is 山独活Yamaudo　. Shiroudo is popular in the market and they grow in areas where there is no sunshine. 　Yamaudo grow under sunshine. 　They grow over 2 meters tall. We have a Japanese saying ‘独活の大木 Udo no taiboku’ 　It means it’s very big, but not of big value. 　To rid the vegetable of its bitter taste away, peel their skin thoroughly and put them into water with vinegar. 　Udo are high in fiber, aspartic acid and low calories. 　Cook Udo for salad, kinpira( stir fry with soy sauce) and aemono (boiled and mixed with sauce ). 　

Hey, these Spring vegetables are so delicious !! 　
Bon appetite !!　　

KAFUNSHO -Pollen Allergy 花粉症

　There are so many good and interesting things in Japan, but probably you don't know much about them if you cannot speak or read Japanese easily. I will give you tidbits of information on Japanese custom,life and food.

This is seasonal allergy (pollen allergy) time in Japan. 　It’s said that 20% of people have a seasonal allergy nowadays. 　I know some foreigners got this allergy in Japan. 　Very sorry…　Let's share with you a few coping strategies for allergies.　

What kind of pollen?

Hey fever is a seasonal allergy created by many kinds of pollen.　 Cryptomeria スギ is the most abundant, but other pollens are prevalent all season long. 　Normally the distribution time of Crymtomeria is from February to March and March to April for Japanese cypress.

　　Spring　→ Cryptomeria スギ , Japanese cypress ヒノキ
　　Early Summer → Orchard grassesカモガヤ　　(the family Poaceae イネ科)
　　Autumn → ragweedブタクサ, mugwort ヨモギ (the family Asteraceaeキク科)

So even after April, some people can still suffer from allergy.　　

　How about other countries in the world?　

It’s said that the family Poaceae is abundant in Europe and the family Asteraceae is ubiquitous in the United States. 　

　Reason

Many Cryptomeria were planted after WWII to reforest Japan. 　There are many reasons that would increase the serverity of Spring alleries including and an increase in exhaust fumes from vehicles , the life is stressful than in the past , our food are less healthy , too much and the wrong kinds of protein in our diet , and our houses and commercial buildings are less ventilated .　　

　Amounts of pollen

It’s said that that amounts of pollen are influenced by the amount of daylight of previous summer. 　So if the last summer was so hot, next seasonal allergy will be severe　　

　How can you manage?

　 Refrain from going out especially during the time pollen is really abundant (around 1:00-3:00PM, depending on area)
　 Clean the house ( vacuum carefully and wipe surface with wet towel)
　 Gargle a mouth wash and wash your face when return to your house
　 Remove the pollen from your clothe or pets when you come back to your house
　 Close the windows and doors
　 Don’t dry the clothes outside
　 Wear a mask and glasses. Choose a coat with a slick, non-porous surface
　 Avoid consuming too much high protein foods, alcohol, and spicy foods, smoking
　 Avoid your stress as much as possible

　A bit more

　シソ油　Perilla oil…..It includes α-Linoreic acid, which contains an unsaturated fatty acid and some flavonoids. 　It’s said that α-Linoreic acid and these flavonoids suppress the immune system 　and work for decrease allergy symptoms.　

　甜茶 Tencha…..It's a Chinese tea from the family Rosaseas . 　It includes Tencha polyphenol (GOD polyphenol) 　and it works as an antihistamine and obstructs the action of cycloxygenase which occurs inflammation. 　

This season is very tough time for people with allergies , but there are many ways to reduce severe allergic reactions. 　 Please reduce your symptoms as much as possible and enjoy the beautiful Japanese spring 　!! 　

TUKAISUTE KAIRO -Disposable heating pad 使い捨てカイロ

　There are so many good and interesting things in Japan, but probably you don't know much about them if you cannot speak or read Japanese easily. I will give you tidbits of information on Japanese custom,life and food.

This winter is a bit warm, but it’s still cold early morning and at night.　 Do you know there are convenience goods to keep yourself warm. 　One of them is famous ‘ disposable heating pad’ It’s cheap and very useful. 　Let me tell you a bit of Japanese disposable heating pad today.　

　Theory

The most famous one is the type which you just open the package of disposable pad and it will become warm. 　It’s a use of theory of oxidation of iron. When iron combines with oxygen, it generate some heat. 　
　　Fe + 3/4 O2 + 3/2 H2O = Fe(OH)3 + 96 kcal/mol →　warm !!!
Other ingredients, activated carbon is added to absorb oxygen from air. Water and salt are added to speed this oxidation.

　Origin

American army used this method to keep themselves warm at Korean war in 1950-1953. 　They carried some iron and salts in a bottle in cold area. Later Japanese use this idea to produce these days disposable heating pad.

　Types

We used to have only one type, square type was available before. 　Nowadays there are many kinds of disposable heating pad. 　For example, big size, small size, with adhesive tape ,for socks, for shoes. You have to be careful　, which one should be put on which area. You can’t use a heating pad for body in your shoes when your feet feel cold.　

　Why not too hot ?

To keep good temperature, disposable heating pad is made to adjust not only amounts or size of iron and activated carbon, but also amount and size of hole of outside package. 　Otherwise, it may become too hot. It’s a reason why disposable hot pad can keep comfortable temperature.

Why not carry such a comfortable disposable heating pad? 　Let’s go outside and enjoy !!