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Cooking for Yourself

I cook mostly with fresh vegetables, so I shop every couple of days.  My
 grocery store is down the street though, so this is easy for me to do.  Its easy
 to buy prepackaged and frozen foods, but this is also an easy way to lose
 weight in your wallet and add to your bum.  Produce is marked down in the
 evenings and with different sauces available can be used to make a variety of
 inexpensive meals.  I use a brand called Cook-Do, which is different Chinese
 style sauces, all you have to do is add the sauce to stir-fried veggies and
 meat.  Japanese curry and stew stocks are also cheap and easy.  Again, just
 stir fry the stuff and add the stock with some water, and simmer.  Real
 curries are made the same way, curry kits are sold at foreign food stores.

Japanese noodles are healthier than Italian pasta and can be eaten with
 different sauces, in soups or even cold with soy sauce.  In the summer cold
 soba is served with Tempura.  The different kinds of noodles are: Soba-
 buckwheat noodles, zaru-soba are the common kind that are served in the
 summer.  Udon - large white flour noodles.  Somen - small delicate noodles
 served cold, and Ramen style noodles, which are also a type of Soba noodles
 used in ramen soups or yaki-soba.  The noodles should be added to boiling
 water and cooked quickly, just until done, and rinsed with cold water.

Most Japanese kitchens don't have ovens, and only small electric stoves. 
 Toaster ovens are extremely convenient and work as well as real ovens.  Some
 microwaves have an oven setting that works well.  I don't know how the
 microwaves do this, I think its one of the mysteries of the universe, but it can
 be used to bake and everything.  A rice cooker is a must have.  You can buy
 ones sized for one or two people.  All you have to do is wash the rice, add the
 right amount of water, push a button, wait, and viola!  Its good enough to eat. 
 Its really easy to add chopped vegetables, potatoes, or beans to cook with 
 the rice.

Vegetables can be bought in pre-packaged sets for kim chee or nabe, and
 yaki-soba.  All you have to do is add a sauce base and cook in a pot. 
 Yaki-soba is also sold in kits.  Stir fry the noodles , add the cabbage and
 veggies and any meat, then add a little water with the sauce and simmer for a
 little bit.  

Fruit is really expensive, but its also sold in sets, with a variety of cut fruits.  This usually proves cheaper than buying whole fruits, plus its healthier with a couple servings of different fruits.  

If your really interested in learning to cook Japanese food, asked someone about any classes that might be available.  Someone may even offer to teach you!

                                                          

 

  Hey! What time is it in Japan?

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