Yesterday, I was finally able to go to the Oriental Market that I
found listed on the Internet.
http://urlsnip.com/878826

The place is a dream come true! It's only 23.3 miles from my house and
took only 35 minutes to get to.

They don't carry any fresh, sushi quality fish, but they do have my
Salmon roe, (frozen) and canned roasted eel. I didn't take the time to
go through all of the frozen fish they stock but there were many
different kinds.

Their selection of seasonings was astronomical!

I bought some Natto and I'm going to give it a try. I'll post my
opinion of it after my first try.

There were hundreds of things that had no English on the package and
I'll be writing down the more interesting ones and asking for
translations from the group.

In article >, Questions
> wrote:

> There were hundreds of things that had no English on the package and
> I'll be writing down the more interesting ones and asking for
> translations from the group.

I think it's a US federal law that ingredients must be listed in
English on packaged import products. The fat/fiber/sugar percentages
must also be listed for those products packaged in the US after the
early 90's.

But for import products at Marukai or Mitsuwa, Japanese supermarkets in
SoCal, or for Ranch 99 (Chinese), Vien Dong (Vietnamese), they have
expanded price labels that list ingredients if multiple ingredients are
present (in a paste or sauce). If it's just fish of some kind
sometimes it says "fish dep" on the label and no more.

We like the deep-fried aji skeletons they sometimes give us in
sushi-bar's after we've eaten the aji. Sometimes they even list them as
"cracker bone" or "bone cracker". I noted something called "ogiya kisu
bone senbie" in the store. Which is pretty much the same thing though
the fish is far smaller than aji.

The ingredients are listed clearly in English on a label that was
pasted on in Tokyo by the exporter. On the store's label it lists the
product, like so many, as "Fish Dep". We got a lot of laughs out of
everything named "Fish Dep" in there.

But on other goods we find that they list the ingredients on the
pricing label as it is not found on the product anywhere.

--
"A Dictionary of Japanese Food, Ingredients & Culture" by Richard Hosking
(Tuttle, '97). All the hints one might need for exploring Japanese food.

"The Sake Handbook" by John Gaunter (Tuttle, '02). An excellent intro and
reference to sake.

Gerry wrote:
> We like the deep-fried aji skeletons they sometimes give us in
> sushi-bar's after we've eaten the aji.
>

We always order Pompano sushi at Sushi of Naples in Pasadena bcause they
do the same thing. The pompano (ebodai) are small enough to yield two
lovely pieces of sushi followed shortly by the deep-fried "hone" or
skeleton. Like fish candy.

Gerry wrote:
> In article >, Questions
> > wrote:
>
> > There were hundreds of things that had no English on the package and
> > I'll be writing down the more interesting ones and asking for
> > translations from the group.
>
> I think it's a US federal law that ingredients must be listed in
> English on packaged import products. The fat/fiber/sugar percentages
> must also be listed for those products packaged in the US after the
> early 90's.

The items have the information you mention, but as with a lot of
things, just knowing what's in it doesn't really tell you what it's
for. Also, with the type of packaging that some of the products have,
the labels are almost impossible to read. The face of the package where
the product is printed in the originating country's language is
always easy to read. This is what I would seek a translation for.

>
> But for import products at Marukai or Mitsuwa, Japanese supermarkets in
> SoCal, or for Ranch 99 (Chinese), Vien Dong (Vietnamese), they have
> expanded price labels that list ingredients if multiple ingredients are
> present (in a paste or sauce). If it's just fish of some kind
> sometimes it says "fish dep" on the label and no more.

That's pretty funny.

In article .com>,
> wrote:

> The items have the information you mention, but as with a lot of
> things, just knowing what's in it doesn't really tell you what it's
> for.

You mean whether to eat as is or only as an ingredient in another
cooked dish?

> Also, with the type of packaging that some of the products have,
> the labels are almost impossible to read. The face of the package where
> the product is printed in the originating country's language is
> always easy to read. This is what I would seek a translation for.

I find that sometimes the "how to prepare" section is also a little
less forthcoming with the English. I can see stick-figures laboring
over the item, mixing, adding one packet, then another, skinning an
animal, putting on the lead vest, and on and so on, but don't really
know what the hell it means. More than one enticing package wound up
in the trash because I couldn't figure out of it was poison or
pancakes...

--
"A Dictionary of Japanese Food, Ingredients & Culture" by Richard Hosking
(Tuttle, '97). All the hints one might need for exploring Japanese food.

"The Sake Handbook" by John Gaunter (Tuttle, '02). An excellent intro and
reference to sake.

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 10:42:30 -0700, Gerry >
wrote:

>In article .com>,
> wrote:
>
>> The items have the information you mention, but as with a lot of
>> things, just knowing what's in it doesn't really tell you what it's
>> for.
>
>You mean whether to eat as is or only as an ingredient in another
>cooked dish?

Yes. I like to try things as they would be used by a person in the
same country as the item is made. That way, it's kind of like being
there.

>
>> Also, with the type of packaging that some of the products have,
>> the labels are almost impossible to read. The face of the package where
>> the product is printed in the originating country's language is
>> always easy to read. This is what I would seek a translation for.
>
>I find that sometimes the "how to prepare" section is also a little
>less forthcoming with the English. I can see stick-figures laboring
>over the item, mixing, adding one packet, then another, skinning an
>animal, putting on the lead vest, and on and so on, but don't really
>know what the hell it means. More than one enticing package wound up
>in the trash because I couldn't figure out of it was poison or
>pancakes...

Now that IS funny! I guess it wouldn't be if you made some rat poison
pancakes!

Ewwwwwwwww

"Gerry" > wrote in message
.. .
> In article .com>,
> > wrote:
>
> > The items have the information you mention, but as with a lot of
> > things, just knowing what's in it doesn't really tell you what it's
> > for.
>
> You mean whether to eat as is or only as an ingredient in another
> cooked dish?
>
> > Also, with the type of packaging that some of the products have,
> > the labels are almost impossible to read. The face of the package where
> > the product is printed in the originating country's language is
> > always easy to read. This is what I would seek a translation for.
>
> I find that sometimes the "how to prepare" section is also a little
> less forthcoming with the English. I can see stick-figures laboring
> over the item, mixing, adding one packet, then another, skinning an
> animal, putting on the lead vest, and on and so on, but don't really
> know what the hell it means. More than one enticing package wound up
> in the trash because I couldn't figure out of it was poison or
> pancakes...
>

LOL..that's pretty funny. But I happen to agree that the instructions really
ought to be written clearly
in the language where the product is being sold. I've had friends e-mail me
pictures of the backs of packages
which I translated. Also, sometimes the directions written in Japanese are
very bad as well, making
any attempt to translate it to English very very difficult.
I always suggest that before buying a package it is best to know what the
item is, and to know
someone who has made it that can explain it to you.
M