Hawaiian

22 hours ago, moogradod said:

The real wasabi (Hon-Wasabi) grows exclusively in fresh water mountain streams in Japan. Thats why it is so so very rare and expensive. There is a variety that can be grown in a pot and in selected countries (the plant needs a certain temperature range throughout its life), but thats second choice and not the real REAL Wasabi.

 

We use as well S&B Wasabi Powder which we make into a paste by adding water. But this is not the real thing. What is available already in paste form should be avoided in my opinion.

Wasabi may be grown commercially exclusively in Japan, but is also grown on a small scale in Hawaii.  I live in the Volcano area on the island of Hawaii at 4,000 ft. elevation where winter time temperatures can drop into the 40s F.  The guy raising the wasabia japonica is also a commercial vegetable farmer.  His wasabi plants are watered 4 times a day and he has harvested mature plants.  He got the original plants from another Japanese farmer who imported them from Japan.

The first ingredient listed on a tube of PREMIUM S&B Wasabi Paste is wasabi.  It sells for 3 to four times the price of the colored horseradish.  As for preference, it depends on how much you want to spend. 

S&B does sell "real" wasabi which costs three times more than the "imitation" wasabi.  One of my neighbors grows wasabi and sells both potted plants and fresh wasabi.

Rather doubt it that he can be removed politically.

23 hours ago, moogradod said:

Making (good) sushi by yourself is an art. Difficult. "Sushi" does actually refer to the rice mixture. Even to make this one alone is not easy. As a Sushi apprentice you will dedicate a year or more only to cook rice properly. Then comes the mixture - at Top- shops made even with a secret mixture of different rice vinegars.

 

I prefer nigiri sushi. What you refer to as "ahi" seems to be a more hawaiian term. In Japan, Tuna is generally called "Maguro" and then comes in 3 quality classes as "Akami", "Chutoro" and "Otoro". Real wasabi is hard to find - what you get here is not a pure wasabi root. The real thing is rare and expensive and I have not come across a Japanese Delikatessen Shop here, where you could hope to get some.

 

However, as you say, Japanese Rice is available in Villa, Tops and even in Big C Extra. Tops offers - to my delight - quite a number of other Japanese food as well.

 

The best sushi restaurant in Pattaya in my opinion is the "Ronin". They offer as well all three kinds of quality grades of Tuna, if not sold out and a vast variety of nigiri.

 

I agree with you about fried rice. Best made with longer grain, not sushi rice.

 

 

  I grew up eating the many ethnic foods available here in Hawaii, including the local versions of nori

maki and inari sushi.   The first time I ate tekka maki  and onigiri sushi was in Japan.  I am far from a being a sushi chef, but make passable sushi. 

Prepared wasabi in plastic squeeze tubes imported from Japan is readily available.  In the past everyone in Hawaii used karashi (yellow mustard, the kind served with oden and gyoza).  There are a few people here that grow wasabi which does best grown next to cold, clear spring water.

Yellowfin tuna in Hawaii is called ahi.  The Japanese call big eye tuna maguro and tend to use the term for tuna.

On 12/30/2021 at 2:09 AM, moogradod said:

I don't know. I do not eat fish sauce if I don't need to (in some dishes it does not stand out as well).

But I have asked my wife and she said it does not match too well. So you have a valid point here for some. But I mostly eat Japanese Rice and my wife Jasmine Rice then.

 

One more advantage of Japanese Rice: It does stick together to a certain extend, making it easier to eat with chopsticks. With Basmati (maybe even paraboiled ????) this challenge would probably surpass the difficulties of the deployment of the Webb Telescope or you do it intentionally by picking grain for grain seperately if you are on a diet.

 

My favourite food is Sushi - try to make this with Basmati. Conclusion: Every variety for its purpose. But nevertheless Kokuho Rose is the tastiest rice I know.

 

 

Sushi is also one of my favorites.  I make good inari (stuffed in deep fried tofu pockets) and nori maki (rolled in dried seaweed sheets).  My favorite is tekka maki which has raw fish, preferably sashimi grade ahi, and wasabi in the center.  You are right about Kokuho, although the supermarkets here stock other brands which are just as good.

I only use long grain rice when cooking fried rice since it does not stick together.

3 hours ago, mikebell said:

I get 3 a week from Pay Pal which I dutifully forward to Pay Pal but have noticed no discernible improvement. I've stopped using them.

Suspect email should be forwarded to [email protected].  They usually acknowledge receipt when I do.  I rarely receive another fraudulent email after that; that is, not for a long time.

55 minutes ago, Guffman said:

My  credit card was used twice on the night of 10th October. I woke up in the morning to see messages from the KTC app telling me of two transactions. One was for 1 dollar from Delta Airlines and another one for about 5000 baht from a hotel website in Taiwan. I called the card company immediately and they cancelled the card and got the transactions removed  within 24 hours.  I'm not sure how the card information was obtained, but I rarely use the card and the places I have used it can be counted on one hand.  First time I've ever had a problem like this.

Had this happen one time.  Tried to use my card and found out my card wouldn't work.  Upon phoning the card company I was questioned about recent transactions and we determined there were two fraudulent transactions, each for less than five dollars.  The charges were reversed, a new card  issued and I received it by express mail.  Like you I am very cautious where I use my card. 

43 minutes ago, heybruce said:

Did you read the full article?

 

"Like Boonme, many farmers are finding that recommended doses of pesticides fail to kill crop-eating insects and so they dump chemicals on their fields far in excess of safety levels. Even after harvesting, food may be doused with chemicals which can remain on food when it hits the marketplace."

This problem is not unique to Thailand.  It exists anywhere enforcement is lax or completely lacking.

This is a step down from all of the tough talk from Xi and his foreign minister.  China's economy is much worse shape than they would like us to believe. 

14 hours ago, placeholder said:

several keys including the "p" are no longer functional on my keyboard. Occasionally I forget to paste them in or heed the autocorrection feature.  Hence "eole" and "grou"

The comment should have read

"Well, those who are vaccinated with 1 inoculation are listed as such. But you're right, obviously people in that group will be far more likely to come down with symptoms. As will, on average, those who are vaccinated twice but still in the latency period."

My "p" key needs extra pressure to work.

On 10/10/2021 at 7:08 PM, Cake Monster said:

As with the vaccinations that are given under the skin as opposed to in the Muscle, I await the clinical trial data, and testing Data.

If this Thai Cabbage is so good, why have the Thais not been sending it abroad to ease the burden of finances during the Covid Outbreak.

 

You can buy it online.  I have seen it being sold on eBay.

On 10/7/2021 at 10:07 PM, bkkcanuck8 said:

Trump was unpredictable and that could have consequences, but US trade sanctions on China did as much damage to the US as it did to China (maybe even more).  China was still preferring Trump get re-elected though because whatever damage was done between the US and China paled on what was being done to international relations by the US - and that was a big benefit to the Chinese foreign policy.  Unpredictable yes, but still a net win for China.

China has repeatedly asked the U.S. to remove tariffs and sanctions and continues to do so.  I wonder why?

22 minutes ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

I don't know whether Biden can be trusted... I would not trust any American leaders assurances these days... but he could not be worse than Trump for the Asia-Pacific region - the US basically abandoned the region to China during Trump's presidency... Biden at least seems to be taking a greater interest in the region lately... though the damage done would take decades to repair with consistent foreign policy etc.  and I don't see that happening. 

I believe Xi feared Trump because he was characterized as being unpredictable.  Trump said and did things that no other U.S. president in recent times would ever think of doing.  He started a trade war with China that had mixed results.  He accused U.S. allies of not standing up to China and complained that NATO members were not meeting their financial obligations.  Trump promoted a strong military and I believe would not have hesitated to come to Taiwan's aid if they were attacked. I disagree that Trump neglected the Asia-Pacific region. 

12 hours ago, Cherrytreeview said:

Xi and Biden are due to hold a zoom meeting later.

A lot of US and allied ships in the area now as well.

 

Xi cannot be trusted and Biden is not very creditable.  The $64 question is will the U.S. and allied forces fire a shot unless actually shot at.

On 10/5/2021 at 3:43 PM, Cherrytreeview said:

China won't be doing anything about Taiwan.

China's all fur coat and no knickers.

They know the world is losing patience with them, so i think you might see the odious fascist CCP settle down and begin to play nicely with the other children.

Xi really does not know what the response will be from the U.S. and its allies should he decide to invade Taiwan.  Even if a confrontation does not involve nuclear weapons the fallout could devastate China's economy and it's Belt Road Initiative would most likely come to a screeching halt.  Is Xi willing to take the gamble?

On 10/5/2021 at 3:58 AM, placeholder said:

But Xi has only recently cemented his power. And under him, China has gotten a lot more aggressive and a lot more jingoistic.

Now he making a move to control one of the elements he officially has no authority over, the police.

1 hour ago, StevieAus said:

I have formed the opinion having lived in Thailand for many years, that not responding taking action immediately etc must be a cultural issue with Thai people compared with what occurs in most Western countries.

I have experienced it with my wife and her family who are all degree educated so it’s not lack of intelligence.

They seem indecisive and

“ we will do it tomorrow”

I have ordered items for an old friend in the UK and they are received within one day here it’s a week.

So it seems to me it’s a Thai thing, it’s not going to change and as they say in the UK 

“ Like it or lump it”

My brother-in-law, who is a M.D., spent over ten years as a researcher in the U.S..  He is very meticulous and prompt.  Now I wonder where he picked that up from?

On 9/24/2021 at 2:37 AM, ThailandRyan said:

So if his words are true then the country will be on track to open up either in 6 months, which is next year or when the situation improves to an acceptable point, of which no one here in Thailand knows when or what those requirements will be.....

Notice he did not say when next year.  Being specific is not in his character.  Remember, he is never wrong.

On 8/26/2021 at 4:12 PM, ezzra said:

 

 

Pffff... who? Bloomberg? Bloomberg is not our father...

I think they are talking about Bloomberg Business Week, which I happen to subscribe to,  and not Michael Bloomberg himself.  And no, he is not my father either.

Nothing new.   Typical Chinese way of doing business.

U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Service does the same thing.  Every time a form is submitted they require copies of documents already on file. And sometimes multiple copies. 

4 hours ago, khunjeff said:

"What was the business supposed to do?" Respond to the reviews or ignore them, just like every other business does - NOT file charges against the fool who wrote them. If a potential customer sees hundreds or thousands of generally positive reviews and a handful of crazy-sounding negative ones, he or she will discount the crazy reviews and assume that the hotel is probably a nice place. It's not rocket science.

Exactly.  When I shop on eBay and checkout the sellers reputation I look at the negative feedback to see whether it is justified or it posted by habitual complainer. 

50 minutes ago, katatonic said:

Apparently the authorities here do not understand the concept of credit cards, multiple bank accounts, investment accounts etc. And who, if they did have such a stupidly big balance in one account, continuously, would want some foreign immigration service poring over their financial affairs for the last half a year anyway? No-one will be able to comply.

My mom had money in every financial institution in town.  As the executor of her estate it was quite a chore to round up all the accounts for distribution to her heirs.  Each bank had their own rules for closing the accounts.