Hi Louise, Did you use a Japanese nabe? Measurements and cooking time are really key. I am not very good at that kind of thing but I can make perfect gohan every time now in a gohan nabe. I would think if you make it a few more times you will be able to make it just right.

hi macha, Hey, don’t droool on blog! 笑 (LOL)

hi there diva, So where are you now? The fish heads add a real kakushi aji (hidden flavor) but you could get something similar with just high quality, natural dashi. Also, no dashi is great too because the eda mame are so yummy. Just a little salt and cooking sake will be enough to really ‘pop’ the flavor. Eda mame are really beautiful. The black beans from Tamba are prized in Japanese cooking, if you get them still green, on the stock, after they are cooked they are a beautiful purplish green. They cannot be beaten for looks or taste!! Grow some in your garden!!

Hello Risa, Tade is extremely bitter, there is a slight herby taste, but it is not very pronounced. Kuzu doesn’t have any noticeable taste. So, it is just bitter green herb and vinegar.

Hi Ted, Well, thank you very much! I will check that list out.

hello tra, Short grain brown rice can be cooked in a gohan nabe or rice cooker. BUT it needs to be soaked in water for several hours to overnight. Yes, this recipe can be done in an electric rice cooker. I am not sure about purchasing sea bream in Asian markets abroad. Red snapper, grouper or other similar fish ought to work just as well.

By the way, I think the frozen edamame available in the West works quite well for gohan recipes. I usually parboil them in salted water and add them to the rice at the end, in order to preserve their lovely bright green color. I don’t really like them when they’re too soft.

Thanks so much for the recipes. The ayu look divine, and the kuzu sauce with tade… what does it taste like?

It’s so hard to find fresh edamame in the states and whenever I do find it, it’s SO expensive! I’m tempted to just grow my own.

I would seriously kill for some matsutake right now…i just love that fragrance…

Hello adel, Thanks for stopping by KyotoFoodie! I think that you can do this recipe most anywhere. You have beans and rice in your location, right? I love your Spinach & Mozzarella Potato Cakes recipe (I am a fiend for potato pancakes) and the Pan fried Curried Chicken Breast recipe.

Hello Marc, Sorry I haven’t stopped by your site recently. I will soon.

Shiny: I think that must be from the sheer amount of beans in the rice. Lots of sugar content, I guess. I might have put a little mirin in it, but if I did, I don’t think that it would be enough to shine it up.

Smaller than usual ayu: Yes, if those were ‘regular’ size ayu, they couldn’t be eaten whole from just shioyaki. The bones would be too big.

Egoma/Shiso: I say that but the taste is nothing like shiso/perilla. Egoma rules. In Korean yakiniku restos we often get it as shoyuzuke (‘pickled’ in soy sauce) and use it to scoop up rice, like nori, between bites of grilled beef. Cannot be beat!

I have not tried sesame oild on edamame, but I will. Thanks! I have some sesame oil that is pretty awesome. Last year I grew habanero peppers and smoked with sakura chips and then steeped them in light sesame oil. The fragrance is out of this world!