A Package from Mother-In-Law - It's from Japan!

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

A Package from Mother-In-Law - It's from Japan!

Yesterday, my husband and I received a package from Japan. As I mentioned in my previous entries, my mother-in-law has sent some Japanese foods to us many times since we moved to the U.S. from Japan. Because we bought a small condominium last month and moved into new place, she told us she had sent soba noodles to us. In Japan, it's a custom to eat soba noodles when people move into new place. It's called hikkoshi soba (引っ越しそば). In Edo period (it's hundreds years ago), hikkoshi soba was giving out soba to new neighbors because soba is very thin and long noodle, so people wished to keep good relationship with new neighbors for long like soba noodle. Now, hikkoshi soba is soba noodles people eat on a moving day, so you don't have to give soba noodles away to your new neighbors. :)

A Package From My Mother-In-Law

This is soba noodles. This month, I bought men tsuyu, noodle soup, at Japanese supermarket. I will make hikkoshi soba this week. :)

Soba Noodles そば

This is somen (素麺), Ibonoito (揖保乃糸). Somen is Japanese very thin noodles. When I was child, my family often had cold somen noodles during hot summer days. This Ibonoito is the most famous brand of somen noodle in Japan.

Ibonoito 揖保乃糸

This is instant ramen noodles, Marutai Kurume Tonkotsu Ramen. This is local ramen noodles in Fukuoka prefecture. :)

Marutai Kurume Tonkotsu Ramen マルタイ久留米とんこつラーメン

This is dried seaweed, wakame. I will add a small amount of wakame into my miso soup.

Wakame わかめ

This is shredded dried kombu. I will make cucumber pickles with this.

Shredded Dried Kelp きざみ昆布

This is dried sea vegetable, hijiki. When I lived in Osaka, I always put a small amount of simmered hijiki and vegetables in my lunch box because it's healthy and perfect with a bento box. :) I will make takikomigohan (炊き込みご飯) this time.

Dried Sea Vegetable ひじき

These are Japanese fruit jellies. One of them is blueberry in it and the other is loquat, biwa, in it. These look so delicious. :)

Japanese Fruit Jellies

This is shio ame, salt candies. People in Japan eat salt candies when they get sweaty on a hot summer day. They drink a plenty of water and replace salt lost in sweat by eating salt candies.

Slat Candies 塩あめ

This is Kanten Kokuto Kombu. They are chewy candies made from kelp and brown sugar.

Chewy Kelp Candies 寒天黒糖昆布

I had never had it before, so I was interested in how it tastes.

Chewy Kelp Candies 寒天黒糖昆布

I also gave one to him, and we tried them for our first time. It was really new taste to us. It tasted like sweet kelp, and frankly we didn't really like them. We still have a plenty of kelp candies left. What should we do...