Japanese food

[Drunk Monk]

Slightly OT but this is the best thread that came up when i searched 'squid'

We regret to inform you that a woman’s tongue was never pregnant with baby squid

By Dannielle Maguire1 month ago

Well this is perhaps one of the strangest clarifications we’ve ever seen.
There have been a whole bunch of reports flying around in the past day or two that a Korean 63-year-old woman’s tongue was pregnant with baby squid after she ate calamari.
We read about it fromThe Sun and The Mirror in recent days, and it’s a pretty wild yean.
Apparently, a woman was eating partially-cooked squid and failed to remove the poor guy’s internal organs.
When she bit into it, she bit into his active ejaculatory apparatus.

(Fox )

Yum.
Immediately, she felt pain in her mouth and spat the undercooked seafood out.
But she could still feel something, as if there were bugs burrowing into her mouth.
Doctors wrote about this in a report published by Pathology International.
“We found that several small whitish spindle‐shaped stings were stuck to the mucous membrane of the hard palate,” they said.
“The biopsy showed that the sperm bags of the squid had thrust into the squamous epithelium [tissue in the woman’s mouth] of the patient.”
A later report published by the Journal of Parasitology didn’t make things sound any better.
Heck, it was even called: Penetration of the oral mucosa by parasite-like sperm bags of squid.
The result was a bunch of headlines that sounded like the woman’s tongue had been knocked up by a half-cooked squid.

(BBC)

And with words like “penetration”, “sperm bags” and “thrust” being thrown around, you can kind of understand.
This all happened after the second report went live, with the story blowing up some time around February, 2012.
But it’s since come out that this was all a bit of a beat up.
A report from Snopes journo Dan Evon clarifies that the woman’s tongue was never pregnant with squid babies.
Published last month, this fact check makes the important distinction that the woman’s mouth was only ever sprayed with the squid’s sperm capsules.
Big difference.
“Doctors removed squid spermatophores, a capsule containing the squid sperm, from this woman’s mouth,” Evon wrote.
“For a number of scientific reasons (a human woman’s mouth is not the same as a female squid egg), these sperms never developed into baby squids.
“This woman was not impregnated by a squid; she did not spit out baby squids.”

(Getty)
The story is retrending now, a few weeks following the Snopes debunking, after Tom Hale wrote about it for IFL Science on Monday.
And with the concept being as nuts as it was, it was picked up pretty quickly by sites like LAD Bible, sending it viral once again.
Here’s a snippet from the abstract of the article fuelling this cycle:
“Twelve small, white spindle-shaped, bug-like organisms stuck in the mucous membrane of the tongue, cheek, and gingiva were completely removed… on the basis of their morphology and the presence of the sperm bag, the foreign bodies were identified as squid spermatophores.”
And yeah, while she didn’t have a swarm of squid babies burst from her tongue, that still sounds pretty bad.
So, what can we learn from this?
First and foremost: try to avoid eating the uncooked reproductive organs of squid.
But the overwhelming takeaway from this is that people love reading about gross, slightly sexual seafood stories that hint at cross-species impregnation.
Long story short: we’re all sick puppies.

[Drunk Monk]

Russian Roulette Bread: The frightening new treat at Japanese convenience stores【Taste test】

• Casey Baseel5 days ago
  

We test our luck with a new nine-person party snack that threatens to shoot our taste buds with wasabi.

Walking into a Japanese convenience store always feels like taking a step into a world of delicious wonders, and perhaps no section is more wonderful than the bread aisle. Not content with just plain sandwich bread, Japanese convenience stores are stocked with tasty temptations like curry bread, sweet bean bread, and more.
But on our most recent trip to our local Family Mart, we spotted something we’d never seen before: Russian Roulette Bread.

At 398 yen (US$3.55) a pack, it’s a little more expensive than most convenience store bread options, which generally tend to hover somewhere around the 200-yen mark. It’s also quite a bit more substantial, though, consisting of nine interconnected pieces, sort of like a pack of King’s Hawaiian Rolls.

The Russian Roulette Bread’s soft, inviting appearance is the opposite of its intimidating name, but the fear comes from what’s inside. Four of the eight sections contain a chocolate filling, and another four are filled with rich custard cream. But it’s number nine you’ll have to watch out for. Thankfully, it’s not filled with anything lethal, but it is stuffed with a spicy wasabi tartar sauce.

The location of the wasabi roll is randomized for each pack, and even after your tear the eight buns apart, you can’t see inside. So, in essence, the Russian Roulette Bread is an edible batsu game, as Japan calls party games that are designed not to reward the winner, but punish the loser.

Speaking of potential losers, we just so happened to have nine hungry reporters in the office this day, and so we lured everyone into the office’s dining area with the offer of free snacks.

Granted, one of these free snacks was filled with wasabi, but as every member of this brave group of nine selected a roll, he was sure in his heart that surely he himself had built up enough good karma that he wouldn’t get stuck with the fiery bullet…or at lest took solace in the pure math of the situation which offered an 89-percent chance of getting a perfectly normal chocolate or custard bun.

---

All together, our reporters took a bite…

…and as they bit through the bread and reached the filling inside…

…fortune frowned upon…

…Harada, from the Japanese editing department.

Tearing open the rest of his morsel, Harada confirmed that there was a spicy wasabi tartar mixture inside.

Oddly enough, though, it wasn’t as painfully spicy as the Russian Roulette Bread’s deadly sounding name had us initially imagining. “It’s really spicy if you take a big bite,” said Harada, “but if you take small ones, it’s actually pretty tasty.”
It seems like Family Mart’s chefs decided to have some mercy, and rather than killing your mouth with spiciness, they instead opting for a filling that, while undeniably hot, gets more of a fiery boost from the pre-tasting tension and the fear-inducing effect of your brain suddenly realizing you’re not tasting the sweetness of one of the chocolate or custard buns, and that the wasabi flavor is on its way in milliseconds. The Russian Roulette Bread is, after all, being promoted as a dessert to share at Halloween parties, and it might put a bit of a damper on the fun if one person ha their taste buds crippled for the night by drawing the “losing” piece of bread.
Still, should Family Mart decide to release an extra-spicy version of the Russian Roulette Bread, we’ll be ready to try it too, though Harada might opt out of that assignment.
Photos ©SoraNews24

I would so love to play this with DOOM.  Totally, man.   

[Greg]

First, buy ticket to Japan.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I honor Harada’s sacrifice.

[Drunk Monk]

Vending machine selling edible bugs is an instant hit in Kumamoto, generates about $4,600 a month

• Koh Ruide14 hours ago

Fancy some crunchy diving beetles or irresistible pupae?

Ever since October last year, when someone spotted an empty vending machine in Kumamoto that advertised edible insects, local residents have been eager to see just what manner of bugs would be stocked inside.
And when the merchandise finally came in November, people were fascinated by the ten products on offer, which included mostly crunchy stuff like Japanese rhinoceros beetles, mole crickets, diving beetles and pupae. Most were dried and packed into large sealed packets, while others were coated with chocolate for a delightful twist.
▼ Dare to give these crispy snacks a try?
[/url]

The Cricket Protein Bar was the cheapest product available, at 700 yen (US$6.44), but if you fancy something a little more akin to a nice bag of potato chips, a pack of the popular Salted Crickets would set you back 1,300 yen.

The vending machine was installed by 34-year old Tomoda Toshiyuki, the owner of a balloon specialist store called Discover Balloon. Curious about edible insects, Tomoda set up the machine to see if Japanese people would warm up to the idea of bug consumption.
As it turns out, his expectations were blown out of the water, as the vending machine sold over 500 units and made about 500,000 yen in the space of a month.
▼ You can also get dried black scorpions here.

みそ汁@mitirakara




せっかくの熊本だったので義母さんに連れてって貰って昆虫食自販機に行ってきた。サソリが1900円！苦手な人はごめんね。写真見ないようにね。味は美味しくないエビを殻ごと食べてる感じでした。通販でも買えるらしいねコレ。

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1:39 AM - Dec 31, 2018

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On their own, the crickets are said to taste similar to shrimp and shellfish. “It’s best to eat them with a bit of mayonnaise or a dash of red pepper,” said Tomoda. “But diving beetles and giant water bugs are meant for more adventurous consumers.”
Perhaps the biggest irony was Tomoda himself, as he admitted that he once hated bugs, to the point of getting his wife to chase away stray insects that entered their store. “Bugs always seem ready to fight but I’m the peaceful type.” When asked about his first time trying crickets, he replied, “It was pure hell for me, but the taste was surprisingly similar to shrimp.”
Tomoda’s venture into edible insects and its potential in fighting world hunger may very well help overcome his fear of the little six-legged beasts one day. We would tell him that it’s not all that bad, as we at SoraNews24 have gobbled down a platter of grubs, grasshoppers and silkworms before.
Source: Livedoor News, Asahi Shimbun via Otakomu
Featured image: Twitter/@hinorj516

FYI bugs are allowable with my Buddhist dietary restrictions.  They aren't considered sentient because they don't scream when you kill them.  

Unfortunately, it's hard to find well-prepared bugs in 'Murica.  

[Greg]

Bummer?

[Drunk Monk]

Bummer?

Right?  


How about this?  Japanese Master Bated Breath valentines!

Japan’s masturbatory aid chocolates help you tell him “We’re just friends” this Valentine’s Day

• Casey Baseel3 hours ago
  

Enjoy your night alone, and also some sweets.

Much to the chagrin of premium chocolatiers Godiva, the giving of giri choco, or “obligation chocolate,” continues to be a common custom in Japan. In Japan, women give gifts of sweets to men on Valentine’s Day, and not just guys they have romantic feelings for. Classmates, coworkers, and other men with whom women have platonic relationships also get a modest present of obligation chocolate as an all-purpose thank-you for the help and/or friendship they’ve given the women over the course of the year.
However, obligation chocolate can sometimes entail a tricky balancing act. No one wants to look stingy, but chocolate that’s too grandiose can have the guy thinking the girl is coyly expressing her desire for a relationship that goes deeper than just friendship. One way to ensure that a guy knows you’re not coming on to him would be to give him chocolate from a brand that proudly wears its giri choco stigma on its sleeve, but another would be to imply that he’s going to be spending his nights alone by giving him chocolate from masturbatory aid manufacturer Tenga.

Yes, Tenga, Japan’s premier maker of reusable self-pleasuring devices for men, has begun taking offers for what it calls the Tenga Sweet Love Cup. The festively decorated items have the same contours and exterior dimensions as the company’s signature product, but in unique colors and with illustrated ribbons to further denote their present-worthy status.
However, these containers aren’t for making deposits into, but withdrawals from. While they might, at first glance, look just like Tenga’s man-juice receptacles, they’re actually pre-filled with individually wrapped chocolates, in the purchaser’s choice of milk, white, or strawberry chocolate flavors.

Each Tenga Sweet Love Cup is priced at 540 yen (US$4.80) and contains 12 pieces. However, perhaps being aware that the company largely owes its existence to mens’ inability to restrain their indulgent impulses, Tenga is also offering multi-flavor bundle packs. The Tower Mini, consisting of 30 Sweet Love Cups, is already an impressive 63 centimeters (24.8 inches) in height and priced at 16,200 yen. Stimulating Tenga’s order system more vigorously with 50,000 yen grows the spire to 100 units and 95 centimeters, and if you’re willing to blow a wad of 150,000 yen, Tenga will erect a 300 Sweet Love Cup-strong shaft of 140 centimeters.
▼ Aside from providing different total amounts of chocolate, each has a slightly different length/width ratio.

As for who the target market for the towers is supposed to be, Tenga says they’re perfect for people wanting to share interesting photos on social media, as well as those looking to decorate a place of business or party venue (though we imagine they’d be more appropriate for certain industries/social gatherings than others). And in any case, having that much chocolate on hand should keep the recipient fully snack-supplied until Tenga launches whatever crazy summer promotion they’ve got planned.
Tenga hasn’t said whether or not they’ll be producing any similar sweets for White Day (March 14), when men give return gifts to women who gave them Valentine’s Day chocolate, though their zen-inspired products for women seem like they’d be ideal candidates. What the company has made clear, however, is that though the Sweet Love Cups may look like Tenga’s male masturbatory aids, they are not. “Sweet Love Cups are not to be used as Tengas,” reads the company’s rock-hard prohibition on the chocolates’ order page, and this a case where we’d definitely recommend following the fine print.
Source: Tenga via IT Media
Images: Tenga

[Greg]

Man juice receptacles.....

[Drunk Monk]

Gold-dust topped instant noodles on sale in Japan for the end of Heisei Era

• Master Blaster22 hours ago
  
• 0
  
  
  

Oh, you eat your noodles without any precious metals on top? How…quaint.

With just a month left in the current Heisei Period in Japan, a lot of companies are offering special promotions and products to usher in this end of an era. For example, luxury potato chip maker Koikeya released a special box of chips sprinkled with specks of actual gold.
It was a move that seems to have inspired popular instant yakisoba brand Peyoung to include similarly sophisticated seasoning to their plastic tubs of noodles with Peyoung Sauce Yakisoba with Gold Dust.
Considering Peyoung has come out with some oddball offerings in the past, from hair-growth-inducing Scalp D Yakisoba to Natto Yakisoba, we’re not sure if this is a step towards or away from normalcy for the brand.
▼ Peyoung previous offerings have included Scalp D Yakisoba…

▼ …Peyoung Yakisoba of the Night…

▼ …and Peyoung Chocolate Yakisoba, to name a few

The gold yakisoba went on sale 8 April and can be found at most supermarkets and convenience stores for a limited time, but beware. Peyoung has a very passionate fan base who will likely rush at the chance to try this unique combination, so you may want to hurry.
Our writer P.K. Sanjun grabbed a box for 250 yen (US$2.25). This was a considerable price hike considering a regular box costs 170 yen ($1.53), and suggests that these special edition noodles contain approximately 80 yen ($0.72) worth of gold.

Inside the box was very similar to a regular Peyoung set with packets of seasoning, dried toppings, and sauce, but this time with a little pack of gold dust. There wasn’t a whole lot, but enough to let its presence be known.

Preparation was exactly the same as regular Peyoung Yakisoba, the only difference being a final sprinkling of gold dust on the finished product. It made the fried, dried, soaked, and reheated noodles glimmer in the fluorescent office lighting and whisked P.K. away to a fantastical royal ball in which Peyoung Instant Yakisoba was being served.

After taking a first bite, P.K. was blown away by how delicious it was. Actually, it tasted exactly like regular Peyoung Instant Yakisoba, but P.K. really likes that, so this time was no different.

Still, it was a little much to pay such an exorbitant (by Peyoung standards) price just to give some instant noodles a little pizzazz. Of course, there’s also the option of recovering the metal when it emerges from the other end and resell it when the market fluctuates in his favor.
And so, as Japan enters the Reiwa Era, it’s a great opportunity to try new things. However, if P.K. ever approaches you with a smile on his face and a pocket full of gold, that is not such an opportunity.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]

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Gold-leaf seasoned potato chips are Japan’s newest edible salute to the new emperor

• Casey BaseelApr 4, 2019
  
• 2
  
  
  

Gourmet snacks are surprisingly affordable, only available at convenience stores.

Next month, Crown Prince Naruhito will become the emperor of Japan, and the country will enter a new imperial era, to be called Reiwa. With the 30-year Heisei period coming to a close, people across Japan have been looking back nostalgically on the past three decades, but on May 1, it’ll be time for Japan enter a bold, new era, with bold new snacks.
Snacks like potato chips seasoned with gold.
Japanese snack maker Koikeya has announced that on May 1, right about the time Crown Prince Naruhito is ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne, the rest of us can have chips dusted with powdered gold leaf ascending to our mouths. The company’s new Shining Salt(“Kirameki Shio” in Japanese) potato chip flavor was born of Koikeya’s desire to create “a suitably dramatic, luxurious, and special potato chip with which to adorn the start of the Reiwa period.”

For an extra-premium feel, the Shining Salt chips come in a gold-colored bag packed inside a formal black box. The package is also functional, since when you flip it around to the back there’s a framed white field for you to write the kanji for Reiwa in, then hold up the box like you’re a government official at the press conference announcing the new era’s name.
[/url]

Oona McGee @OonaMcGee




Welcome to the Reiwa Era.#令和 #新元号予想 #新元号発表

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The “salt” portion of the Shining Salt chips is special too, as instead of ordinary salt, they’re sprinkled with moshio, a type of salt made from seaweed using traditional methods.
▼ The back of the box, patiently waiting for the purchaser to add his or her calligraphy

The Sparkling Salt potato chips go on sale at Lawson convenience stores on May 1, with an expected price of 300 yen (US$2.70), and if you’re hungry for even more edible gold to celebrate the new emperor, there’s also this Tokyo restaurant’s gigantic 100,000-yen (US$900) hamburger.
Source: PR Times via Japaaan
Images: PR Times

[Greg]

Gold on your noodles is one way of saying you have too much money.

And why is the Heisei period ending?

[Drunk Monk]

Gold on your noodles is one way of saying you have too much money.

And why is the Heisei period ending?

I dunno, man. I've lost touch with my Japanese heritage.  'Cept for Ultraman and Samurai Cat.  

Who the heck eats gold?  I was just weirded out that I got two Japanese gold food news so close together.

[Greg]

The Heisei period is ending because the current emperor is stepping down.

I've never understood Goldschlagger, either.

[Drunk Monk]

The Heisei period is ending because the current emperor is stepping down.

I've never understood Goldschlagger, either.

Do you always answer your own questions?  

I've only had goldschlagger once that I can remember. It was on tour with Phish in Vegas. It wasn't very good.

[Greg]

Well, since my Asia expert couldn't be arsed to find out, steps had to be taken.

[Drunk Monk]

Well, since my Asia expert couldn't be arsed to find out, steps had to be taken.

Steps like you googed it yourself?  Hey.  I'm nobody's Siri...or Alexa...or pony even.  

At least I've had goldschlager.