Photograph of Anthony Bourdain is from the Wikipedia Commons and is considered public domain. It's author is stated as, "Anthony_Bourdain_on_WNYC." The use of this photograph is not associated in any way with WYNC, Anthony Bourdain, his production company or any station that carries his program.

I couldn't help but make this a drug transaction, as in many areas, Baltimore county has been suffering from a new crazy, designer drugs sold as, "Not for consumption," items. For instance there is a synthetic cabaninoid sold as incense that was recently made illegal. Now they are wanting to outlaw, "Bathsalts." Not the type that you buy at the pharmacy to put into your bath water, but another designer drug sold as such and labeled, "Not for human consumption." No doubt with every restriction, something else will pop up to confound law enforcement.

If one is serious about cooking, they find themselves in the same boat as the USDA is always trying to do the same with food ingredients. A classic for me is Mustard Oil which is used in Indian cooking for thosands of year. You can still buy it from Indian grocers, but for topical use only, not for human consumption. So in both the governments mind as well as in the brain of the foodie, it will always be a cat and mouse game of will have and can't have. Diaper's become prime repositories of rare cheeses, Marylander's become lawbreakers in their quest for raw milk, and the cheese companies that want to make it had an feat of having legislation passed and after the feds, then its the state.

WA-SA-BI is a name of a local band that plays in Baltimore. I heard them and their Wasabi Momma-san and had to go and check them out. Before I did, I expressed my interest in doing so and since they cook, also my plans for making my own, katsuobushi, since the whole dried tuna isn't available in the United States, I am told by import restrictions. However it is available as shaved bonito in flake form.

Katsuobushi, is cuts from the Skipjack tuna, which is boiled, smoke dried, then air dried. From there is given a mold inoculation from a particular strain of Aspergillus mold which is know to be found on dry and salted fish. The mold is constantly shaved off until it won't grow anymore, then the fish is dry and aged enough for consumption. Katsuobushi is one of the main ingredients in Dashi, which is a basic Japanese soup stock, that is also made with Kombu which is a dried kelp, also Miso which is a fermented bean paste. These are used to produce an Umami effect. It is also used as a stuffing or topping as on rice it not only adds flavor, but the flakes also appear to dance, as they are affected by steam.

Umami, is basically translates to a, "Wow," factor upon one's taste buds. Like heavier foods such as Parmesan cheese or anchovies. For a period of Japanese history, meat was forbidden to be eaten and may ingredients where used to compensate for the lack of flavor because of that.

Pho, is actually a Vietnamese soup that is also heartily flavored. While not in the Japan episode, mention and eating of the dish made a variety of episodes and judging by Tony's reaction, has a lot of Umami as well.

Soba is a type of Japanese noodle, which is buckwheat based and in the show, they explain the various chefs education and devotion to what they make. It is a lifetime of study and skill. I tried my hand at making Soba and interestingly enough, came pretty close to how they really make it. I also passed out the soup and people loved the delicate rye flavor.

I couldn't help but reference charcoal as this is a performance piece and I wanted something to illustrate how far a real foodie creator is willing to go. The traditional charcoal is imported from Japan and available in the United States, but figuring on paying about $120.00 for twenty pounds.

I doubt that Anthony Bourdain is a fan of mine as he included Baltimore in an episode and in my opinion didn't accurately portray what was good about Baltimore food, so I had a friendly poetic food fight that I call, "Dining Without, Tony!" But I ended up loving the episode because it taught me what I loved about food in Baltimore.

Despite Anthony Bourdain's cynicism and often times pissy mood, there is something in each episode that I enjoy. I also like how he does combine his travel experiences with everyday life. I also like his Czech episode, but have yet to convert my upstairs into a malting floor.

The Japanese cooking that I enjoy are their pickles, grilling, hot pots and noodle dishes.

If you are interested, I recommend the following books:

izakaya The Japanese Pub Cookbook -Mark Robinson
Takashi's Noodles -Takashi Yagihashi w/Harris Salat
Easy Japanese Pickling - Seiko Ogawa
Tsukemono Japanese Pickling Recipes -Ikuko Hisamatsu
Japanese Hot Pots -Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat
The Japanese Grill -Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat

I would like to thank chef and writer Tadashi Ono for his interest, help and encouragement in my Japanese cooking endeavors. You may find this humorous, but to me Japanese cooking is as much a meditation as I am working towards it on an Oodles of Noodles budget.

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