Furikake

In the "shake" thread Frank references furikake (rice seasoning). It's a staple in our house, we generally keep 3 or 4 varieties (though looking in cupboard last night I think I only saw nori komi and shiso fumi, guess it's time to go to Asian supermarket). We eat a fair amount of Asian food (and David has a Japanese grandmother, so its definitely his favorite cuisine) but curious if others typically use?

About 10 years ago Japanese friend was so horrified to see David put some soy sauce on white rice (considered to be rather "common" -only the poorest would do) that he delivered about 4 different kinds as a present for Dave. We actually already had some, but didn't tell him.

Unless people have eaten Koshihikari rice (or a similar variety) cooked in the Japanese style, it might be hard to believe that the Japanese are quite so fussy about eating it without soy sauce. I've eaten enough of it that I really think I get it. The subtle flavors of the rice and the kombu that's usually put in with it, a whiff of the sea, is one thing. But perhaps the major thing is the texture which seems meatier and denser than any other kind of rice. The ratio of water to rice is 1:1, and I don't know of any other kind of rice that cooks with so little water. Basmati is 2:1 and for risotto you keep adding broth up to about 5:1 or more.

Pre-washing the rice leaves it just sticky enough to be very easy to eat with chopsticks -- and sticky enough to make rice balls out of the leftovers for tomorrow's Bento. Adding soy sauce ruins the stickiness, and adds a vivid flavor that completely covers up the rice's own flavor.

At any rate, I don't remember the 4 varieties of Furikake that I have at home, they are probably the same as yours, Dale. I can't count the times when I have run into problems of "search image" when shopping in Asian groceries (here, they really are Supermarkets). Because I don't know what the container looks like I can look on the shelves for hours before I conclude that they don't have it in the store. Then I usually order from Amazon, paying as much for the shipping as for the food product. And the day after the package arrives, I visit the Asian grocery, and boom, there it is, large as life, sitting right on a prominent shelf.

Living in the north-east, it can be hard to find Japanese items sometimes, because the "Asian" markets are heavily oriented towards China and Korea. My Japanese friends get discouraged about local sushi restaurants. And guess what the one big complaint is? The =rice= used in the sushi... If you are Chinese or Korean and you open a sushi restaurant, you probably will not see the point of paying several times as much just for true Japanese rice varieties.

Frank,
around here the big Asian supermarkets (run by Chinese) have a pretty good Japanese selection, as Westchester has a LOT of Japanese folks living here- especially Ardsley, Hartsdale, and Scarsdale - all near me. In Hartsdale there's a good sized Japanese market, and an even bigger one in White Plains. Other than living in Fort Lee, I'd guess we have about as good a selection as one will find on East coast (and maybe west).
In my town the sushi joints are Chinese owned (plus one half Japanese half Korean I'm told , but in any case it's standard Moonie sushi, though very popular). But in neighboring Ardsley there are 2 good Japanese owned restaurants, where Betsy is a lunch regular. Clientele is primarily Japanese at one, maybe both.
Anyway, we have no problem getting good rice, as well as pretty much any ingredient you'd need.