Japanese with anime voice: episode60
Hello, I’m Sachi.
May 24, today is 伊達巻 (datemaki) Day. What is 伊達巻 (datemaki)? It is one of the egg dishes found in New Year’s osechi. It is made by rolling it up like a 出汁巻き (dashimaki), but the difference between 出汁巻き (dashimaki) and 伊達巻 (datemaki) is that the beaten egg contains fish paste. Also, the taste is quite sweet. There are various theories as to why it is called 伊達巻 (datemaki), but there is a theory that Date Masamune, a feudal warlord, liked to eat it. Based on this theory, a company that operates a food products business such as egg rolls established 伊達巻 (datemaki) Day in honor of May 24, the anniversary of Date Masamune’s death.
From my point of view, this 伊達巻 (datemaki) is very difficult to make even though the ingredients are simple. I have made it several times for New Year’s osechi, but I have never been able to get it right. The first time I made it, it was still undercooked and soggy. The next year, I was able to roll it up, but it was a very thin roll and made very small 伊達巻 (datemaki). The year after that, I managed to make it look like a 伊達巻 (datemaki). But one of the characteristics of 伊達巻 (datemaki) is that it has a wavy outer shape. I couldn’t get the shape right, so it almost looked like a roll cake. The next year, my partner told me that I didn’t have to stick to 伊達巻 (datemaki), that I could just use 出汁巻き (dashimaki). He was right. I decided that I would rather make a good roll than make a mistake, so I have been making 出汁巻き (dashimaki) instead of 伊達巻 (datemaki) for osechi ever since.
But you know what? I’m so frustrated that I can’t do it. But I don’t want to buy a commercial one. I feel like I’m losing. Actually, I have a weird obsession when it comes to cooking. I really don’t like cooking. It’s too much trouble. If I could, I wouldn’t want to do it. But when I see prepared foods or frozen foods, I think I can make them myself. That doesn’t mean I don’t buy them. But when I buy them, I always think that I could make them myself. I buy them thinking that by buying them, I am losing out on this easy food. I don’t know why I feel that way. But, for example, you can make croquettes or pork cutlets just by buying potatoes or pork. But when I think about the fact that I have to rely on prepared foods that someone else has made for us, I feel frustrated. It is the same with frozen fried rice, pasta, or even gyoza. You can make it yourself as much as you want!
Today’s world is very convenient. We can buy dressing, nabe stock, dashi (Japanese soup stock), and so on. Even so, I don’t want to buy them. I don’t want to lose out to ready-made products. In the case of dressing, I mix seasonings as needed and make different flavors as needed. In the case of soup for a hot pot, I mix chicken stock, salt, and soy sauce as I see fit. In the case of dashi, I go to the trouble of boiling out the dried bonito flakes and kelp.
The other day, a Korean student gave me a recipe for a Korean miso-like dish. But she told me that it would be easier and tastier to buy store-bought miso, which is true, but still, I wanted to make it myself since she gave me the recipe. Naturally, I used Japanese seasonings, so the taste was different from the real thing, but I was still able to make a “Korean” style miso. It was delicious. It goes well with meat. People who hear such stories say that is what they call liking to cook, but it is not. I don’t like cooking. I just don’t want to be outdone by commercial products. My mom is the same way. But she doesn’t have the same feelings about winning or losing to store-bought products that I do. She just doesn’t like cooking. From my point of view, I think my mom is a good cook because she makes a lot of different things. However, according to her, she does not like cooking. She just makes things because she has the ingredients, or because she is curious. Well, I always say that my mom is a good cook. Her seasoning is exquisite. She is very careful in what she does. As for me, I am a pain in the ass, a messy person, and I like salty and spicy flavors. It’s usually either too salty or too spicy. If I keep the seasoning to a minimum with my partner in mind, it’s not enough for me. And if I take care not to make it too strong, I end up with a very light flavor. It’s like, “Can you do zero or a hundred? If I make it the way I like it, it will be too salty or too spicy. When we first started living together, I put as much Chinese bean sauce as I wanted in the soup because I liked spicy food. I thought to myself, “Chinese bean sauce is not spicy at all, and it doesn’t matter how much I put in, it’s all the same.” When he drank the soup, he choked so hard. It was too spicy. Seasoning is so difficult.
