炒飯（Fried Rice）

I like both eating and cooking 炒飯. This is originally a Chinese dish, but it is very popular dish for many Japanese and they really love it. Today, I will show you my easy recipe of 炒飯, not my recipe of solving the problems of dynamic optimization. (However, I think that cooking is very similar to solving the problems of linear programming.)

Also, I firmly believe that I can cook 炒飯 better than many other Chinese students do. Let's get started!

(1) Dice carrot, onion and sausage first.
(2) and then cut cabbage (if you don't like cabbage, please skip it!)

(3) Of course, prepare steamed rice.

(4) Beat two or three eggs (Some Chinese professionals put a spoon of water into eggs because it makes 炒飯 look well. Try it!)

like this...

(5) Bring your Chinese pan. This is a key point to cook 炒飯 well.

(6) Heat your Chinese pan (and, of course, your heart, too) before you start and then put beated eggs and rice. Then, salt and pepper it. However, I'm sorry that I don't know how much to salt and pepper it. I always measure them by eye.

(7) Put some ingredients just after frying rice with eggs.

(8) Throw Cabbage

(8) Fry it well until it begins to smell good. I forgot. Put green onion finally. It smells very well.

That's all. I usually keep some of 炒飯 in the fridge.

Shall we start!!

After the End of the Exam

I feel lonely sometimes...

Fried Udon

(1) Prepare Udon noodles(Japanese popular noodles)
(2) and then prepare cabbage

(3) and sliced sausage and onion, too

(4) Fry the sliced onion first (Don't forget to put salad oil into the pan before you cook!)

(5) Sausage, onion, salt and pepper, too

(6) Finally put udon noodles into the pan(Don't forget to put three spoons of soy sause together!)

(7) Go ahead!

To Study or Not To Study?

To study or not to study,...that is the question. (By the window)

Frozen Outside

Looking out of the window, there's the world of snow.

Congratulations on His Majesty the Emperor

Today is the birthday of our emperor in Japan, His Majesty the Emperor. This is a shabby blog, but with all due respect I would like to be allowed to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor. I hope that His Majesty will be happily spending the everyday life with us.

His Majesty referred to some problems surrounding us, for example, environmental protection, widening income gap and the pension system in Japan at the press conference on his birthday. Each of them is closely related to our social life and is all that we should solve first. Hearing His Majesty, he is really worrying our present and future life. So, I am moved by his words.

In Japan, there has been some discussions related to the presence of the Emperor system of Japan. I do not want to talk about it here, but it is a fact that many Japanese people (of course, including me) respect His Majesty. That's why the Emperor system has continued to exist up to now. (Please note that we are not forced to respect him.)

I do not feel happy about such discussions because His Majesty sincerely tries to live with us. I would like to be permitted to understand his words and action.

Taro Okamoto

The Road to the White House

I am wondering who is the next President in the United States. Certainly, I am not related to the election campaign in the next year 2008 because I am a Japanese. However, I am wondering if something important related to Japan and the Pacific area will change, depending on who is the next President. The President in the United States, as you know, has a great impact on the politics in other countries, especially, in the countries of the East Asia including Japan, South Korea and China.

By the way, Japan also has the election of the House of Representatives in the next year. So, the Prime Minister is reported to be likely to be changed again. Anyway, I cannot miss the politics of Japan, either.

Snow Comes

When I got up in the morning, snow came here. It was the first time for me to see snow falling in Wisconsin.

I went out.

The street I saw yesterday has changed into a snow scene.

It looks really cold, but then I didn't feel so cold.

Much snow accumulated on the street.

Anyway, I walked around.

Then I recalled that the Christmas day was coming.

Nobody was there.

On the bridge, it was a strong wind.

My footprints on the white snow.

That's the path I've followed.

Taro On Cooking

I'll show you my everyday cooking. My cooking is always easy because I have no time to cook. However, I do not like eating out because it is usually a little expensive. So I try to cook at home.

I like pork. So, I'll show you my favorite (and very easy) pork cooking. Sorry if you don't like pork, but I think you like it if you really like to eat.

Before that, I have to introduce my important partner in cooking, rice cooker. Typical Japanese really need it! Of course, I need it.

First, pickle some pieces of pork with sliced green onion(don't forget to put sliced green onion) in vinegar and soy sauce(Japanese also need it), and put it in the fridge for a night like this:

The next morning, simmer it.

After about 4 hours, it turns a dark red. It is finished.

After it gets cold, put it in the fridge again.

That's all. Very easy! It goes well with rice and sliced cabbage!! I love it.