Just a quick post for Sunday here. We had to make a trip to Marukai in Gardena yesterday to restock on a few things, and ended up spending more time in the area than anticipated. After restocking on Binchotan and other stuff.
If you've never used Binchotan, which is a very hot burning, long lasting, "white" charcoal, it's pretty amazing stuff:
Binchotan has some pretty unique characteristics, first off, when tapped it makes almost a chime like ringing sound, it is also quite hard, and doesn't break up like regular black lump charcoal, though you can break it by tapping it against the ground. There much more information on Binchotan on Wikipedia. There's one more thing about Binchotan, at over $5/lb, it may cost more than the food being grilled. That said, for us at least a little Binchotan goes a long way, since we only us it on our little Hida Konro(small clay grill). Because it is really hard to "start", we'll break a stick into several pieces and place directly on the flame of our gas stove until "white", than place in the Hida Konro.
It's amazing how something so simple as Chicken Wings flavored with salt(and some Togarashi), aka Tebashio will taste so very good.
Because only a few wings can fit on the grill at any one time, it's really not "fast" food, but a nice and slow process…that goes great with a few beers.
Don't forget the Yaki Onigiri!
One Other Item:
We were a bit delayed on our return from Marukai. While waiting at the traffic light to exit Marukai, the Missus, turned to me and said, "oh my God, look". There was a dog weaving in and out of traffic along Artesia Boulevard, and finally into the parking lot of Gardena Plaza. Seeing this poor little Dog just wandering along a busy street and parking lot we knew we had to do something. Unfortunately, the poor Dog was very skittish and pretty much terrified, and I wasn't able to approach Her with any success. So while I kept tabs on Her, the Missus ran into the Burger King in the mall and bought a Whopper Jr. She figured that the poor animal must be pretty hungry. We were finally able to get within a few yards of the Dog in the parking lot of Albertson's, and I started breaking the burger into pieces and slowly getting closer and closer to Her. I could tell by Her demeanor that the chance She would bite was pretty low. After what seems like forever, I got ahold of Her, and managed to get the dog on it's back and calm Her. I then carried Her to the car while the Missus ran into the Mailbox/Postal store to find the number of the nearest animal shelter.
As you can see, She was in pretty good shape, but no collar, no tags:
She was in good shape, in spite of being covered with loose hairs and dust, Her nails were trimmed and Her ears had been plucked recently. And even though She was quite hungry and thirsty, She was well fed.
The Gentleman in the Mailbox/Postal Shop was very helpful in pointing out the nearest animal shelter. We hoped that Her Owners were searching for Her, or at least maybe She was "micro chipped". After standing in line forever, we managed to speak to the desk officer and had Her checked out….unfortunately, she was not "chipped"…..
So we reluctantly left, hoping Her Owners were out searching for Her and She would be found. We did leave instructions that we should be called if the owners could not be found, and no one was willing to adopt Her. If that is the case, Sammy and Frankie will have a sister. She is so mellow and sweet that I have no doubt that we can either keep her, or find her a nice family ourselves. So in case you're looking forward to a sweet Corgi-Shepard(?) mix, and live in the LA area……She can be found at:
Carson/Gardena Animal Shelter
216 W. Victoria Street
Gardena, CA 90248
(310) 523-9566
Her ID is – A3620754.
Even though it may seem a bit far-fetched, we thought that maybe someone might recognize her and help find her owners….or maybe someone does want a new family member.
Thanks for reading, I'll be back with another restaurant tomorrow!
I’m so glad that there are caring people like you and the Missus out there. That was a really good thing that you guys did. She is a very beautiful dog and I hope that she can find her home soon.
Maybe you can also try posting her info on a lost and found doggie website. I’ll spread the word through my blog and various community websites that i belong to.
Oh, poor dog! But so lucky you guys were there to rescue her.
The binchotan is fascinating–trust Japan to have raised even charcoal to a high art. 🙂 That little grill looks like a hell of a lot of fun too.
Wow, you guys are greeaaat…I haven’t forgotten, Kirk.
Awwww man. That just pulls the old heart strings. My doggies have gotten loose once or twice and without the kindness of strangers and tags and chips, we might have lost them forever. What a sweetie she is.
Thank you for your posts by the way, they are great.
Been checking out your blog for a while now but my first time commenting, gotta say that is such an awesome thing ya’ll did. This pooch looks so cute and sweet. Might be helpful to also post the pics and description on craigslist!
We need more people like you in the world. I loved the binchotan post, but the dog story touched me.
I already read your blog and some of the other blogs that you link to. I too am a foodie and like to read about other people’s experiences. However, I thought I would drop you a line saying that I appreciate it that you folks took the time to help that dog. I have a little doggie too, and if she ever got lost, I would hope that some good samaritan would rescue her too. My dog has both a County license on her, as well as an ID tag. But if her collar ever came off, that would be be a problem.
What a great thing you did! I hope the dog will find her way home.
That was a nice thing you did, Kirk and the Missus. My parents’ dogs have gotten loose and we’ve been frantic too. Luckily someone turned them into the shelter so we got them back. She looks very sweet and lost. I’m sure Sammy and Frankie will welcome her.
Hi Christine – thanks for your help, I appreciate it!
Hi Mizducky – Yes, the Hida Konro is really fun….I think you can still get one at Marukai for under $15. I’m glad it’s small, it helps me to pace my eating, and therefore I eat less!
Hi Billy – Thanks, I’ll be in touch sometime today!
Hi Jan – Thank you for the kind words. I can just imagine the feeling of having a lost pet…..
Hi bassbiz – Thanks for the suggestion, i’ll make sure to do that!
Hi Elmo – Thanks that’s very kind of you!
Hi GM – Welcome and thanks for commenting. I’m sure many people would do the same, she looked so sweet and terrified that we couldn’t just pass by and do nothing.
Hi Eileen – Nothing would be more satisfying than to have Her reunited with her owner(s).
Hi WC – I’ll probably call the shelter tomrrow just to check in…I’m hoping she’s been reunited with her family.
Good for you!
Hi David – Thanks!
Hi, I haven’t commented in your blog for a while but good to see you are keeping it up! Everytime I read your blog it makes me hungry.
First, you are so kind to take care of the little dog. I hope she will find a good home.
Second, now I want one of those little grills! How do you get the charcoal started?
Hi Noromdiam – Nice to hear from you, I hope all is well. You can purchase a Hiba Konro from Utsuwa No Yakata in Mitsuwa Marketplace, but they a pretty pricy at about $25 each. Or on your next road trip to LA you can stop at Marukai Gardena:
Marukai
1740 West Artesia Blvd
Gardena, CA 90248
http://www.marukai.qpg.com/
And purchase one for alot cheaper, we got ours on sale for under $12! Marukai is a memebership market, but you can stop at the front desk and get a “day pass” for $1…I’m pretty sure that you won’t only buy a Konro…make sure to get some bincho as well. I start my charcoal by placing it direectly on the gas burner of our stove.
What happened to the doggy?
Hi CP – We called on Tuesday, and were told that she is still there, no one has come to claim her. We were told to wait until the 22nd to follow-up. I also placed a notice at Craigslist…so if no one claims her by the 22nd, we’ll probably have a new member of the family.
She looks like a Rat Terrier, which are the best little dogs in the world. Did yall keep her?
Aw Kirk, so great of you and your Misses helping out the dog. Can’t help to cringe reading about her dodging the traffic. The Mister and I seem to have at least one K-9 rescue every few months (a couple of times been the same dogs) but we’ve been lucky that all the dogs have tags or were chipped. If it weren’t, we’d be up 7-8 dogs now. Oh, that’s a lot of …anyway. She’s one lucky pooch that you and the Misses came along.
Hi H-1 – We did find that a very nice family adpoted Her, so I’m sure she’s in good hands!
Hi Carol – She was so sweet, and we’re glad she found a home.
Nice post! I also start my Bincho the same way as well.
BTW, not that you asked or anything, but here’s a little tip that I’ve found helps quite a bit. Whenever I use a Shichirin/Konro I preheat the Shichirin/Konro by inverting it over a burner and leaving it for a thorough thermal soak. In this way the heat from the Bincho no longer has to heat up the considerable thermal mass of the Shichirin/Konro and cooking, I find, gets underway much faster and needs a smaller amount of Bincho.
Actually I find it almost a necessity with my larger Shichirin, but I also do it with my smaller Hida Konro like the one you show above.
The other thing I’ve found helpful to stretch out the useful life of the Bincho is to immediately drop the Bincho into a blank paint can after use and cover the top to snuff out the charcoal. This way I find I can reuse the Bincho as much as 3 times, though I’ll usually throw in at least one new piece into the mix to ensure good heat.