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豆腐が作りたいわー
By Michelle | January 23, 2008
I’ve developed a new obsession. I want to make tofu — no, not dishes containing tofu. I’d like to make tofu itself. It doesn’t appear to be overly difficult (buy some soybean, set aside a few hours, and voila you have beautiful homemade tofu). But it turns out that it’s not quite that simple. Essentially, I need magnesium chloride (MgCl2). Or as they say in Japan: 塩化マグネシウム. This is the chemical that acts as a coagulant to produce tofu from soy milk. And you’d think that it would be stocked at the Korean supermarket I generally visit. Yeah, you’d think… 実は、どこで探しても見つかなかった。すごくがっかりした。
I was listening to NPR today and learned a new word (which is suppose is a statement on modern society): Perma-lancer. This means essentially: A permanent freelancer. A person originally hired on a contract basis, but now essentially a full-timer (though without the perks and benefits of a full-time employee). This sort of “permanent temp employee” status seems in my eyes not that dissimilar to Japan’s freeters (フリーター) who are not “regular” employees (正社員). Generally freeters do similar or the same work as regular employees but do not receive the same benefits or job security… hm.
But anyway, here are a few links that I’ve stumbled upon lately: