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Answerman - What Is That Little Round Outdoor Grill In Anime?




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Freakmasta



Joined: 27 Dec 2010
Posts: 370
PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 1:28 pm Reply with quote
I remember Ariana Grande got a tattoo with Shichirin written in kanji and Japanese people made fun of her. I think it eventually got fixed. But still, do your research before getting something permanent.
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Lactobacillus yogurti



Joined: 17 Aug 2011
Posts: 839
Location: Latin America
PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 1:35 pm Reply with quote
Freakmasta wrote:
I remember Ariana Grande got a tattoo with Shichirin written in kanji and Japanese people made fun of her. I think it eventually got fixed. But still, do your research before getting something permanent.


Stupid people make stupid decisions. Back on topic, I'd probably use one to roast marshmallows at home, considering seafood isn't an option where I live.
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DerekL1963
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Joined: 14 Jan 2015
Posts: 1112
Location: Puget Sound
PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 1:46 pm Reply with quote
Answerman wrote:
Binchotan also has a cult following among chefs overseas, due to how even and long-lasting its heat tends to be. (Importing it can be pretty expensive compared to your standard charcoal briquettes.)


At least in the US, standard charcoal briquettes aren't your only option... Hardwood (lump) charcoal is increasingly widely available and based on my experience would be my choice. Like binchotan, it's pure wood and shares many of the same characteristics. The Naked Whiz maintains an extensive database detailing his tests of various brands of hardwood charcoal.

Samuel wrote:
What is that little barbecue grill that looks like a flower pot? Are they even easy to make as a D.I.Y. project?


As they say... Kids, don't try this at home! When subjected to the heat of a charcoal fire, ordinary terra cotta flower pots (like you'd find at a home center) can (and do) fail practically explosively, scattering white hot shards of pottery and burning coals with potentially catastrophic results. As part of a group that researches and practices historical cooking techniques, we tried various commercial products (such as ordinary flower pots) back in the beginning... and only extensive safety planning and precautions kept us safe and prevented us from causing fires. Just don't try it. Don't.

Nowadays we use actual pottery... because we lucked out and found a potter interested in recreating functional historical pottery. Even so, we broke dozens of pots while she learned how to make it and we learned how to use it.

If you look around (at least in the US) you can find various hibachi style grills if you want to experiment with this style of cooking. They can be pricey, but they're much safer. Or, as an alternative you can use an old rusted out cast iron dutch oven (raised on bricks or other non combustible supports). But keep a fire extinguisher handy as even those can crack and fail.

If I sound like I'm trying to scare you... yeah, I guess I am. You're literally playing with fire, and you can injure badly injure yourself or cause significant property damage if you're not extremely careful.
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Yuvelir



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 1529
PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 1:46 pm Reply with quote
I can't be the only one who thought of this every time "binchotan" was mentioned.
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mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Posts: 1302
Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 1:48 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I don't think you can easily make anything with diatomaceous earth without a proper factory.


Diatomaceous Earth aka Bleaching Clay. Used in the edible oils industry to remove the particles of vegetable matter found in raw Soy, Corn and other vegetable oils. Fossilized Algae it has a consistency similar to talcum powder. Not something you would think of as pottery material.

Mark Gosdin
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Saury



Joined: 23 Feb 2019
Posts: 18
PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 3:14 pm Reply with quote
I used to have a shichirin, and it was, without question, the best way to cook smaller fish, even at home. Mackerel and Pacific Saury were the fish of choice (which was why I was pleasantly surprised with Shokugeki no Soma's Autumn Election arc).

The small size and cylindrical shape work to your advantage to keep even heat distribution for a long time.

Conventional Western ovens and mini-ovens with convection capabilities can also evenly distribute heat, but usually you have to use a tray (or risk having to clean the oven after every use). This unfortunately can leave your fish in a big puddle of water (until it evaporates) and oil. It also means no smoky flavour.

Western style barbecue grills are either too big (so uneven heat) or are designed to be used with the lid closed (so restricted airflow). The closest thing are small kettle-style charcoal grills, but for small fish, even this is too big.

Alas, my shichirin got cracked when moving, and my area doesn't have anything like it Crying or Very sad
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Dop.L



Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 713
Location: London
PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 4:51 pm Reply with quote
Yuvelir wrote:
I can't be the only one who thought of this every time "binchotan" was mentioned.


Oh good, it wasn’t just me!
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nDroae



Joined: 26 May 2017
Posts: 382
PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 7:32 pm Reply with quote
Ah good, the Binchou-tan army has been summoned. Coincidentally I just recommended that show, whose cast is mostly moe anthropomorphizations of types of charcoal, in another thread yesterday: animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=5176737#5176737

Also, the last time I remember hearing about Ariana Grande was when I was in England in 2017, when everyone was talking about how brave and admirable she was for holding a charity concert in the same city where a terrorist had detonated a bomb after her concert there a couple of weeks before. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Love_Manchester

And now, "Stupid people make stupid decisions." Ahhh, internet.

Apparently she didn't actually fix it:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/01/30/ariana-grande-got-japanese-tattoo-she-didn't-mean-it-say-bbq-grill/ (Looks like this link won't work no matter what I do, sorry WP)

Quote:
A BuzzFeed Japan reporter was quick to point out that the new, incorrect placement of the additional kanji characters actually made it read 'Japanese BBQ finger.'
(...)
Grande’s Instagram caption concluded: “R.I.P. tiny charcoal grill. Miss u man. I actually really liked it.”

Wow.
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Gilles Poitras



Joined: 05 Apr 2008
Posts: 476
Location: Oakland California
PostPosted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 8:50 am Reply with quote
Shichirin are not that hard to get in the U.S., especially areas with Asian stores. I have even seen small ones at Daiso.

You can easily find them for sale online, just Google "shichirin"
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fuuma_monou



Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 1816
Location: Quezon City, Philippines
PostPosted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 9:23 am Reply with quote
Yuvelir wrote:
I can't be the only one who thought of this every time "binchotan" was mentioned.


I watched the Animax Asia dub.
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