Hello world where I'm from in Japan, this is what frozen meals are like
(Ajinomoto Consommé, Roll Cabbage)
(Big Shumai)
(Pork Shumai with Clam Adductor muscles)
(Miso soup broth)
(Handmade Kimchi)
(Reduced-salt soy sauce)
(Spinach)
(Wakame seeweed)
(Miso soup meat broth)
(Miso soup long green onions)
(This you need to) wait a little longer.
Yuzu (Lemonade) Ponzu
We have
Miso-shiru
and we have Kyabetsu and we have rice and we have Shumai and Kimchi
and some tea
So the plan for the video was for me to show what meals mainly scrounged from the freezer were like
So I had this idea to shoot one meal for every day of the week
So five meals, but I thought hey, that's a little bit. No don't eat that. That's a little bit excessive
So I went with let's go over three days three meals. So I did that and
Let me shot it and that's the video that you saw and then the video just sat there for eight months
There's no reason for that
There was no answer it just sat there and wasn't me thinking of some grand idea. It wasn't me thinking of the
best way to present things
Sometimes there's just no answer people by the way
My wife is probably going to hate that I spread the whole freezer on the table like this
But she's only at work and I have to work so so last week I was scrounging through my video archives and I found this
Frozen meal footage and I thought to myself. Okay, I should finish this off, but I had two more meals to make and I thought
That's two more days of shooting. How about this? How about I just go to the grocery store?
Pick up a whole bunch of variety of food because that's what you want to see you want to see like everything
Pick the right food cook it all in one night
Eat it all and show you so that's what you're getting a variety of Japanese
Frozen meals that you can get at a Japanese grocery store
Okay, so we're at the frozen section and let's just see what's there
At the end we find noodles things like Tantan-men (noodles) and Udon
Here's all your frozen veggies. So a corn carrots and green peas mix like you'd find in Canada other items
you might not like Kabocha or Negi and a whole bunch of Edamame and
Over here you'll get less healthy fried. Kara-age some hamberg and yaki onigiri
This whole session is mostly fried rice or Chahan with a bit of omelette rice at the top
There's a fairly large selection of pasta meals for one
Here's a Karashi-meitaiko dish our spicy cod roe and this pasta is shrimp and five vegetables
we found some takoyaki and nerrit some okonomiyaki and
A cat yaki and down below some pizza and Gratin
And lastly, we have a little bit of french fries some hash browns and up top a few greens and some fruits and berries
We've never seen these frozen grapes before so why not?
And sorry, I didn't film the Bentou section that much but there's a couple doors dedicated to lunchbox food
Now on to the good stuff. Do you see the size of this ice cream here? That is huge. Really? Yep
Okay note to viewers. You'll understand why Aiko considers this one liter of ice cream huge in a moment
These are our small Haagen Dazs, that's a lot of flavors. Yep
Do you have this many haagen-dazs choices where you're from? Let us know
It's been a while since I've checked out the ice cream section in Canada as you might have noticed
There are a lot of individual servings our boxes that contain it compares into Canada small iced treats
The pro is that they're not so big and they're single servings that don't contain too many calories
Like this one has 209 for example the con I suppose is that you pay more and get less?
Except for packaging you get lots of that. Although Japanese packaging is very thin
So I'd be interested in comparing how much of a difference in packaging waste there is between Japan and other countries
What are we cooking here we're cooking gyoza
How often do we eat Gyoza do you think? Like two times in one month?
Yeah, and who usually makes the Gyoza?
Um yeah Grandma. Yeah she gives us fresh Gyoza. Yep, but when she's not there to give us fresh Gyoza. We have frozen Gyoza
Yeah, this one is from pal system, which is a co-op grocery delivery service
How's this one taste? This one tastes fine. It is good
Okay, so what are we making here we're making Chahan.
Can you make this by yourself
If I try like looking at menus
But I can't really. All you do is you pour it in and you stir it. That's about it. Or mixed it
Oh you mean, like this one?
(Greg) Yeah, yeah. (Aiko) Okay I thought you meant. (Greg) No the frozen one (Aiko) yes, it's really easy.
Okay, and how did this one taste this one tastes really good? Yeah, I thought it was pretty good the quality
What are we seeing here? We're seeing Hamburg. And how do we cook hamburg?
This one we just put it in a pot and take it out like how many seconds? - No, no for real
We cooked it for 25 minutes. Oh
Okay. - Just for the video, we put it in the pot and then we took it out because
I was cooking on the other stove and I didn't film it. So
What's inside?
Cheese
Yeah, so cheese and tomato sauce and it's actually it's I think it's all pork might be some beef in it
I don't know. Yeah, what is this?
Tantan-men.
It kind of looks like the plastic food, doesn't it? Yes and do you think you can make this on your own?
Hmm. I mean like this frozen. Yeah frozen style. Alright, thank ya because you're seeing the whole thing
that's all you do is you put it into a pot of boiling water and then you put the sauce in and mix.
But how did it taste? - It tastes good, like it's kind of just little little spicy. Yeah, I really liked it
Well, so what is this that Mommy is doing? - Well she's just
She's playing with her food? - No no, she's not playing. She's just..
Looks like she is playing. I've never seen anyone do that before. - She never does that. - Normally, you mean? - Nope. - Okay. - Never.
Tasty. Mm-hmm. Well, and there you are
Yeah, it's kind of hot. - Oh, it's all like spicy hot, or just temperature hot? - Oh both - oh, okay
What about the slurping is that okay
Well, it's fine. If you're loud, it's not doesn't matter
And what about this? - Udon.
And that looks again like frozen or like it like plastic food kinda. - Yeah
And what about the Udon? - Yeah, I like the Udons and
Noodles, it was like really soft all the texture
So what is this? This is takoyaki
Have you ever made this in the microwave oven like this before? - Nope.
In comparison to the ones that you cooked at home by yourself versus this microwave one, which one tastes better. Oh
well, let me make it.
I really made the real one
Like this unfrozen one was like mmm
Kinda different. - Okay, so like the Chahan was pretty decent right? - Yep
But Takoyaki isn't just not quite the same. - Yeah, it's not. Yeah not the same.
Okay
And so we're just cooking a whole bunch of stuff in the microwave now? - Yep!
I guess they're easy to pop out - Yep!
(Aiko) Eh, sorry I need to get that...
How is the frozen one in comparison to the fresh one?
Oh well the frozen one is like I don't know how to explain but it's kind of different you can feel it
Maybe the texture is just not the same
But did you like it? - Yeah, I liked it
Mm-hmm
She always wants to be in the videos
Kenny
Yeah, because we're kind of spoiled because your grandpa he has ones that he grows on his own farm, right? - Yep!
And what is that she's putting in? - Tarako Spaghetti.
How did this spaghetti taste? - It is fine.
And so what did you have to do due to the spaghetti? - Oh, we have to mix it for like...
the Tarako? - What's Tarako? - I think it's like little fish eggs or something. Okay. Yeah
Okay, what is this? - It's ice cream. - So this is frozen meal as well I think
Yeah. - Tastes like banana
What do you think? - Banana in caramel. - Of course, that's the name... Good? - Eh yeah, fine.
(Shin: Oops, well take the opened one please)
What is it, Shin?
(Both) Calpico.
What is it inside though?
It's like um coffee
No, he's not real coffee but it's like. Yeah chocolate coffee. It's really pretty I mean.
It's ice!
How's the grape?
Grape. Frozen grape.
Frozen grape?
That is yummy.
I probably don't like the sweet because it looks like sugar but it wasn't... I don't know
the milk?
I don't know, just frozen grape. - Yep you are right. Just frozen grape.
Hmm, get a bit cold grape.
Like in Canada, they're much bigger all the desserts so you have to eat a lot more
So I find in Japan the desserts are like you give you small portion sizes. I like that. Hmm
Yeah, so this is what I'm saying this like it's it's pretty small. So that's like 200 and I think 50 calories
The thing like in the commercial that's a big deal. Hey boy
He said if you push it and then you go on the side - Really? - Yeah
Out of all the frozen food you've had today which one's the best
No desserts
Chahan - Chahan, okay. - What about the desert? Which one's the best dessert?
Papico.
Thanks for watching see you next time bye. What are frozen meals like where you're from?
Because um, which one's your favorite meal?
Tantan-men
That sounds like Aiko responding
Well because I am. I need them um,
Any like Tantan-men and the best? - Yes, I like Tantan-men the best
hmm
I don't know. I kind of feel like I like Gyoza. Tantan-men's pretty good to me. - Really? Wow, that's
That's great
Yeah
This ice cream the second best
Ice cream doesn't need to shake. Oh
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that