A challenge with a difference! I need some help with this. Can anyone tell me what these 5 food items are and how to prepare or use them. Where did I find these products? Well that’s a good question. As well as being pretty, my ex-girlfriend was a great cook and liked to buy different foods and try cooking different, but healthy, meals. Anyhow, during this Corona lockdown my new girlfriend has been cleaning out the pantry and of course she is finding these unusual food items and asking me to explain what they are and how we use them. So I thought that during this Corona lockdown, this would make an interesting topic for the Connect Food & Drink experts here lol. I’ve summarized below what these experts are telling me and will update it as we progress.
It’s a bag of furikake (ふりかけ), typical dry seasoning that you sprinkle on top of your bowl of steaming rice to give it some extra taste. This one in particular has the taste of bonito, or striped tuna, called “katsuo” (かつお) in Japanese. The way I used to use furikake is: 1) Steam some rice and separate it into portions; 2) Pour some furikake on top and give it time to absorb the heat and soften, or mix it in directly to speed the process; 3) Enjoy my seasoned rice!
This is a plant that is toxic to a certain degree. However, it is used in medicine in the form of oil or teas for all kinds of health problems, however, one should be extremely careful not to overdose.
Hijiki is a brown sea vegetable growing wild on rocky coastlines around Japan, Korea, and China. Hijiki has been a part of the Japanese diet for centuries. It is rich in dietary fibre and essential minerals such as calcium, iron, and magnesium…Hijiki seaweed salad or can add in Franky or puff bake or fry it!
Seaweed presented in tiny pieces you may use it to spread over salads, there is also used for making the sushi rolls as to fold them but they have to be larger
Food number 5 is Korean actually. It says it is sodium glutamate (or MSG). It can be used for enhancing the flavour of food, but I am not sure how exactly it is used. P.S. I actually saw what @Rk151 wrote, but I think that 백설 is just the name of the brand (meaning white snow). The name 미풍 actually means breeze and L글루타민산나트륨 finally gives information about what exactly is inside the bag.
3rd left photo KAMBOW is written from Picture it looks like dry prawn & next photo looks like vegetables dry cannot read word written next to price tag.
Below photo is of beksul is a flour packet & Hijiki seaweed Hijiki is a brown sea vegetable growing wild on rocky coastlines around Japan, Korea, and China. Hijiki has been a part of the Japanese diet for centuries. It is rich in dietary fibre and essential minerals such as calcium, iron, and magnesium.
This details got from Google.
Top photo you please tell curious to know what it is. Because the plastic show design it’s tissue paper or kitchen napkin God knows.
If Beksul is flour & 3rd photo is prawn u can boil prawns make prawn franky, & Hijiki seaweed salad or can add in Franky or puff bake or fry it.
Exactly what it we come to know can give u recipe.
Thank you for your reply @RosyKohli . I’m sorry that the images were not clear so I have edited the post and added clearer images without the price tags and hope this will help
Where did you find those products? I am not sure I can help much, but let me give it a try:
First picture: no idea
The one that says “licorice root”: I know that this is “Süßholz” or “Lakritze” in German and often used as an ingredient in herbal teas to give it a sweet taste or in a special kind of sweets.
The one that says “Angelica”: this is a plant that is toxic to a certain degree. However, it is used in medicine in the form of oil or teas for all kinds of health problems, however, one should be extremely careful not to overdose.
The one that says sea weed: probably some kind of algae that can be used like vegetable. The "best before date reads 2014!! so I cannot recommend you still try it.
Hi @AdamGT various food and condiments you have here, also used for medical purposes
Seaweed presented in tiny pieces you may use it to spread over salads, there is also used for making the sushi rolls as to fold them but they have to be larger
Thanks for your reply. I’ve edited the post to make it a bit clearer and answered your question there. Angelica is toxic!!! One can overdose!!! Oh dear!!! You might like to have a go at Mystery Food #5 which I forgot to add a picture of lol.
Food number 5 is Korean actually. It says it is sodium glutamate (or MSG). It can be used for enhancing the flavour of food, but I am not sure how exactly it is used.
P.S. I actually saw what @RosyKohli wrote, but I think that it is not exactly flour. 백설 is just the name of the brand (meaning white snow). The name 미풍 actually means breeze and L글루타민산나트륨 finally gives information about what exactly is inside the bag.
The first item on the list is indeed Japanese. It’s a bag of furikake (ふりかけ), typical dry seasoning that you sprinkle on top of your bowl of steaming rice to give it some extra taste. This one in particular has the taste of bonito, or striped tuna, called “katsuo” (かつお) in Japanese.
The way I used to use furikake is: 1) Steam some rice and separate it into portions; 2) Pour some furikake on top and give it time to absorb the heat and soften, or mix it in directly to speed the process; 3) Enjoy my seasoned rice!
However, looking at the bottom of the bag, I think this one expired in 2012, but I can’t make out the symbols to be sure if it expired then, or was produced then.
Hey @LilyanaZ thanks for jumping in. So it’ssodium glutamate and not flour! We’ll have to watch out for “MSG symptom complex” So that’s 1 out of 5! Want to jump in on any of the other 4 food items?
Hahaha, well, you’ll definitely be surprised by the fishy taste of that “fruitcake” @AdamGT . If the package is still vacuum sealed, maybe it’s safe to try, but please do so at your discretion.
Fishy taste hey! My ex was, let’s just say, “eccentric” @DeniGu and I’m sure that you already determined this by the variety of “national” food items she purchased. And believe me there’s more in the cupboard but I thought I’d kick this off with just 5 items else you might think she was insane
ps: I just opened the bag and you are right about the fishy bit lol
again you have started a fun challenge! and it seems, you like to make lists. As for mystery food nr 5 I wouldn’t have had a clue, but this was solved by @LilyanaZ .
Say “hello” to your girlfriend and let us know if she unearths more items we can guess at.
Challenges are always fun @PuriW and often, when they come out of real life situations, they can be much more fun . They are also a great way for us to engage on various target topics, in this case Food & Drink! Yes, from the collective wisdom of you Connect foodie experts, we have some solutions however, have you noticed that so far only females are participating . My g/f is in stitches. She thinks this is all hilarious haha. She has already found some others so stay tuned! By the way, she tossed out Mystery Food #3 as she didn’t want us to overdose! Regarding lists/tables, while they take extra time and effort to present here on Connect posts, they are a nice and simple way to present information. What do you think?
Angelica is used in North America from the territories between Newfoundland, Wisconsin, and Maryland, when it is smoked, is used for colds and respiratory diseases, also when boilñed roots it is used for external wounds and also used in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Licorice is used in herbalism and traditional medicine as phytoestrogens used for hormonal and digestive issues, hepatitis C and topic for psoriasis, between other uses…So extensive
Seaweeds are used for dentistry to make moulds, bacterial colonization, diet pills, and agar for cultivating camps in microbiology, etc… for generating Oxigen
P.S. I actually saw what @Rk151 wrote, but I think that 백설 is just the name of the brand (meaning white snow). The name 미풍 actually means breeze and L글루타민산나트륨 finally gives information about what exactly is inside the bag. 
So that’s 1 out of 5! Want to jump in on any of the other 4 food items?
and it seems, you like to make lists. As for mystery food nr 5 I wouldn’t have had a clue, but this was solved by 
. My g/f is in stitches. She thinks this is all hilarious haha. She has already found some others so stay tuned! By the way, she tossed out Mystery Food