Will Miss #480 - chicken breast is cheapest

There have been quite a few shocks since coming back to the U.S. and one of them is how the price of turkey and white meat chicken have sky-rocketed. When I was living here before, these types and cuts of meat were cheaper because they were viewed as less flavorful. Personally, I don't like the stronger flavors or the texture of dark meat chicken. I realize that many people prefer them, and that dark meat actually has a better nutritional profile, but I like white meat. So, sue me. In Japan, I could go to Yutakaraya and often buy white meat with skin for about 38 (49 cents) yen per 100 grams (3.5 oz.) whereas dark meat was 58 yen (74 cents) per 100 grams (3.5 oz.) at its cheapest. In the U.S., with the  focus on health and lower calories, things have reversed. Boneless skinless (which I don't like either) chicken breast is more expensive than thighs and legs. Now, I feel extravagant and wasteful for buying what I like. In Japan, it made me feel frugal and savvy. 

I miss the fact that white meat was cheaper because I lived in a society that valued flavor over fat content. 

Will Miss #433 - tsukune

As part of my goodbye socializing, I went to a teppanyaki resturant with a few of my former students, now my friends. Teppanyaki, incidentally, is when meat and vegetables are prepared on a large flat grill in front of you by a skilled chef. I think it tends to be rather theatrical in America and is merely carried out with great skill in Japan. However, I'm not a big meat eater so I have limited experience with teppanyaki. At this restaurant (a great place in Takadanobaba called Daitokai Honkan which I heartily recommend), I ordered a tofu chicken "healthy lunch" and one of my former students remarked that burgers in Japan are different from those in the West because the usual burger of pressed meat is too dense and strong for Japanese tastes. Nowhere is the ability to dilute ground meat in a flavorful manner present for me than in tsukune, a chicken meatball which is grilled yakitori-style. 

Tsukune is one of my favorite items when I go to yakitori-ya (grilled chicken restaurants/shops), and I will miss the flavor and texture. While I can make a good chicken meatball, I'm sure I could never recapture the flavor imparted by the grilling process nor could I easily get the "tare" sauce that it is served or prepared with that is sold in Japan.