<Begin Segment 4>

TM: Only problem is you have to go home and take a shower because you smell like... [Laughs] I was wondering why I never had a date. [Laughs]

BF: That fried fish cake smell, huh Tomio? Tomio, would you explain what this machine, what's it doing?

TM: Well this, like I say, in the old days we used to really mix it from scratch. You know, the fish, and salt and everything. But now, what we do is buy it frozen. In fact, this machine takes the frozen surimi, and just slices it for ease -- thaw it out easier, and uniform. They're made uniform. And a lot of this surimi now is made on factory ships on the ocean.

BF: As soon as they're caught.

TM: Hmm?

BF: As soon as they're caught, they're processed right away?

TM: Right, and then they're transferred. They probably go to Japan first and they're distributed. We buy that. But, then once we put it in here, you just, I don't know exactly but you might add a little more salt and whatever. Then we put in the vegetables, mix it up.

BF: What's the vegetables? Carrots and...

TM: Well, see, we have different kinds. Primarily carrots. But we -- the one I love is the gobou, you know.

BF: Oh.

TM: Yeah, or we have some with... but I think it's carrots and, gee, I don't know. It looks like onions. What is it? Onion and gobou? Oh. Spinach and green onion.

BF: Oh.

TM: Did we make the gobou one yet? That's a good one. I like the gobou. They want to eat that right away. [Laughs]

BF: Okay. And then so once it's mixed it goes in here? So it goes to this machine and the machine shapes it?

TM: This one, yeah. It just makes a cake out of it. Nothing sophisticated.

BF: Uh-huh. Oh, go ahead.

TM: It's just that like I say, we used to just do it by hand before.

BF: A pretty long process, though, to do by hand. Your father and you must have been --

TM: Well, it would take two of us. One would put it in and then one would take it from one pot, turn it over and then bring it into the other one.

BF: So how many, how long would it take you? Remember? Like was it late at night, you would be doing this?

TM: We had something about, I would say, half this volume so, two, three hours. For one batch.

BF: Yeah, I think there's that picture you showed me, right? From the JACL installation booklet.

TM: Oh, yeah, with the machine, yeah, right.

BF: A big mixer machine, yeah.

TM: Apparently in Tacoma they had it with a belt and things, you know, to turn it.

BF: Oh, I see.

TM: That picture had the belt, and you would use different machinery with belts. But all the same principle.

BF: Uh-huh.

TM: This one here, it's made specifically for surimi, kind of a three-way. It eliminates the burning at the bottom, because it's kind of a... so they use this principle for a lot of things. Anything with beans, just mixes so it won't burn at the bottom. Although nowadays, different story. If you use a steam heat, double boiler, then it doesn't burn as much. But if you have a concentrated gas-type, you have to really be careful because it'll burn on the spot.

BF: Oh, interesting.

TM: So, I remember when we used the cake mix, we had to go just back and scrape it up every now and then. They want to take some back to the office, too, right?

BF: [Laughs]

TM: Give it to the crew there.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.