We’re visiting family in Japan who happen to live near the Kokugikan sumo stadium in Tokyo. On one of our first nights here, we were taken to a great little hole-in-the-wall sushi bar. The bar is now run by Akami-san, pictured, the daughter of the original owner. The original owner died pretty young so his…
久しぶり。 It’s been a long time since I posted. Hopefully I’ll be posting more frequently over the next few months. Suzuki Farm is a farm in New Jersey that specializes in Asian vegetables. They supply many of the Japanese markets around town. They also make special appearances at events at Japanese schools and organizations. Recently,…
Go to Makoto. Makoto is great. Go there, often. My wife and I have enjoyed it each time we’ve been and are always eager to go back. On a scale of 1 to 10, the food is a 12 and the service is a 15. The waitstaff know what they’re talking about, explain everything, and…
A care package came through from my mother-in-law in Japan. Aside from hijiki seaweed (for okinawa gohan) and some other ingredients, she sent over snacks for the kids. We really like Japanese snacks because there’s more variety and there’s not so much sugar. Takenoko no sato and Pocky are pretty easy to find here but…
One of the best features of Japanese cuisine is adaptability. A common stereotype of Japanese cooking is that it has to be done a certain way. However, Japanese are clearly fans of food from around the world and bring many of those ingredients into their homes. One is kimchi, spicy fermented cabbage, from Korea. My…
UNESCO recognized Japanese cuisine for its contribution to cultural heritage. NHK has had quite a few specials about it over the past few days. Obviously, the goal here is to promote Japanese culinary exports. “Farm ministry’s efforts key in ‘washoku’ being added to UNESCO list” This blog is really dedicated to expanding peoples’ understanding of…
The cookie on the right is a Japanese Marusei biscuit. It’s made by Rokkatei, http://www.rokkatei.co.jp/, a company from Hokkaido in northern Japan. They’re kind of like shortbread cookies but thinner and crunchier. I love the buttery flavor. There are a wide variety of cookies like this. Another really good one, and my favorite, is Shiroi…
Kara-age, or Japanese fried chicken, is fantastic. A friend passed this article from Tasting Table on to me: Japanese Fried Chicken. The article is about an NYC restaurant. We have not gone there but might next time we’re up there. Full disclosure: the goat shoulder sounds fascinating so I’ll probably hit that up first. I…
As is the case around the world, foods change with the seasons. Three foods that are particularly characteristic of Autumn in Japan are chestnuts (kuri), a fish called “Pacific saury” (according to Wikipedia) in English, sanma in Japanese, and the matsutake variety of mushroom. My wife was able to get some matsutake a few weeks…
When I’m in Japan, I can get my share of American Fast Food chains. Other than McDonald’s there’s Denny’s, Subway, KFC, Krispy Kreme, etc. But what I really miss is “The Q”. Specifically, I miss our North Carolina pulled pork barbecue w/ our vinegar sauce. Other barbecue is often beef ribs or brisket with a…
A care package came through from my mother-in-law in Japan. Aside from hijiki seaweed (for okinawa gohan) and some other ingredients, she sent over snacks for the kids. We really like Japanese snacks because there’s more variety and there’s not so much sugar. Takenoko no sato and Pocky are pretty easy to find here but…
Originally posted on Japanese recipes – easy and healthy Mari's Japanese cookbook:
This week, I saw one of my best favorite thing at vegetable store- Chestnut (Kuri) :)! I felt autumn is finally coming ❤ I used chestnut for Kuri-Gohan (rice cooked with chestnut) first, and then I made Shibukawani yesterday. It’s similar to…
Today I will take you beyond pickled ginger and wasabi to explore the world of Japanese condiments. If anyone else has read the previous post on yakisoba and the comments you may have had questions about katsuobushi which, along with the widely known pickled ginger and wasabi, are used as garnishes and condiments in Japan.…
When people think of Japanese noodles, most probably think of ramen. An interesting tidbit that I learned the last time I went to Tokyo was that Ramen is sometimes called Chinese Soba. Soba and Udon are two traditional Japanese noodles. Tonight I’m going to write a bit about a particularly common dish, yakisoba. A similar…
Congratulations Tokyo! I hope the event can help broaden people’s understanding of Japan – and its food in particular. Since many people will probably travel to Japan for the first time, I thought I’d mention that yakitori is probably the best food to introduce to Japanese newbies. You really can’t get more simple than grilled…
