By Azusa | Published:
April 21, 2010
I would’ve never thought pairing sumeshi (vinegared sushi rice) and curry powder could deliver such a great combination. The flavors in this unconventional chirashi are so delicately nuanced, I couldn’t help but feel it exemplifies a Japanese sensibility. I’m not always in the mood for curry-flavored foods because I expect it to be overwhelming, but [...]
By Azusa | Published:
April 15, 2010
I love burnt rice. It’s hard to top something as simple and perfect as yakionigiri, but this recipe shows that the slightest effort makes something entirely different and delicious in its own right. I saw a photo of this recipe in the Japanese magazine, Kyouno Ryouri Beginners. This “beginners” series focuses each issue on one [...]
By Azusa | Published:
March 10, 2010
We all have failures in the kitchen from time to time. This is one of mine. My mom couldn’t stop raving about these tofu donuts—she loved them so much she fried these babies up 3 days in a row. The original recipe (which comes from a Japanese cooking magazine) calls for Morinaga Hot Cake Mix. [...]
By Azusa | Published:
February 25, 2010
As a kid I called it “suki yucky” because I was tickled by the oxymoron (suki means like or love in Japanese). Sukiyaki was a treat growing up. My mom would plop the portable electric stove on the dining table and the meat, vegetables, and tofu would bubble as we filled our bowls, then dipped [...]
Posted in Favorites, Meat, Rice Dishes, Traditional Recipes | Tagged beef, donburi, enoki, konnyaku, leeks, napa cabbage, rice bowl, shungiku, tofu |
By Azusa | Published:
February 9, 2010
I’ve been wanting to bake mochiko batter on a shortbread or pie crust. I’ve seen mochiko baked in a brownie-like batter, and I’ve seen it in a cake form, but I’ve never had it layered with a firm base. I imagined it would have a great textural quality—biting first into the chewy mochi, then into [...]
By Azusa | Published:
February 2, 2010
Mark Bittman has a way of making simple things look really delicious. I watched as he effortlessly whipped up ginger fried rice and I needed to make this immediately. The crunchy flecks of garlic and ginger, and using the garlic and ginger-infused oil for the fried rice sounded perfect.
By Azusa | Published:
January 28, 2010
Recently, when my mom visited LA, we took her to some of our favorite spots and she liked Shin Sen Gumi Yakitori and Shabu Shabu the best. The restaurant is on the second floor in an outdated Asian mall-like structure on the corner of Atlantic and Garvey in Monterey Park. I remember passing it countless [...]
By Azusa | Published:
January 20, 2010
This curry stands out for its variety of textures and flavors: the firm and sweet kabocha, the tangy and squishy tomatoes, the velvety eggplant, the amazingly crunchy renkon… every bite, coated in a robust curry, is different and interesting.
But before I get into that, I have to mention I’ve fallen into a slump. I was [...]
By Azusa | Published:
December 9, 2009
Soy sauce and wasabi flavored ramen noodles topped with wasabi leaves, slices of berkshire pork, menma, fishcake, tempura bits, nori seaweed, and scallions.
I was having a hard time imagining what this Ippudo ramen would taste like. Would the wasabi over power the dish? I was worried the first bite would be heaven, then slowly peter [...]
By Azusa | Published:
December 6, 2009
There’s always a contest going on over at Food 52. I submitted my Bacon and Shiso Fried Rice and was surprised it was selected as a finalist!
I would love this recipe to end up in the cookbook and shared with others—it’d be great to have a Japanese dish represented—so if you have a moment, [...]
