While there’s still a lingering chill, how about making nabe? It’s one of my favorite foods, especially when it’s cold out and you need a little soul-warming sustenance. In case you aren’t familiar with nabe (short for nabemono), it’s a Japanese hot pot. Cooked in a variety of ways, I began tinkering with tonyu nabe [...]
I’m excited for the weekend because we’re headed to San Francisco! My husband’s independent feature film, The Crumbles, is premiering at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. It’s been 3+ years in the making, so it’s a big occasion for us. This is a bonus post to celebrate the debut of The Crumbles! [...]
My new favorite way to make rice is this Mixed Rice with Pork and Bamboo Shoots! I must’ve made it at least once a week since I first made it a few weeks ago. Maze gohan translates to mixed rice, a method of mixing in ingredients into rice that’s been cooked. The idea of maze [...]
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned I’m allergic to soy. Which is ironic, given the title of this blog and how much Japanese food depends on it. I’m mostly sensitive to tofu and miso, so I almost never make misoshiru. It pains me because I loved my grandmother’s misoshiru growing up! Instead, I’ve been making [...]
Heard of kinpira gobo? It’s the dish that uses the earthy flavors of burdock root, combines it with carrots, and cooks it in a salty and sweet sauce. Kinpira Kabocha is a great alternative to that staple side dish. Instead of gobo, it’s the kabocha that soaks up the flavors of the sauce. The profile [...]
Curry udon has been the #1 request in my house. I came across several recipes, Keema Curry Udon with Burnt Tomato being one of them. While that recipe offset the robust curry with tangy tomatoes, this recipe mellows it out by using milk. The feathery maitake mushrooms and the thin-sliced beef add a great textural [...]
Happy accidents. I had leftover napa cabbage after making a batch of gyoza and I found this simple recipe in the back of the vegetable section of one of my favorite cookbooks. I wasn’t expecting much—I just needed something easy to use up the remaining cabbage—so I was surprised at how much I loved it. [...]
I stop at the Little Tokyo Public Library from time to time and go through stacks and stacks of food magazines and cookbooks. And this recipe keeps popping up. Harumi Kurihara’s books are my favorite and I noticed this carrot and tuna salad recipe making an appearance in a couple of her books, some Japanese, [...]
I can’t say enough good things about this oshiruko. Oshiruko is a sweet porridge traditionally made with azuki beans and a few pieces of shiratama (dumplings made of shiratamako—glutinous rice flour). This recipe uses kabocha instead, blending it with creamy coconut milk and condensed milk to allow the natural, earthy sweetness of the kabocha to [...]
Japanese love mayonnaise. They bake it on toast, on pizza, toss it straight up with sliced cabbage, and mix it with mentaiko (spicy cod roe). Here, it’s combined with shoyu and wasabi, poured over sliced avocados and tomatoes, and baked. Maybe it sounds strange, but I was immediately drawn to this recipe.
