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, please vote! You’ll have to create a username, but I promise it’s pretty painless. You can also watch Amanda and Merrill cook the two finalist recipes here.

If you’re not familiar with Food 52, it’s a project started by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs. They have a call for submissions for different categories (like “Your Best Pancakes”) every week, asking people to send in their recipes. They narrow the submissions down to 2 and present it to the people for a vote. The winner will be included in a cookbook that will be printed at the completion of 1 year. I like this bottom-up approach because it’s a forum that celebrates the home cook—food that was modified, refined, or imagined in people’s home kitchen.

Like I said, there’s always a contest in the works. Right now they’re accepting submissions for “Your Best Broiled Steak” and “Your Best Polenta Recipe.” These kinds of contests only are as good as the recipes submitted, so if you have a killer dish I encourage you to share!

Thank you for voting!

In Japan, obon is observed from July 13–15, a time when families come together and welcome home the spirits of their ancestors. I remember we would visit the family grave to wash and scrub our family headstone, light incense, place a bouquet of flowers, and say a prayer. We would then go home and light a small fire in front of the house, to guide the spirits home.

Our second obon of the year was at Nishi Hongwanji on First Street. I got 6 tomatoes for $1.00 at the farmer’s market booth (!) and we took advantage of the variety of food—chirashi zushi, charsiu bao, chili rice (with a hot dog), and a bag of Okinawa dango.

A word about this dango…

I waited patiently in line, and with just one person ahead of me, they ran out. No! But they were making more (whew!). A few minutes passed, and I was starting to get impatient. But all those feelings disappeared when I was handed the warm, grease-stained bag. I knew it was worth the wait. A very generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar, and I was good to go. This dango was crispy and sweet on the outside, soft and dense on the inside. Lo~ved it.

Upcoming obons:
July 18–19: Orange County Buddhist Church
July 18–19: Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple
July 25–26: Higashi Hongangi Buddhist Temple
July 25–26: West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple
August 1–2: Gardena Buddhist Church

Click here for more obon festivals happening in the U.S. this summer.

This was my first time going to Senshin’s obon. We heard a great performance by Andagi—an Okinawan shamisen group based out of Gardena—ate chili rice, shaved ice, and danced to the beat of the taiko drum.

Afterwards we all made our way to the temple to offer incense and light a candle in memory of those who have passed. Somen and fruit punch were served and we stayed long enough to hear one taiko performance. It was past Sa’s bedtime and it was clear we needed to get her to bed. Even though we headed home early, we left satisfied with good food, good music, memories of the past, and happy we shared the evening with a community of friends.

A few more obons in the coming months:
July 11–12: Nishi Hongwanji
July 25–26: Higashi Hongangi Buddhist Temple
August 1–2: Gardena Buddhist Church

Click here for more obon festivals happening in the U.S. this summer.

People who hate natto will tell you it’s the smell or the neba neba (sticky, slimy) texture. The texture is not unusual in Japanese food. Yama imo (Japanese mountain yam), sato imo (taro yam), and okra all have that neba neba-ness. But I understand some find the thought/smell/sight of it offensive, so for the tentative eater, I recommend ordering natto maki the next time you’re out for sushi. The beans are usually chopped fine and since it’s a roll, the smell is unnoticeable.

Recently, I tried a great natto brand—instead of the usual dashi and karashi (hot mustard) packets, this natto came with shiso nori sauce. The nori was a perfect pairing to the distinctively fragrant shiso. And that ganko oyaji on the package—cute. If you have access to a Japanese grocery store and you love natto, this one’s not to be missed!

And I’m not just talking about the foods typically associated with Japan—sushi, ramen, oden, katsudon, shabu shabu, yakitori, and so on. I’m also talking about Japanese Italian pizzas and pastas, Japanese French pastries, and Japanese Indian curry. These other cuisines, filtered through the Japanese lens, have come out the other end deliciously. It gets me really excited.

Left: Pastry horn with matcha cream and adzuki at Pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki, Tokyo Midtown Right: Yuzu soba at 暁庵 (Gyōan) in Hakone; Above: Sōmen at 貴船ひろや (Kibune Hiroya) in Kyoto

I grew up with my mom and grandma’s cooking, so I equate Japanese food with home, comfort, and culture. But as an adult, I’ll cook it occasionally, maybe once a week. Living in Los Angeles, I have access to specialty ingredients and know the basics of Japanese cooking, so the process of reflection began: given my love and passion to eat it, why don’t I cook Japanese food regularly?

Enter Humble Bean.

As a site to explore and encourage Japanese cooking, Humble Bean is a way for me to learn more about and maintain my culture’s traditions in new ways. Japanese food is accessible and I’m determined to transform the way I approach cooking on a day-to-day basis and share my discoveries along the way.