A close cousin to the commonly known Japanese fried chicken, karaage, tatsuta age is different in that the chicken sits in a quick marinade before dusted in a coat of katakuriko and fried in hot oil. I know deep frying seems like a lot of work but as a side dish, it’s no big deal. […]
Have you ever had hayashi rice? It’s a beloved dish, right up there with omuraisu and curry rice, but doesn’t get as much attention here in the U.S. I ate it growing up, but it fell off my radar until our last trip to Japan. Quickly, it’s become one of our favorites so I knew […]
We’ve been getting great daikon at the market. I wanted a recipe with a well-seasoned broth that gently cooked its flavors into the daikon. I found this Chinese-inspired dish in haru-mi, Harumi Kurihara’s quarterly magazine. The savory broth is made from the reserved liquid from rehydrated shiitake, chicken broth, shoyu, oyster sauce, leek, and smashed […]
Chikuzenni is a classic Japanese dish often served on New Year’s Day, but I also find it in bentos from the Japanese market. This recipe is leaps and bounds better than what you find pre-made and it’s one of my favorite everyday dishes. This particular chizukenni recipe came from my mom and is a homey […]
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 […]
Chewy udon noodles blanketed in thick curry and topped with a pan-fried tomato seemed just the right thing to welcome the cool autumn weather… except that we’re still experiencing 90+ degrees, here in Los Angeles. No matter. Hot weather calls for hot food. My dad would tell me that after sweating over a steaming bowl […]
Have you eaten a cooked radish? Lately, the recipes I’ve come across all seem to use them in raw form. I love the crunch of a raw radish in a salad or tea sandwich, but there’s something more exciting about a radish that’s been slow simmered. Cooking it brings out a mellow sweetness with a […]
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 […]
This is what they mean when they say umami. I say this surprisingly because the recipe was relatively simple. Slices of pork loin (I used kurobuta from the Japanese market) goes in a quick 5 minute marinade, gets a coat of katakuriko (potato starch), then pan fried and cooked in a shoyu, mirin, and sugar. […]
If you don’t have nimble fingers, no matter. This gyoza is simple to assemble—the most low-maintenance version I’ve seen. The gyoza skin is filled, folded in half, and the top section is pinched at one point. No laborious crimping, no fear of air pockets, no mending needed when the filling pokes out. The filling is […]
