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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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 The restaurant is on the second floor in an outdated Asian mall-like structure on the corner of Atlantic and Garvey in Monterey Park.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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
These mochi cupcakes are crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside, and have a wonderful hint of matcha. This recipe is a great alternative to the cupcakes we’re used to because they’re not overly sweet.
Happy Thanksgiving! I never had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner growing up, so I can’t offer a tried-and-true turkey or stuffing recipe. The closest thing I have to offer is a classic Japanese pumpkin dish. My grandmother is big on kabocha, saying it prevents cancer. She’s from Hiroshima, which means she calls kabocha “nankin” and says […]
