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.
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 […]
I had the most unexpected epiphany while eating the Arturo pizza at Folliero’s in Highland Park, CA. I love this pizza. It’s mozzarella, eggplant, and garlic—that’s it. No sauce. Imagine crunchy, chewy dough with ribbons of roasted sweet eggplant, salty melted mozzarella, and an occasional bite of garlic. I love it so much, it’s pretty […]
We moved to a new house over the summer. My mom visited, carefully carrying 2 small green Japanese shiso plants with her on the plane. She planted them in our yard and they’ve thrived all summer, exploding with leaves—almost to the point where I can barely keep up. My mom suggested making preserved shiso or […]
This is a classic Japanese recipe. It’s one of those sides you see tucked into a corner of a bento. Easily overlooked, but one of my favorites. You could also use black sesame, which also is delicious and looks more dramatic. I used a Japanese mortar and pestle to grind the sesame, but I’ve seen […]
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 […]
The texture of gobo (burdock root) is like no other because of its fibrousness. When stir fried, it has an interesting crunch and when simmering in a stew, it becomes soft, but always retains its unique woodsiness. Deep frying it, however, is another matter. The edges of the fritter become light and crisp while the […]
Anyone who knows my mom, Yoko, knows she can cook. Her Japanese beer beef stew, crab cream croquettes, chirashi, and spring rolls are some of my absolute favorites. She sets the bar ridiculously high that, because of her, I’m often disappointed when I eat out at Japanese restaurants. Recently my mom sent me this simple […]
