Contrary to popular belief, potatoes have always been an integral part of Japanese cooking. There are a variety to choose from such as jaga-imo (potato), satsuma imo (sweet potato), sato-imo (taro), and yama imo (yams)—usually eaten raw. When Did Potatoes Come to Japan? Potato Croquettes (called Korokke コロッケ) in Japanese have been a beloved, popularRead On >
Vegetables
Salad Dressing Recipes
I love salads and of course, Japanese salad dressings! Salad dressings play a large role in any Japanese culinary repertoire. The composition of salads and dressings are an area of great versatility and creativity in Japanese cuisine. If your pantry is equipped with a couple of Japanese standards, you too can whip up or poundRead On >
Succulent Clouds: The Way of Light, Delicious Tenpura
With a light, crispy, oil-free coating enveloping a perfectly cooked and succulent piece of seafood or vegetable, tenpura (also written tempura) is considered a quintessentially Japanese food. Both the word and the dish, however, are almost certainly of foreign origin. The source: Spanish and Portuguese missionaries called nanbanjin (southern barbarians) who came to Japan toRead On >
Soba Celebrations for a Happy New Year!
IN JAPANESE CULTURE, soba (buckwheat) noodles have always been seen as a “happiness” food, served on special occasions. It is traditional, too, when moving into a new house to greet your neighbors with hikoshi soba (moving soba). This involves a play on words, as soba also means “close” or “near” – like neighbors. Another sobaRead On >
Bamboo Shoots: A Kyoto Spring Specialty
Bamboo shoots are often seen as a seasonal treat so it’s worth having recipes on hand to know what you’re going to make should you come into fresh shoots. Boiled Bamboo Shoots Recipe “Kye no kidaore Osaka no kuidaore.” If we’re to believe this old adage, the people of Kyoto go bankrupt because of theirRead On >