Kanazawa boasts a special regional cuisine called Kaga no aji. In general the taste is mildly sweet, like most Japanese country cooking. Visually, it is not as sophisticated or ornate as Kyoto’s kaiseki haute cuisine, since it’s based on the food of the samurai – substantial and hearty, with taste, not looks, being paramount. JibuniRead On >
shiitake mushrooms
Tori no Hikizuri: A Chicken-based Precursor of Sukiyaki
Like many cultures, Japan first used chickens as living alarm clocks. The first record of this dates back to the Kojiki, the country’s first official history book, written in 712. The chicken was considered a sacred bird back then because it told people when morning had come, and apparently no one considered consuming the sourceRead On >
Matsumae Zoni Soup
Looking for a recipe on Mastumae Zoni soup from Hokkaido? You’ve come to the right place! New Year has always been an integral part of Japanese society. Osechi is the essence of traditional Japanese home cooking, and consists of all the celebratory dishes prepared at home two or three days prior to New Year’s DayRead On >
A Review of Kokoro Care Packages
I was thrilled when I heard about Kokoro Care Packages, who offers monthly and or seasonal Japanese care packages. I love that more companies are introducing Japanese foods and other products here in the U.S., and to other countries outside of Japan. So, I reached out to them and introduced them to Thanks for theRead On >
Uosuki: Fish Sukiyaki
Ask anyone about sukiyaki, and most will nod knowledgeably and say, “Ah, yes, a famous Japanese dish.” Mention Uosuki, though, and even most Japanese will react with a blank look. Uosuki is a form of fish sukiyaki, a famous regional dish from the Osaka area that originated on fishing boats in the Inland Sea. FreshRead On >
Oden: Japanese Hodgepodge Stew
When I was a college student in Tokyo, I would often pass mobile food stalls, called yatai, late on blustery winter nights and be completely overwhelmed by the powerful aroma of oden, or Japanese hodgepodge stew. Oden’s pungent smell and taste have made it a perennial favorite with drinkers, no matter the season. It isRead On >
Delicious Tenpura Recipe (Tempura)
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 >
Festive Fare: Traditional Treats for New Year’s
NEW YEAR’S IS ONE OF THE BEST TIMES IN JAPAN – at least for eating. Shogatsu, the New Year’s holiday, is celebrated from midnight on December 31 until January 3 or 4, or even longer by diehards. No New Year’s banquet would be complete without a bowl of zoni, soup with toasted mochi (pounded riceRead 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 >
Chanko Nabe: A One-Pot Dish for a Pot Belly
A little unknown fact about me is that I love sumo! It is one of the few sports I’ll watch. When I lived in Japan, you couldn’t tear me away from the television whenever sumo was on. I even went to a live Sumo tournament in Tokyo with my then father-in-law and it was sublime!Read On >