Ume (Japanese plum)
Get your gums `round these plums! So we have European, American and Japanese varieties and none of the most common types are found in the wild pointing to our cultivation of these special fruits. The two most popular ways to consume the sour green Japanese variety are firstly umeboshi the ubiquitous pickled/salted version then umeshu. […]
Continue ReadingRakkyo (pickled shallots)
Tsukemono are delicious little pickled things such as beni shoga for yakisobo, takoyaki and okonomiyaki. Gari, the sweet and sour young ginger that cleanses the palate during a sushi session is another popular example and the list is large and varied with regional specialties like nozawana from Nagano further expanding the repertoire and indulging you […]
Continue ReadingSardines (iwashi)
At this time of year during the wet transition from spring into summer, you will have sardines available from your supplier or supermarket. They are even called Tsuyu(rain season)Iwashi as they are extremely tasty at this time of year and also through the end of summer. As one of the most exploited fish in the […]
Continue ReadingNikkei cuisine
Lured by the prospect of financial riches in a then very poor Japan at the end of the 1800`s, the first wave of Japanese nationals travelled by boat to their new home of Peru. Although its almost laughable to think about it these days with just how far Japan has come in a hundred years, back then […]
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Clam digging (Shio higari)
My daughter loves to engage in this Japanese seasonal pastime and family get together that is clam digging. I have one confession to make which I feel guilty about and will duly have to apologize for in time perhaps choosing father Christmas in the same conversation. I recently found out that the places where families […]
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Yamanashi
Yamanashi is know for hiking, skiing, climbing and fishing but for me it represents 3 things. Firstly there is the produce namely fruits, which benefit from the favorable climate and have been grown in this region for over a thousand years , such as cherries, peaches, strawberries and high quality grapes made into delicious grape juice and wine […]
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Hotpot (nabe)
Photograph above: Yamanashi hot pot udon noodle dish “hoto” Felipe Fernandez-Armesto writes in his essential read “Near a thousand tables ” when talking about our ability to boil food in animal innards but frying required manufactured vessels that “in Japan, the oldest examples which recognizably belonged to pots date from the eleventh millennium B.C.” […]
Continue ReadingSenbei (rice crackers)
Let’s be honest people, unless you are a health guru, chips or crisps are a rite of culinary passage for westerners. Japan has a very civilized version from the Edo period in the form of baked crackers traditionally cooked over charcoal and brushed with soy sauce but now flavored with wasabi, curry, mentaiko, sesame, nori, […]
Continue ReadingTomiz
Tomizawa shouten is a mostly dry foods store that stocks essentials for your pantry and some hard to find items that will leave you giddy with joy! With a solid selection of miso, flours, vinegars, soy sauce, oils, dried seaweed, and on and on all meticulously organised to make the shopping experience expeditious and exciting, […]
Continue ReadingKoji kin (aspergillus oryzae)
Understanding this essential ingredient in Japanese food culture will bring you closer to it and perhaps even inspire in you some fresh ideas on its application and possible uses in the quest for deliciousness. This invisible dream weaver is responsible for the production of miso, sake, amazake, soy sauce, rice vinegar and shio koji which […]
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