Kinoko Gohan

Rice with Mushrooms

The Japanese call autumn’s many culinary pleasures Aki no Mikaku. Such pleasures include a glorious array of mushrooms. You, too, can celebrate the season at table by composing a menu that highlights this bounty. Kinoko Gohan Is an earthy pilaf that combines a variety of mushrooms with newly harvested rice (shin mai), A simple garnish of ao nori adds a bracing seashore aroma to the scent of the forest.

Or, create an autumnal landscape in your bowl: top your rice with carrot slices cut to look like maple leaves and a few shelled-and-cooked édamamé beans.

Chawan Mushi (Steamed Egg Custards)

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Silky, savory egg custards called CHAWAN MUSHI 茶碗蒸し are served in cups with a spoon. The egg and dashi mixture is delicately seasoned with mirin and light-colored soy sauce. Various tidbits such as mushrooms, ginko nuts, chicken, shrimp or kamaboko (fish sausage) can...

Autumnal Culinary Pleasure: SANMA

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The Japanese speak of aki no mikaku (autumnal eating pleasures). Of the many foods placed in that category, a slender, sleek, and steely-colored fish called sanma (Pacific saury; Cololabis saira 秋刀魚) has always been considered shomin no aji, or "food for the masses."...

Eat to Beat the Heat

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The Japanese have long believed that foods beginning with the syllable “U" (written” う in hiragana), have special beat-the-heat properties. Most famous is UNAGI (eel, rich in vitamin B1) known as an antidote for summertime lethargy. The current custom of eating...

MA-GO-WA-YA-SA-SHI-I

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MA-GO-WA-YA-SA-SHI-I(Grandchildren are kind) This acronym helps speakers of Japanese remember the names of food groups that support a healthy diet. Each of the seven sounds represents a food group, while the total spells out a lovely adage (lauding the kindness of...