PROJECT Adzuki: Sweet & Savory

PROJECT Adzuki: Sweet & Savory

PROJECT Adzuki: Sweet & Savory The adzuki bean 小豆 plays a prominent role in Japanese cookery, especially in the making of sweets… though savory dishes also abound. This Kitchen PROJECT is about  exploring the many possibilities. I provide one sweet recipe...
ADZUKI red beans

ADZUKI red beans

小豆・あずきADZUKI   (Vigna angularis) Written with calligraphy for “small” and “bean” these diminutive (about 1/4-inch, less than 1 cm) red beans play an important role in Japanese cookery, appearing in both savory dishes and in sweets. There are...
Salmon

Salmon

Four varieties of wild-caught salmon are commonly available in markets around the Pacific rim. Left, top to bottom + right: Sockeye (beni-zaké in Japanese) Coho (gin-zaké in Japanese) Chum (aki-zaké in Japanese) Chinook (kingu samon, in Japanese) 鮭・さけ・SAKÉ SALMON Fish...
PROJECT Salmon

PROJECT Salmon

SALMON・鮭・SAKÉ Salmon lends itself to variety of cooking methods — it can be skillet-seared, steamed, broiled, grilled, braised, smoked, poached and fried.  PROJECT Salmon is about preparing salmon in many different ways in your kitchen. You’ll find lots of...
PROJECT Rice Flour

PROJECT Rice Flour

米の粉PROJECT: Komé no KonaRice Flour In Japanese cookery there are four types of rice flour that are commonlyused. One is made from uruchi mai or “table rice,” several are made from mochi-gomé or “sticky rice” and one is made from a combination...
Moon-Viewing Dumplings

Moon-Viewing Dumplings

月見団子 TSUKIMI DANGO The moon can be seen shining from any place on our planet and people everywhere see beauty in a full, luminous moon. But ritual contemplation of the “moon of the middle autumnal month” (chūshū no meigetsu) has its origins in China. The practice...
PROJECT Champuru

PROJECT Champuru

チャンプルーPROJECT Champuru This Kitchen PROJECT is about making champuru (a stir-fry that is a signature dish of Okinawa) in YOUR kitchen Every household in Okinawa will have its own variation on the basic theme. A classic version made with bacon, tōfu, gōya, onions and...
CHAMPURU a Happy Hodgepoge

CHAMPURU a Happy Hodgepoge

チャンプル・CHAMPURU In the local dialect CHAMPURU means “hodgepodge.” It is essentially a stir-fry; the signature dish of Okinawa.  Every household will have its own version though most will include some sort of tōfu and lots of vegetables, most likely bitter melon or what...
Kampyo

Kampyo

干瓢・かんぴょう・KAMPYŌ What is kampyō and how is it processed into edible ribbons? Bulbous fukubé gourds are harvested in the summer and set on a spinning wheel against a sharp blade. The ribbons of gourd that get shaved off are then hung to dry in the sun or well-ventilated...
PROJECT Kampyo

PROJECT Kampyo

干瓢・かんぴょう・KAMPYŌ This Kitchen PROJECT is about using KAMPYŌ, sun-dried fukubé gourd ribbons in YOUR kitchen. Be sure to source UNBLEACHED (無漂白 mu hyō haku) gourd ribbons so that you can use the softening liquid as a tasty stock. Gourd ribbons are used to tie up any...
PROJECT Yakumi

PROJECT Yakumi

PROJECT Yakumi 薬味 This Kitchen PROJECT is about making YAKUMI, fresh herb and spice mixtures, in YOUR kitchen. Use yakumi to top dishes such as chilled tōfu, fresh tomatoes or stewed eggplant. Cold noodles served with yakumi to be added to soy-based dips are a...
Yakumi condiments

Yakumi condiments

薬味YAKUMI A Lively Mixture of Aromatic Herbs Food cultures around the world employ various aromatic herbs and spices to stimulate the appetite, maximize flavor and promote healthful eating. Japan has a long history of using yakumi, condiments, to provide benefit to the...
Earthy Gobo

Earthy Gobo

ごぼう・牛蒡・Gobō (burdock root; Arctium lappa) Kimpira, named after a folk-hero celebrated for his fervent determination and fiery ways, is a quickly assembled, skillet-stirred vegetable dish finished with an incendiary 7-spice blend. Kimpira frequently appears on the menu...
PROJECT Cutting and Slicing

PROJECT Cutting and Slicing

PROJECT Cutting & Slicing This Kitchen PROJECT is about cutting & slicing ingredients to maximize flavor, texture and appearance while minimizing waste. Specific examples below focus on gobō cut three different ways: SASAGAKI 笹掻きSENGIRI 千切りRANGIRI  乱切り These...
Elusive Taste of Spring: URUI

Elusive Taste of Spring: URUI

うるい・UruiThe Elusive Taste of Spring Urui (Hosta sieboldiana) is in the lily family; it is often planted as an ornamental in gardens. It thrives in damp soil in areas of partial or dappled shade. It has been cultivated in Japan since the Edo period (1603-1868) though...
PROJECT Flavored Miso

PROJECT Flavored Miso

PROJECT Flavored Miso This Kitchen PROJECT is about making flavored miso in YOUR kitchen. This page introduces two new flavored miso mixtures, one redolent with fruity kabosu, the other infused with smoky katsuo-bushi flakes. In addition, many recipes for flavored...
KUSHI (skewers)

KUSHI (skewers)

串・KUSHISkewers Galore Because spearing or threading food on skewers makes cooking over a fire easier and more efficient it’s not surprising to find some sort of skewered food in nearly every food culture. There is (Brazil’s) churrasco, (Spain’s)...
PROJECT Chikuzen Ni

PROJECT Chikuzen Ni

Four Examples of Chikuzen Ni (left to right): (VEGAN) sato imo (potatoes), lotus root, shiitaké, carrot, snow peaskonnyaku, chicken, lotus root, shiitaké, carrot, gobō and snap peaschicken, broccoli,  lotus root, bamboo shoot, konnyaku, and carrot(VEGAN) gobō,...