by Elizabeth Andoh | Oct 8, 2021 | Autumn, Kitchen Culture
けんちん汁KENCHIN-JIRU Chunky Vegetable & Tōfu Chowder When autumn evenings turn chilly, its time for a hearty, nourishing chowder. The inspiration for this one, kenchin-jiru, is thought to be resourceful monks at Kenchō-ji Temple (建長寺) in Kamakura. Utilizing vegetable...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Oct 8, 2021 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
BASIC RECIPE to assemble KENCHIN-JIRU When autumn evenings turn chilly, its time for a warm bowl of nutritious chowder. The origins of this one, kenchin-jiru, is thought to be resourceful monks at Kenchō-ji Temple (建長寺) in Kamakura. Utilizing vegetable scraps and bits...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Sep 24, 2021 | Autumn, Kitchen Culture
SUDACHI (left) & KABOSU (right) The Japanese have consumed a variety of citrus for millennia, enjoying both the juice and peels of the fruit. Many who reside outside Japan have become familiar with yuzu, a member of the Rutaceae (citrus) family primarily prized for...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Sep 24, 2021 | Autumn, Kitchen PROJECTS, Winter
Japanese Citrus: SUDACHI & KABOSU The Japanese have consumed a variety of citrus for millennia, enjoying both the juice and peels of the fruit. Many who reside outside Japan have become familiar with yuzu, a member of the Rutaceae (citrus) family primarily prized for...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Aug 19, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Summer
Watermelon Rind TSUKÉMONO Making use of every edible part of a food — here the rind as well as the juicy flesh of watermelon — is part of the Japanese notion of kansha (appreciation). More than just a frugal approach to limiting food waste, kansha is a...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Aug 8, 2021 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Summer
Good to the last drop WATERMELON Most watermelons are quite large and (unless you are feeding a crowd) are not easily consumed in a single session. This Kitchen PROJECT is about finding ways to enjoy every bit of watermelon — flesh and rind — over a...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jul 11, 2021 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
Bring a Bounty of Sea Vegetables to YOUR Table Resources and recipes for preparing three versitile sea vegetables: ARAMÉ, WAKAMÉ, and HIJIKI. Cooking with ARAMÉ Aramé is often listed as a substitute for hijiki in soy-braised nimono dishes. Like hijiki, aramé is dark...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jul 11, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Year-Round
Celebrating the Bounty of the Seas The inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been consuming sea vegetables –KAISŌ 海藻 — for millennia. Early evidence of consumption of aramé, wakamé, and hijiki has been found in burial mounds dating back to the Jomon...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jul 2, 2021 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Summer
Make FROZEN (amazake) ICES in your kitchen Using the basic description and recipe (for Banana-Ginger Ice) in the Kitchen Culture blog post, try making different flavors: Kuro Goma (Black Sesame), Matcha (Green Tea), and Ichigo (Strawberry) are especially tasty. KANSHA...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jul 2, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Summer
Frozen Ices made with AMA-ZAKÉ Ama-zaké has been part of the Japanese pantry for thousands of years. During the Muromachi period (1392-1573) ama-zaké consumption took on a regional identity: In and around Kyoto, it was sipped in the summertime as a stamina drink to...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jun 12, 2021 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Summer
Make a COLD NOODLE SALAD in your kitchen FIRST… choose your NOODLE: thread-thin sōmen … or thick, slithery-chewy udon … rustic wholegrain soba … or curly-springy chūka soba. NEXT… decide if you want to serve your noodles DIPPING-STYLE...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jun 12, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Summer
冷やし中華・Hiyashi Chūka For centuries, the Japanese have adapted and adopted foods and food ways from many culinary traditions. Asia in general, and China in particular, has probably been the greatest source of “inspiration” over the years. In fact the highly popular...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jun 8, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Summer
梅酒づくり Uméshu-Zukuri In Japan, early June is the time for UMÉ SHIGOTO (plum work), transforming the harvest of not-yet-fully-ripe fruit into a sweet liqueur (uméshu) and/or sour, lip-puckering salt-cured uméboshi. If you are able to source green, not-fully-ripe...
by Elizabeth Andoh | May 17, 2021 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
Try making OCHA-ZUKÉ in your kitchen The two major components are: BROTH and TOPPINGS. Start by picking a broth that will define the character, and general flavor profile, of your ocha-zuké. The recipe for making KELP-ENRICHED TEA BROTH offers several options for...
by Elizabeth Andoh | May 12, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Year-Round
Ocha-Zuké お茶漬け Ocha-zuké, rice moistened with green tea broth, is Japanese comfort food at its most basic – a reliable stand-by that can be quickly assembled as hunger, or the mood, dictates. A delicious way to enjoy leftover rice, ocha-zuké is a favorite, late night...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Apr 16, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Spring
Beautiful & Nutritious The pigments that make these carrots so beautiful are also the key to their nutritional power. Orange carrots are especially rich in beta-carotene and vitamin A, both of which help to fight inflammation. Red carrots, like red tomatoes, are...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Mar 27, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Spring
KOMATSUNA, a member of the brassica family of leafy greens, has been cultivated in Japan since the Edo period (1603-1868). The naming of the vegetable is attributed to the 8th shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune. It seems that during a visiting to a shrine near the Komatsu...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Mar 16, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Spring
Salt-Cured Cherry Blossoms & Leaves The blossoms and leaves of certain varieties of sakura are made edible by preserving them in salt, in a process known as shio-zuké. Deeply colored yaezakura blossoms are especially prized. When it comes to salt-curing leaves,...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Feb 22, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Year-Round
Pom Pom Sushi Temari-Zushi 手まり寿司 Like many frugal Japanese women who managed households in the early and mid 20th century, my mother-in-law, Kiyoko Andoh, practiced thrift in and out of the kitchen. She saved bits and pieces of cloth, turning them into quilted...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Feb 12, 2021 | Kitchen Culture, Tools & Techniques
KOGOMI こごみ・屈み Fiddlehead of the ostrich fern; Matteuccia struthiopteris What the Japanese call kogomi is commonly known in North America as fiddlehead ferns; they can be found in many parts of Canada, New England, the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest. In Japan,...
