by Elizabeth Andoh | Jul 17, 2023 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Summer
TOMATOES combine well with both land and sea vegetables, and with cold noodles too, to make a variety of SALADS. This PROJECT Tomato Salad is about creating your own “house” salad featuring tomatoes. To start you off, here is a recipe for enjoying tomatoes...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jun 13, 2023 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Summer
PROJECT Shaved Ice is about making Japanese-style kaki-gōri confections. Strawberry Sauce Many people top shaved ice with fresh fruit or commercially prepared syrups. But for those who would like to make their own, here is a simple-to-make STRAWBERRY sauce. Note the...
by Elizabeth Andoh | May 18, 2023 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Spring
PROJECT New Tea This PROJECT is about brewing and enjoying new tea, called shincha 新茶 in Japanese. Shincha teas are available online and in specialty shops around the world. Most of the commercial green tea crop in Japan is grown in Shizuoka, southwest of Tokyo,...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Apr 27, 2023 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Spring
Flower-Inspired Rolled Sushi Use your imagination to create rolled sushi inspired by flowers. To get you started, here are some basic recipes: This recipe for CLASSIC SUSHI MESHI includes instructions on cooking and seasoning rice, and information on the wooden tub in...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Mar 30, 2023 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Tabletop, Year-Round
Recipes for Red Foods Generations of Japanese have been well nourished daily by modest meals following a simple pattern: soup, rice, and a few other dishes. This easy-to-compose menu model called ichi jū san sai (一汁三菜 ) that satisfies hunger while fulfilling...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Feb 28, 2023 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
NAGA NEGI・長葱 Indispensible in nabé (hot pot) cookery, as a condiment and in soups all parts of naga negi (Allium fistulosum) are edible. Plan from the start to use the plant fully. If your naga negi have roots attached, wash them thoroughly to remove all the dirt that...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jan 29, 2023 | Autumn, Kitchen PROJECTS, Winter
Using HAKUSAI fully A favorite wintertime vegetable in Japan, hakusai cabbages are increasingly available in Asian groceries throughout the world. A whole head averages 2 kilo (about 4 and 1/2 pounds). I encourage you to buy one (or at least a half or quarter-head...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Dec 7, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
Making a Home-Style Meal featuring ichiya-boshi Traditionally, bountiful catches of fish were gutted, salted, and set out to dry in order to extend their shelf life. The generic term for these sorts of fish is himono, literally “the dried thing,” though these...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Nov 11, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
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...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Oct 10, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
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...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Sep 2, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
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...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Aug 12, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Summer
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...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jul 10, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
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...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jun 29, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Summer
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...
by Elizabeth Andoh | May 16, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Tools & Techniques
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...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Apr 21, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
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...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Mar 17, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Tabletop, Tools & Techniques, Year-Round
PROJECT Kushi This Kitchen PROJECT is about making SKEWERED FOOD in YOUR kitchen. For inspiration and recipes to get you started, use these resources: Black Sesame Miso Tōfu DengakuCrunchy Kushi AgéFuki no Tō Miso Dengaku(Vegan & Vegetarian Options) Oden Part...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Feb 25, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
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,...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Feb 20, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round
Above, Four Examples of Nyūmen: Hakusai, Carrot and Shiméji (top left); Egg Drop, Shiméji and Scallions (top right); Chicken and Mitsuba with Sanshō (bottom left); Shiitaké, Shiméji, Carrot and Mitsuba. 煮麺 ・Nyūmen This Kitchen PROJECT is about making NYŪMEN (sōmen...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jan 25, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Tabletop, Winter
Swished-through-bubbling-broth Buri Shabu Nabé (left) and Shōjin Shabu Nabé (right) しゃぶしゃぶ鍋Shabu Shabu Nabé This Kitchen PROJECT is about making Shabu Shabu Nabé hot-pots in YOUR kitchen. The Japanese have a fondness for naming dishes with onomatopoeia. The name shabu...
