by Elizabeth Andoh | Jun 11, 2024 | Recipes
JUNSAI (water shield; Brasenia schreberi) grows naturally in lakes, ponds and slow streams in many parts of the world but only Japan and China have a long history of cultivating the plant as a food. The Japanese especially love foods with a tsuru tsuru (slippery,...
by Elizabeth Andoh | May 3, 2024 | Recipes
So named because this sweet is wrapped in kashiwa (oak) leaves, kashiwa mochi 柏餅 is enjoyed during the Golden Week holidays, early in May. Historically this sweet is associated with Tango no Sekku (also known as Kodomo no Hi or Children’s Day). What’s the...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Apr 6, 2024 | Recipes
The moment in the culinary calendar when a food is at its seasonal peak of flavor is referred to as shün, and it is the driving force in most Japanese kitchens. Indeed, entire menus are planned around shün ingredients. In the spring, as tender bamboo buds begin to...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Mar 16, 2024 | Recipes
Before refrigeration became widely available, pre-modern societies struggled with keeping fresh food from spoiling. A variety of ingenious techniques were developed throughout the world, including drying fresh foods in well-ventilated shade. In Japan, the resulting...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Feb 4, 2024 | Recipes
Fermented Fish Sauce 魚醤 Fermented fish sauces can be found in many parts of the world, most having been produced for thousands of years. It is unclear whether each was an independent “discovery” or whether they influenced each other by way of shared...
by Elizabeth Andoh | Jan 8, 2024 | Recipes
An Honorable Bowl of Soup The Japanese have several words to describe their ubiquitous soup seasoned and enriched with miso. The prosaic miso shiru 味噌汁 is a generic word meaning “miso-thickened broth” while miso ji-daté 味噌仕立て is a functional, culinary term...
