Aku Nuki and Kogomi

Aku Nuki and Kogomi

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,...
Setsubun

Setsubun

ONI wa SOTO          FUKU wa UCHI Throw out the ogres!      Bring in Good Fortune! 節分 SETSUBUN means “break between seasons” and such breaks occur many times during the year. However, today Japan celebrates the setsubun break that comes early in February and...
ODEN Part TWO

ODEN Part TWO

おでん ODEN Various ingredients find their way into the belly-warming stew known as oden. Most versions include myriad sausage-like items made from surimi (fish and seafood ground to a paste). Some of these are deep-fried while others are boiled, roasted, grilled or...
Mochi Tsuki

Mochi Tsuki

Pounding Rice Taffy 餅つき MOCHI TSUKI MOCHI TSUKI… steamed mochi-gomé rice is pounded into a sticky, taffy-like mass. As the year comes to a close and preparations to welcome the new year are underway, communities throughout Japan organize rice-pounding events...
Smashed Burdock

Smashed Burdock

Tataki Gobō叩き牛蒡 Smashed Burdock Root This dish takes its rather alarming name from the thwacking sound emitted when burdock root is tenderized with a blunt, heavy tool. In the traditional Japanese kitchen, this would have been a surikogi, the wooden pestle used in...
Sugar-Stewed Chestnuts

Sugar-Stewed Chestnuts

Sugar-Stewed Chestnuts栗の渋皮煮 Shibu Kawa Ni Shibu Kawa Ni is what the Japanese call sugar-stewed whole chestnuts that are only partially peeled – their slightly bitter, inner skin being kept intact. The resulting glossy brown globes are delightfully complex in flavor...
GOMA-DŌFU

GOMA-DŌFU

Buddhist Cookery & Sesame Pudding 精進料理 Shōjin Ryōri・胡麻豆腐  Goma-Dōfu Goma-dōfu, a creamy-smooth sesame pudding, is historically associated with fucha ryōri, a Chinese-style of Buddhist cookery that arrived in Japan with Zen Priest Ingen in 1654. The pudding is a...
Kinoko Gohan

Kinoko Gohan

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...
Daigaku Imo

Daigaku Imo

Daigaku Imo (Glazed Sweet Potatoes) 大学芋 Syrup-glazed, black sesame-studded Daigaku (university) imo (potato) first became popular among university students in Japan at the turn of the twentieth century. To learn more about the history of this dish, read my October...
Yuzu Koshō

Yuzu Koshō

Yuzu Koshō 柚子胡椒 Mid-September…the heat of summer lingers on, but there is the promise of cooler autumn days ahead. That is when I typically see baskets of green yuzu in my Tokyo neighborhood markets and bags of green chili peppers, too. Within a month the yuzu...
Tsukimi Udon

Tsukimi Udon

Tsukimi Udon Moon-Viewing Noodles 月見うどん    As summer turns to fall, the moon wanes in a particularly luminous fashion. Indeed, the Harvest moon is celebrated in stories and songs around the world. In Japan, tsukimi, or “moon-viewing” also has a place at table. This...
NANBAN-ZUKÉ

NANBAN-ZUKÉ

NANBAN-ZUKÉ  南蛮漬け (Southern Barbarian Style Fried-and-Pickled Fish) NANBAN refers to the Portuguese, the “southern barbarians” who settled in the port of Nagasaki, Kyushu late in the 16th century. In addition to Christianity and trade, these early Portuguese visitors...
Corn-studded Rice

Corn-studded Rice

Corn-Studded Rice Tōmorokoshi Gohan 玉蜀黍ご飯 Summertime… bushels of fresh, sweet, corn at every market begging to be taken home and transformed into Tōmorokoshi Gohan: corn-studded rice. Prepared takikomi-style, rice dishes are cooked in a flavorful stock extracted...
Domburi

Domburi

Soboro Don そぼろ丼 Colorful Big Bowl When I first wrote about soboro don in 1981 for Food & Wine magazine, these sorts of rice bowls topped with various ingredients were little known outside Japan. Fast-forward forty years and classic domburi dishes such as...
Foxy Fried Tōfu

Foxy Fried Tōfu

Foxy Fried Tōfu Japanese culinary culture is filled with references to foxes and their fondness for abura agé (fried tōfu). Names of dishes made with fried tōfu will often allude to this fox connection. Sometimes you see the word itself, kitsuné (fox) as part of the...
Seven Good Fortunes of Summer

Seven Good Fortunes of Summer

Photo from KANSHA © Copyright Leigh Beisch (Styled by Karen Shinto) 夏の福神漬けNatsu no Fukujin-ZukéSeven Good Fortunes of Summer Named after the Seven Gods of Good Fortune, Shichi Fukujin, this pickle is made from an assortment of chopped vegetables with the addition of...
Cold Noodles Part Two: SOBA

Cold Noodles Part Two: SOBA

COLD NOODLES: Part TWOそば・蕎麦・SOBA Most soba noodles are made from 80% soba (buckwheat) flour and 20% wheat flour; these are known as hachi wari soba (literally 80% soba). If you wish to make your noodle dish gluten-free you will need to buy jū wari soba, noodles made...
Cold Noodles Part One: SŌMEN

Cold Noodles Part One: SŌMEN

Survival strategy for hot, humid days: Chilled Sōmen Noodles-on-the-rocks! DOWNLOAD information on buying, storing and cooking sōmen  and serving the noodles. © Photo by Leigh Beisch Styling by Karen Shinto ネバネバそうめんSlithery Sōmen Noodles Mouth feel (the way a food...