Kitchen Culture
Tasty tidbits from the old-fashioned Japanese kitchen
Year-Passing SOBA; New Year-Welcoming UDON
Year-Passing SOBA... New Year-Welcoming UDON The Japanese bid farewell to the current year by slurping l-o-n-g noodles at midnight. Though most areas of Japan eat soba, calling the noodles toshi koshi (year-passing), those hailing from the Sanuki region eat udon....
Thanksgiving Rituals in Japan
In Japan, rice is more than just sustenance. It holds symbolic and sacred significance. Rice yield was also a measurement of wealth during the Edo Period (1603-1868). Early records of rituals celebrating the harvest and entreating future prosperity, called nii namé...
Chawan Mushi (Steamed Egg Custards)
Silky, savory egg custards called CHAWAN MUSHI 茶碗蒸し are served in cups with a spoon. The egg and dashi mixture is delicately seasoned with mirin and light-colored soy sauce. Various tidbits such as mushrooms, ginko nuts, chicken, shrimp or kamaboko (fish sausage) can...
Autumnal Culinary Pleasure: SANMA
The Japanese speak of aki no mikaku (autumnal eating pleasures). Of the many foods placed in that category, a slender, sleek, and steely-colored fish called sanma (Pacific saury; Cololabis saira 秋刀魚) has always been considered shomin no aji, or "food for the masses."...
Eat to Beat the Heat
The Japanese have long believed that foods beginning with the syllable “U" (written” う in hiragana), have special beat-the-heat properties. Most famous is UNAGI (eel, rich in vitamin B1) known as an antidote for summertime lethargy. The current custom of eating...
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