Hitsu-Mabushi

Posted on May 22, 2016 in Hiroko's Blog

It was my first experience to eat unagi (grilled eel) not in unaju style but in an out-of-the-box concept. The dish is called ‘hitsu-mabushi’ and is from Nagoya Prefecture.  Hitsu means ‘wooden rice bowl’ and mabushi means ‘to scatter’. Fukinuki at Kagurazaka, Tokyo, is famous for this dish. They also use domestically grown eel. Upon hearing my order I was told to wait for a while – eel is grilled after the order is made; rice is...

Read More

Hokkaido with Hiroko

Posted on May 16, 2016 in Hiroko's Blog

              This year my tour group meets in Sapporo, Hokkaido. The tour runs from May 22 through June 3rd. I will post the stories and photos as we travel through the beutiful country. Tour is all about experiencing culture, food, history, geology and nature of Hokkaido. Activities which we will enjoy include horseback riding, canoeing, caldera valley walking, Geo Park trekking, soba noodle making, local small fish market visit, Ainu...

Read More

Dashi is POWERFUL

Posted on May 16, 2016 in Hiroko's Blog

                  Dashi does magic. I enjoy cooking tender spring greens such as ramps, broccoli rabe and mustard greens from the farmers market with dashi, shoyu and butter. They are the golden team. I parboil the firmer stem of these greens in salt added boiling water first. In order to do this I hold the greens upright so that the top leaf part is not submerged into the water. When the stem is partially tender, remove the...

Read More

‘Shun’, Herring, Spring

Posted on May 11, 2016 in Hiroko's Blog, Recipes

                    Japanese cuisine emphasizes the use of seasonal ingredients. We call ingredients in season “Shun” . In Japan seasonal ingredients are not limited to just vegetables, which may be the case here in America. We love to enjoy seasonal seafood harvested in different parts of Japanese water. I, however, admit that the consumer’s awareness of seasonal seafood has been changing. Today most of...

Read More

Edible Garden Speaker Series at Ramapo College

Posted on May 9, 2016 in Hiroko's Blog

                    A Big Thank You Note to Ramapo College https://www.ramapo.edu/, NJ, and its president Dr. Peter Phillip Mercer and Dr. Jackie Ehlert for holding the Japanese Dinner Event on May 4th. I was honored to be there to prepare the dinner to 60 attendees and offer a talk – ‘What is Japanese Cuisine?’. My appearance was the 15th Havemeyer Edible Garden Speaker Series. Havemeyer Eddible Garden is...

Read More