Why I Use Suzushio Sea Salt

Posted on Sep 8, 2016 in Hiroko's Blog

Here is my latest Zesterdaily.com contribution. Enjoy the piece and the quality of good sea salt. https://zesterdaily.com/world-wrecipe/capturing-mineral-rich-sea-salts-perfection-is-real-work/...

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Fish Pickled In Rice Bran Base?

Posted on Oct 10, 2014 in Hiroko's Blog

I pickle and enjoy bounty summer vegetables in rice bran base during summer. But, I never pickled fish in the same base. By the way, here is a link to my nuka-zuke, pickling vegetables in rice bran base at zesterdaily.com: https://zesterdaily.com/cooking/nuka-zuke-pickles/. The below is a quote from this article. ” What is common in these traditional fermented pickled vegetables is that they are the product of lactic acid fermentation and are wonderfully probiotic...

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Three Year Aged Yubeshi

Posted on Oct 19, 2013 in Hiroko's Blog

The other day Mr. Masakatsu Nakaura from Ishikawa   Prefecture, Japan, came to see me at my NY office, and presented me Yubeshi, which was placed in an elegant black box. His family company, Nakauraya, has been producing Yubeshi since 1910, and Mr. Nakaura is the fourth generation of the company. At a glance Yubeshi looks like a precious lacquered art object, even though it is a food product. Yubeshi is a mochi-filled yuzu citrus fruit and comes from NotoPeninsula,...

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Pickled Blow Fish Eggs for Consumption?

Posted on Aug 18, 2012 in Hiroko's Blog

Since olden times we, the Japanese, are aware of the toxin, tetrodotoxin, in blow fish, which is mostly concentrated in the fish’s liver, ovaries and eggs. So, finding the pickled blow fish eggs at the Ohmicho Food Market in Kanazawa City was a big surprise. How many people died before perfecting the art of pickling the blow fish eggs? We do not know, but over three hundred years ago some fishermen could not throw away gorgeous, plump, delicious-looking eggs of blow...

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It Is Zuiki

Posted on Aug 16, 2012 in Hiroko's Blog

Is this rhubarb? Our neighbors Ray and Claudia asked me. This long, rhubarb looking vegetable is red zuiki, which is the stem of taro, and a specialty of Ishikawa Prefecture. It is sold fresh or dried. Dried zuiki has been a popular preserved food product since olden days. Fresh zuiki has pleasant crisp texture. In order to enjoy it we cook the zuiki in vinegar added water for about 2 minutes. After shocking it in cold ice water we cut it into pieces and use in salad dishes...

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