<If you have not checked the Trip Overview Kyushu with Hiroko 2018, please jump to my homepage or Tour page to check the Overview and Photos!> Now…..here are some questions for you: Would you like to adopt all of or some of the following concepts in your daily life? Produce and enjoy a delicious body and soul warming dinner; Create a meal and delightful experience that unites all of your family or friends at the table and brings back conversation without the...
Read MoreGingko Nuts: Hard to Do, but Limit to Ten
When something is delicious it is hard for us to stop eating. When it comes to gingko nuts, we should limit consumption to about ten nuts at a sitting. Over-eating can bring a reaction to methyl pyridoxine, a chemical found in the nuts. This can cause a stomach ache and, in extreme, vomiting. On other hand, gingko nuts has been used as a constituent of Chinese medicine to cure some illness for centuries, so limiting to about ten nuts a day seems to be a good idea. This...
Read MoreHey New Ginger! Why Don’t You Turn To Pink Color?
The new ginger season is over….but let me tell you this story before getting too old. Anthocyanin, color pigment in new ginger reacts with vinegar in the pickling liquid and turns the sliced ginger to petty pink color. No synthetic food coloring is involved. Changing of the color, however, does not happen all the time. This summer I pickled new ginger roots that came from two different farmers at Union Square Market here in New York. One farmers’ new ginger did not...
Read MoreYakinasu: Eggplant without Oil, Cheese & Tomato Sauce
You may be surprised that, if you are given a chance to taste simply grilled eggplant prepared by the Japanese Yakinasu method, how delicious eggplant is. The texture is amazingly creamy; the flavor is a combination of smokiness, natural sweetness and hint of pleasant bitterness. Now we are in the midst of autumn. It is the very best time for you to discover the true flavor of eggplant! I have posted three short videos related Yakinasu preparation techniques on Instagram...
Read MoreAwesome Shiogama Blue Fish
The Shiogama , salt encrusted, technique is used for the remaining filleted blue fish described in my previous blog and it produced a gorgeous and delicious result. French do it. Chinese do it. And also Japanese do it. Legend has it that this particular cooking technique in Japan is said to have been developed during the civil war era of the 16th century. Before leaving for the battlefield, a prominent warrior sent his mother a whole gorgeous sea bream cooked in a solid...
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