Easy Summer Menu Ideas

Posted on Aug 5, 2016 in Hiroko's Blog

                                                      Here are my recent meals enjoyed in my Japanese kitchen. shiso juice (recipe – https://hirokoskitchen.com/2014/06/sexy-delicious/, shiso condiment, summer vegetable pizza! (baked in cast iron skillet – the best result/ no need to own a pizza baking stone), cold zucchini and...

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Yukari, Not Your Japanese Girl Friend

Posted on Sep 3, 2015 in Hiroko's Blog, Recipes

Yukari is a name of Japanese female . Another ‘yukari’ is a salty, sour and fragrant condiment made from purple shiso leaves. Shiso season, green or purple, is coming to end soon. Hope you made and enjoyed shiso juice (recipe is in the archive of this blog; August, 2013) to counter the heat of this hot summer. There is a reason to consume shiso during hot months. Shiso has antiseptic property; shiso alleviates pollen allergies; shiso strengthens our immune...

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Sexy and Delicious

Posted on Jun 24, 2014 in Hiroko's Blog, Recipes

If you haven’t tried the making of shiso juice at home, let join me this year. Last Friday I bought terrific-looking shiso leaves again from Two Guys from Woodbridge, Hamden, CT, at Union Square Greenmarket, NYC. Some of the leaves were as large as my palm. The beauty of making shiso juice at home is that 1) you can control the sugar in your drink, 2) no store is selling shiso juice and 3) you can make shiso salt from the used shiso leaves. Here is the recipe. Last...

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Want to Try a Cool New Beverage? Here You Are.

Posted on Aug 16, 2013 in Hiroko's Blog

My Culinary Tour to Japan group member enjoyed this new beverage (see Photo) this March in Japan at a local restaurant just before arriving to Gokayama village, where 400 to 200 years old thatched roof houses still stand and occupied by the locals in the deep mountain region. Being attracted by stunning peachy-purple color of the drink, which the Japanese family was enjoying at across our table, we could not stop ordering it. When we tasted it, “wow” sounds...

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