What excites me about Chef Aaron Bludorn is that he comes to Union Square Market, NYC, four times each week and has been doing this for five years! No matter how late he leaves his restaurant the night before he heads to the market in the early morning. I have been a frequent shopper at the Union Square Market in the past 15 years. Early in the morning Aaron and I may have rubbed shoulders, and eyed the same produce or even stepped on each other’s feet. But we did not know...
Read MoreCorn, Tomorokoshi
Piles of corn have come back to the Union Square Market. During the summer season we buy them each week and enjoy an ear of corn after another. Freshly harvested corn is heavenly moist and sweet. I have reached almost to the state of addiction to it. Corn was brought by the Portuguese to Japan during the 16th century. The cultivation of sweet type corn began at the end of the 19th century. I was grown up with corn in Japan but did not develop my likeness to it. Partly...
Read MoreRamps are in – sakari season has arrived
Long waited freshly harvested ramps have finally arrived at our neighbor Union Square Farmers Market this Saturday. Ramps are wild onion which has pleasant garlic aroma and taste. Ramps disappear from the market in a month or so, so I will be sautéing it (I used tonight the miso sauce which will be introduced in my upcoming book, Hiroko’s American Kitchen), deep-frying it (tempura) and simmering it in the next four weeks. Here is the last part of shun story. Nagori is...
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