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
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 MoreEdible Garden Speaker Series at Ramapo College
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 MoreHow Many is Sufficent?
From time to time while eating dinner (which I prepared) I count how many different ingredients are in my dinner dishes. It has become a custom to do this. My mother planted ‘counting’ seeds in me. Rice, fish, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, rutabaga, fennel bulb, onion, wakame, fried tofu, scallion…. I write down the number; then, I go back to my breakfast and lunch in order to get the total number of ingredients, which I have consumed, in that particular day....
Read MoreComfort Me: Chikuzen-Ni, Friendly and Delicious
So many uncertain things are circulating around us at the age when everything became trashy, reality show quality. Food…….quality food always comfort us and push our spirit high. This is only me speaking. Recently ramen has become a culinary star in America, but not soba or udon noodle soup bowls. All of these dishes are comfort food in Japan. So, why only ramen? Ramen is packed with punching, rich meaty flavor, which Americans love to taste in a hot noodle soup...
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