Every food blogger with an interest in Japanese food is required by law to have a post on okonomiyaki, so today, I’m going to show you how to make my favorite version, which is stuffed with my favorite vegetable, kabocha squash. Okonomiyaki (henceforth not italicized) is sometimes described as a savory pancake or as a…
Category: Japanese Food
Hîragi, Shirakawa-go
When I visited Shirakawa-go over the long weekend in January, I found Hîragi, a cute restaurant along the snow-covered the vehicle-access road to the lookout point in Ogimachi, Shirakawa-go. I was intrigued, of course, because one of my favorite kanji is 柊 (hîragi), holly, because the radicals mean tree-winter. What sealed the deal was the…
The Wrath of the Kitchen God
While working on a translation about osechi ryôri, the Japanese New Year’s meal, today, I came across a passage about how the meal is prepared in advance of the holidays to avoid using the cooking fire. From a practical standpoint, not having to cook while one’s extended family is visiting gives the primary household cook…
Travel Checklist: Local Foods in Hida-Takayama, Part 2
Submitted to the November 2011 J. Festa “Dining in Japan,” hosted at Japingu. Part 1 is here. To recap– In September, a friend and I traveled to Takayama, about 3 hours from Kanazawa. Located in Gifu near the border of Nagano, the old towns of Hida (飛騨） and Takayama (高山）are a food tourist’s paradise….
Travel Checklist: Local Foods in Hida-Takayama, Part 1
Submitted to the November 2011 J. Festa “Dining in Japan,” hosted at Japingu. Part 2 is here. In September, a friend and I traveled to Takayama, about 3 hours from Kanazawa. Located in Gifu near the border of Nagano, the old towns of Hida (飛騨） and Takayama (高山）are a food tourist’s paradise. Since the town…
Aka-Zuiki Quick Pickles (Red-Taro-Stem Vinegar Pickles)
Quick pickles of a favorite Kaga yasai.
Mastering the Art of Cooking in Japan
Reposted courtesy of The Ishikawa JET Blog. What I wish I had owned when I moved to Japan: a cookbook made for foreigners. Not an English cookbook, not a cookbook about Japanese cooking, even, but a cookbook with metrics, names of ingredients in Japanese, notes on where to find things and how to use one’s…
A Love Letter to Omicho Market
Submitted to the Japan Blog Matsuri for Sept. 2011, “Reasons to Visit Japan,” hosted by A Modern Girl. I didn’t truly understand the charm of shopping in downtown Kanazawa until I relocated to the city. Before I moved here, Omicho Market* (近江町市場) was usually the first stop on my walking tour of Kanazawa for visiting…
Okara Ice Cream, Healthy Lab, Kanazawa
Featured in the August 2011 Japan Blog Matsuri “Summer Lovin’.” I pass by or through Kanazawa’s bustling Ômicho Market (近江町市場) at least once a day on my commute. I love looking at all the fruit for sale, shopping at the import store, and traveling underground to the M’Za デパ地下 (depachika, basement-level department store grocery and…
Kaga Yasai: Aka-Kabocha with Sesame Sauce
This article will be featured in J. Festa August 2011 edition: “Food in Japan,” hosted at japingu. ほっこりしている (hokkori shiteiru): to be warm and fluffy Traveling around Japan has really widened my understanding of Japan’s local foods. For instance, because dried apricots are nearly impossible to find in my bayside town, I assumed that there…
Yamada-ya Momiji Manjû, Miyajima
In addition to Iwakuni and Hiroshima proper, I also went to Miyajima on Golden Week, where I decided to try as many flavors of momiji manjû (紅葉饅頭) as I could carry home. Hiroshima area is famous for its beautiful fall foliage, specifically the maple trees; these famous manjû are shaped like momiji, maple leaves. I…
How to Make Good Brown Rice
I live in company housing at my current job, and the rice cooker (suihanki, 炊飯器）belongs to my employer. It was waiting for me when I moved in, and it will remain after my contract ends. It’s a humble 3-cup cooker with only a few settings: white rice (hakumai, 白米); quick-cook (haya-taki, 早炊); cake (kéki, ケーキ),…
I'll Make It Myself! 
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