Bamboo season is pretty much over, but I wanted to share my new favorite miso-based soup recipe. Despite it being a down year for bamboo, I managed to score a couple shoots at a colleague’s bamboo-picking event. In order to avoid turning into a panda, I ended up freezing about half of my yield. After…
Category: Japanese Food
A Taste of Summer: Konatsu
柑橘類 (kankitsurui): citrus fruit When I go grocery shopping, I always check the discounted produce cart for deals. Sometimes the fruit there is overripe or about to expire; sometimes it’s just a bit bruised. Last week, I found a few bags of 小夏 (konatsu; literally little summer) that seemed to be in great shape but just…
We’re All Rooting for You: Tohoku Zunda Kitkats
郷土料理 (kyôdo ryôri): local cuisine My local Family Mart never has interesting KitKits, but this weekend, I stumbled upon something special: Zunda KitKats. I had just seen The Food Librarian‘s post on zunda, too– what luck! Zunda is a specialty of Tohoku (northeastern Japan), more specifically Sendai. Usually served on or with mochi, zunda is…
Iwakuni Renkon Soba
3. Soba Noodles Made with Lotus-Root もちもちつるつる (mochi-mochi tsuru-tsuru): springy and smooth (texture) (usually used separately, but the ad for the noodles uses both in combination) Looking back on all the places I’ve lived, the two things that make me happiest about a residence are farmers’ markets and quaint historic districts with locally run businesses….
Spring is Here: Na no Hana (Brassica napus)
緑黄色野菜 (ryokuôshoku yasai): leafy greens, yellow-green vegetables high in beta-carotene After a cold winter that was only matched in length by the irritatingly hot summer that preceded it, spring has finally come to Hokuriku. The supermarket is filled with spring vegetables, but the easiest and perhaps most inoffensive one (least bitter) to prepare is na…
Fiddleheads
深緑 (shinryoku): deep green Springtime is prime season for going to the grocery store and having no idea what on earth is on the displays in the produce section. One item I did recognize was kogomi (こごみ) or kakuma (かくま), fiddlehead ferns, but only because I tried them last spring in a soba shop in…
I'll Make It Myself! 
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