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),…
Café Proverbs 15:17, Kyoto
Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it. -Proverbs 15:17 Whenever I go to Kansai, I always have dinner with one of my good friends who is a vegetarian and a fellow lover of cafes. This time, we went to Café Proverbs 15:17 near Hyakumanben (百万遍)…
Tricks of the Trade: Oatmeal Banana Bread
Although this site is called I’ll Make it Myself!, a lot of the baking I do is less recreating restaurant meals I liked and more reinventing recipes to make them healthier and to make them work in a Japanese kitchen. Health-wise, my philosophy with baking is that almost any bread can be made over with…
Jerk Kitchen, Hiroshima
I am woefully behind on my food tourism posts about my Golden Week trip to Hiroshima and Iwakuni. When I travel, I try not only to eat the local specialties but also to try the kind of cuisine I can’t find in rural Hokuriku. I spotted the Jerk Kitchen from the window of the Hiroden…
Mangosteens and the Allergy Hipster
“Are those plums? Wait, what’s a マンゴ…ス..チ…ン?” “Oh, mangosteens!” “Do you think it’s safe for me to eat?” Ask me about my various strange allergies and I will give you a Cyrano-esque list of jokes I’ve thought up to make myself feel better. One of these is that I am a food allergy hipster–I was…
Farewell to Spring: Spring Miso Soup
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…
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…
The Apple Chronicles, Part 3: Very Lemony Apple Jam
手作り (tezukuri): homemade I was a bit wary of posting my jam recipes, because I don’t feel like I’ve perfected the jam-making process. This jam, adapted from Food in Jars‘ “Honey Lemon Apple Jam,” tastes amazing, and I think the recipe is fairly solid. That said, I’m not an expert on making preserves in Japan,…
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….
I'll Make It Myself! 
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