Sharing favorite finds from across the archipelago
I've only been away from Japan for slightly over two years, and even since my last visit to Tokyo a year ago, a lot has changed in the city. Development has ramped up, perhaps in preparation for the upcoming 2020 Olympic Games, and large scale complexes are making appearances in areas of the city that... Continue Reading →
I'm not a vegetarian but I do love my vegetables. And I'm even more willing to consume them when they're presented to me in a unique way. Enter Re:gendo, a charming cafe in an old Japanese home in the western Tokyo suburb of Nishi-Ogikubo. Unless you're a fan of ramen or anime, there's not much... Continue Reading →
Winter in Japan means mikan season! Thanks to Courtney for a mouth-watering recipe this month. I'm off to the kitchen! "Everyone is getting sick," said my Japanese coworker. "You should eat a mikan." He hands me this small orange then promptly shows me how to dig your thumb into the top center and begin peeling... Continue Reading →
Alright, I'll admit it, I am a sucker for good food photography. If you can style your food and photograph it in such a manner that it makes me start drooling all over the page/screen, you've done your job VERY well. It does also help to have a "gimmick". Not in the way that you're... Continue Reading →
Courtney cooks up a tasty shiso salad in this month's Washoku Wednesday column! Shiso, or perilla, is an herb that is often used in Japanese cuisine but isn’t well known in the western world. There are two varieties, green and (red) purple, but the uses are very different. Green is added to dishes, salads and more.... Continue Reading →
(I don't drink sake, but I do love mixing it with what Courtney describes below as the "trinity of ingredients" for my dishes. Read on for some good ideas!) You’re probably thinking sake, or Japanese rice wine, is a really odd selection for a traditional Japanese food segment but sake is used to create many... Continue Reading →
Food blogger Courtney has a great tutorial for us this week on a key ingredient in Japanese cuisine! EDIT: And an apology to both Courtney and all the UJ readers ... somehow, I thought TODAY was Wednesday. But hey - you get your food post a day early this month! 🙂 Again, I am amazed that... Continue Reading →
I've been known to make sushi at home on occasion but, given how affordable it is here in Japan, I've gotten too used to having others do all the work while I, ahem, eat the spoils. 🙂 But when a friend of mine arranged a group cooking class at Arigato Japan this past weekend, I... Continue Reading →
Food blogger Courtney shares a fantastic recipe for yuzu-flavored pickles today - I know what I'm making this weekend! Tsukemono, or Japanese pickles, took awhile to win me over. I would usually push them aside from my curry or rice not wanting them to impart their flavor on anything I was eating. I’m not a... Continue Reading →
This month's Friday Photo almost passed me by. Here it is, Sunday afternoon already, and somehow I've managed to neglect the blog again. My picture archives are feeling similarly neglected, but by no means empty. In fact, this month I added what felt like reams of photos ... but because I sort them all by... Continue Reading →
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