Category: Food

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  • Sept.18

    Elizabeth Andoh: A Taste of Culture – HARVEST MOON DUMPLINGS 中秋の名月 お団子

    Sept.18

    Though the moon waxes and wanes every month, chūshū no meigetsu, literally “moon of the middle autumnal month,” is considered special. Perhaps because it coincides with harvesting — indeed in many cultures it is referred to as the Harvest Moon. This year (2022), the Harvest Moon falls on September 10. Eating tsukimi dango (chewy rice dumplings) is among…

    Sept.05

    Elizabeth Andoh: A Taste of Culture – CHAMPURU a Happy Hodgepoge

    Sept.05

    NHK (Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai), Japan’s national broadcasting system produces and transmits television and radio shows of all sorts. One of their longest-running programs is a soap-opera like drama shown in 15-minute segments on weekday mornings. Each novella story unfolds over several months’ time. Known affectionately as Asa Dora (Morning Drama) it is often the vehicle…

    July.14

    Elizabeth Andoh: A Taste of Culture – YAKUMI condiments

    July.14

    Food cultures around the world employ various aromatic herbs and spices to stimulate the appetite and promote healthful eating. Japan has a long history of using yakumi, best translated as “condiments,” that enhance flavor while providing a benefit to the body in some manner. Indeed, the Japanese word yakumi is written with calligraphy for “medicine” and “flavor,” suggesting…

    June.21

    Recipe for ‘Sakura Mochi’ by Mathilda Motte on Pen

    June.21

    With their pink hue, sakura mochi instantly evoke the colour of cherry blossom, and indeed this is the origin of their name, as sakura is the term for cherry trees and their flowers in Japan. Mathilda Motte, founder of La Maison du Mochi, shares the recipe to make them in her book Mochis. In it, she groups the recipes according to the…

    June.15

    The Tenacious Quest to Find the World’s Best Rice by Taste

    June.15

    The World’s Best Rice comes in a sturdy, gold-embossed box containing six slender packages. Sold for ¥10,800 for 840 grams (that’s $95 for less than 2 pounds), it’s nearly 30 times more expensive than what you’d pay at a supermarket in Japan. The Guinness World Records named it the priciest rice on the planet in…

    May.21

    Japan Perfected the Mortar and Pestle With the Suribachi and Surikogi by Eater

    May.21

    The ridges in a suribachi, a Japanese mortar, help crush ingredients without bruising them, keep ingredients in the bowl, and yield a pleasantly toothsome textures.When I first got my suribachi and surikogi, I was nervous. Growing up, neither of my parents used any kind of mortar and pestle regularly, so I had no idea how…

    May.08

    Elizabeth Andoh: A Taste of Culture – URUI: Elusive Taste of Spring

    May.08

    My early years in Japan were flooded with hatsu taiken (first-time experiences), especially at table. Among those were my first bite of URUI (Hosta sieboldiana), memorable for its elusive wild-grass flavor. Urui prepared as ohitashi showered with smoky flakes of dry-cured bonito was my very first encounter with this amazing garden green,. When, several days later I was served slender stalks of urui napped with…

    Oct.31

    A Taste of Culture – Sudachi & Kabosu

    Oct.31 Elizabeth Andoh

    The Japanese have consumed a variety of citrus for millennia; enjoying both the juice and peels of the fruit. Many who reside outside Japan have become familiar with yuzu, a member of the Rutaceae (citrus) family primarily prized for its aromatic yellow peel. However, sudachi (above, left) and kabosu (above, right) both coming to market…

    Sept.19

    A Taste of Culture – WATERMELON

    Sept.19 Elizabeth Andoh

    Watermelons are ancient — 4000-year-old wall art in Egyptian tombs include images of elongated, green-striped melons. Cultivation spread across Asia and Europe and was brought to the Americas by colonists and the slave trade from Africa. On the Asian continent, watermelons can be traced through India, China (Uighurs) and into Japan possibly as early as…

    June.25

    A Taste of Culture – OCHA-ZUKÉ お茶漬け

    June.25 Elizabeth Andoh

    Japanese green tea connoisseurs keenly await the arrival of shin cha (new tea) at market early in May. Although most enthusiasts infuse the tender new leaves with very warm (never boiling hot!) water to make a beverage to savor on its own, my first purchase of shin cha each year is set aside for ocha-zuké,…