January 26, 2012
By Kenji Miura
Shiokara is a fantastic savory condiment to your favorite glass of shochu. This particular shiokara is made with surume ika (Japanese Common Squid or Pacific Flying Squid).
INGREDIENTS 5 fresh squid 2 tbsp salt
METHOD
1. Clean the squid. (Here’s how via Kyoto Foodie)
2. Cut the legs and ears (the triangular portion of the squid) off of
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July 28, 2011
I visited my mom recently and she served me one of the best breakfasts I have had in a long time–tai chazuke. Chazuke is short for ochazuke, a common method of enjoying rice in Japan. A bowl of rice is topped with condiments and hot tea or dashi
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July 11, 2011
Photos by Derek Dercep.
I am currently writing this post from Lake Muskoka in Canada. My friend OWNS a freaking island here. Apparently, this lake is ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for summer vacation destinations. Screw the Hamptons, this island is so much better!!! (Although I’ve never been to the Hamptons). Life is good,
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June 23, 2011
Frying has always been something I was afraid of. I remember my grandma frying whole fish in a huge wok of oil. It took brawn and a fearless attitude toward unpredictable flying specks of oil traveling at high speeds. I will never be half as tough as my grandma, and I still don’t have the
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June 20, 2011
Fishcakes, such as the Homo Sausage, chikuwa and kamaboko, are some of my favorite foods. It usually weirds people out in the States because of its “processed” figure; but I really enjoy its chewy, rubbery texture, and its flavor of the sea. I’ve always loved fishcake (as does Kayoko) and it’s
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June 2, 2011
Smelt. Fried, they are a great accompaniment to a pint of beer. Grilled and served with a bowl of white rice, they complete a Japanese breakfast. They also win the Cheap Bastards’ Choice Award, since they average $3.50/lb.
The “Wakasagi” variety of smelt were introduced from Japan to the San Francisco delta in 1959 as
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May 26, 2011
I admire killers. I admire butchers, mongers, soldiers and… Dexter. I admire them for the balls and boobies they possess to kill with confidence–without squealing or being a hesitant little sissy.
They don’t do things like “name” their kill–like I did for my two soft-shell crab buddies Rod and Todd. I am a
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March 3, 2011
Go to any sushi restaurant in Japan and notice that “ikura” or salmon roe, is either written in katakana or hiragana. I was curious as to why it was often written in katakana–the alphabet designated to loanwords. I asked the master at Sushi Danran about this curiosity. He told me that “ikura”
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January 17, 2011
I am from a town so rural, you wouldn’t believe it. Although Japan is portrayed as a metropolitan, clean, and simple city to Westerners, that’s not how real Japan is all about. Whenever I say I am from Japan, first thing people usually ask is, “are you from Tokyo?” This is pretty stupid, since it’s
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