Japanese

Stashing cooked rice

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Stashing cooked rice

Boston Globe, October 30, 2007 Watching squirrels gathering and stashing nuts for the winter reminds me of Japanese and Korean friends filling their rice cookers to maximum capacity to make small packets of cooked rice for the freezer. When it’s time to eat, they microwave the rice until it’s steaming hot. Recently, a Korean guest did …

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Sharing the pleasures of real sushi

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Hiroko Shimbo has been teaching Japanese cooking in her native Tokyo, New York, Spain, and England for 15 years, which has given her new opportunities in the restaurant industry as Americans become ever more captivated with the food of her culture. She was the culinary consultant for Taneko Japanese Tavern , which opened earlier this …

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The layered look is easy and elegant

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Watching a chef create individual pieces of sushi at lightning speed is quite a sight. Rice is compressed into a perfect oval in a slightly cupped palm and topped with a thin slice of fish. Artistry and skill and many years of practice are in evidence. But without any training or experience at a sushi …

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Fiddleheads are the season’s star shoots

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LEXINGTON — Deep green, earthy spirals wound as tight as coils, fiddleheads burst into the spring produce bin for a few weeks. They’re shoots, and they’re at their best when tightly coiled. They grow into graceful ostrich ferns — but alas, the pretty ferns are no longer edible. Fiddleheads’ spiral shape gives rise to their …

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From one pot, a bounty of Japanese flavors

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In the family of Japanese one-pot wonders — sukiyaki among them — the standout dinner is yosenabe, a mixture of seafood, chicken, tofu, glass noodles, and vegetables. Diners use their chopsticks to dip into a communal earthenware pot on a portable burner. Inside the pot is a simmering broth filled with the seafood, vegetables, and …

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For picnics, toss together some sushi

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Sushi rice is short-grain white rice that is cooked and mixed with rice vinegar and sugar. This, of course, is the rice you’re biting into when you sit down to a plateful of sushi. What you put on or in the rice determines the kind of sushi. But there are other dishes — which don’t …

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Simmered tofu gets zesty with sauce and seasonings

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Nothing could be simpler than a cake of tofu simmered in a light broth. The Japanese dish Yudofu is the very definition of simplicity in both preparation and presentation. Condiments of grated ginger, a sprinkling of katsuo (bonito) fish flakes, and finely cut rings of scallions not only add to the spare beauty of this …

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Clay pots irresistable in design, function

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What do a Romertopf Schlemmertopf, tagine, and donabe(donabay) have in common? They are all earthenware pots with covers, from different parts ofthe world. The high-domed Romertopf and Schlemmertopf are fromGermany, the pyramid-shaped tajine (tagine) is from Morocco, andthe round donabe is from Japan. Using clay pots is an ancient method for cooking. You can now …

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Japan’s lunchbox fare pleases eye, palate

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FUKUOKA, Japan – ”Tadaima!” (I’m home!) Yuriko and Satoshi Kawasaki cry as they remove their shoes and tumble into their house after a hard day at kindergarten. ”Okaerinasai!” (Welcome home!) replies 40-year old Misako Kawasaki. She empties their school bags and brings their Ultraman and Hello Kitty lunch boxes into the kitchen. Early that morning, …

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Japan, being in hot water takes on a whole new meaning

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Japan, being in hot water takes on a whole new meaning

NAGANO, Japan – Bathing in Japan is not just about getting clean. It is as much about transmitting culture as it is about relaxation. Children may bathe with their parents until they are 7 or 8 years old. Friends will make an outing to a hot spring for a day of soaking and lounging, scrubbing …

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On hot day, cold noodle dish goes down easy

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It’s really summer now – too hot to eat, too hot to cook.You need something easy to make and digest.It should be appetizing, cooling, and nutritious. In many Asian countries, noodles are considered a snack foodor a light meal. In summer, they are served cold, often with a tangydressing. In Japan, noodles are a noisy …

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Making sushi can be fun and easy

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Making sushi at home may seem fussy and complicated, but it need not be. It needs virtually no cooking, is inherently low in fat and nutritious, and can involve the guests in preparation. A temaki zushi(hand-rolled sushi) party is fun and an authentic way to eat sushi at home. When the Japanese are not eating …

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