Duck has always been a bird I’ve been meaning to explore. Its rich, luscious fat always makes me feel like I’m indulging in something reserved for a special occasion. I always dream about the duck fat potato chips that Hopscotch in Oakland fries up to perfection. Those definitely make me feel special, and happy to be alive.

Another thing that makes me happy to be alive is the fact that I just became a homeowner!

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Greetings! My name is furochan, and I’m super stoked to be writing for Umami Mart. Welcome to my larder! 

For the last eight months or so, my home has been a dormitory located in an improbably posh part of Tokyo. Rent is surprisingly cheap for this city (part of being a university student) and not only do I have a room to myself (flatmates, fine; roommates, no way in hell) but I also have… wait for it… a mini-fridge in my room.

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Mame gohan (beans and rice) with English sweet peas, organic radish, negi (green onions) and katsuo bushi (bonito flakes).

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2

1 cup short grain rice (washed)
1 1/8 cup dashi or water
1 cup shucked and blanched English sweet peas
1/2 cup cut and blanched organic radishes
1/2 cup katsuo bushi
2 tbsp thin sliced negi
A dash of soy sauce

METHOD
1.

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This squid was swimming around, minding its own business just a couple minutes before this photo was taken. Its tentacles were still moving and all those black spots were flashing on and off while we ate it sashimi style. Then they fried the head for tempura.

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I have a confession to make: I am not a fan of potlucks. I’ve always found it to be a lot of pressure and kind of take them too seriously. But bringing a home-cooked dish to a party is not only financially practical for the party host and guests, but also supposed to be FUN, right? Arg.

I actually blame Hideko, my mother, for my fear of potlucks.

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Los Angeles to San Francisco. San Francisco to Tokyo. Tokyo to Sapporo. Plane to train to subway to foot. 33 straight hours of travel and my first meal in Japan made it all worthwhile.

Welcome to すみれ (Sumire). My couch-surfing hosts initially thought my ramen fixation was a cute diversion but quickly realized they were in over their heads.

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I seriously did not know anything about Portugal and its inhabitants until I set my boot on its shores in May 2013. Well, apart from the story about Columbus and his New World discovery, but it appears there’s debate whether he was actually Spanish instead, so in reality I knew nothing.

After three days in the country I now know a little more. 

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One of the things we were told we must do in New York was to have brunch. On the recommendation of my brother-in-law, we booked a table at Beauty and Essex to meet up with some of my sister Yuki’s university friends who now live in New York. They last saw each other five years ago and I hadn’t seen them in 15, so amidst all the catching up and general yakking away, we tucked into some rather lovely dishes.

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Photos by Josh Urich, The Joy of Drinking

We did it! We signed a lease! After six months of free rent with Popuphood to see if we could “make it” in Old Oakland, we have proven to the world, and to ourselves, that the world is in need of a shop dedicated to Japanese bar and kitchenware.

Yoko and I hosted a party to celebrate our achievement and invited all our friends, old and new.

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More and more these days, I’m starting to feel like a grown-up. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I am a business owner, or if it’s the hipster kids who walk around without a care in the world (who I can’t connect with at all), or if it’s the pop culture references that I don’t get (although when have I ever been hip to pop culture references??), or if it’s cause I just turned 33 — the age Jesus was when he died for all of our sins.

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