May 2, 2013
I am a huge fan of spice, and finding a dish that I can make that delivers the spice is always a welcome affair.
This renkon (lotus root) kinpira is a recipe I made out of an awesome book that Kayoko got me during her nine-hour layover in Japan. It was luck that I had a lotus root rolling around in my fridge as I explored the pages of the book.
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April 25, 2013
Sometimes the most humble ingredients can yield some seriously satisfying results. Some days I procrastinate until the last stop on my train to plan out what I’m going to make for dinner. I mentally piece together what I have in the fridge and try to make a meal out of it… kind of like how I mentally piece together my outfit for the day in the shower.
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April 11, 2013
*I still vividly remember the conversation about starting a food blog with Yoko. She was living in Tokyo and I was in Brooklyn and we were both visiting Cupertino, and we were at her mom’s house for dinner. We envisioned a casual blog where we would both contribute from oceans over. Maybe we would invite a few friends? Six years later, we’ve opened a shop together, but at its heart, Umami Mart will always be a food blog.
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April 4, 2013
Spring is here and my local market is starting show signs of different colors of the rainbow after a winter abundance of orange and brown fruits and vegetables. I’ve been most excited about the appearance of more greens — broccoli, asparagus, green onions, etc. The bulk greens sections has also been exploding and the appearance of fresh, healthy mizuna has prompted me to concoct a salad that takes advantage of its availability.
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March 28, 2013
Forgive me, I am going to cheat a little here… like that “100 Episodes of Seinfeld” episode. I think Umami Mart has been around long enough for something like that. So this is a re-post/interpretation of another post I wrote in Tokyo 4 years ago.
The other day I got a tray of mentaiko (spicy cod roe) from my mom and all week Washi and I were dreaming of making the mentaiko rice recipe.
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March 21, 2013
Two years after the Tohoku disaster in 2011, memories have faded and conversations about the incident, and what we can learn from it, are rapidly disappearing from the media. As time widens the gap between March 11, 2011 and the present, I wonder how I can stay connected to the issues that arose from the disaster — but often I am left feeling very helpless.
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March 14, 2013
The art of perfection is everywhere in Japan. In its laquerware, electronics and especially in its food. Dessert Le Comptoir in Fukasawa, Tokyo is an example of food perfection. A 10 minute bus-ride from Jiyugaoka, it’s a bit of a challenge to make it out here if you are not given specific directions, but when you arrive, it’s worthwhile. Our friends who live in Fukasawa invited us here on our last day in Tokyo before heading back to Berkeley.
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February 28, 2013
Amazake literally translates to “sweet sake” which is deceiving considering it’s non-alcoholic. It’s sweet, milky and easy to digest, making it perfect for kids or adults with an upset stomach.
Amazake is made by combining koji with cooked rice, which allows the rice to break down into simple sugars. This is the first step to sake-making. After this step, making sake involves fermentation, pasteurization and filteration and achieves an ABV of around 15%.
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February 21, 2013
Whenever I had shabu-shabu as a kid, there was NEVER ENOUGH gomadare (sesame sauce). It has all the elements that leave you wanting more: sweet, salty and savory. I was never a huge meat fan and I looked forward to dunking udon in my mom’s gomadare more than any other part of the shabu-shabu meal. So one of my “when-I-grow-up” dreams was to have a large supply of gomadare.
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