Aid, Kitchen passed away on Wednesday, December 19, 2012. She was 12 years old. Since she was adopted (refurbished model), the exact date of birth is unknown. The cause of death is paralysis. The bowl is completely stuck on the base, and no matter what...
Happy New Year. 2013 has started with a perfect sunrise in Japan. Hopefully it signifies that the rest of the year to be bright and shiny. 2012 was filled with happenings: from Taylor Swift changing boyfriends 18 times, to Gangnam Style to Sandy craziness to...
Trends in Japan changes as often as Taylor Swift changes boyfriends. It's like, wasn't she dating the Kennedy kid and even bought a house across from his in order to be close to him? Next minute, she is shacking up with one of the bad...
Did you know that the U.S. lost all its chestnut trees back in early 1900s due to a disease brought over from China or Japan? Oops. Almost all of the chestnuts we have now come from Italy or China. But The American Chestnut Foundation...
Last week, Sakura wrote about chirashi sushi in London, a dish you can find at many Japanese restaurants throughout the world. I grew up in Kansai so when I was young, our chirashi (called bara-chirashi or gomoku chirashi) consisted of cooked root vegetables like...
I don't know about what's going on in your city, but these days, NYC is filled with macaron shops. Sure some tastes better than others, but if you throw a stone, and it will hit a macaron shop or two. For the amount of effort...
If this is posted on 10/30, it means I survived Hurricane Sandy. My friend Chisa told me numerous times that I should start teaching cooking lessons. I was a bit skeptical in the beginning, and didn't have time to think about it. Now I have...
Fish is still something a lot of people are scared of in the States. Heads, guts, scales, filleting -- there are a lot of processes involved before you can eat a piece of fish. It is the same process for meat or poultry, and I am...
Izakaya MOTO is an invite-only, very exclusive izakaya, located in the heart of Financial District in Manhattan (aka my apartment). I had my friends over one night, and decided to host an izakaya-style evening. I have a large counter in my kitchen where guests can...
This is my second write-up in a series about summer vegetables. Instead of enjoying them now, I am packing them for the upcoming seasons. I love shiso. You often find them sadly sitting underneath your sashimi at Japanese restaurants. These green herbs are similar to...
Summer is over, but I like the beginning of the autumn. I can finally wear layers, and the chill in the morning and evening is comforting. And knitting season starts just about now! Although the food supply has lost seasonality in many ways and we...
Though I created such a scene when I wrote about a certain four-star restaurant some time ago, I must write about my experience at Eleven Madison Park. Why? Because it was above and beyond my expectations, and made me fully understand Daniel...
At Japanese restaurants, sushi is usually served alongside with gari (pickled ginger). Why? It's a nice way to cleanse your palate so that you can enjoy each piece of fish, without mixing the flavors in your mouth. These pickled gingers are widely...
If you have been to Japan, you've been to MOS burger, the best burger chain. Apparently it is coming to the U.S., which will be great. Their burgers -- from the regular MOS burger with bolognese sauce, to tonkatsu burger with cabbage, to real-deal teriyaki...
After I posted salt koji recipe a couple of weeks ago, I found out koji is literally a miracle condiments. This is the easiest thing to make, as long as you can find koji (usually at the Japanese grocery store), and the result is...
As some of you may remember, I made umeboshi (pickled plum) last year, while Kayoko & Co. were doing the same on the west coast. I used yellow plums instead of Japanese plums, while the west coast group used real Japanese plums,...
As I've written about in the past, I have developed an annoying food allergy. I've discovered that stone fruite are definitely not for me. Not that I need to carry an epi-pen, or that my face breaks out, or my body is covered with...
Hi, welcome to my new column, MOTOism. I'll mostly be cooking here, as always, with the occasional restaurant rant, to keep everyone on their toes. It's summer, it's hot, and it's time to make an easy dessert that doesn't boil the kitchen. Over the...
