Ume (Japanese plum) season is upon us! Through the years, we've brought you many posts about making umeshu (plum cordial) at home. We've had several umeshu features and recipes on the blog, from Yoko's kitchen in Tokyo, MOTO's kitchen...
By Haan Ridell Hi I'm Haan. I'm Swedish but live in Copenhagen, and I fly around the world for a living. Very lucky me, since I get to learn about new cultures -- and what better way to learn, then to eat? I dash off...
For each quarterly issue of Edible San Francisco magazine this year, I am doing a "farm to table, in one afternoon" story to show the origins of a dish served at a San Francisco restaurant. For the last issue I visited Annabelle's farm in...
I don't know about you, but finding a gift for Dad has always been so HARD. Trying to brainstorm the perfect gift for my mom was tough, but a gift for my father? Impossible. I think it's a misconception that women are pickier than men...
Guess what, we're re-doing our floors!!! This is SO exciting for us -- as many of you know, our floors are white. While beautiful, we've come to a point where they must be replaced. We'll be getting down on our hands and...
On a lovely spring day, we hosted an event focused on seed season and gardening. One of our most popular items at Umami Mart are the Asian vegetable and fruit seeds by the Kitazawa Seed Company -- so we knew that many people in...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Ebi Chili is the best example of a dish that has been Japanified. It was originally created in the 1950s by a Chinese immigrant in Japan, taking cues from Sichuan-style cooking. It's a shrimp dish that has a little spice and a little sweetness, perfect...
By Marta Bernal Valencia After weeks of cold and rainy weather in Madrid, I headed to Huelva (in southwestern Spain) to meet up with my friend Lucía from London. We were both starving for some good weather and Andalusian food. We stayed in Ayamonte, a...
The craze for sweets in Japan is so peculiar. There's always, "This Year's #1 Dessert!" which will inevitably be forgotten about next year. Sweets like macarons and other delicate pastries are kicked up a notch or two once they enter Japan land. Its level...
Went to Hard Water the other night, Charles Phan's newest eatery located along the scenic Embarcadero in San Francisco. It's such a rarity to go out and join the HOT SF scene. But it must be done, once in a blue moon!...
