Author Archives: Keisuke Akabori

Born and raised in California. Living in Los Angeles trying to keep it real in the culinary industry. Staying positive and keeping your head up is the greatest way of maintaing a strong and powerful energy nobody can come across, only the ones who do the same!

April 3, 2013

Casa de Kei: Spring Pea Salad

by Keisuke Akabori

Lightly sautéed green salad with upland cress, sweet english peas, pea tendrils, ginger, purple artichokes, green scallions, baby bell peppers, blood orange and artichoke chips. Perfect for spring! INGREDIENTS Serves 2  1 small bunch upland cress (watercress is a nice alternative) 10 pea tendrils (keep a few raw pea tendrils and raw upland cress for […]

March 13, 2013

Casa de Kei: Beer-Boiled Shrimp, Asian Style

by Keisuke Akabori

INGREDIENTS 1.5 pounds large shrimp, head and shell left on, rinsed well (I used Ridgeback shrimps from Santa Barbara) 3 (12-ounce) bottles of Japanese lager beer (I used Sapporo) 1 cup water 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon coriander 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 1 lemon, halved 2 coins of galangal […]

February 20, 2013

Casa de Kei: Gyū-Don (Beef Bowl)

by Keisuke Akabori

GyÅ«-don w/ tokyo negi, chive points, tofu and shichimi  RECIPE Serves 2  1/2 lb thinly sliced beef 1/2 block tofu (cut into 9 pieces) 1 stick of tokyo negi (you can use regular green onion or yellow onion) 3/4 cup of beef stock or dashi 2 tbl sake 2 tbl mirin sweet cooking sake 3 […]

February 6, 2013

Casa de Kei: Uni + Tobiko Pasta

by Keisuke Akabori

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Keisuke aka Kid Skwid, my beloved brother. He has recently been promoted to sous chef at the famed Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills. Congrats, K! And lucky for us, he will grace the pages of Umami Mart regularly, with simple yet fancypants recipes taken from his impressive home-cooked breakfasts on his Instagram feed (@kidskwid5). Make […]