I have memories of gyoza from when I was in kindergarten. My grandma would invite my mom and aunts to her house — and they would wrap dumplings all day. My cousins and I would run around, play in the pool and take Oreo and orange juice breaks throughout the day. When the sun began […]
Author Archives: Yoko Kumano
June 3, 2013
DIY Umami Mart: New Floors!
I have to admit, I had been dreading redoing the floors for the shop. We all knew it had to be done — the reality was that once we signed the lease, we were no longer a pop-up. The shop had to “grow up.” Without going into the technical details, we had received a few […]
May 23, 2013
Japanify 2-in-1: Miso-Shio-Koji Marinated Duck + Duck Fat-Slathered Yaki Onigiri
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 […]
May 9, 2013
Japanify: Ebi Chili
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 for the Japanese palate that typically can’t handle serious heat. […]
May 2, 2013
Japanify: Lotus Root Kinpira
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 […]
April 25, 2013
Japanify: Daikon-Tuna Stir Fry
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 […]
April 11, 2013
Flashback Fave: Yoko aka Japanify + Tokyo JUNKtion
*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 […]
April 4, 2013
Japanify: Mizuna Crunch Salad
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 […]
March 28, 2013
Japanify: Mentaiko Rice Redux
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 […]
March 21, 2013
Upcoming Event: Fukushima Now: Relief Effort to Support Children in Fukushima
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 […]