Last month, I took a relaxing trip to Pt. Reyes with one of the best books I have read this year, the Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was another one of my favorites this year). Although I felt like I kind of knew what Pollan’s deal was from hearsay, […]
Author Archives: Yoko Kumano
May 6, 2010
Japanify Ingredients: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Dashi
One of the most basic things about Japanese cooking that baffled me before living in Japan was how to make dashi. I knew it was easy and that the ingredients were readily available, but I wanted to make it right. All from scratch. Here is the definitive guide to making dashi. The easiest way to […]
May 4, 2010
Organic Megumi Natto
I was greeted with a pleasant surprise on April 19 when I opened my Gmail account. There was to be a debut release party for an organic natto product the next day at San Francisco’s Ozumo. This almost felt like when I heard the news for the release date of the latest Pavement album in […]
April 22, 2010
How To Japanify: Preparing and Drinking Sencha
Every time I would go to someone’s house in Tokyo, they would likely offer me sencha before I even settled onto my zabuton or chair. Sencha is made by steaming green tea leaves, shaped into thin rolls, dried and then pan-fried or fired to lock-in the flavor. Pretty common in the U.S. as well, most […]
April 15, 2010
Japanify: Sharpening Carbon and Stainless Steel Knives
After seeing how well the chefs (at Konohana, the sousaku-ryori restaurant I worked at last year in Tokyo) and the housewives in Japan take care of their hÅchÅs (Japanese cutlery), one of the first things I did when I moved back to the U.S. was to get a knife sharpener for my carbon-steel hÅchÅ I […]
March 17, 2010
Camino Restaurant (OAK)
Two long tables that seat about 40 guests Harry Potter-style, line the walls of Camino in Oakland. These dramatic slabs of wood sum up the restaurant itself – friendly and warm. Adding to the drama are two stone grills at the back of the restaurant in full view of the guests and four huge chandaliers […]
March 12, 2010
Rang Dong (OAK)
One of my obsessions since moving to Berkeley is to find good Vietnamese food in the East Bay. I made my rounds in Downtown Berkeley with no luck whatsoever. Establishments including Pho Hoa, Saigon Express and Le Regal shamelessly use powdered broth as their soup base (at least it tastes like it) leaving my mouth […]
February 18, 2010
Japanify: Making Natto in North America
Natto is the one of those foods that elicits strong reactions. I get overwhelmed with a sense of joy and excitement, but the response I hear from most people (who aren’t from or aren’t descendants of the eastern regions of Japan) is pure disgust. I remember how clueless I was junior year in college when […]
February 15, 2010
Tortas Los Picudos (SF)
I finally ate my first torta two weeks ago – on Superbowl Sunday. My friend Kishi, who lives in San Francisco, took me to Tortas Los Picudos on 24th Street between Alabama and Harrison. I guess it took me this long to actually try a torta because of my intense love for burritos. If both […]
February 3, 2010
Ball-and-Chained to Berkeley
After a 4-year, 4-month hiatus, I am back in Berkeley. Robotland (a.k.a. Tokyo) was good to me, but finding myself shuffled in line at the Berkeley Bowl between one of these, and Zack de la Rocha‘s doppelganger on a weekly basis has got me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Not only is it great […]