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July 1, 2009

The Umami Reader, vol. 062: Fort Lee Hot Dog Walk!

by Kayoko Akabori

– Don’t miss the 7th Annual Fort Lee Hot Dog Walk THIS SUNDAY!!! Walk over the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey’s historic Fort Lee and eat hot dogs along the way! Sounds super dreamy- email Bernard Ente for exact meeting instructions at bernard@workingharbor.org. Check out last year’s tour here. Someone please go on my […]

June 30, 2009

Front Yard Yakitori Shack (Tokyo)

by Kayoko Akabori

My father has one sister and four brothers- all of who are in the restaurant business. The Akaboris are destined to work with food, what can I say?? My brother just spent some time in a hoity-toity restaurant in Barcelona, and I just started a job at a Spanish restaurant in Menlo Park. As LOST’s […]

June 23, 2009

The Umami Reader, vol. 61

by Kayoko Akabori

– 66 reported ill from E. Coli in Nestle cookie dough. Cramps, diarrhea and vomiting due to eating RAW dough- WTF did these people expect??? (Bloomberg News) – Brooklyn Unfancy Food Show, Sunday June 28, 12-6pm. Featuring the fine ladies of the Green Pirate Juice Truck, Marlow and Sons, and Blue Marble Ice Cream. (Brooklyn […]

June 19, 2009

Lazyass Cookin’: Ebi Chili

by Kayoko Akabori

Cooking time: 5 minutes. The Japanese have perfected the art of lazy cooking. Instant ramen, instant white rice, instant consomme, instant miso soup complete with tofu and green onions. Where do you think I get it from? So the other day, I found some shrimp in the freezer and decided to pair it with chili […]

June 18, 2009

Deshelling/Deveining Shrimp 101

by Kayoko Akabori

I’m about to post a meal I made with shrimp, but before I do, I thought I should do a little shrimp deveining tutorial. It’s so easy to pass up the fresh, shell-on shrimp in the seafood section of the grocery store, since the thought of deshelling and deveining is such a pain in the […]

Dorayaki with Cream

by Kayoko Akabori

My mama bought this special gift box of dorayaki at Mitsuwa the other day. I guess they were on sale for half-off ($9 instead of $18- Japanese gourmet snacks tend to be pricey); she’s so friggin’ shrewd! Dorayaki is a Japanese dessert of azuki (sweet red beans) sandwiched between two little pancakes. This special brand […]

June 16, 2009

The Umami Reader, vol. 060

by Kayoko Akabori

– Pepsi Natural, the taste test/ color test/ smell test. It’s $12.50 per gallon, but come on, that’s a steal when you consider the REAL Kola nut extract you get in each sip. (Keacher.com; via Mel) – Get your Berkshire pig on: John Boy’s Farm in Westchester County, NY is the only farm in the […]

Japanify: How to Make Umeshu (Japanese Plum Liqueur)

by Yoko Kumano

Japanese mothers and grandmothers are hardcore. Every year they make their own liqueur and June is the month to start preparing. Starting in late May, supermarkets stock ume (Japanese plums) in bags of 1 kilogram which cost around 700-900 yen per bag, alongside cartons of white liquor. I decided to join the mama-san frenzy and […]

June 9, 2009

The Umami Reader, vol. 059

by Kayoko Akabori

– Hep A scare at Ssam Bar in NYC. Come on, it’s so ironic. (Eater; via Ricky) – A website where you can swap veggies!!! (VeggieTrader; via Tasting Table) SORRY THAT’S IT! The Umami Reader brings you the freshest food news every Tuesday, however outdated it may be. Please email links to what you’re reading […]

June 6, 2009

Introducing Biwa, aka the Loquat

by Kayoko Akabori

My mama brought home a bag of biwa the other day, the Japanese word for the fruit loquat. I guess her friend has a biwa tree in her yard- have you ever heard of them? They are these darling little apricot-like things that grow in clusters. Look at this one small branch! A bit of […]