Article
March 6, 2009
Oden: Japan’s Ultimate Comfort Food
One of the ultimate comfort foods during winters in Japan is oden, which is essentially fishcake stew. Whether cooked at home, bought from the konbini (I hear that Japan’s 7-11 makes it the best), or as a nightcap for businessmen to accompany cup after cup of sake, it is the darling of Japanese winter dishes. […]
March 5, 2009
How to Roast a Turkey in Tokyo
Turkey would be really popular in Tokyo. If everyone had ovens. I love turkey and I knew my friends in Tokyo could appreciate an American icon that doesn’t just come to a theater near you, but comes straight to your dining table. Dinner parties are very rare in Tokyo because space is limited in homes. […]
March 3, 2009
The Umami Reader, vol. 045: Homemade Corndogs and LA Taco Manifesto
– The definitive guide to LA’s taco “tables” (Eat Drink & Be Merry) – Fat Duck in England temporarily closes after 30-40 people fall ill from dining there. Um, maybe cause you ate the SNAIL PORRIDGE??? (BBC News) – Homemade corndogs. Recession holla! (Chaos in the Kitchen) – Twittering celeb chefs – Giada’s on it! […]
Homemade Yogurt: The Old School Persian Way
Last month Yoko posted a story on a homemade yogurt she made from Bulgarian cultures, which I found really interesting because the method employed was totally different from the way I remembered my mother and grandmother used to make it. That prompted me to pay a quick visit to the internet to check the “official” […]
March 2, 2009
Wedding Cake Perfection – Trial 2 & 3
After the initial trial, I learned a lot from all the comments (big thanks to Chef the City!) and decided to try different options. Instead of trying everything, I focused primarily on icing this weekend. As you saw from the last post, the cake didn’t rise well, so I made one following the recipe precisely. […]
February 26, 2009
Wedding Cake Perfection – Trial 1
Tmonkey and Ayagwa are getting hitched in March!!! But listening to them talk about their big day and planning was way too painful for me. “I will wear jeans, and Tmonkey will wear a Star Trek costume,” or “We don’t need any proceedings, we can just go with the flow and maybe it will become […]
February 25, 2009
The Golden State LA To Open Early March (For Real This Time)
My dear friend Jim is opening a sandwich, beer and ice cream joint in LA!!! My three favorite food groups all under one roof- could you ask for anything more? I think not. He and his biz partner Jason have named the cafe The Golden State, that will quite appropriately be highlighting beers, meats, cheeses […]
February 24, 2009
The Umami Reader, vol. 044: Coffee, Tropicana, and White House Kitchen
– Bento meals through the ages- in darling miniature plastic replicas (Just Bento) – Tropicana retracts new design and will bring back old logo and ubiquitous straw in orange motif. Apparently an uproar to the new design in the Twitterverse- interesting considering the new Pepsi logo has been so highly lauded (NYT; via Tmonkey) – […]
Panko Chicken Nuggets
Being one month early for a party is good because it gives you time to perfect your entrance. I was getting ready for a pizza party on Saturday, by making one of my favorite finger foods of all time: chicken nuggets. If there’s one fast-food item I still get weak-in-the-knees for, it’s KFC’s chicken nuggets. […]
February 22, 2009
Tori-ina Yakitori in Tokyo
Tori-ina made me a yakitori fiend. I now crave yakitori whenever I see the word chicken or am reminded of anything wooden and cylindrical. This tiny, unassuming joint is located on a side street one minute from Hatagaya Station (near Shinjuku) in Tokyo. Every day is Friday at Tori-ina, so expect to stand in line […]