Umami Mart

During midsummer, tradition is to have unagi (freshwater eel) on specific days. The days are called doyou no ushinohi (土用の丑の日) to provide a nutritional treat, as well as to help survive the hot season. Unagi carries a lot of “stamina” nutrition, such as vitamins A and B-complex. The ancient Japanese diet, like today, was mostly vegetables […]

Whenever I go to Sushi Kuni alone for lunch, I always sit at the sushi counter in front of Kuni. It’s usually packed with Apple employees and the staff are usually all running around like a bunch of crazed chickens — so even if I really want to indulge in some nigiri sushi or makimono, […]

Last week, Sakura wrote about chirashi sushi in London, a dish you can find at many Japanese restaurants throughout the world. I grew up in Kansai so when I was young, our chirashi (called bara-chirashi or gomoku chirashi) consisted of cooked root vegetables like bamboo shoots, carrots and yams — all mixed with sushi rice, […]

I always thought chirashizushi was the large, family-friendly tub of vinegared sushi rice studded with a variety of colourful ingredients such as shiitake, cooked seafood, and what ever else you like — all sprinkled with thinly sliced Japanese omelette and cucumber. My mother would often make it at home and it was an easy way […]