Umami Mart

The silicone steamer craze has been in full force in Japan since 2010. With the economy tanking continuously since 2008, single men and women who have never tried their hand at cooking have taken solace in kitchenware that promise quick and easy recipes. My friend from Tokyo who visited me last year, gave me my […]

Most people think the Japanese eat sushi for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fact is, most of their diet is something entirely different. Like iri iri pan pan for example: rice, beef, eggs and peas. It’s a super easy dish which has an undertone of sugary sweetness crashing with the crunchy peas. – Served very hot […]

The Japanese have many dishes that originated somewhere in the world, but recreated it in such a way that fits to their taste. Curry, from India, is a good example. Japanese curry isn’t the same curry as the kind from India. It’s a lot sweeter, and thicker. Hamburger aka humbagu is eaten without buns (very […]

This post is rather late, for which I apologize. Er, about a month late. SORRY! Where has all the time gone? How is it already mid-September? I look outside and the leaves are turning color. The light gives off a deeper glow. It is dark at 7:30pm. Sigh. San Francisco’s (non-existent) summer is officially over. […]

Japan is known to take ideas from other countries and adapt them for their own. From castella to ramen to hambagu, the Japanese menu is full of food items that could not exist without outside influences. Many of these foods have deviated so far from the original, clouded in cuteness, mildness or sweetness that they […]

Yay, there’s finally a real farmer’s market in Copenhagen! After decades of supermarket deathbore, a new race of DIY vendors, small farmers, honey harvesters and local produce hippies will show up in their home-built vans with truckloads of cheap, fresh, delicious and organic fruits of the earth, and deliver the goods our generation has been […]

Ramen, as some of my fellow writers have observed, is totally taking over North America. People are obsessively eating, finding new shops, and eating more. New chains from Japan are opening like once a month here in New York City. Funny thing about ramen is it used to be really difficult to find recipes, but […]

Iwashi (Sardine) from Mie Prefecture Saba (or mackerel) is often priced really cheap in the U.S. and hovers around at the bottom of many sushi menus. It’s known to be stinky and not as silky as other popular sashimi like maguro and salmon. But I’d like to make it known, loud and clear that I […]

By Neyah White Photos by Travis LoDolce Well, there is no drink more quintessentially ‘Japanese’ right now than the highball. From crowded, stand-up after-work bars in Tokyo to elegant and sedate members-bars in Kyoto, the simple (but exact!) mix of whisky and water, has become the national drink of choice. There are a few factors […]

PREFACE Battle ReCPY: NYC Umeboshi Project, Pt. 1 After a couple of weeks of pickling plum in salt, it extracts all the water out of the plums, which makes umezu (plum vinegar). Once the liquid rises above the plum, it’s time to add red shiso (perilla). You can either do it or not do it […]