Umami Mart

Yup, you read it right. This is a present from one of my Japanese friends who visited London last year: a seven day supplement for young and puru-puru (plump and quivering) skin. Although placenta in skincare has been around in Japan for years, it’s only recently that I’ve begun to see them appearing in the […]

Last week, I shared a bowl of nishin soba with you, and I asked you to not to throw out the egg and sperm sacs. I have two recipes that will have you wondering why people would ever throw them out in the first place. Personally, I look forward to the herring shirako and kazunoko […]

By Yoko Kumano Originally posted on November 10, 2009 I bought a sac of shirako at my local supermarket for 90 yen (85 cents). I never knew that shirako was so cheap since I had never had the balls to prepare it until now. Shirako is the seminal fluid of fish who shoot their sperm […]

By Yoko Kumano Originally posted on February 16, 2009 I had qualms about blogging the Homo Sausage. Was I really a near 30 year-old woman with the humor of a 7 year-old boy? Yes. Was Umami Mart too sophisticated for a juvenile post such as this? Yes. But then again, maybe not. I met Homo […]

By Ayagwa and Tmonkey Originally posted on July 13, 2007 WARNING: This post is not for the squeamish, overly sensitive, or the faint of heart. Skip this post if discussion of bodily functions offends you deeply. I’m serious!!! I’ve mulled over in my mind, for almost a month, whether to blog about this or not. […]

My friend Futoshi came back from Japan and brought some of the newest and weirdest junk food from the motherland. In recent months, the most popular food item in Japan is apparently the edible chill-infused oil or 食べる辣油.  I saw articles about it in newspapers everywhere– Japan’s major condiment brand Momoya, came out with this […]

There are quite a few breakfast sandwich recipes in Japan that uses natto. The natto & cheese on toast sounded pretty good. Put natto and cheese on bread or an English muffin and toast it, I guess. But it is too straightforward and not my style. I wanted to push natto’s culinary limit. When I […]

Remember when I made kimchi fried rice? It has become my staple meal when I feel ultra lazy. Read: ALL THE TIME. So how panicked was I when I went to the kitchen yesterday to take out all the precious ingredients out of the fridge, but then realize that I was missing RICE. Epic FAIL. […]

I bought a sac of shirako at my local supermarket for 90 yen (85 cents). I never knew that shirako was so cheap since I had never had the balls to prepare it until now. Shirako is the seminal fluid of fish who shoot their sperm onto roe. It is served in many different ways […]

My husband and I took a stroll around Tsukijishijo (Tsukuji Fish Market) yesterday after running an errand in Ginza. I used to work near Tsukiji and never had the privilege of spending a day-off there. It was the same Tsukiji I went to on my lunch breaks, but it makes it a lot more exciting […]