Japanese


October 10, 2016

You Need This in Your Life: Bacon and Egg Mazemen from YUJI Ramen

by Florentyna Leow

Living in Japan, I’m not used to spending a lot of money for ramen. But recently, while visiting New York – Brooklyn, to be exact – I shelled out $20 for a bowl of ramen and I would do it all over again. I would hand over, without a second thought, a sum of money enough for 2.5 mammoth […]

November 23, 2015

Japanify: Yuzu Kanten

by Yoko Kumano

It’s yuzu season! When my sister starts giving me yuzu, I know it’s official: the holidays are here and yuzu is in abundance to help me cope. Berkeley is the queen of Meyer lemons, but I’m beginning to think it’s also one of the best places for someone to grow yuzu as friends and family are […]

September 14, 2015

Furochan Eats: Taco Rice GIF!

by Florentyna Leow

Taco rice is the culinary lovechild of Tex-Mex, Okinawan and Japanese flavours — a dish that’s popular all over Japan these days. It ticks all the boxes of food that I love to eat: sloppy, umamiful, low-effort, voluminous, summery, and utterly delicious. It is especially easy to make when you have leftover stewed or braised […]

March 19, 2015

Japanify: Shisomaki

by Yoko Kumano

Every time I go to Japan, I am exposed to new foods, new regions and new friends. Even though I lived there for five years and visit every year, there is still so much to discover. Sometimes I think about how I want to travel to other countries and discover new cultures and lands, but […]

February 9, 2015

Abura-ya: Izakaya for the People

by Kayoko Akabori

Let me start off by saying that I think Abura-ya is the most exciting dining experience in the Bay Area in the last few years. By “exciting” I mean: doing something spectacularly new and genre-bending — all deliciously, and not one bit bank-breaking. Abura-ya specializes in Japanese fried chicken, but it is so much more […]

October 13, 2014

Japanify: Grilled Shio-Koji Nagaimo

by Yoko Kumano

Last February, I went to Jicca in Tokyo and had this seemingly unassuming dish. I’ve mainly had raw nagaimo (Chinese yam) julienned or grated in all its gooey glory. But at Jicca, it was seasoned with some serious magic. Lightly grilling this nagaimo brought out a toasty, yammy aroma while retaining its natural saku-saku crunch factor. The magical taste […]

June 18, 2014

Japanify: How to Make Japanese Curry from SCRATCH

by Yoko Kumano

(Don’t have time to make Japanese curry from scratch? Check out Yoko’s Easy Japanese Curry recipe.) For two months, Kayoko and I at curry for dinner almost every night. As our “How to Make Japanese” curry event in San Francisco’s 18 Reasons approached, we stewed our way to a curry that was rich and full […]

May 5, 2014

Japanify: Cucumber Ume Quick Pickles

by Yoko Kumano

It’s been hot in Berkeley lately and crunchy cucumbers have been a go-to for cooling down and feeling refreshed in my kitchen. Luckily, Japanese cucumbers are easy enough to get your hands on in these parts, but if you can’t find them where you live, you can use Persian cucumbers as a substitute. Persian cucumbers […]

March 10, 2014

Kuishinbo: Easy Homemade Mirin

by Yuki HD

I’m sure Umami Mart readers know about mirin and have used it in cooking, but may not be sure about what it is exactly. Culinary experts in the U.S. believe that mirin is a mix of sake and lots of sugar. Sadly, this is incorrect. Yes, it’s sweet, but not just syrupy sweet — mirin […]

February 7, 2014

Japanify: Salmon Avocado Donburi

by Yoko Kumano

Shopping for the freshest seafood just got easier with another fish market that opened in the People’s Republic of Berkeley. Fish is still my favorite thing to eat for dinner because it’s easy and so, so delicious. Grilled, simmered or baked, fish will let you do anything to it and it’ll adapt. But, by far, […]