October 24, 2016
I’m always stealing ideas from my family. The latest cooking technique I stole was from my Aunt Judy (who also inspired Kayoko’s Happy Hour post last week), who specializes in making drinks and savory foods to along with it. Aunt Judy had read somewhere that a beef restaurant in Japan was trying to find […]
May 23, 2013
Duck has always been a bird I’ve been meaning to explore. Its rich, luscious fat always makes me feel like I’m indulging in something reserved for a special occasion. I always dream about the duck fat potato chips that Hopscotch in Oakland fries up to perfection. Those definitely make me feel special, and happy to […]
December 18, 2012
Trends in Japan changes as often as Taylor Swift changes boyfriends. It’s like, wasn’t she dating the Kennedy kid and even bought a house across from his in order to be close to him? Next minute, she is shacking up with one of the bad boys from One Direction. And she publicly stated, “I don’t […]
July 31, 2012
After I posted salt koji recipe a couple of weeks ago, I found out koji is literally a miracle condiments. This is the easiest thing to make, as long as you can find koji (usually at the Japanese grocery store), and the result is super-tacular. Marinate meat, even chicken breast, and it will never go dry. […]
June 19, 2012
Shio koji, or 塩麹 (salted koji) is a going through a major boom in Japan right now. What is it?  It is a mix of salt and koji mold. Wiki says, “Koji (Aspergillus oryzae) is a mold used in Chinese and Japanese cuisine to ferment soybeans. It is also used in the making of alcoholic beverages such as sake, and shochu.” Basically koji is used to make […]