Umami Mart

I try not to buy many kitchen gadgets, especially since the mandolin was such a big mistake. Not only did I almost lose my finger, but there’s not much use for it. I have a stand mixer that I use all the time, and the meat grinder attachment is awesome, especially in the summertime for […]

Cold noodles are one of the best things about the summer. My favorite cold noodles are soba noodles. When it’s hot outside and steaming rice sounds like the last thing I want to do, I can always rely on soba noodles. But there have been more than a few times that I find that my […]

This Umamiventure report, a love letter to ramen from the old world to new, is written by special guest writer Wen, originally posted on her blog, We Eat Everything. All photos by Wen. A recent New York Times article about exploring Tokyo via its ramen shops left me desolate, homesick, and hungry. I whined to […]

Let’s say I know this guy. We’ll call him Marcel. Marcel is a ramenaholic. You think you love ramen? Oh no, not like Marcel loves ramen. Marcel has traveled to Japan multiple times to meticulously research the art of ramen. The broth. The noodles. The pork. This dude is so obsessed, that he pulls his […]

Let’s talk today on the subject of one of my favorite foods in the world: pho. But this is not just any kind of pho. I’m talkin’ FRIED PHO. No joke, I crave this every single day and have been dying to share this discovery with you. It’s my ideal debut post for this sparkling […]

Two words: RAMEN TRUCK. Is this not the raddest thing you’ve ever heard? Cause it should be. I know, I know, the food truck scene is so The 00’s. Ramen is now borderline boring to blabber on about (there are only so many ways I can get creative about describing noodles in broth with pork […]

Dear De Cecco, Barilla, and all other major pasta producers of the world: you should be ashamed of yourself, letting Japan come up with the smartest packaging for pasta EVER. This one is “Mama” brand that my own mama Hideko picked up at the Japanese grocery store. Kinda ironic that she would even consider buying […]

Kumiko and I walked into a relatively fancy-looking noodle shop off of Dotonbori in Osaka. We ordered; the food arrived; we were stunned. Were they for real??? The bowl was literally wider than her torso– this is NOT an optical illusion. She looked this awkward the entire time she slurped her noodles. It was all […]

Will it be shoyu? Miso? Tonkotsu? 大もり= Oomori = Super Size Me? Side of fried rice? Gyoza? An extra egg? Extra slices of roast pork? Choose button carefully– there’s no turning back! Drop your yen into the machine and the ticket will print with your order. Take ticket to the dude behind the counter, who […]

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. […]