Umami Mart

Takikomi Gohan (mixed rice) is one of those comfort foods that fills the kitchen with an earthy aroma. I love cooking this in the winter and coming home to the flavors of shiitake mushrooms and hijiki. I also throw in mushrooms that happen to be in season for an extra layer of flavor. Matsutake mushrooms […]

I’ve had many a bowl of ochazuke in my life but never expected to be blown away by a rendition from a random little izakaya called Aburiya in Kushiro. Ochazuke, or “tea rice,” is usually as humble as its name sounds, but here it was taken to the next level. First, the rice ball was grilled […]

I wanted to make something simple and mouthwatering for the Canned Crab Challenge. Sarah’s Snow Crab Jeon is a tough act to follow, so I also wanted to make something that could potentially complement her recipe. So to pair with her protein-heavy dish, I decided to come up with a carb dish. I had tried […]

April sakes ship today for Sake Gumi, our monthly sake subscription club. If you like what’s on deck here, you should join! To celebrate the start of rice-planting season in April, we are highlighting the most popular sake rice Yamada Nishiki. Why is it the most popular rice for sake brewing? Because of its ability to absorb […]

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 […]

During our visit to Aoki Brewery in Niigata, we were told that the three most important factors of brewing sake is the rice, the water and the people. The rice that breweries use for sake-making are not the usual grains you find at the grocery store — they use special rice strains like Yamadanishiki, Koshitanrei, Ohmachi, […]

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, […]

If there’s one thing 6 days in paradise (Kauai) reminded me about life, it’s that cooking rice on the stove top (and not in a rice cooker) is so easy! I used to do it all the time when I worked as a server at a restaurant called Konohana in Tokyo. That was the only […]

INGREDIENTS Serves 2 1 small chicken breast, cut into small cubes 10 green beans, diced small 1/4 medium yellow onion, diced small 1/2 cup kimchi, diced medium 4 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced 1 fresno chili or jalapeño, diced extra small 3 eggs, whisked 2 cups steamed white rice 1/4 cup tomato sauce 3 tbsp Sriracha 4 […]

Mame gohan (beans and rice) with English sweet peas, organic radish, negi (green onions) and katsuo bushi (bonito flakes). INGREDIENTS Serves 2 1 cup short grain rice (washed) 1 1/8 cup dashi or water 1 cup shucked and blanched English sweet peas 1/2 cup cut and blanched organic radishes 1/2 cup katsuo bushi 2 tbsp thin […]