November 27, 2012
Did you know that the U.S. lost all its chestnut trees back in early 1900s due to a disease brought over from China or Japan? Oops. Almost all of the chestnuts we have now come from Italy or China. But The American Chestnut Foundation has been working very hard to revive them in this country. […]
November 15, 2012
Although I have embraced the fact that I have now crossed-over into 30-somethingdom, my diet has not caught up. With age, my body is clearly not as forgiving when I’ve had a few too many glasses of wine. The idea of taking multi-vitamins has been hanging over my head for a while now, with no […]
November 6, 2012
I don’t know about what’s going on in your city, but these days, NYC is filled with macaron shops. Sure some tastes better than others, but if you throw a stone, and it will hit a macaron shop or two. For the amount of effort you put in to make perfect macarons, I am slowly […]
November 1, 2012
When the persimmons and matsutake start populating the markets in Japan, so do the sanma (Pacific Saury). They are so abundant, they are practically giving them out for free. For less than 100yen per fish, it’s the most economical choice to celebrate autumn. It’s another story out here in California. I was perusing my local […]
October 25, 2012
I am posting a recipe for negitoro donburi for the pure fact that this is the most delicious thing to make in under 5 minutes if you have cooked rice on hand. If your fish monger sells toro pieces for cheaper, grab the opportunity to make this dish. If pieces of toro are not available, […]
October 11, 2012
The other day, Washi and I went to Uniqlo thinking we could just casually stroll in two days after its opening. First reality check: there was a line winding two blocks down the building. So we went to some other shops. Second reality check for Washi: he couldn’t fit comfortably into a size M anymore. […]
October 9, 2012
Izakaya MOTO is an invite-only, very exclusive izakaya, located in the heart of Financial District in Manhattan (aka my apartment). I had my friends over one night, and decided to host an izakaya-style evening. I have a large counter in my kitchen where guests can sit (well not so comfortabely yet, since I don’t have […]
October 2, 2012
This is my second write-up in a series about summer vegetables. Instead of enjoying them now, I am packing them for the upcoming seasons. I love shiso. You often find them sadly sitting underneath your sashimi at Japanese restaurants. These green herbs are similar to basil, but milder, and goes very well with fish, meat, […]
September 27, 2012
Whenever I go see my 92 year-old grandma and have a conversation over tea, she drops all kinds of wisdom bombs on me. And she does it so casually, I never really notice the impact her words have on me until I am on the freeway, driving back to Berkeley. Last week, she said “I […]
September 20, 2012
Myoga madness continues as I experiment with the harvest from my sister’s myoga plant. Last week, I topped raw myoga on tofu. This week, I make a stir fry with myoga and slices of pork shoulder. I am very inexperienced with cooking mammal meat and quite intimidated when it comes to preparing chunks of it. […]