Umami Mart

  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 […]

For this month’s Conbini Creations, I wanted to make a recipe using the Youki Shisen Tobanjan, a spicy Sichuan-style chili paste that we carry at Umami Mart. Made with chili peppers and fermented broad beans, tobanjan is often used in mapo tofu recipes, or simply added into noodle soups to add a healthy, warming spice. A small dab also […]

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 […]

The misokoshi is a tool that we have sold since we first opened our shop. It looks like a mini ramen strainer, but alas, it is for straining miso in liquid. Namely, it works perfectly for miso soup. Here’s a video made by Yoko, starring yours truly, of how to make miso soup using a […]

As you may know, we recently bought a country house in the deep woods of Connecticut. We now own 9 acres of land, and my imagination goes wild with what to do — from building a chicken coop to a greenhouse, to planting yuzu and plum trees — an all Japanese vegetable garden. Unfortunately these […]

Los Angeles to San Francisco. San Francisco to Tokyo. Tokyo to Sapporo. Plane to train to subway to foot. 33 straight hours of travel and my first meal in Japan made it all worthwhile. Welcome to すみれ (Sumire). My couch-surfing hosts initially thought my ramen fixation was a cute diversion but quickly realized they were […]

Doubanjiang has been called “the soul of Sichuan cooking.” A spicy bean paste most recognizable in Sichuan cuisine, doubanjiang is also a popular ingredient for Japanese home cooking, called tobanjan. I use doubanjiang quite often in my cooking for sauces, and I was curious as to how I might make a home-style version using only […]

My first-ever visit to New York was with my sister and it flew by. It’s been four years since we travelled together and she’s always so much fun — we do a lot of laughing, shopping and, of course, eating. This time was no exception as we raced through the city to meet our friends […]

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. […]

I’ve become addicted to miso. You know, that Japanese brown and weird looking paste consisting of fermented rice, soybeans, salt and the fungus kōjikin. Or at least that is the most traditional recipe, but miso can be found across Asia in many different forms and flavours. Outside Japan miso is mostly known as the main […]