Umami Mart

In my kitchen, celery is something that shows up when I make chicken soup. Other than that, I don’t really think to buy celery. The problem (until now) was that I’d use a few stalks for soup and then be stumped as to how to use the rest of it, especially since I am not […]

Louis Anderman is a scientist. Born from a true passion for bitters, Miracle Mile Bitters Co. started out as a hobby (just like us!), as Louis concocted potions from days of yore, right in his kitchen. Miracle Mile now leads the west coast bitters revolution with his small batch recreations of classic formulas and top […]

The Food Republic recently declared yuzu as America’s next big THING. Well, duhhhh! Umami Mart readers, writers and shoppers have been privy to this whimsical citrus for a long while now so we’re not lifting any eyebrows at these sort of dramatic announcements. That said, I don’t use yuzu that often in my cooking. Yuzu […]

We’re in a record drought in California. Luckily, many of the plants in my garden are drought-tolerant and have actually been thriving thanks to consecutive days, weeks and months of dry, hot sunlight. I’ve lived in my house now for a year and a half. This summer was the first time I saw a bloom […]

Last February, I went to Jicca in Tokyo and had this seemingly unassuming dish. I’ve mainly had raw nagaimo (Chinese yam) julienned or grated in all its gooey glory. But at Jicca, it was seasoned with some serious magic. Lightly grilling this nagaimo brought out a toasty, yammy aroma while retaining its natural saku-saku crunch factor. The magical taste […]

Yoko and I first met bartender Tomokazu Kai in 2010, when we helped present an event with Suntory Whisky called the Tokyo-SF Bartender Salon. The event was held at Prizefighter bar in Emeryville and was meant to bring bartenders from Japan and the Bay Area together to present and talk about cocktails and bartending techniques. […]

Instead of reaching there via a Wardrobe route, Nagoya is about a two-hour bullet train ride from Tokyo. It is the third most populous city in Japan, with 2.3 million people living within 11 square miles. Car geeks may know Nagoya as Toyota HQ. Gamblers may take note that it is where pachinko was born. […]

(Don’t have time to make Japanese curry from scratch? Check out Yoko’s Easy Japanese Curry recipe.) For two months, Kayoko and I at curry for dinner almost every night. As our “How to Make Japanese” curry event in San Francisco’s 18 Reasons approached, we stewed our way to a curry that was rich and full […]

I’ve made many many things from scratch, from macarons and Worcestershire sauce to wedding cakes and plum liqueur. The long process is something I enjoy, and the end result is usually pretty good. However, in terms of cost performance, making things from scratch doesn’t save you much money. Like hand-knit scarves, it actually costs more […]

Have I seriously never posted anything about frozen dumplings? That’s crazy! Frozen dumplings have been my #1 go-to lazyass meal for years now. I used to buy the bags in the frozen food aisle at Chinese super markets, with their bright color-coded bags for bitter melon or chive and shrimp varieties (usually made in Thailand). […]