umeboshi


July 6, 2016

Happy Hour: Umeboshi Splash!

by Kayoko Akabori

My best friend Sara wrote a book and it just came out! It’s called Never Ever and it is a young adult fiction novel recreating the story of Peter Pan. I just finished the book yesterday and I must say that it is brilliant! It is the perfect pool-side summer read, or a way to spend […]

May 5, 2014

Japanify: Cucumber Ume Quick Pickles

by Yoko Kumano

It’s been hot in Berkeley lately and crunchy cucumbers have been a go-to for cooling down and feeling refreshed in my kitchen. Luckily, Japanese cucumbers are easy enough to get your hands on in these parts, but if you can’t find them where you live, you can use Persian cucumbers as a substitute. Persian cucumbers […]

July 24, 2012

MOTOism: NYC Umeboshi Project: Year Two

by Moto Yamamoto

As some of you may remember, I made umeboshi (pickled plum) last year, while Kayoko & Co. were doing the same on the west coast. I used yellow plums instead of Japanese plums, while the west coast group used real Japanese plums, but pickled while they were still green and unripe. Both results were ok, […]

October 13, 2011

The Ume Project: Umeboshi Finale

by Kayoko Akabori

PREFACE The Ume Project: Foraging The Ume Project: Pickling for Umeboshi The Ume Project: Umeshu (Plum Liqueur) The Ume Project: The Aka-Shiso Edition Since July, Yoko and I have been working on umeboshi (pickled plums) with Sylvan of Peko Peko, a Japanese catering company based in Oakland. From picking our own ume from a backyard […]

October 3, 2011

Battle ReCPY: NYC Umeboshi Project, Pt. 3

by Moto Yamamoto

PREFACE Battle ReCPY: NYC Umeboshi Project, Pt. 1 Battle ReCPY: NYC Umeboshi Project, Pt. 2  Finally, I finished pickling my ume. All I had left to do was to dry them under sun for a day or two. Being in NYC, I don’t have a gigantic backyard where I can freely dry my ume, so I […]

September 16, 2011

The Ume Project: The Aka-Shiso Edition

by Kayoko Akabori

This post is rather late, for which I apologize. Er, about a month late. SORRY! Where has all the time gone? How is it already mid-September? I look outside and the leaves are turning color. The light gives off a deeper glow. It is dark at 7:30pm. Sigh. San Francisco’s (non-existent) summer is officially over. […]

August 29, 2011

Battle ReCPY: NYC Umeboshi Project, Pt. 2

by Moto Yamamoto

PREFACE Battle ReCPY: NYC Umeboshi Project, Pt. 1 After a couple of weeks of pickling plum in salt, it extracts all the water out of the plums, which makes umezu (plum vinegar). Once the liquid rises above the plum, it’s time to add red shiso (perilla). You can either do it or not do it […]

July 25, 2011

Battle ReCPY: The NYC Umeboshi Project

by Moto Yamamoto

After seeing the Ume Project on the west coast, I was intrigued. I like umeboshi (pickled plums) and every time I go home to Japan, I bring back my mother’s homemade ones. After all, I am from Wakayama, where Japan’s best umeboshi is made. I should have the umeboshi making gene in me. I’ve seen […]

July 19, 2011

The Ume Project: Pickling for Umeboshi

by Kayoko Akabori

After our Berkeley backyard ume foraging adventure, Yoko, Sylvan (of Peko Peko) and I met up six days later to start pickling our umeboshi (pickled plum). Hooray! Umeboshi is the rice accompaniment of choice in Japan–the image of the sour little scarlet ball, sitting on a bed of steaming rice for breakfast, is as ubiquitous […]

July 6, 2011

The Ume Project: Foraging

by Kayoko Akabori

Yoko and I tagged along with Sylvan of Peko Peko last week to forage for ume (Japanese plums aka Prunus mume). We had been planning this for weeks, going back and forth and patiently waiting for the perfect moment to pick the ume, from a tree in the backyard of Sylvan’s friend’s home. Yes, we […]