Home Archive by category "News, tips & recipes" (Page 29)

Category: News, tips & recipes

Introducing Matcha…

There is no question about it, we Brits love our teas. I trust the 60 billion odd cups consumed each year helps to put into perspective the scale of this obsession of ours. We drink so much of the stuff that it has even become a national stereotype for God’s sake! Despite this global perception of tea in Britain, we in UK are starting to see a shift in the zeitgeist, and guess what, it is having an effect on our beloved tea. As we become more knowledgeable about the effects certain foods and drinks are having on our bodies, it is only natural that we are beginning to see more and more people turning to healthier alternatives. It…

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7 Tips for the Best Sushi Party Ever

Photo by Divian Conner Holiday party season is now in full swing! Dazzle your friends by being the “hostess with the sushi most-ess”. Sound like a lot of work? Here are my top 7 tips for putting out a great  sushi themed spread while maintaining the energy to enjoy the party. *These tips are not intended for make your own sushi parties. Those types of parties require a different set of logistics. If Santa says you’ve been nice, I’ll re-post on that in the next few weeks. 1. Get the portions right. I’ll offer a little nugget from my dad about sushi at parties: “Sushi and liquor?  I’m eating and drinking my fill and everybody else is, …

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Easy Homemade Pocky

Don’t you just love Pocky? Those little crunchy sticks of sweetened bliss are quite addictive. It’s hard for me to leave my local Asian market without a few boxes for my nieces and nephews. The trouble is, in an attempt to “be good”, I leave myself out. Long story short, the nieces and nephews rarely see those well intentioned boxes of Pocky. Once I open a box, it is downhill from there. Awhile back, I stumbled on this excellent tutorial from making Pocky from scratch. And that very week, I began making batch after delicious batch to give as gifts and for snacking. While I love that recipe and method, I kept thinking the process could be simplified for those that…

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Diamond Lil: My Italian Grandmother and My First Taste of Food with Heart and Soul

Lillian Minerva, aged 95. My Italian American Grandmother. I don’t think that Lil was known on Facebook or in the blogosphere, so I want to mention her here today. (Her occupation was that of a typist, she worked long before word processors and computers became commonplace in the office.) Lil was my maternal grandmother and she died suddenly this morning at the ripe old age of 95. The last time I saw her, in the middle of the cold Minnesota winter, she was still going for a walk everyday. Wow, now that is healthy! Delmonico's Italian Foods She must be one of the last Italian Americans of her generation. She made wicked good homemade ravioli, which she taught my father and…

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Can’t wait SW EP7!

I can’t wait until 2015!Many people want him back to screen! General, Prepare my ship!Yes vader…..It is under construction now.Hold on for a moment. I’ll show you the procedure.First of all, I open a pie sheet in the form of the starship.then I put the salmon and the flatfish on a pie sheet.Do not forget to season with salt and pepper!then cover with a pie sheet.and put the egg york over a pie before you bring it to the oven. then…..it is ready….. Lord Vader…..here is your TIE Fighter!!  Noooooooo!!It is not a TIE Fighter….. It’s

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What is REAL (and FRESH) wasabi?

I have been asked some version of this question so many times over the past 10+ years and yet just realized that a blog post would be the perfect way for me to answer it in a proper manner. The answer is actually very simple:THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL KNOW FOR SURE IF YOU ARE EATING “REAL” AND “FRESH” WASABI IS IF YOU SEE THE SUSHI CHEF DOING THIS:Commonly used wasabi graterReal (and fresh) wasabi is called “hon wasabi” and it is never grated ahead of time. It is always grated as needed, using a special grater, like the one above or …

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Coppa Broth Ramen – Guest Cheffing at Mamezen

Wunderkid Chef Dylan Brawn and I guest cheffed at Mamezen last night (Oct 30, 2010). Mamezen does a gentle and sublime ramen made with Kyoto-style dashi and soy milk which is called Mamezen Soba. We wanted to turn Mamezen Soba on its head and took inspiration from Momofuku’s bacon dashi ramen. We made our broth with homemade coppa and saucisson sausage. We also did yuba donburi. The rice is cooked with an insane amount of sake and dashi. We serve (self-serve so you can get as much as you like) freshly grated wasabi and my own homemade ‘momo-joyu’ summer peaches steeped in Kyoto shinise soy …

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Sushi Cake for mail order

Sorry I haven’t update my blog recently..I usually update my Facebook page because it is easy todo it..but It doesn’t mean I forget this page off course!Lately, I made the website of the sushi cake for mail orders! Now you can order it from all over Japan!If you are living in Japan and looking for some nice [Sushi] cake for your friend.. Visit my website!Webshop for Sushi Cake from here !

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Whisk Away

It is evident that the Japanese tea ceremony is as much about the celebration of artisan craftsmanship and finely engineered tools – on which it must be said that the tradition remains firmly founded – as it is about celebrating the pleasures of tea itself. The chasen, perhaps more well-known by the less cryptic term, bamboo whisk, is one such tool. Carved from a single section of bamboo, this finely handcrafted tool is made by splitting fibres of a short bamboo column into distinct, curled whiskers to form the 100 odd stiff, upright arms that extend from the handle of the whisk and are used to stir the tea. In admiration for this aged old masterful craft…

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Mamezen Soba: Kyoto-style Dashi Soymilk Ramen

Mamezen is another Kyoto culinary treasure and if you are into noodles and, or soymilk dishes, you should definitely put Mamezen on your list of places to ‘foodie’ when you visit Kyoto. Mamezen serves ramen in a unique soymilk broth: Mamezen Soba. I like the ‘omakase set’ which is soymilk ramen and yuba donburi ricebowl. Mamezen Soba: Soymilk Ramen Mamezen is the creation of a young Kyoto chef named Minoru Yonegawa. His family owns a very nice yudofu (simmered tofu hotpot) restaurant in Kyoto called Toka. Toka make their yudofu in a soymilk-based broth, which is very unusual, creating a very ‘Kyoto’ luxurious and rich broth with which to simmer your tofu in. Chef Yonegawa worked at his family’s…

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Custom California Roll

Of all the sushi rolls I’ve been trying to perfect since starting to roll my own sushi last year, the simple California roll has irritated me beyond belief. When I made mine, something never quite tasted right. I was missing something. I’ve derived my own version and it comes close to what I get at restaurants, but I think mine has a slightly different good flavor to it. I know I’ve been talking about writing this post for a while, so here it is.First, start by making some wasabi. I use the reconstituted powder form. Be aware that the horseradish flavor…

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How to Make Hoshigaki (Japanese Dried Persimmons)

Persimmons are delicious, but dried persimmons are divine. Totally divine!! Let me qualify that though. There are small, hard, dried out dried persimmons (in Japan they are ‘Made in China’) and then there are big, plump, soft, wet, sticky, gooey dried persimmons — sounds decidedly sexy and they are! These high-quality dried persimmons are very caramelly in taste that brings to mind the finest Medjool dates. And, the best ones, in my opinion, are made from the shigugaki, a persimmon so astringent that it simply cannot be eaten fresh. However, peel it and hang outside for 4-6 weeks and you …

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