Cooking
I came back from Japan with numerous delectable food purchases. The first thing I brought was "yuzukosho". I was served this green paste as a condiment with nabe, a dish where you cook what you like in a pot on the table. It's a combination of the peel of the citrus fruit yuzu and kosho, a kind of chile pepper. I also had it with sashimi. Imagine the taste of limes and chiles with just a pinch of salt. Irresistible, right? So is yuzukosho! It is very common in the South of Japan, but a more recent addition to the table in places like Tokyo.
Another purchase I made was wasabi in a tube, not the pasty fake wasabi that is really just dry mustard colored to look like wasabi, but real wasabi. Real wasabi actually tastes like horseradish, not mustard. It's bright and hot but has plenty of flavor, not just heat. If you can find the fresh stuff, keep in mind the Japanese rhizome will taste a bit different from the American rhizome. It also needs to be grated on a sharkskin grater which results in a characteristically creamy texture. Even in Japan fresh wasabi was expensive. I usually request it at sushi bars and don't mind paying a little extra for it.
The other "hot stuff" I received at the Rise of Asia Worlds of Flavor conference last week. It's sansyo pepper. The light green powder is made from the ground up leaves of the prickly ash tree, the same tree that produces Szechuan peppercorns. It's a funny pepper, at first it just tastes herbal and slightly lemony, but after a few moments you get a tingly sensation in your mouth. It's not really hot, but kind of prickling; I can't think of another pepper with this effect.
Hot spices, herbs and pastes, are used in Japan, as are citrus flavors, to balance out greasiness or fat. Try using them on steak, fatty tuna or anywhere you'd like some heat. They each have tremendous flavor beyond the kick and are not that hot if used in moderation.
- Wasabi Mayonnaise Salmon Recipe
There is an exchange that happens in my household. I ask "what should I make for dinner?" and I hear the refrain "Japanese food." The problem is many of the necessary fresh ingredients for the Japanese food in my repertoire, such as shiso, shiitake or...
- Eating In Japan
While I was away I posted about the food in Japan over at Epicurious. I will have some more posts soon, but in the meantime feel free to check out bits and bites: Eat Like Monk About yodofu and shojin ryori food in Kyoto Japanese Take on Chinese Food...
- Celebrating Autumn With Kaiseki
A kaiseki meal is one of the best ways to experience the Japanese culinary philosophy and to experience the seasons. Many of the trendier elements of dining in America today are nothing new in Japan. A kaiseki meal is a tasting menu of small plates, seasonally...
- Kappa: Restaurant Revisited
When I went to Japan I thought I knew what Japanese food was. Boy, was I ever wrong! Going to Kappa is much the same experience. In addition to the kimono-clad hostess, the menu written in Japanese and the virtually all Japanese clientele, the food is...
- Do-it-yourself Wasabi
Pacific Farms is now selling wasabi seeds. I've written before that virtually all sushi places don't give you real wasabi; it's usually just dyed horseradish. Real wasabi is markedly different than its commercial imitator. It's not as...
Cooking
Japanese Hot Stuff
I came back from Japan with numerous delectable food purchases. The first thing I brought was "yuzukosho". I was served this green paste as a condiment with nabe, a dish where you cook what you like in a pot on the table. It's a combination of the peel of the citrus fruit yuzu and kosho, a kind of chile pepper. I also had it with sashimi. Imagine the taste of limes and chiles with just a pinch of salt. Irresistible, right? So is yuzukosho! It is very common in the South of Japan, but a more recent addition to the table in places like Tokyo.
Another purchase I made was wasabi in a tube, not the pasty fake wasabi that is really just dry mustard colored to look like wasabi, but real wasabi. Real wasabi actually tastes like horseradish, not mustard. It's bright and hot but has plenty of flavor, not just heat. If you can find the fresh stuff, keep in mind the Japanese rhizome will taste a bit different from the American rhizome. It also needs to be grated on a sharkskin grater which results in a characteristically creamy texture. Even in Japan fresh wasabi was expensive. I usually request it at sushi bars and don't mind paying a little extra for it.
The other "hot stuff" I received at the Rise of Asia Worlds of Flavor conference last week. It's sansyo pepper. The light green powder is made from the ground up leaves of the prickly ash tree, the same tree that produces Szechuan peppercorns. It's a funny pepper, at first it just tastes herbal and slightly lemony, but after a few moments you get a tingly sensation in your mouth. It's not really hot, but kind of prickling; I can't think of another pepper with this effect.
Hot spices, herbs and pastes, are used in Japan, as are citrus flavors, to balance out greasiness or fat. Try using them on steak, fatty tuna or anywhere you'd like some heat. They each have tremendous flavor beyond the kick and are not that hot if used in moderation.
- Wasabi Mayonnaise Salmon Recipe
There is an exchange that happens in my household. I ask "what should I make for dinner?" and I hear the refrain "Japanese food." The problem is many of the necessary fresh ingredients for the Japanese food in my repertoire, such as shiso, shiitake or...
- Eating In Japan
While I was away I posted about the food in Japan over at Epicurious. I will have some more posts soon, but in the meantime feel free to check out bits and bites: Eat Like Monk About yodofu and shojin ryori food in Kyoto Japanese Take on Chinese Food...
- Celebrating Autumn With Kaiseki
A kaiseki meal is one of the best ways to experience the Japanese culinary philosophy and to experience the seasons. Many of the trendier elements of dining in America today are nothing new in Japan. A kaiseki meal is a tasting menu of small plates, seasonally...
- Kappa: Restaurant Revisited
When I went to Japan I thought I knew what Japanese food was. Boy, was I ever wrong! Going to Kappa is much the same experience. In addition to the kimono-clad hostess, the menu written in Japanese and the virtually all Japanese clientele, the food is...
- Do-it-yourself Wasabi
Pacific Farms is now selling wasabi seeds. I've written before that virtually all sushi places don't give you real wasabi; it's usually just dyed horseradish. Real wasabi is markedly different than its commercial imitator. It's not as...