Ochazuke is a light meal or simple snack made by pouring hot green tea over steamed rice and savory toppings like salmon flakes or umeboshi (pickled plum). It’s not really “cooking” in the traditional sense — it’s more of a make-it-at-the-table kind of dish, using whatever ingredients you have on hand. Ochazuke is incredibly easy…
Spaghetti with Shimeji Mushroom is a simple Japanese-style pasta dish made with flavorful Shimeji mushrooms, bacon, and Japanese seasonings. It’s a popular home-cooked dish in Japan and can also be found on the menus of many pasta restaurants. With its savory, familiar flavors, this is the kind of pasta Japanese people love to enjoy as…
Udon are Japanese wheat noodles. They are made from all purpose flour, water and salt. Very simple affair, so it seems. Japanese Udon artisans make Udon that look like the ones made by machines. You can see those artisans making Udon noodles through the window at the front of good Udon restaurants. It is actually…
Somen is very tasty and a super easy dish, but it is a somewhat light meal by itself. Gomoku means ‘variety of ingredients’ in Japanese. Here I put cucumber, ham, Kinshi Tamago, and Benishoga on Somen, but you can add any of your favorite veggies or protein. With vegetables and meat along with noodles, Gomoku…
Soba noodles are a very popular lunch food in Japan. Made from buckwheat flour, Japanese soba noodles are known for their nutty flavor and impressive nutritional value. They are typically served either chilled with a dipping sauce, as in Zaru Soba, or hot in a comforting dashi-based broth.
Curry udon is one of the most popular — and delicious — ways to use up leftover Japanese curry sauce. It’s certainly my favorite. In fact, I look forward to making curry udon every time I cook curry and rice. It’s a little like the joy of eating a turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving…
Somen are Japanese dried vermicelli noodles that are usually eaten cold during summer. Japanese summer is so hot and humid that you often loose your appetite by the end of the day. When you don’t want to eat anything, cold Somen is very nice and easy to eat. We adults like it, but our kids…
The California Roll is a type of rolled sushi that typically features crab meat (or imitation crab sticks), cucumber, avocado, and roasted Nori (seaweed) tucked inside. The outside is often coated with sesame seeds or fish roe (tobiko or masago), adding a bit of texture and visual appeal.More than just popular, the California Roll has become a staple of American cuisine—so much…