i hope you eat good food, grow beautiful things, and have more love than you know what to do with.
Sometimes I crave a nice, spicy bowl of bibimbap (especially on such a bitterly cold day), the Korean dish of lots of delicious veggies and meat and rice all mixed together topped with an egg. It’s often served in a piping hot stone bowl that …
I first saw this on my favorite Korean food youtube channel (Maangchi) and it looked so delicious I just had to try it out. It was as amazing and fluffy as I had imagined it to be (and my husband concurs) but I had forgotten …
It’s Snowpocalypse 2018 here on Long Island and that means we’re all snowed in until further notice. The good part of this is that I can make a more time consuming bento.
It’s actually not as difficult as it looks but does take a bit more time. It’s easier if you have all the ingredients chopped and ready to go. Here I have egg with a cheese bunny, shrimp-mayo-jalapeno, cucumber and roe, and tuna and shiso flower (my indoor shiso are starting to bolt.)
I carved the rice underneath into a square pattern before starting as a guide, and you begin on one end so that every square has support before moving to the other.
You don’t necessarily have to have anything raw on it either–it could really be anything that strikes your fancy!
This is an easy and comforting Japanese Yoshoku (western style) recipe that comes together in about 20-30 minutes. For those bitterly cold days, this dish is a hit with both the kids and the adults in my house. If you don’t have powdered mushroom stock, …
It’s not new years without inarizushi! Tonight is our annual etsunengeiko at the Long Island Aikikai, where Hagihara-shihan leads the class from 11:30pm to 12:30pm. It’s a yearly tradition to practice over the coming of the new year. Afterwards, some students choose to partake in …
It’s also such a pretty color, making your meal vibrant and beautiful–after all, food should look good while you eat it too!
It’s quick and easy, ready in 3-4 hours (but best overnight.) It keeps very well, but make sure you practice good pickle hygiene and always use clean utensils when taking them out of the jar.
Ingredients
1. Combine vinegar, salt, and sugar in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar and salt have dissolved, set to the side while you prepare your onion.
2. In a sterile jar or container, arrange slices of red onion, garlic, and peppercorn on the bottom. Make sure the slices are separated slightly from each other so the brine can penetrate.
3. Pour vinegar mixture into the jar and give it a light shake so it coats everything. Make more if it doesn’t cover all of the onions.
4. Refrigerate for at least four hours to overnight and enjoy!
Costco and Aldi both have packs of individually packed frozen ahi tuna, which is great for my family who love raw/rare fish often but don’t want to spend the money (or time) going to a sushi restaurant. Our favorite way of eating it is searing …
I bought a small package of umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums) at the supermarket–I haven’t had it in a long time and memories of the salty-sour treat compelled me to make some onigiri for today’s bento. It’s a traditional pairing with rice and shiso (the red …
Ginkgo biloba is a beautiful tree that has been planted for its ornamental value in both the east and the west. It has been praised for its medicinal qualities and for improving memory.
It’s a large and long lived tree, requiring both a male and female to produce nuts. The fruits unfortunately, are very caustic and will cause chemical burns if in contact with skin so care should be taken when harvesting them. The pulpy flesh also smell terrible, like vomit, but the nuts inside provide a very special treat.
You can usually find them in the Asian supermarket towards the end of fall into winter.
Due to their slight toxicity, I tend not to eat more than 20 at a time, although roasted, it’s a popular snack food in Japanese bars, and traditionally something to steam with chawanmushi (steamed egg.)
There’s a myth that you can’t eat more than the number of years in your age but unfortunately, they don’t tell you in what intervals! Either way, eat this treat sparingly.
Recipe
Optional
1. Soak bamboo skewers for half an hour so they don’t burn over the fire.
2. Shell fresh gingko nuts with a nutcracker. Rub with a wet paper towel to remove the papery membrane around the shelled nuts. Skewer and roast over charcoal until translucent. Alternatively, the unshelled nuts can be popped in the microwave inside a paper bag. Careful, they will be hot!
3. Brush with teriyaki sauce or sprinkle with salt, pepper, or shichimi powder for different flavors.
I bought a bag of gingko nuts and picked up a pack of chicken gizzards (they looked so fresh!) and decided to grill the gizzards yakitori style. While chicken gizzards are often not to everyone’s taste (even if they are delicious morsels perfect for grilling …