Cucumber Shiso Salad

Cucumber Shiso Salad

A quick pickle with shiso, meant to be eaten as a side dish. I like roughly chopping the shiso but some people might prefer mincing it. This is a great way to use shiso if you have an abundance of them (red, green, or Korean 

Fresh Caught Japanese Grilled Eel (Unagi/Anago Kabayaki)

Fresh Caught Japanese Grilled Eel (Unagi/Anago Kabayaki)

To my surprise, I caught an American eel the other day off our local dock, and at first I thought I had pulled in a snake–myself and my daughters were screaming, half because the thing was humongous and heavy and snapping at us, and the 

Mitsuba Parsley

Mitsuba Parsley

Italian parsley is grown as an annual/biennial culinary, which means that it usually dies in its second year after it sets seed. That doesn’t make it suitable for my particular application of a perennial food forest so sometimes I decline to grow it, even though 

Natto With Shiso

Natto With Shiso

If the thought of slimy, gooey, pungent, fermented soy beans make you run the other way, this post is not for you. If however, like myself, my daughters, and a large population of Asia, the thought of you makes your mouth water and stomach grumble, 

Hamachi Kama: 3 Ways

Hamachi Kama: 3 Ways

My sister (follow her on Instagram), who is a chef working at an upscale Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, gave me three hamachi kama (yellowtail collars) the other day when I went to visit her and my parents where they live in Queens. I was daunted 

Hamburger Steak Recipe

Hamburger Steak Recipe

Hamburger steak is a western inspired Japanese meal in which a hamburger patty is cooked, swimming in gravy, with a side of rice and sometimes salad… and it is delicious. I suppose people might think it’s weird–like a poor man’s version of a steak dinner,