Posts

Honey Garlic Shrimp Honey garlic shrimp combines the pungent flavor of browned garlic with the sweet, sticky texture and taste of caramelized honey, coating plump, savory shrimp in a glorious glaze. Ten minutes and a handful of ingredients is all you need to put this honey garlic shrimp recipe together, which makes this a great weeknight meal, but it’s not all about convenience. Take one bite, and you’ll agree that this delicious shrimp dish tastes like a lot more work went into it; this one’s bound to become a favorite weeknight dinner recipe!...

Japanese Breakfast Salmon (塩鮭 - Shiozake) Traditional Japanese breakfasts tend to involve many components, but none of them are complicated, and this Shiozake, or grilled salted salmon, is no exception. It was originally made by salting whole salmon to preserve it, but these days, most people opt to cure salmon filets in brine. This is not only faster, but it also gives more control over how salty you want the salmon to be....

If Japan had burly roughnecks and lumberjacks, Nikujaga (肉じゃが) would be their meal. It’s a real work horse of the Japanese home kitchen and quite literally translates to “meat and potatoes”. Being high in energy, low on prep time and very tasty, it’s no surprise why. Nikujaga is one of those dishes that anyone could wing without a recipe once you know the gist of what it’s supposed to taste like....

If you’ve ever dipped crusty bread into a bowl of tomato soup and wished the whole thing tasted like that perfect bite, this pappa al pomodoro recipe is for you. Hailing from Tuscany, this tomato and bread soup was born from a spirit of not wasting food, but it’s become a comfort food staple. The texture is part porridge, part pudding, with a texture that keeps each spoonful interesting with a taste that’s a soul-satisfyingly delicious....

Shumai are a type of Chinese dumpling often associated with Cantonese cuisine. While many in the West have become familiar with it through dim sum (yum cha), it actually exists in many forms throughout China (and the rest of Asia). Steamed or pan fried, partially or fully enveloped in dough, filled with everything from pork to seafood to glutinous rice, it’s not clear what the original shumai was, but the most common forms involve a filling of pork partially wrapped in a thin round of dough before being steamed....

This post may have been a year in the making, but I’ve been working on this tonkotsu ramen for the better part of the last decade. In case you haven’t been indoctrinated into the wonderful world of ramen, Tonkotsu broth is the Holy Grail of noodle soup broths. It’s thick, creamy and nearly white in color from pork marrow bones that have been simmered to smithereens. Given the availability of reasonably good frozen ramens, and the plethora of shops specializing in the one bowl meal, most sane people in Japan don’t undertake the challenge of making ramen at home from scratch....

If I’m going to eat something called blueberry pancakes, I want a sweet indigo marble to burst into a pool of tart flavor with every bite. Sadly, most pancakes I’ve come across that proudly proclaim their contents, are a far cry from the berry spangled pancake of my dreams. Devoid of flavor and with giant hollows carved out by flaccid watery berries that interfere more than enhance. Boxed mixes are in some ways worse, with an over-the-top “blueberry” flavor that reminds me of the Hubba Bubba bubblegum I used to chew as a kid....

I guess you could say I’ve been on a bit of biscuit kick lately. Not only are they ridiculously quick and easy to make, the workable batter makes them perfect for filling with just about anything. With National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day just around the corner, what better way to pay homage to the classic combo than to turn it into a biscuit. With a molten jelly core surrounded by a fluffy, nutty biscuit, it makes for an awesome breakfast hot from the oven, or an even better brown-bagged lunch after cooling to room temperature....

For me, cravings often manifest themselves as an emotional reaction to something I see, rather than from a recollection of something I’ve actually eaten. I was out grocery shopping the other day and as I walked through the mall connecting the grocery store to the train station, I noticed a big glossy poster outside a chain restaurant promoting a new dish. It showed a crown of giant plump shrimp, atop a mound of spaghetti tossed in a verdant green pesto....

Stuffed Miso Eggplant is a mashup of two traditional Japanese dishes: Nikumiso and Nasu Dengaku. The sweet and savory meat filling marries perfectly with the rich fried eggplant, and the presentation makes this dish a visually appealing entree or appetizer. Nikumiso(肉味噌) literally means “meat miso,” and it refers to a condiment that’s made by caramelizing miso, sake, and sugar around ground meat. It’s commonly eaten over rice or used for dipping vegetables, but it’s also delicious stuffed into fried eggplant....

Fried chicken is my ultimate comfort food, and among all the delicious varieties out there, tebasaki (Japanese chicken wings) are near the top of my list. With a golden-brown skin so crispy it crackles like a chicken-flavored potato chip, each bite reveals tender, collagen-rich meat inside. For my recipe, I’ve created a savory-sweet glaze inspired by Yamachan’s legendary Ghost Chicken wings. It permeates the crispy crust without making it soggy....

Forget cloudy bottled sauces or gummy starch-thickened glazes. Japanese teriyaki chicken is much simpler. Tender, juicy chicken thighs are glazed in a glossy 3-ingredient sauce that clings to every bite. The secret isn’t in the ingredients; it’s how you use them. That’s because teriyaki is a cooking technique, not a condiment. The name breaks down into teri (照り), meaning “shine” or “gloss,” and yaki (焼き), which means to grill or pan-fry....

Tonteki (トンテキ), which literally means “pork steak” in Japanese, is made by frying a thick-cut pork chop with garlic and glazing it with a savory, sweet, and tangy sauce. It’s a regional specialty of Yokkaichi city in Mie prefecture, where it was invented. It’s also the headline dish of season 1, episode 3 of Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories , but the dish featured in Midnight Diner is significantly different from the original....

This tuna tartare is easy to make and makes for an impressive first course for a dinner party. With a flavorful layer of tuna marinated in olive oil, soy sauce and chives, a layer of creamy avocado, and a magical gelée made with with yuzu infused dashi, it’s as visually stunning as it is orally stimulating. The gelée has just enough gelatin to thicken the dashi into a sauce that will stay put....

Italian food may conjure images of Prosciutto di Parma hanging from the ceiling and giant wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano -but that’s only part of the story of cucina Italiana . Italy’s culinary roots run deep with dishes celebrating fresh vegetables, grains, and legumes. These plant-based Italian recipes capture the vibrant, sun-soaked flavors of the Mediterranean without a trace of meat or dairy. If you’re craving Italian without the animal products, here are a few bright, satisfying dishes to get you started....

Vegan Katsu Curry (ビーガンカツカレー) Since its creation at a Ginza eatery over 70 years ago, Katsu Curry has been a beloved mashup of two of the most iconic dishes in the Japanese home cooking repertoire: Tonkatsu and Japanese Curry Rice. While the original was made with pork cutlet, I’ve developed a process to turn a block of firm tofu into a delicious plant-based meat substitute. The Tofu Katsu ends up crispy on the outside, and meaty and flavorful on the inside....

When made properly, Pico de Gallo is a fabulous condiment that not only adds color and texture to a dish, it can add a breath of freshness to a braised chicken taco or a bowl of my green chili . The trouble is that most of the time, this condiment ends up being more like a chunky watered-down gazpacho that renders anything below it a soggy mess. So how do you make a great Pico de Gallo with a pleasant balance of flavors that doesn’t dribble down your arm when you scoop it up with a chip?...

Take a stroll through any Chinatown in the world and you’re bound to see restaurants with strips of red Char Siu hanging from hooks in the windows. Char Siu literally means “fork burned” which is a reference to the traditional preparation, skewered and barbecued over a fire. While you may not have had a chance to try it over rice or in noodle soup, you’ve probably had it chopped up in pork buns (Char Siu bao) at one point or other....

Since posting my recipe for Tonkotsu ramen years ago, I’ve been getting requests to make a non-pork version of the rich collagen-laden broth. Well… here it is finally! Tori Ramen (鳥ラーメン) is nothing new. People have been using chicken stock to make ramen since the early days of ramen’s popularity in Japan. Sadly, it just doesn’t get as much respect as its unctuous porcine cousin. It probably has to do with the fact that chicken contains a lot less marrow fat than pork, so it’s almost impossible to get the same richness in the soup....

Teriyaki chicken bento are delicious, but one thing I’ve learned as the host of NHK World’s Bento Expo is that dishes that taste good hot don’t always work in a Japanese lunch box (typically eaten at room temperature). Traditionally, pan fried teriyaki chicken is made with boneless chicken thighs. This cut of chicken can be flavorful and juicy when warm, but it tends to get tough as it cools. That’s why I prefer using chicken breast meat when I know I’m going to pack it into a bento box lunch....