Lettuce Wraps with Pork, Cilantro, Crunchy Chow Mein Noodles, Peanuts & Sriracha

It was a typical summer in Japan, hot and humid with the occasional torrential downpour and thunderstorm. In an effort to save money on our bills, we played this silly game where we would see how far into the summer we could make it without turning on our air conditioner (once we made it until [...]

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Gyoza

Thank goodness for gyoza. It sustained us for a couple evenings during that first week in Japan when we were still jet-lagged, everything felt so foreign, and we hadn’t yet learned how to navigate our supermarket across the street. When we got up the courage to walk in, we were bombarded with bright florescent lights, [...]

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Tori no Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) with Wasabi-Potato Salad

My Japanese cookbook translates this recipe as “Fried Chicken Chunks,” but I don’t think that name does it justice. We nostalgically refer to Tori no Karaage (which means “fried chicken”) as “Japanese festival chicken” because whether the occasion was cherry blossom-viewing in the spring or a hanabi (fireworks) show in the summer, we could always [...]

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Baked Fusilli with Marinara, Three Cheeses & Spinach

While making this baked fusilli, my mind wandered to Japan and its cheese situation. We used to travel 15-30 minutes on the train to various import food stores, where we’d pay an exorbitant amount for “exotic” cheeses like cheddar, parmesan, and mozzarella. At regular Japanese supermarkets, some of the few cheeses available were “pizza cheese” [...]

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Yakitori

We miss our “yakitori man.” There was a supermarket right across the street from our apartment in Japan, and every Friday a man would set up a little red cart right out front. Starting at about 10 am, we’d start to smell that sweet sauce brushed over skewered chicken (and other meats) cooking over an [...]

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Vegetable Lo Mein with Salmon

Our bowls and chopsticks often inspire me to make dinner. Each one tells a different story and conjures up a different time and place. These bowls were hand-crafted at a local artisan shop downtown and were given to us as a wedding gift 3 1/2 years ago. I love that they have little indentations on [...]

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Blueberry Streusel Muffins

What makes blueberry muffins even better? A crumbly cinnamon & sugar topping! I made these several times in Japan for my students. In true Japanese fashion, the students would always request that the muffins be divided into quarters. Then they would eat one quarter at a time (until they had eaten a whole muffin) with [...]

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Ma-Po Tofu

We enjoyed this dish several times in Japan. Ma-Po Tofu is to Japan what maybe Kung Pao Chicken or Chicken Chowmein is to America. In Japanese supermarkets you can buy an instant version of it in a box. You cook the pork and tofu and then squeeze in the little packet containing the flavorful sauce. [...]

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Spicy Shrimp Caesar Salad with Tortilla Crisps

If you love Caesar salad, you’ll be a fan of this one. I first came across this recipe while watching TV in Japan. I used to watch the Japanese version of the food network called “Foodies TV,” my favorite place to learn the Japanese words for boil, steam, grill, etc. Other times I would laugh [...]

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Miso Soup Take Two

Ahh … as you lift a bowl of miso soup to your lips, and the smell of the steam meets your nose, there’s a short moment when you feel that everything is going to be alright. We love the taste of red miso. Its flavor is a little richer and earthier than white miso, which [...]

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すきやねん大阪 (We love Osaka)

This will probably be our last Japan post, but don’t be sad. Oishii will definitely continue as we begin new culinary adventures in California. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s a really cool crab to talk about! You know you’re in Osaka when you spot this crab. His legs move up and down, [...]

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Sayonara Parties Galore!

Despite our lack of posts lately, we definitely haven’t been going hungry over here! So many generous people have planned farewell lunches and dinners. Here’s a recap of what we’ve been eating and doing this past week. My Tuesday evening class is a huge fan of my Mom’s oatmeal cookie recipe. I brought them the [...]

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Yakiniku: Cook your OWN meat!

No one will ask you how you like your meat cooked at a yakiniku restaurant. Plates of sliced raw meat are brought to your table and you cook it yourself on a mini BBQ built into your table! How fun! Yakiniku means “grilled meat.” Last Friday we went to a Korean style yakiniku restaurant with [...]

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Cold Somen Noodles with Dipping Sauce

My first encounter with somen noodles was at an elementary school summer festival in Yamaguchi Prefecture 4 years ago. I watched as thin, white noddles were sent sliding down halved bamboo shoots, and children and parents gathered around trying to grab them with their chopsticks on their way down. The noodles that made it down [...]

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Kushi-Katsu (Skewered Fried Things)

Anything coated in crunchy panko breadcrumbs and deep-fried has to be irresistible. Known as “food for the common people,” Kushi-katsu is popular among young and old in the neighborhood of Shinsekai, home of Tsutenkaku Tower – the symbol of Osaka. Tsutenkaku means “tower reaching heaven.” It was built in 1912, but was taken apart in [...]

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Cool off with Azuki Snowcones

This is the Osakan summer we remember. Mid-90s. 80% humidity. It’s really grand. But anyway, last week we went not once, but twice to a little shop that sells the best yakisoba on the planet. (Yakisoba means “fried noodles” and is just that; soba noodles stir fried with cabbage and a deliciously tangy brown sauce [...]

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Impromptu Baked Beans for 4th of July

Gaijin means “foreign person.” It’s not the most respectful term in Japanese, but it’s not degrading either. It simply means you are not Japanese, but for some reason you are here in Japan. So what do gaijin do on 4th of July? Well, we don’t have BBQs because people only do that during cherry blossom [...]

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When in Merchant Town, Eat as the Merchants Ate …

You could easily walk right by the restaurant we ate at last Saturday and not even know it. It blends into the rest of the old merchant town of Ohmi in Shiga prefecture. Traditional houses and businesses resembling those of late Edo and early Meiji period line the quiet streets; a gentle reminder that Japan [...]

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Summer Blues

We love Pepsi’s limited edition flavors in Japan. Last year it was cucumbers, and this year it’s pineapples and lemons! The color entices you and gives you a sudden desire to go swimming. The name and label evoke strolling barefoot along sandy beaches with a Mai Tai. Too bad when you open it, it tastes [...]

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Tempura: Out of the frying pan and into … my mouth

Hands down, tempura is my favorite Japanese food. And yes, I cheated below and used a picture from our lunch in Kyoto two weeks ago. My student Mieko and her husband Koichi invited us over for a Father’s Day dinner last Sunday, but we were so enthusiastic about eating the tempura hot out of the [...]

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