Category Archives: Western Influenced food
Shiso Pesto Miso Tomato Pasta
This summer,
I fell in love.
Again.
Biting into a warm garden tomato, fingers smelling of the vine, lips slurping to catch all of the sweet ripe freshness, is the essence of summer. The scent of summer has always been basil—even in mid-winter when the herb comes from half a world away, I can close my eyes, sniff a leaf and experience summer again.
Shiso Pesto Miso Tomato Pasta
This summer,
I fell in love.
Again.
Biting into a warm garden tomato, fingers smelling of the vine, lips slurping to catch all of the sweet ripe freshness, is the essence of summer. The scent of summer has always been basil—even in mid-winter when the herb comes from half a world away, I can close my eyes, sniff a leaf and experience summer again.
Miso Marinated Steak
This is a de-luscious way to cook a steak:
marinated with miso.
It’s a recipe I make regularly because it’s also easy to prepare.
This post also has a picture of Mikey with his new lion-cut,
and Checkov’s gun.
Miso Marinated Steak
This is a de-luscious way to cook a steak:
marinated with miso.
It’s a recipe I make regularly because it’s also easy to prepare.
This post also has a picture of Mikey with his new lion-cut,
and Checkov’s gun.
Shiso Pesto Pasta
So shiso. It’s been growing well in the messy little vegetable garden here at the new house.
So, this year, yes, I won’t be trying to save it for some special occasion.
Unlike my mother, who saved her silverware for a special occasion which never came. I don’t recall ever eating with those special forks, knives, and spoons!
No, I won’t save this crop of shiso for my “second husband.” We will eat and enjoy the moment now…
Shiso Pesto Pasta
So shiso. It’s been growing well in the messy little vegetable garden here at the new house.
So, this year, yes, I won’t be trying to save it for some special occasion.
Unlike my mother, who saved her silverware for a special occasion which never came. I don’t recall ever eating with those special forks, knives, and spoons!
No, I won’t save this crop of shiso for my “second husband.” We will eat and enjoy the moment now…
Corn Cream with Crab
Corn cream is comfort food in Japan, bringing memories of mom and happy meals at home. Mr. Tess was out of town when I made this soup last summer, so this was his first taste of the Japanese childhood treat. This version is a little bit grown-up because I used real crab rather than chicken or surimi. Something satisfying, sophisticated, and simple for lunch, dinner, or even guests.
Corn Cream with Crab
Corn cream is comfort food in Japan, bringing memories of mom and happy meals at home. Mr. Tess was out of town when I made this soup last summer, so this was his first taste of the Japanese childhood treat. This version is a little bit grown-up because I used real crab rather than chicken or surimi. Something satisfying, sophisticated, and simple for lunch, dinner, or even guests.
Japanese (Pan-Fried) Chicken, Part 1
Honey and pepper, sweet and spice, sparks the traditional combination of soy and sesame in a marinade for chicken. As inspiring as the flavors of this dish are, it also proves to be a recipe which allows for much diversity. It’s an easy recipe, and what a good thing that turned out to be: life does not happen according to plan.
Sometimes it turns out better than one could expect…
Japanese (Pan-Fried) Chicken, Part 1
Honey and pepper, sweet and spice, sparks the traditional combination of soy and sesame in a marinade for chicken. As inspiring as the flavors of this dish are, it also proves to be a recipe which allows for much diversity. It’s an easy recipe, and what a good thing that turned out to be: life does not happen according to plan.
Sometimes it turns out better than one could expect…
Japanese Crepes
After making okonomiyaki, the cabbage stuffed Japanese pancake, I became curious about other Japanese pancakes. I’ve made pajeon, a Korean version on okonomiyaki made with nira or Chinese chives. I’ve since learned that it is very popular in Japan where it is called chijimi. On the sweet side are doriyaki, the popular Japanese sweet pancake-sandwich filled with sweet bean jam. Then I considered crepes, the delicate French pancakes with the lacy edges. I thought about the historic influence of Japan and Europe upon each other…
So why would there not be such a thing as Japanese crepes?
Japanese Crepes
After making okonomiyaki, the cabbage stuffed Japanese pancake, I became curious about other Japanese pancakes. I’ve made pajeon, a Korean version on okonomiyaki made with nira or Chinese chives. I’ve since learned that it is very popular in Japan where it is called chijimi. On the sweet side are doriyaki, the popular Japanese sweet pancake-sandwich filled with sweet bean jam. Then I considered crepes, the delicate French pancakes with the lacy edges. I thought about the historic influence of Japan and Europe upon each other…
So why would there not be such a thing as Japanese crepes?
Home-made Japanese Curry
My house is redolent with the scent of Japanese curry. It has been so for days: I prepared Hiroko Shimbo’s recipe for karei risu from scratch, and it’s a long-cooking stew made with fresh ingredients that make your mouth water long before dinner-time. It thickens by reduction rather than addition of flour or starch to the liquid so the flavors are blended, complex, and intense. But even with a very nice ventilating fan, the odor is durable.
Home-made Japanese Curry
My house is redolent with the scent of Japanese curry. It has been so for days: I prepared Hiroko Shimbo’s recipe for karei risu from scratch, and it’s a long-cooking stew made with fresh ingredients that make your mouth water long before dinner-time. It thickens by reduction rather than addition of flour or starch to the liquid so the flavors are blended, complex, and intense. But even with a very nice ventilating fan, the odor is durable.
Sun Sauce
A reader asked me to try to figure out a recipe for a sauce from a favorite restaurant of hers. This is my first attempt, and never having tasted the sauce, I can’t say whether my version is close to the original. But she is right: the sauce is delicious. Adjustments I will make to this recipe would be to make more: using the whole package of tofu, proportionally more miso, and proportionally less apple juice (the sauce was too sweet for my taste). Also, the the mustard and fennel would be more refined had I simmered the ground seeds in the vinegar and apple juice for a minute or two, then let it cool to meld the flavors.
Sun Sauce
A reader asked me to try to figure out a recipe for a sauce from a favorite restaurant of hers. This is my first attempt, and never having tasted the sauce, I can’t say whether my version is close to the original. But she is right: the sauce is delicious. Adjustments I will make to this recipe would be to make more: using the whole package of tofu, proportionally more miso, and proportionally less apple juice (the sauce was too sweet for my taste). Also, the the mustard and fennel would be more refined had I simmered the ground seeds in the vinegar and apple juice for a minute or two, then let it cool to meld the flavors.
Japanese Ketchup Spaghetti
Like Ms. Loren, I love spaghetti. And Japanese wafu (Western) spaghetti is too good to deprive my husband of the experience: Spaghetti Napolitan! During the U.S. occupation of Japan, this scrumptious dish became popular in restaurants all over the country. It is comfort food—a meal you’d eat because your mom made it for you. The predominate flavor comes from ketchup, a condiment with variations all over our earth: fruity, sweet, sour, and sometimes hot.
Yes, I do know that ketchup has been denigrated by many gourmands…
Japanese Ketchup Spaghetti
Like Ms. Loren, I love spaghetti. And Japanese wafu (Western) spaghetti is too good to deprive my husband of the experience: Spaghetti Napolitan! During the U.S. occupation of Japan, this scrumptious dish became popular in restaurants all over the country. It is comfort food—a meal you’d eat because your mom made it for you. The predominate flavor comes from ketchup, a condiment with variations all over our earth: fruity, sweet, sour, and sometimes hot.
Yes, I do know that ketchup has been denigrated by many gourmands…
Stuffed Lotus Root
What might be more natural to stuff than a lotus root?
It’s a mostly hollow rhizome (actually a stolon or stem) of the lotus flower that grows in muddy ponds throughout Asia. The air passages that run through the bulb form a lacy pattern that is revealed when the rhizome is peeled and sliced crosswise.
It would be more natural to stuff a fowl.
A turkey, for a tradition holiday meal! In clearing the fridge to make room for the big bird, I came across a lotus root which I’d planned to make karashi renkon—lotus root stuffed with ground shrimp or fish flavored with miso, ginger, and Japanese mustard. That recipe is included in this post, but I used ingredients on hand to make my own interesting version. If you are more adventurous, try my much revised recipe!
Stuffed Lotus Root
What might be more natural to stuff than a lotus root?
It’s a mostly hollow rhizome (actually a stolon or stem) of the lotus flower that grows in muddy ponds throughout Asia. The air passages that run through the bulb form a lacy pattern that is revealed when the rhizome is peeled and sliced crosswise.
It would be more natural to stuff a fowl.
A turkey, for a tradition holiday meal! In clearing the fridge to make room for the big bird, I came across a lotus root which I’d planned to make karashi renkon—lotus root stuffed with ground shrimp or fish flavored with miso, ginger, and Japanese mustard. That recipe is included in this post, but I used ingredients on hand to make my own interesting version. If you are more adventurous, try my much revised recipe!
Noodles and Japanese Shells
Noodles—quick convenient comfort, ease and pleas-ing, satisfaction certain, and fine when cooking for me. While Mr. Tess was working in New York during the past two weeks, my meals centered on this flour and water paste: a blank canvas each time, with a palette of possibilities. Here is a selection of options to stimulate your imagination—the small pictures link to recipes which I’ve written about in the last year or so. And finally a tuna salad with echoes of Japanese flavors.
Noodles and Japanese Shells
Noodles—quick convenient comfort, ease and pleas-ing, satisfaction certain, and fine when cooking for me. While Mr. Tess was working in New York during the past two weeks, my meals centered on this flour and water paste: a blank canvas each time, with a palette of possibilities. Here is a selection of options to stimulate your imagination—the small pictures link to recipes which I’ve written about in the last year or so. And finally a tuna salad with echoes of Japanese flavors.
Ginger and Pepper Tsukemono
• Hot, spicy, zippy sweet ginger and pepper pickles appealed to my desire for distinct flavors.• As I wheeled my grocery cart around the store’s vegetable displays the jalapeños looked dark green, shiny, and plump. I’d recently bought some that were very mild. I thought how pretty they would look with the pink gari. How colors look together has been in my mind: the new house, still mostly empty, needs to have a few rooms repainted.
• I was led astray by smooth green skin!
~~~should have considered this:
Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Ginger and Pepper Tsukemono
• Hot, spicy, zippy sweet ginger and pepper pickles appealed to my desire for distinct flavors.• As I wheeled my grocery cart around the store’s vegetable displays the jalapeños looked dark green, shiny, and plump. I’d recently bought some that were very mild. I thought how pretty they would look with the pink gari. How colors look together has been in my mind: the new house, still mostly empty, needs to have a few rooms repainted.
• I was led astray by smooth green skin!
~~~should have considered this:
Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
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