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May Seasonal Japanese Seafood
The cold waters still bring fish rich with fat that shines in sashimi or is nice for grilling. Asari clams are great for making into a quick vongole style pasta. And perhaps my favorite this time of...
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Kinoko Mushroom Soba きのこそば
The earthy buckwheat soba noodles are our favorite. It often becomes a last minute lunch meal as there is always dried soba noodles in the pantry as well as a bottle of men tsuyu concentrate. In this...
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Nama Shirasu Donburi 生白す丼
Nama Shirasu DonburiShirasu are baby sardines that most often come to market after being blanched in salt water. This time of year we sometimes find it raw, as nama shirasu. These are a bit intense in...
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June Seasonal Japanese Seafood ６月旬の魚
The waters are warming up around Japan and many of the fish coming to market now are lean like katsuo. Here is a sashimi platter at our home, Izakaya Sakamoto. The big fish in the back is Tokyo Bay...
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Summer Tomato Somen
Tokyo is finally heating up and it's that time of year for cold sōmen noodles. With a bottle of tsuyu, the seasoned broth for noodles, in the pantry, this dish is on the table in less than 10 minutes....
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July Seasonal Japanese Seafood ７月旬の魚
Simmered ma-anagoSeared katsuoSome of our personal favorites include ayu (salted and grilled), shitabirame (meuniere), shijimi (miso soup), benisake (salted and grilled), and for sashimi – surumeika,...
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Tarako Potato Salad
I love Japanese potato salad. The potatoes are boiled (or steamed) and then mashed. The classic Japanese potato salad includes cooked carrots, cucumbers, and ham. That recipe takes a bit more time so I...
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Myoga, Okra, and Cucumber Miso Soup
The markets are overflowing with crunchy vegetables like crisp cucumbers, myōga, and okra. The combination in miso soup is a nice break from our routine of wakamé and tōfu. The myōga, like a gentle...
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Hiyashi-jiru Chilled Miso Soup
Summer has officially arrived in Tokyo and it's been unbearably hot. While we like to start our mornings with miso soup, a hot bowl of soup just is not appetizing in this weather.Hiyashi-jiru is a cold...
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Corn Rice
Growing up in Minnesota my summers were filled with corn. One summer I even had a part-time job detasseling corn. Most of the times we bought our corn directly from the farmers. Big paper bags of corn...
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Tomato Somen
To beat the summer heat we often have cold noodles. Often soba or sōmen noodles with some iced tsuyu sauce. Tsuyu is made from soy sauce, mirin, and saké cooked with katsuobushi. It's a sweet and...
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August Seasonal Japanese Seafood ８月旬の魚
Katsuo tatakiKatsuo sashimi topped with myoga, shiso, and garlicKatsuo as done by chef Zaiyu Hasegawa at DenLook for seafood from this list when eating out in Japan or in the supermarkets or at your...
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Mentaiko Pasta
One of my guilty pleasures? Mentaiko. Roe from cod or pollack salted and marinated in a chili spice. Simply as it is or grilled and served with rice. It's nice spread on garlic toast, or one of our...
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Mentaiko Toast
Mentaiko, spicy roe of cod or pollack, is rich in umami. Whenever I visit a bakery the first type of bread that I look for is any bread with mentaiko. Usually it is a petit baguette that is sliced in...
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Onion Salad with Katsuobushi
Tonight we made some salads to go with a yakiniku menu. Here is a salad of thinly sliced onions with sesame oil, soy sauce, and katsuobushi. It was a big hit in our home. But, there is a special tip in...
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Umeboshi and Chicken Summer Soba
In the heat of the summer we find ourselves craving tart and sour foods as they are refreshing. Cold noodles are also a staple this time of year. Soba and somen noodles are often served with a soy...
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Tuna Corn Rice
At Tokyo Station recently we grabbed some inarizushi from the basement GranSta food floor area. Inarizushi are deep-fried tofu packets that are simmered in a sweet soy broth and then stuffed with rice....
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September Seasonal Japanese Seafood
Kamasu barracudaKamasu and sanma are two fish in season now that we love to simply season with salt and grill.Katsuo sashimiKatsuo we love as sashimi, or if we find it in the market seared on the...
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Moroheiya
Moroheiya is a leafy green that becomes very slippery when it is cooked. We have it growing fresh on the rooftop garden and use it often for soup. In the version above the soup is poured over boiled...
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Yellowtail Sashimi
Young yellowtail, warasa, is just coming into the market. As the waters cool down the fish becomes fattier. Over time it becomes bigger and the name changes, eventually growing into a buri. The fattier...
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Katsuo Sashimi
Katsuo, called bonito, or as my fishmonger husband says, skipjack tuna, is a meaty fish. It's in the tuna family and is a good fish to try as sashimi if you are looking to go beyond tuna and salmon.At...
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October Seasonal Japanese Seafood
At Tsukiji Market we are seeing many autumn seafood like oysters, wakasagi for deep-frying, and finally sanma for grilling with salt. Some of our favorite sashimi this time of year include katsuo,...
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Mushrooms Grilled in Foil
Earthy mushrooms are hard to miss in the market this time of year. At our local supermarket we can find brown and white shimeji, brown and white enoki, shiitake, eringi, maitake, nameko, and maitake....
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November Seasonal Japanese Seafood
Salmon roe, pulled out of its sac and simply marinated in the sweet soy sauce of Kyushu, is irresistible this time of year. We love it so much it is on the table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Crabs...
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Thin-Sliced Pork Nabe
It's getting cold outside and this time of year we find ourselves making a lot of nabe. The preparation is simple, clean-up is a snap. And, best of all, it's a delicious meal that everyone loves.We...
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