Nimono (煮物) is an important category of dishes in Japanese home cooking; the word derives from niru (煮る), meaning ‘to simmer or stew’. It’s comfort food, Japanese style. [Read more…] about nimono or japanese stew
full recipes
mackerel burgers
In terms of national diet, the UK is an anomaly among island nations. This seems to be due in equal parts to an innate enjoyment of livestock farming and an irrational fear of seafood. While I expected to eat a lot more fish in Japan, I was surprised to find endless meat options too, including one which all Japanese children known and love: hambaagu. This is basically a much fatter version of a normal hamburger, served breadless and doused in a forbiddingly dark, sticky sauce.
tamagoyaki or how to rock a rolled omelette
The omelette might be a basic and ubiquitous food item, but the Japanese manage to do it differently. Their distinctive version, called tamagoyaki, combines the usual single main ingredient with more movement than anyone else finds necessary. [Read more…] about tamagoyaki or how to rock a rolled omelette
half English breakfast
Rice for breakfast: three simple words which make my Japanese girlfriend very happy. At first, it was an alien concept to me, but I’ve come to like it too. As it turns out, the worse case of breakfast culture shock was on her side; after years in the UK she is still unable to accept or understand Weetabix, or ‘horse food’ as she calls it!
shogayu
Fresh ginger is one of my favourite ingredients; I slip it into probably more recipes than I ought to, from banana bread to chicken soup. Awkward and humble in appearance, fiery and fragrant yet clean in flavour (unlike its sulphurous partner, garlic, which is notable in Japanese cuisine for its scarcity), ginger also has the virtue of being cheap, abundant and long-lasting.