Move over, Colonel Sanders, there’s a new fried chicken in town! Actually, it’s not new at all but it may be new to you. Chicken Karaage (or simply Karaage) is Japanese fried chicken. When I lived in Japan, every Saturday night after work I went to my favorite little izakaya (a Japanese pub that serves small bites) and ordered karaage – along with an assortment of yakitori, homemade tofu, and whatever fresh sashimi was on the menu.

Typically made with thigh meat, karaage are tender, juicy nuggets with a light and crispy exterior. The perfect pairing with this dish? A tall glass of ice cold beer. Give it a dash of Shichimi Togarashi spice (a blend of seven Japanese spices) and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and this chicken dish will surely become a family favorite.

Click below for the easy recipe:

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I stare at food all day. At least recipes and photos of food. Some days I get the “cooking bug” and want to rush home to whip up the various dishes that inspired me, others times I just get a bit overwhelmed by it all. When that happens it’s either a quick stop at the market to pick up a roasted chicken or heading home and yanking something out of the freezer.

Last night was an “I’m-too-tired-to-cook-and-we-don’t-have-anything-in-the-fridge” kind of night. So Barnaby took charge. He opened the freezer, pulled out a bag of edamame (soy beans) and some sashimi-grade albacore tuna, and looked at me and said, “Oh, there’s always something in the freezer.” My contribution was putting rice and water into the rice cooker, pushing the “Cook” button and pouring us glasses of wine. That’s about all the energy I could muster up.

True to Barnaby’s form, he produced yet another fantastic meal in no time flat. He boiled the edamame, then pureed them with a bit of white miso and mirin.

He gave the tuna a quick sear on both sides, then sliced it thin and laid it on top of the rice. For added color and flavor he sprinkled it with a bit of furikake.

Healthy, delicious and quick! All I had to do was drink my glass of wine and wait!

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On cold winter nights in Tokyo I loved nothing more than sliding my legs under the warm kotatsu table and enjoying a big pot of nabe. Nabemono (or simply nabe) is a  Japanese dish that is also known as “one pot” food. It can consist of a variety of ingredients: fish, meat, chicken, tofu, vegetables, noodles, or a combination of all. Probably the most well-known types of nabe here in the U.S. are sukiyaki and shabu shabu.

For a teacher on a meager salary in blindingly expensive Japan this was a fairly economical meal to prepare, yet it seemed so expensive and exotic. I’d go into the basement of the Sogo department store (where all the foods were) and pick a bit of vegetable here, a little tofu there, some thinly sliced beef, noodles, and whatever else looked good. All got thrown into the pot with either a dashi or soy sauce-based broth. Perfect with hot sake or an ice cold Kirin beer.

With a houseful of family here for the holidays we decided to put together a nabe meal, something everyone could enjoy cooking together at the table. In the center we placed our little portable stove with our nabe pot, and put out platters of paper thin pork, brisket, and beef short rib; mizuna (Japanese mustard greens), fish cake, eggplant, and sliced shiitake mushrooms; vegetable tofu and little tied bundles of konnyaku noodles (a yam-based noodle); tender scallops and shrimp.

I know everyone is happy when their hashi (chopsticks) are click-clicking away and their sake cups are frequently in need of refilling.

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Don’t you get bored with plain old white rice? It can be a bit tiresome, can’t it? The other day Tracy told us about her kim chee rice dish, and I thought I’d also share one with you.

I like to call it rice confetti, but in Japanese this popular condiment is called furikake (pronounced foo-ree-kah-kay with a little roll on the r). Furikake is a brightly colored, flavorful mixture that you sprinkle on rice. It typically consists of tiny bits of dried fish (although there are veggie versions), seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, and a wee amount of sugar. Some of our favorites are salmon (sake), black sesame and salt (gomashio), pickled plum (umeboshi), and wasabi (Japanese horseradish). Check Amazon.com or your local Asian market for more delicious flavors.

Kinda like throwing a party for your rice, huh?

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I’ve said it before, salmon runs through our blood here in the Pacific Northwest. If there’s one food that sums up our culture I’m certain it would be salmon. In our home we always have fillets in the freezer, and eat it regularly (who needs Omega 3 supplements?!). Smoked, grilled, poached, burgers, sashimi, sushi, in bouillabaisse. Everything short of salmon sorbet, and I wouldn’t even put that past us.

We went with an Asian flavor in our latest preparation and glazed our fillets with miso. Then, we served it on top of forbidden rice (a tiny grain rice, but more on that later) and garnished it with seaweed salad and tsukemono (Japanese pickles).

For the simple glaze we used equal parts miso to mirin and coated the fillets on all sides. Then we popped it under the broiler for a few minutes on each side.

Delicious and easy!

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Oh, wasabi…let me count the ways I love you.

In the spring when my sinuses are blocked from allergies you quickly clear them like no nasal spray can. And for that I am deeply and forever grateful.

You give us a big laugh when we switch the green tea ice cream for a big glump of you when our friend isn’t looking.

You grow along the beds of pure and gentle mountain brooks in Japan. The thought of which is so beautiful it makes me want to write haiku about you.

I quickly forgive you of the pain caused when I ingest too much. And stifle my screams when it feels as if my nose will melt off my face. Instead I hold my nose and exclaim, “Ooo, it hurts so good!”

But, my dear readers, I must break an ugly secret to you. Most of the wasabi we eat is faux wasabi. Yes, faux! <Gasp!> It’s a combination of plain old horseradish, mustard, corn starch, food coloring and an ever so tiny amount of the real stuff. But I don’t blame sushi restaurants for whipping up a cheaper version as the real deal costs about $60 or more a pound.

How can you tell if you’re eating the real stuff? Well, if you’re plucking your sushi off of a conveyor belt or a boat, I think it’s safe to say it’s faux. Some, albeit few, of the better high-end restaurants will invest in the good stuff, as your bill will reflect. But, like a fine wine, the taste is cleaner and smoother and packs a much more powerful punch. The texture is also grainier, much like fresh grated horseradish, not smooth.

So the next time you’re at an expensive sushi restaurant sit at the counter (the best seat in the house) and ask the chef, “Hon-wasabi desu ka?” (Is the wasabi real?)

Itadakimasu! (Let’s eat!)

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Takoyaki is one of many Japanese foods that make average Americans cringe. Literally translated as “fried octopus,” I love these little snacks that hail from Osaka. Made primarily of eggs, flour and octopus, Takoyaki are cooked in a specially designed pan and resemble Dunkin Donuts’ Munchkins. Covered in a sweetish sauce, mayonnaise and typically served with pickled ginger, these little guys make a fantastic late-night-been-drinking-I’m-hungry-snack. The only problem I have is that the insides tend to hold their heat and approximate the temperature/consistency of molten lava. I have yet to manage eating the little guys without burning the roof of my mouth.

If you ever run across a Takoyaki on a menu outside of Japan, give ‘em a try…if you make it to Osaka, don’t leave without eating at least a dozen. Or, if you are an adventurous cook, Lunch in a Box has a tutorial.

Photo by Jetalone

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It’s going to be a quick one today, folks, because I am furiously packing up the house for our move to Seattle! Before I could drag myself out of bed this morning to commence the dreaded job of packing, I grabbed my laptop for a little morning food news.

I came across an article about Spam sushi (called Spam Musubi) on Serious Eats. Spam sushi!? Remember my blog about me being a sushi snob? Well, here’s one of those moments where I turn up my nose. I guess I should try (almost) everything once, but this would be a stretch…

Although I love the author’s article and her picture is beautiful.

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Prior to my move from Japan back to the U.S. there were a few necessities that I felt I could just not leave without. Quintessential Japanese items:

A string of pearls (every girl needs a good set of pearls, right?)
A kimono (a casual summer one, but beautiful nonetheless, complete with obi and geta)
A few nice sets of hashi (chopsticks) to go with the rest of my Japanese tableware
My antique kotatsu
and finally,
A good tetsubin

Tetsubin are traditional cast iron teapots. The craft of cast iron, known as nambu-tekki, has been in practice in the northern prefecture of Iwate for over 400 years. There are 64 to 68 steps in the traditional production process of cast iron. Many of these steps are still done by hand and are strictly monitored by a master craftsman known as a kamashi. A minimum of 15 years is required to become a nambu-tekki craftsman, and 30-40 years to become a kamashi. That’s some serious cast iron skill!

I wanted an authentic artisan-crafted teapot, one that had passed the discerning gaze of a kamashi, so I hopped on the next shinkansen (bullet train) and headed north. I walked from factory to factory; it was the search for my Holy Grail of teapots. Amongst the various sizes, shapes and designs I found my beauty. My Zen-like simple, unadorned teapot.

I rode the slow train home, enjoying the mountainous views, with my little cast iron teapot resting heavily on my lap.

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The clean, crisp air of Seattle, with its slightly salty breeze, calls for a meal of fresh fish. Luckily, it’s quite easy to find good sushi-grade fish in the Emerald City. Just head to the market -Pike Place Market, that is – and buy yourself a top-grade troll-caught albacore tuna loin. What is troll-caught, you ask, and why would I want it? Younger (3-5 years old) troll-caught albacore contains more Omega-3 fatty acids than larger, older albacore tuna. And, because of the higher content of fatty acids you need less fat in your recipe. It always comes out buttery and tender.

Trolling (fishing with jigs behind a slow-moving boat) is also a low-impact, environmentally responsible fishing method . We like that!

Sesame Seared Albacore Tuna

Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan.
Combine equal amounts of toasted and black sesame seeds on a plate.
Thoroughly coat each side of the loin with the seeds (no need to use any egg wash as the seeds will stick).
Sear loin on each side about 1 minute (a bit more if you want it less rare inside).

To cut the loin use an exceptionally sharp chef’s knife. To come out with clean, unbroken slices, I find it easiest if you place your hand perpendicular to the loin and carefully slice between your index and middle finger. This way you can stabilize the loin while you slice and prevent it from falling apart. Take care to make nice long slices, not short back-and-forth slices as if cutting bread.

Serve on a bed of wakame and drizzle with a little ponzu sauce. It’s also delicious with a little soy sauce and wasabi.

Tip: How can you tell how well-done your fish (or meat) is? Check out Men in Aprons‘ Hand Test Method.

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