Tag - japanese-cuisine

 
 

JAPANESE CUISINE

Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Sep 11, 2015
Sasaya Iori: Kyoto's 300-year-old sweets shop
The area around Kyoto Station seems to lack the cultural and culinary charms found elsewhere in the city, but this might be changing. A massive restoration of the nearby Higashi Honganji Temple complex will soon be completed and Umekoji Locomotive Museum will be combined into the new Kyoto Railway Museum,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 13, 2015
Is virtual art as nourishing as a set meal?
You have to admit, it's all awfully clever. At "L'art de Rosanjin," which runs at Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall until March 24, visitors can sit in a virtual tempura restaurant, and gawp as images of the chef's hands at work are projected on the counter in front of them, accompanied by the sounds of sizzling...
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Feb 22, 2015
Where's the beef? Kyoto looks to carve out global niche
The quintessential tourist image of Kyoto cuisine is one of a refined "bento" (boxed lunch) containing all sorts of small treats, but heavy on fish, tofu and vegetables, with much attention devoted to presentation and tastes that are sublime, but not overpowering. Certain Kyoto vegetables like "kujo...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Feb 20, 2015
Chicken one day doesn't mean feathers on the next
Hisako and Ryoichi Maeda (66 and 67) are the proprietors of Torisue, a tiny take-out-only yakitori shop in the Bontan area of Tokyo's Koto Ward, just a short walk from Monzen-Nakacho Station. Torisue is famous as a B-kyu (B-grade) gourmet favorite and fans from near and far will line up outside on Kiyosumidori...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Oct 14, 2014
Japan's take on the humble burger
There are two dishes that can be translated as "hamburger" in Japan. One is the all-American favorite, a beef patty sandwiched in a bun, which in Japanese is called hanbāgā. The other kind is similar to a Hamburg steak or Salisbury steak, made with chopped onions, breadcrumbs and egg mixed with the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Sep 16, 2014
The raw appeal of eggs
The average Japanese person eats around 320 eggs (tamago) per year, according to the International Egg Commission, placing it in the Top 3 worldwide. (In comparison, the average American eats around 250 eggs per year.) Eggs are enjoyed in many sweet and savory dishes, such as the famous (or infamous)...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Aug 19, 2014
Japan's historic love of corn
The fact that corn or maize has a Japanese name — tōmorokoshi — indicates that it entered the country centuries ago, before it was the norm to import the name of a food as-is and spell it out phonetically (as with tomatoes or asparagus, for instance).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NATURE'S PANTRY
Jul 29, 2014
Meet the artisan family striving for a better fish flake
The local train bound for Yamakawa bucked and buckled down the coast, jouncing us until our teeth rattled, and Yamakawa was so dinky we had to walk across the train tracks to exit the station. The taxi took us through a confusing rabbit warren of streets and, after asking directions several times, we...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / CULINARY TOOLBOX
Jul 29, 2014
Expo shows industrial-kitchen tech to fuel any foodie’s product lust
On a rainy day in June, the exhibition halls inside Tokyo Big Sight were brightly lit, accentuating the metallic gleam of the high-tech equipment on display at the Japan Food Machinery Manufacturers' Association expo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
Jul 29, 2014
Organic Cafe Polan no Hiroba: Vegetarian and vegan fare in Nagoya
Finding a decent vegetarian meal in Nagoya can be a tough task in and of itself, so finding an almost-all-veggie venue that is also vegan-friendly is a very rare treat indeed.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
Jul 29, 2014
VegeVege: A lively spot for veggies and their carnivorous friends
The name may be considered a little misleading, as VegeVege does have its fair share of meat and fish dishes, but the entire menu is infused with home-grown goods and local products, so everything available is crisp and garden-fresh.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Jul 22, 2014
Pancotei: 'Kushikatsu' morsels prepared with obsessive care
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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 19, 2014
Umami: the taste we love but can't describe
The word "umami" is, in many ways, literally a mouthful. First coined in 1909 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, the term translates roughly as "deliciousness." With its satisfying, round consonants and open vowel sounds, the word approaches onomatopoeia — a phonetic approximation of the gustatory...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Jul 15, 2014
Japanese summer garnishes invigorate the taste buds
In Japanese cooking, garnish is not just added to a dish to make it look pretty. The word to describe the herbs and vegetables that accompany a dish is yakumi, which means "medicinal flavor," and originally referred to the concoctions that practitioners of Chinese medicine made using various ingredients...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 15, 2014
Sakana no Nakasei: One of three great Tokyo restaurants for aged beef
Tokyo's taste for high-end meat is maturing fast. For the cognoscenti, breed, provenance and fat content have long been critical. Now add one more key factor: aging. That's the focus at several new venues.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 15, 2014
Kazahana: 28th-floor restaurant offers fine food with a view to match
Very few Japanese restaurants in Tokyo can boast a view to rival that from Kazahana. Sitting 28 floors up in the Conrad Hotel, you gaze out over the centuries-old Hamarikyu garden on the waterfront and across to the Rainbow Bridge and the malls of Odaiba in the mid-distance.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 8, 2014
Ainu restaurant offers a delicious cultural excursion
Spring usually comes in early May in Hokkaido, and it is high season to pick sansai, or edible wild mountain plants. Among them, the Alpine leek — kitopiro in Japanese and pukusa in the native Ainu language — is the most attractive.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Jul 8, 2014
Aoi-jaya: Traditional Japanese cuisine without the traditional price tag
A combination of train delays and the restaurant I had intended to eat at closing earlier than advertised meant that I had to find a replacement on the hoof. Fortunately, I was in the Isetan department store in Kyoto Station. The top two floors are given over to restaurants: the 10th floor to mostly...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jul 8, 2014
What to drink when you're eating oysters
Shucking an oyster is harder than it sounds. A fair amount of dexterity is required to pry open the mollusk's tight-lipped shell and liberate the flesh. The one time I tried to open an oyster with a shucking knife, I ended up smashing it with a hammer instead.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 1, 2014
Kaiseki Ikku: Stave off the unagi eel crash with this fine alternative
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