Category: Japan

Bowing Down to the Masters

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I’ll spare you the Spice Girls tonight. 😉 That stinkin’ song was stuck in my head for at least 24 hours.

Tonight we’re on to something new; although something that is still often stuck in my head as well. Sushi. I love sushi. This is a relatively new realization for me. I only tried sushi for the first time five years ago. Now I’m officially hooked. Addicted. It’s a must-have at least twice a month for me. It would be more often if it wasn’t for budgets and watching the mercury intake.  After all I don’t want to end up like Jeremy Piven.

So when A_Boleyn suggested we cook recipes from Japan – I knew sushi was going to be on the menu. Mike and I have made sushi the last few years on New Year’s Eve (also Mike’s birthday). After we put the kids to bed, we get cooking and have really enjoyed experimenting with various options. We’re not experts by any means, but that’s part of what makes this so fun for us. We’ve enjoyed some successes and tossed others in the trash – it’s totally trial and error. So after a sushi cooking class this past month, I figured we were ready to give it a go again – with the kids this time. Continue reading →

What You Want

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The literal translation of Okonomiyaki, a Japanese savory pancake is, “what you want” for Okono, and “grilled” or “cooked” for yaki. I wanted to title the post with a play on the Spice Girls song, but Mike’s not a fan. I don’t think I was ever a fan, but I have to admit I know all the words to that song – rightly or wrongly.

As we mentioned last week, the prize winner of Miss A’s giveaway was A_Boleyn with her selection of Japan.  Last week we made a variation of one of A_Boleyn’s recipes for a tonkatsu and donburi. This week, we’re taking a suggestion from Charles over at Five Euro Food. While he wasn’t the winner, he too suggested Japan and offered up his recipe forOkonomiyaki. Thank you Charles! I know many of you know Charles, but for those of you that don’t – make sure to check out his site. His humor, common sense/down-to-earthness (if that’s a word) and clever recipes make him one of my favorites.

We also mentioned last week that outside of sushi, we’d never eaten Japanese cuisine. So when we saw that the Okonomiyaki was a cabbage-based pancake, we weren’t sure what to expect. I have to admit, not being a fan of cabbage, I wasn’t hopeful. We started by slicing a quarter of a red cabbage and one whole onion horizontally and finely. Continue reading →

The Kats’ Meow (Couldn’t Resist)

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You may remember a few weeks ago, Miss A held her giveaway in which the winner got to pick our next international destination. Well, now that we’re back home and in the swing of things (until school starting next week throws us out of swing again), we began our Japanese cooking adventure.

I have to admit, outside of sushi, none of us knew much about Japanese cuisine. The only thing Mike remembered was tonkatsu which he used to order when he ate at sushi restaurants with his parents. Fortunately our prize winner, A_Boleyn,  sent us several suggestions. Thanks A_Boleyn! So for tonight’s menu we have Tonkatsu, EggplantKatsu and Katsudon.

But first, a few weeks ago we featured our go-to weeknight sandwich. When we did, the Food Doctor from Chef in Disguise aptly quipped about my super hero cape. Well, Mike’s mom didn’t miss a beat and when we returned home from vacation I was presented with this awesome cape!  Continue reading →