Easy and healthy Japanese recipes

I am Mari Nameshida, who is teaching Japanese traditional cooking in Tokyo at my small kitchen. I
have taught almost +3,000 guests Japanese food on the basis of each guests preference. I will
introduce easy and healthy Japanese recipes which Japanese famillies and our guests enjoy!

Categories
All Japanese recipes (60)
Drink (4)
Food for Japanese traditional events (6)
Ingredient / Seasoning(6)
Japanese bread recipe(4)
Japanese Chicken reciepe (3)
Japanese macrobiotic recipe (6)
Japanese noodle (3)
Japanese Pork Recipe(6)
Japanese rice based reciepe (7)
Japanese Sea food (6)
Japanese sweets recipe (15)
Japanese Vegetarian recipe (23)
Local Specialties (3)
Tofu recipes (2)
Japanese restaurants in Tokyo and other areas (20)
Going out for foods and others (13)
Japanese Cooking Class in Tokyo (9)

Japanese cookbook and recipes

In addition to the recipes here, I am writing Japanese cookbook which is very easy to follow for
beginners of Japanese cooking. Through my experience as a Japanese cooking instructor for foreign
guests to Tokyo, Japan, I would like to show the secrets how to enjoy Japanese cooking. I believe the
list of 20 most loved Japanese foods loved by my guests would be practical and suitable when you
firstly cook Japanese food for yourself, your friends, or your families.

Who I am?
Japanese cooking instructor
Chinese herbal medicine Advisor
Chinese herbal medicine dishes Instructor
Registered Nurse
Public Health Nurse
Food lover
If you are interested in our Japanese cooking class in Tokyo, please visit this link:

Link to Japanese cooking lesson tokyo in Japan

I learned about the basics of Japanese cooking from my mom at a young age and also went to
cooking/baking school. I really love cooking and I have just kept cooking for a long time. I also love
traveling and I noticed that there were few chances to immerse yourself in the local culture and taste.
I thought it would be very nice if there was a place that travelers could go to the local peoples homes
and learn how to cook local cuisine and as a result learn more about the local people. That is why I
started my cooking classes.

In addition, I have decided to start writing about Japanese food, ingredients and recipes herethis
blog.

I know that therere many blogs about Japanese food or recipes everywhere but I also want to
introduce and inherit our beautiful cultures through our dishes that nowadays most young people
dont care nor cherish so much here. I always believe that Japanese dishes have variable meanings
more than just delicious food.

Heres another reason, I love eating and traveling. And I noticed that there were few chances to
immerse yourself in the local culture and taste when you go to foreign countries. Sometimes, when I
learned the food I ate had some meanings, like cultural backgrounds or local peoples habitants, I was
so excited and can understand that country more deeply always. I thought it would be very nice if
there was a place that non-Japanese people could learn how to cook local cuisine and as a result learn
more about the local people. That is why I started my blog.

I hope you will enjoy my japanese recipes and know our cultures a little bit more through local dishes
or life.

In this lesson, we will instruct how to cook the Sushi Roll, Nigiri Sushi or Scattered Sushi. Sushi is
very popular food for both of Japanese and foreigners. It consists of rice and fish which are very
primary foods for Japanese traditionally.

There are various styles of Sushi in many districts in Japan. Nigiri sushi is a regular type which is
made of a small clump of rice and fresh raw fish on it. Sushi roll is that the rice and sashimi and some
vegetables are rolled by Nori( a sheet of seaweed). Chirashi sushi is scattered sushi which is made of
sushi rice on the plate and it is covered by scattered slices of sashimi. All of them are eaten only for
celebration event in the past. But recently Sushi has been becoming more common foods because of
the accessibility of various fresh fishes from the all over the world.
Sushi is named after Sumeshi which means vinegar(Su in Japanese) and rice(Meshi in
Japanese). This me of Sumeshi was disappeared during many years and now it is called Sushi.
is the Japanese character of Sushi and this means something sign of good luck and
celebrations. We can see how Japanese people love Sushi even from the character of Sushi.

Sushi was spread to the US in 1980s because of the big hit of Sushi bar and Sushi is know from the
people in the all of world nowadays. They have found some new tastes of sushi like the California
Roll which is made of Avocado and Crab because some American are not familiar with eating raw
fish.

What is the origin of Sushi? It is said that sushi was invented in South East Asia in 4th century. This
unique style of eating was delivered to Japan in 8th century. At that time Sushi is a little bit different
from modern sushi. The rice which is seasoned with sweetened vinegar and put the raw fish and
ferment for some days. Since there is no technology to refrigerate foods, sushi was made as a
preserved food. This kind of sushi is alive even now in Shiga province. People there cook traditional
sushi by using the mackerel, carp and sailfin sandfish.

The nigiri style sushi appeared in the beginning of 19th Century in Edo where is Tokyo now. After the
prolonged domestic war finish the peace had come for more than 300 years. Citizen are becoming
rich and busy because of their active businesses. In Edo, people in Edo prefer tasty and quick meals in
street stalls. Nigirisushi was invented and became very popular soon. That sushi is much bigger than
modern sushi and the size of it is same as the size of tennis ball. This Edo style sushi has spread
because of unfortunate event of big Kato Earthquake in 1923. The professional sushi chef lost their
houses and jobs and returned back to their home country and the sushi was spread accordingly.

This article was written by referring to this web page of .

How to cook and eat Miso Soup (Miso-shiru)

Miso soup MisoShiru in Japanese is essence of Japanese food culture. That is always true from
Japanese traditional restaurant to local home. Miso soup fits especially to rice for Japanese people.

Firstly we make Dashi which is Japanese soup stock by using dried bonito, kelp and/or small dried
sardines. We use Dashi to cook Miso soup as well as the other most of Japanese foods. Then, we boil
some ingredients in Dashi and mix Miso finally. The way of cooking is very simple but there is a
wide variety of taste depending on the areas in Japan, homes and mothers.
Miso is not only a seasoning but also a very nutritious and important source of protein traditionally. It
consists of fermented soybeans with salt and the certain kind of fungus. This fungus is made of rice
(or soybean or barley). The market share is estimated as rice 85%, barley 10%, soybean 5%.

History of Miso and Miso soup

Miso was incented around 2,000 years ago in Japan after people started cultivating and producing
grains. They stocked grains with salt. Then, some words meaning something similar to Miso was
written in some literatures in the 7-8th century.

Miso soup appeared in history of Japan only for warrior class in the 12th 13th century. Then, Miso
spread to the ordinary people soon in the 15-16th century. Even now Miso is necessary menu
especially for breakfast with rice.

Variation of ingredients in Miso soup

Sea weed: wakame, kelp, green laver, aosa, hijiki

Clam: asari(manila) clam, shijimi clam

Fish: salmon, codfish

Shrimp/ prawn, Crab

Vegetables: some kinds of leeks, potate, sweet potate, Chinese yum, taro, daikon, carrot, burdock
root, lotus root, spinach, Japanese mustard spinach, butterbur sprout, nameko mushroom, enoki
mushroom, Chinese black mushroom(shiitake), shimeji mush room, Japanese ginger, onion, cabbage,
egg plant, Chinese cabbage, sprout,

Tofu,

Chicken and pork

Sashimi is simple style of cooking by eating sliced fresh raw fish. Generally speaking, the fishes
having red flesh are popular like the tuna in Kanto Area (East Japan) and the fishes having white flesh
like the sea bream in Kansai Area (West Japan). The culture of eating sashim was developed in Japan
by taking advantage of the fact that Japan was surrounded by sea and that it is easy to get fresh fishes.
While eating sashimi of fishes are common, sashimi made of fresh raw flesh of birds, beef or pork are
eaten sometimes.

Sashimi has been most important accompaniment for rice dishes from old age. Traditional Japanese
cooking course menu was made primarily depending on the fish of sashimi. This means that the
course menu can be changed by which kinds of sashimi.

Then we talk about sashimi we must not forget the existence of soy sauce. The origin of sashimi can
be found the old books written in 13th century. But there is not soy sauce at that time, and sashimi
was eaten with seasoned vinegar. Soy sauce was invented and spread after 14-15th century. People
found that the say sauce fits the taste of sashimi very well and started to eat sashimi with say sauce.
Sashimi and say sauce spread to all the common folks in Japan finally in the end of Edo Era when is
about 18th century. Sashimi became very popular food in small restaurants street stalls as like sushi.
Susi and sashimi become the national food for Japanese people after Edo Era.

While we eat sashimi, specific vegetables or seaweed like the Japanese radish and green perilla are
put aside the sashimi. These make the decoration more beautiful. In addition, when we eat these
vegetables we can clean up the flavor of sashimi in the mouth and be ready to eat the other kind of
sashimi soon.

This article was written by referring to this web page of .

How to cook and eat sukiyaki?

Sukiyaki is a Japanese unique cooking style which make the harmony of meat and sweet salt sauce by
using soy sauce and sugar. Typical ingredients are beef, vegetables (leek and garland
chrysanthemum), Shiitake mushroom, baked tofu and noodles made from devils tongue starch. We
boil them in the seasoned soup and eat soon after putting the beef in the raw eggs. Though Japanese
people like eating raw egg, people in the most of all over the world dont have customs to eat raw
egg. But even if you dont put raw egg, the taste is still very delicious. As same as the other Japanese
foods, there are two kinds way to cook Sukiyaki; Kanto area (East Japan) in including Tokyo and
Kansai area(West Japan) including Kyoto and Osaka have many differences usually. In Kanto area,
they boil the ingredients in the soup which consists of water, sweet sake, say sauce , sake and sugar.
On the other hand, people living in Kansai firstly fry the beef and season with salt and say sauce and
secondly add vegetables and fry again. Then, they add water and sake to finish seasoning. They dont
use soup to boil and season the beef. People in the both area use raw egg just before eating.

The history of Sukiyaki.

Sukiyaki has been eaten since the end of Edo Era when is around 18th century. Before Edo era eating
meat was forbidden officially by the government or emperor because cow and horse are very
important labor force to cultivate the field. People believed that they will be punished by Heaven if
they eat beef or horse meat. So people had to eat Sukiyaki furtively at first. The culture of eating beef
was introduced from abroad after the Edo government was forced to open the country to trade with
foreigners because of the compulsory pressure by America. Eating Sukiyaki was thought very cool
and stylish as the forefront of its time in 19th century. Around 1960s, Sukiyaki is becoming more
popular because of the increase in the income of folks. Sukiyaki which is using beef has been eaten as
a luxury food for folks.

The origin of the name Sukiyaki

Suki means the equipment to cultivate the field called traction or plow in English. The farmers uses
suki (plow) to cook the meat. yaki means baking or frying. Now we dont use plows but pots, but
this food is still called Sukiyaki.

This article was written by referring to this web page of .

How to cook and eat Gyoza

Gyoza is the Japanese dumplings that using the thin dumpling skin to rap up the fillings which
consists of meat and vegetables. We firstly fry the bottom of Gyoza and later steam it. The origin of
Gyoza is from China though, there are many differences between Japanese gyoza and Chinese one.

Japanese Gyoza was developed to compatible with rice which is staple grain food for Japanese people
everyday. So we Japanese people use the thin dumpling skin and fry the bottom to make it crispy and
savory. We add garlic in the fillings which is not added in China. Finally, we put red chili oil in the
sauce in addition to soy sauce and vinegar. On the other hand, Chinese gyozas skin is thick compared
to Japanese one to be main dish without rice. They boil the dumplings and put the sauce made from
soy sauce and vinegar without chili sauce.
History of Gyoza
We dont know accurate age when gyoza was invented, but at least a mummy of gyoza made in 6-8th
centuries was found in Chinese ruins in the middle of Silk Road Turpan Prefecture in Xinjiang
Uyghur China. The culture of eating gyoza is definitely from northern part of China, because only
northern people have eaten foods made of flour and southern people have eaten rice usually.

The first person who eats gyoza in Japan is the higher grade of samurai in Edo period 17th century.
But the gyoza didnt become popular for folks at that time. It was not until 1945 that the fried gyoza
became very popular in Japan. Japan ruled Manchuria country which was part of China before the
end of World War Second. Many Japanese people came back from Manchuria after the war and some
of them started the Chinese restaurants and served gyoza. First restaurant serving gyoza was opened
by the couple of Japanese husband and Chinese wife in Shibuya. They served both of boiled gyoza
and fried gyoza, but only fried gyoza become popular rapidly. Many restaurants in Shibuya started to
serve fried gyoza and the gyoza was spreading to all of Japan.

The name of Gyoza()

The Chinese character of gyoza and Japanese character of it is same at all as . But the
pronunciations of is different; Jiaozi in Chinese and Gyoza in Japanese. Then, where the
Gyoza comes from? It is said that Gyoza is the pronunciation of Manchurian dialect where is a
north east part of China. As mentioned above, people coming back from Manchuria introduced Gyoza
in Japan, so we call gyoza which is just a dialect in China.

How to cook and eat Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is Japanese pancake, but it is not a sweet but a main dish. The dough made of dashi
(Japanese soup stock), flour and Chinese yum is fried on the plate and some ingredients are topped:
vegetables, pork, beef and/or sea foods.

There are two main streams of Okonomiyaki: One is Osaka style and the other one is Hiroshima style.
Osaka is the second biggest economic city in Japan and which is near to Kyoto. People in Osaka mix
the ingredients and dough before frying. While Osaka style is now most popular and seems to be the
standard Okonomiyaki, Hiroshima style is till popular for some people. Hiroshima is more western
than Osaka in Japan and famous for being targeted by the first nuclear weapon by US. The features of
Hiroshima style are that they use a bunch of cabbage and dont mix ingredients and dough. Besides,
they put yakisoba (Japanese fried noodle) on top of Okonomiyaki.

History of Okonomiyaki
The origin of Okonomiyaki was invented in 16th century. It was named Funoyaki that is Japanese
sweets to be served with Japanese green tea ceremony. It was not until end of the World War Second
that the food named Okonomiyaki beceme popular among the folks in Kansai (West Japan) area
including Osaka and Hiroshima. Japan was occupied by US army and a lot of flour was available
provided legally and illegally by Army. There were too many Japanese people losing job and
suffering from the poverty at that time. Some of them started stalls serving Okonomiyaki using
military-origin flour. It spreads around Japan because it was cheap, quick and various.

Why is this food called Okonomiyaki?

We can divide the name of Okonomiyaki into two parts. One is Okonomi and the other one is
yaki. To begin, Okonomi means which ever you want in Japanese. Since there is a wide variety
of ingredients which are ready for topping, we can choose them which ever we want to arrange our
own Okonomiyaki taste. Next, yaki means frying or baking. If you know some names of Japanese
foods, you may find yaki in the names such as Teri-yaki, Suki-yaki, Tamago-yaki, Teppan-yaki,
yaki-soba, yaki-udon, suki-yaki, yaki-tori and so on.

Ingredients and variation of Okonomiyakis topping.

flour, water,

Chicken, pork or/and beef

Japanese noodle: yakisoba noodle or udon noodle

Vegetables: cabbage, sprout, leek, corn, mushroom

Sea foods: spicy pollac roe, squid, shrimp, octopus, oyster, Kimuchi(spicy Chinese cabbage)

Others: Mochi (Japanese rice cake), cheese, bacon

Tempura is fried vegetables and fishes with flour and eggs. This is one of the most popular Japanese
food in Japan, At first in Edo Period, Tempura was fast food which is available at the standing counter
restaurant. Nowadays there are two types of way to enjoy the Tempura. First one is to eat Tempura
which is usually expensive and sophisticated in the specialized restaurant operated by Shokunin
(Shokunin means professional chef in Japanese). The other tempura is cooked by mothers at Japanese
local home and it is so yummy because it is customized only for their family by mom with a lot of
love. The typical ingredients of tempura are white fish called Kisu, Shrimp, sweet potato, Renkon
which is Japanese root of lotus, and other vegetables.

There are two main streams of tempura depending on the area in Japan. While fish tempura was
developed in Kanto area (East Japan) by using fresh fishes that were caught in Tokyo bay
traditionally, vegetable tempura was developed around Kansai area (East Japan) especially in Kyoto
because fresh fish was not easy to get for the folks there. As you may expect, Kanto Area (East Japan)
and Kansai Area (West Japan) have different ways to cook tempura. In kanto area, they fry the batter
in the sesame oil. The batter includes eggs and it is fried to be brown color. They use sesame oil to
remove the odor of the fish. When they eat tempura, they use the Japanese sauce called Tsuyu
which is salty and sweet sauce made from say sauce, sake and soup stock. On the other hand, in
Kansai area they fry the batter in the sunflower oil. The batter doesnt include the egg and it is fried to
be white color. Because they are used to eat vegetable tempura, they dont use Tsuyu but only put salt
to take advantage of the natural flavor of the vegetables themselves. Nowadays tempura both of
fishes and vegetables is one of the most popular Japanese foods in not only all of Japan but also all
over the world.

What is the history of Tempura? The origin of tempura was introduced from Portugal about 400 years
ago in the middle of 16th century. Portuguese arrived in Japan as a first trader from western countries
and introduced some new style of cooking as well as guns and Christianity. At that time Japanese
people used oil only for lights and it was very expensive, so folks couldnt eat tempura which is
necessary to be cooked in a lot of oil. It was not until Edo era (from 17th to 19th) that the folks could
start to eat tempura for their daily life after the great increase in the production of oil. The tempura
was not eaten as a main dish but a snack at the street stall at first. A professional and specialized
restaurant has appeared since the Meiji era when the Japan was opened to abroad for trading and
civilized rapidly.

Where did the name of Tempura come from? There are various views but it is said that reasonable
idea is that tempura was changed from Portuguese: Portuguese tempero which means seasoning or
cooking.

This article was written by referring to this web page of Iroha Japan. ( )
Unesco Wourld Heritage
As you may know, Washoku which means Japanese food in Japanese was registered as one of world
heritages of Unesco. We are really proud of this honor as Japanese food cooking instructor.

Japanese food has mainly four features: appreciation for various and fresh ingredients and unique
characteristics of each of them, healthy diet because of well balanced nutrition, expression of natural
and various beauty depending on each season, and close relationship with Japanese traditional
seasonal event such as New Year Event.

The history of Japanese food

The rice has played significantly important role in Japanese food and food culture in long history. It is
true that many countries in east Asia such as Korea and China and south east Asia, people eat rice
often. However, especially for Japanese people the extent to which we depend on rice is much higher
than people in any other countries. In addition to rice, we have depended on fish as a source of
protein rather than meat historically. These characteristic is result from east Asian climate, high
humidity and high temperature. The flourish water allows Japanese people to harvest the rice and to
catch the fish. That is why Japanese traditional recipes usually require fresh fish and tasty rice.

By contrast, relatively cool and dry climate allows people in western Asia, middle Asia and Europe to
depend on flour, and meat and milk.

Cultural History of Tempura

Tempura is fried vegetables and fishes with flour and eggs. This is one of the most popular Japanese
food in Japan, At first in Edo Period, Tempura was fast food which is available at the standing counter
restaurant. Nowadays there are two types of way to enjoy the Tempura. First one is to eat Tempura
which is usually expensive and sophisticated in the specialized restaurant operated by Shokunin
(Shokunin means professional chef in Japanese). The other tempura is cooked by mothers at Japanese
local home and it is so yummy because it is customized only for their family by mom with a lot of
love. The typical ingredients of tempura are white fish called Kisu, Shrimp, sweet potato, Renkon
which is Japanese root of lotus, and other vegetables.

There are two main streams of tempura depending on the area in Japan. While fish tempura was
developed in Kanto area (East Japan) by using fresh fishes that were caught in Tokyo bay
traditionally, vegetable tempura was developed around Kansai area (East Japan) especially in Kyoto
because fresh fish was not easy to get for the folks there. As you may expect, Kanto Area (East Japan)
and Kansai Area (West Japan) have different ways to cook tempura. In kanto area, they fry the batter
in the sesame oil. The batter includes eggs and it is fried to be brown color. They use sesame oil to
remove the odor of the fish. When they eat tempura, they use the Japanese sauce called Tsuyu
which is salty and sweet sauce made from say sauce, sake and soup stock. On the other hand, in
Kansai area they fry the batter in the sunflower oil. The batter doesnt include the egg and it is fried to
be white color. Because they are used to eat vegetable tempura, they dont use Tsuyu but only put salt
to take advantage of the natural flavor of the vegetables themselves. Nowadays tempura both of
fishes and vegetables is one of the most popular Japanese foods in not only all of Japan but also all
over the world.

What is the history of Tempura? The origin of tempura was introduced from Portugal about 400 years
ago in the middle of 16th century. Portuguese arrived in Japan as a first trader from western countries
and introduced some new style of cooking as well as guns and Christianity. At that time Japanese
people used oil only for lights and it was very expensive, so folks couldnt eat tempura which is
necessary to be cooked in a lot of oil. It was not until Edo era (from 17th to 19th) that the folks could
start to eat tempura for their daily life after the great increase in the production of oil. The tempura
was not eaten as a main dish but a snack at the street stall at first. A professional and specialized
restaurant has appeared since the Meiji era when the Japan was opened to abroad for trading and
civilized rapidly.

Where did the name of Tempura come from? There are various views but it is said that reasonable
idea is that tempura was changed from Portuguese: Portuguese tempero which means seasoning or
cooking.

This article was written by referring to this web page of Iroha Japan. (http://iroha-
japan.net/iroha/B02_food/03_udon.html). I introduced Tempura recipe in cookbook corner of
Tokyo Journal.

Cultural Background of Gyoza

How to cook and eat Gyoza
Gyoza is the Japanese dumplings that using the thin dumpling skin to rap up the fillings which
consists of meat and vegetables. We firstly fry the bottom of Gyoza and later steam it. The origin of
Gyoza is from China though, there are many differences between Japanese gyoza and Chinese one.
Japanese Gyoza was developed to compatible with rice which is staple grain food for Japanese people
everyday. So we Japanese people use the thin dumpling skin and fry the bottom to make it crispy and
savory. We add garlic in the fillings which is not added in China. Finally, we put red chili oil in the
sauce in addition to soy sauce and vinegar. On the other hand, Chinese gyozas skin is thick compared
to Japanese one to be main dish without rice. They boil the dumplings and put the sauce made from
soy sauce and vinegar without chili sauce.

History of Gyoza
We dont know accurate age when gyoza was invented, but at least a mummy of gyoza made in 6-8th
centuries was found in Chinese ruins in the middle of Silk Road Turpan Prefecture in Xinjiang
Uyghur China. The culture of eating gyoza is definitely from northern part of China, because only
northern people have eaten foods made of flour and southern people have eaten rice usually.
The first person who eats gyoza in Japan is the higher grade of samurai in Edo period 17th century.
But the gyoza didnt become popular for folks at that time. It was not until 1945 that the fried gyoza
became very popular in Japan. Japan ruled Manchuria country which was part of China before the
end of World War Second. Many Japanese people came back from Manchuria after the war and some
of them started the Chinese restaurants and served gyoza. First restaurant serving gyoza was opened
by the couple of Japanese husband and Chinese wife in Shibuya. They served both of boiled gyoza
and fried gyoza, but only fried gyoza become popular rapidly. Many restaurants in Shibuya started to
serve fried gyoza and the gyoza was spreading to all of Japan.

The name of Gyoza( )

The Chinese character of gyoza and Japanese character of it is same at all as . But the
pronunciations of is different; Jiaozi in Chinese and Gyoza in Japanese. Then, where the
Gyoza comes from? It is said that Gyoza is the pronunciation of Manchurian dialect where is a
north east part of China. As mentioned above, people coming back from Manchuria introduced Gyoza
in Japan, so we call gyoza which is just a dialect in China.

Cultural Background of Sashimi

Sashimi is simple style of cooking by eating sliced fresh raw fish. Generally speaking, the fishes
having red flesh are popular like the tuna in Kanto Area (East Japan) and the fishes having white flesh
like the sea bream in Kansai Area (West Japan). The culture of eating sashim was developed in Japan
by taking advantage of the fact that Japan was surrounded by sea and that it is easy to get fresh fishes.
While eating sashimi of fishes are common, sashimi made of fresh raw flesh of birds, beef or pork are
eaten sometimes.

Sashimi has been most important accompaniment for rice dishes from old age. Traditional Japanese
cooking course menu was made primarily depending on the fish of sashimi. This means that the
course menu can be changed by which kinds of sashimi.Then we talk about sashimi we must not
forget the existence of soy sauce. The origin of sashimi can be found the old books written in 13th
century. But there is not soy sauce at that time, and sashimi was eaten with seasoned vinegar. Soy
sauce was invented and spread after 14-15th century. People found that the say sauce fits the taste of
sashimi very well and started to eat sashimi with say sauce. Sashimi and say sauce spread to all the
common folks in Japan finally in the end of Edo Era when is about 18th century. Sashimi became
very popular food in small restaurants street stalls as like sushi. Susi and sashimi become the
national food for Japanese people after Edo Era.While we eat sashimi, specific vegetables or seaweed
like the Japanese radish and green perilla are put aside the sashimi. These make the decoration more
beautiful. In addition, when we eat these vegetables we can clean up the flavor of sashimi in the
mouth and be ready to eat the other kind of sashimi soon.This article was written by referring to this
web page of Iroha Japan.
Cultural Background of Okonomiyaki
How to cook and eat Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is Japanese pancake, but it is not a sweet but a main dish. The dough made of dashi
(Japanese soup stock), flour and Chinese yum is fried on the plate and some ingredients are topped:
vegetables, pork, beef and/or sea foods.
There are two main streams of Okonomiyaki: One is Osaka style and the other one is Hiroshima style.
Osaka is the second biggest economic city in Japan and which is near to Kyoto. People in Osaka mix
the ingredients and dough before frying. While Osaka style is now most popular and seems to be the
standard Okonomiyaki, Hiroshima style is till popular for some people. Hiroshima is more western
than Osaka in Japan and famous for being targeted by the first nuclear weapon by US. The features of
Hiroshima style are that they use a bunch of cabbage and dont mix ingredients and dough. Besides,
they put yakisoba (Japanese fried noodle) on top of Okonomiyaki.

History of Okonomiyaki
The origin of Okonomiyaki was invented in 16th century. It was named Funoyaki that is Japanese
sweets to be served with Japanese green tea ceremony. It was not until end of the World War Second
that the food named Okonomiyaki beceme popular among the folks in Kansai (West Japan) area
including Osaka and Hiroshima. Japan was occupied by US army and a lot of flour was available
provided legally and illegally by Army. There were too many Japanese people losing job and
suffering from the poverty at that time. Some of them started stalls serving Okonomiyaki using
military-origin flour. It spreads around Japan because it was cheap, quick and various.

Why is this food called Okonomiyaki?

We can divide the name of Okonomiyaki into two parts. One is Okonomi and the other one is
yaki. To begin, Okonomi means which ever you want in Japanese. Since there is a wide variety
of ingredients which are ready for topping, we can choose them which ever we want to arrange our
own Okonomiyaki taste. Next, yaki means frying or baking. If you know some names of Japanese
foods, you may find yaki in the names such as Teri-yaki, Suki-yaki, Tamago-yaki, Teppan-yaki,
yaki-soba, yaki-udon, suki-yaki, yaki-tori and so on.

Ingredients and variation of Okonomiyakis recipes.

flour, water,
Chicken, pork or/and beef
Japanese noodle: yakisoba noodle or udon noodle
Vegetables: cabbage, sprout, leek, corn, mushroom
Sea foods: spicy pollac roe, squid, shrimp, octopus, oyster, Kimuchi(spicy Chinese cabbage)
Others: Mochi (Japanese rice cake), cheese, bacon

Cultural Background of Sukiyaki

How to cook and eat sukiyaki? sukiyaki recipe-
Sukiyaki is a Japanese unique cooking style which make the harmony of meat and sweet salt sauce by
using soy sauce and sugar. Typical ingredients are beef, vegetables (leek and garland
chrysanthemum), Shiitake mushroom, baked tofu and noodles made from devils tongue starch. We
boil them in the seasoned soup and eat soon after putting the beef in the raw eggs. Though Japanese
people like eating raw egg, people in the most of all over the world dont have customs to eat raw
egg. But even if you dont put raw egg, the taste is still very delicious. As same as the other Japanese
foods, there are two kinds way to cook Sukiyaki; Kanto area (East Japan) in including Tokyo and
Kansai area(West Japan) including Kyoto and Osaka have many differences usually. In Kanto area,
they boil the ingredients in the soup which consists of water, sweet sake, say sauce , sake and sugar.
On the other hand, people living in Kansai firstly fry the beef and season with salt and say sauce and
secondly add vegetables and fry again. Then, they add water and sake to finish seasoning. They dont
use soup to boil and season the beef. People in the both area use raw egg just before eating.

The history of Sukiyaki.

Sukiyaki has been eaten since the end of Edo Era when is around 18th century. Before Edo era eating
meat was forbidden officially by the government or emperor because cow and horse are very
important labor force to cultivate the field. People believed that they will be punished by Heaven if
they eat beef or horse meat. So people had to eat Sukiyaki furtively at first. The culture of eating beef
was introduced from abroad after the Edo government was forced to open the country to trade with
foreigners because of the compulsory pressure by America. Eating Sukiyaki was thought very cool
and stylish as the forefront of its time in 19th century. Around 1960s, Sukiyaki is becoming more
popular because of the increase in the income of folks. Sukiyaki which is using beef has been eaten as
a luxury food for folks.

The origin of the name Sukiyaki

Suki means the equipment to cultivate the field called traction or plow in English. The farmers uses
suki (plow) to cook the meat. yaki means baking or frying. Now we dont use plows but pots, but
this food is still called Sukiyaki.

This article was written by referring to this web page of Iroha Japan.

Cultural Background of Miso Soup

How to cook and eat Miso Soup (Miso-shiru)
Miso soup MisoShiru in Japanese is essence of Japanese food culture. That is always true from
Japanese traditional restaurant to local home. Miso soup fits especially to rice for Japanese people.
Firstly we make Dashi which is Japanese soup stock by using dried bonito, kelp and/or small dried
sardines. We use Dashi to cook Miso soup as well as the other most of Japanese foods. Then, we boil
some ingredients in Dashi and mix Miso finally. The way of cooking is very simple but there is a
wide variety of taste depending on the areas in Japan, homes and mothers.
Miso is not only a seasoning but also a very nutritious and important source of protein traditionally. It
consists of fermented soybeans with salt and the certain kind of fungus. This fungus is made of rice
(or soybean or barley). The market share is estimated as rice 85%, barley 10%, soybean 5%.

History of Miso and Miso soup

Miso was incented around 2,000 years ago in Japan after people started cultivating and producing
grains. They stocked grains with salt. Then, some words meaning something similar to Miso was
written in some literatures in the 7-8th century.
Miso soup appeared in history of Japan only for warrior class in the 12th 13th century. Then, Miso
spread to the ordinary people soon in the 15-16th century. Even now Miso is necessary menu
especially for breakfast with rice.

Variation of ingredients in Miso soup recipes

Sea weed: wakame, kelp, green laver, aosa, hijiki
Clam: asari(manila) clam, shijimi clam
Fish: salmon, codfish
Shrimp/ prawn, Crab
Vegetables: some kinds of leeks, potate, sweet potate, Chinese yum, taro, daikon, carrot, burdock
root, lotus root, spinach, Japanese mustard spinach, butterbur sprout, nameko mushroom, enoki
mushroom, Chinese black mushroom(shiitake), shimeji mush room, Japanese ginger, onion, cabbage,
egg plant, Chinese cabbage, sprout,
Tofu, Chicken and pork

News and short column about Japanese food

The introduction of Miso, 10th Feb 2014
I would like to introduce the miso, because I found good brochure by Japan Miso Promotion Board.
Let me explain the details of this.

Miso is Japans traditional seasoning and health food. Made from fermented soybeans mashed into a
thick paste, the many health benefits of miso have been well documented in scientific studies. Indeed
recent years have seen miso steadily gain a global reputation as a superbly tasty and versatile health
food. No traditional Japanese cooking is complete without miso. The paste is used as a seasoning for
soups and a host of traditional dishes, and has been a key ingredient in healthy diets for centuries.

History of Miso;

Originating in China, miso found its way into Japan in the 7th century where it was gradually
transformed into intrinsically Japanese seasoning. The method for making miso is believed to have
originated from the application of a fermented spice made from ground fish, meat and salt, and a type
of fermented soybeans and millet that were brought to Japan from China or the Korean Peninsula in
the 7th century. Over the following centuries, the methods for making miso were refined and
enhanced, creating a broad spectrum of styles and tastes, a process which still continues today.

8th 12th century, The Heian Period, Only for societys elite
During the Heian period, miso was a delicacy eaten only by the nobility and monks; it was strictly off
limits to the commoner. It was also given as a gift or provided as wages for societys elite. Rather
than used as a seasoning as is common today, during this period miso was spread directly on food or
eaten straight.

12th 16th century, The Kamakura and Muromachi periods, A samurai staple

Soup made from mashed miso soybeans became a staple for the Kamakura samurai during this era.
Later, miso soup found its way into the diets of the common people as farmers began making their
own homemade miso.

15th 16th century, The Warring States period, The ingredient to victory

During these hundred years of civil wars the calories in rice and the nutrients in miso played an
important role in securing victory on the battlefield. As a result, the benefits of the precious paste
came to be held in even greater esteem and efforts were made to improve the fermenting process.

17th 19th The Edo period, The thrifty delicacy

The importance of miso increased even more during this period, especially after the shogunate issued
a thrift ordinance urging samurai and townsfolk alike to embrace frugal life style and eating habits.
As a wealthy merchant class also began to emerge at this time, however, demand for high-grade miso
also rose, spurring development of increasingly sophisticated recipes and proucts. The dual trends
towards frugality and luxury further boosted demand for the product, and miso shops in the big cities
of Edo (former name of Tokyo) and Kyoto enjoyed a brisk trade.

Today

Exports of miso are increasing every year as its health benefits are being discovered by an ever-
growing global audience. In 2006, the export market shares were North America:47%, Asia 31%,
Europe 15%, and the remainder going to Oceania, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

Types of Miso

Misos fermentation and aging process involves a multitude of factors, the slightest variation of which
can result in vastly different tastes, colors and textures. This is reflected in the more than 1,300 types
of miso that can be found throughout Japan, each with its own flavor.

Kome(Rice) miso: Most popular in Japan including Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hokkaido. Made from
soybeans, malted rice and salt.

Mame(Bean) miso: Popular in the area of middle of Japan such as Aichi(Nagoya). Made from
soybeans, malted soybeans and salt.
Mugi(Barley) miso: Popular in Kyushu area. Made from soy beans, malted barley and salt.

Good for your health

The Japanese have long known about misos remarkable health benefits. Recent research has found
that the benefits of miso come not only from the nutrients in the soybeans, but also from other
ingredients that arise from the actions of aspergillus and other molds used in the fermentation and
aging processes.

Studies indicate that those who regularly have miso soup are less susceptible to gastric cancer

and suffer less from stomach disorders such as gastritis, gastric ulcers or duodenal ulcers, Miso is rich
in digestive enzymes and provides protective action for the stomach lining. Studies have also shown
that a daily intake of miso soup also helps to prevent breast cancer. Lab tests have also shown that
miso helps to prevent colon cancer in lab rats and liver cancer in lab mice.

Miso is rich in magnesium and potassium, which can serve as an effective counter against excessive
sodium intake.

Free radicals, or active oxygen, are known to cause aging. It is believed that misos antioxidant
properties play a significant role in helping Japanese people enjoy the longest lifespan in the world.
Misos dietary fiber cleanses the intestines while the microbes found in miso purge harmful bacteria
and toxins from the intestines. Miso is rich in ingredients that work to counter high blood pressure
and strokes, as well as improve the brain metabolism rate and reduce body toxins.

The Tsukimi festival, 15th Sep 2013

Do you know the Japanese culture of tsukimi which is the ceremony to appreciate the full moon in the
middle of autumn. This is originally the important meaning of cerebrate the harvest of the rice and the
other crops. This ceremony is know in China and imported to Japanese aristocrats in 1,200 years ago.
Then, the samurai and folks imitate this ceremony and spread around Japan.

The typical arrangements with looking at the full moon are susuki(pampas) and round ball like mochi
dango (rice dumplings). That is because, the susuki is believed to ward off evil spirits and dango is
imitating the beauty of full moon.

Tsukimi traditions include displaying decorations made from Japanese pampas grass (susuki) and
eating rice dumplings called Tsukimi dango in order to celebrate the beauty of the moon. Seasonal
produce are also displayed as offerings to the moon. Sweet potatoes are offered to the full moon,
while beans or chestnuts are offered to the waxing moon the following month. The alternate names of
the celebrations, Imomeigetsu(literally potato harvest moon) and Mamemeigetsu (bean harvest
moon) or Kurimeigetsu (chestnut harvest moon) are derived from these offerings.

The autumn has come to Japan. Best season for food lovers! 10th Sep 2013
The hot and humid season of summer has finally ended and autumn come! As you may know, it is the
best season for Japanese food ingredient. Today, I would like to introduce some of them and how to
appreciate them.

1. eggplant: The eggplant of the autumn is totally different from one in the other season. In fact, all
Japanese people know the proverb Do not let the daughterinlaw eat eggplant. What do you think
of this meaning? We have two opposite meaning of this. One meaning is that The eggplant in
autumn is too delicious and too valuable to let the daughterinlaw eat eggplant. It should be served
only for the real son and parents. The other meaning is that eggplant is bad for keeping the body
warm and being pregnant. Which meaning do you believe? Is it assumed to be that superficially the
latter reason is true and honestly the former reason is true? Anyway, without doubt, the autumn
eggplants is really tasty.

I believe that baking eggplant simply and putting a little bit of soy sauce and ginger is best way to
appreciate the autumn eggplant.

2. matsutake (pine mushroom): Matsutake is most loved and expensive mushroom. Its flavor is
extinctive and compatible with Japanese Takikomigohan (rice seasoned with soy sauce and boiled
with meat or seafood, and other savory vegetables) and clear broth soup. The good matsutake which
is harvested in Japan could be 5,0000yen per one piece of matsutake. In Japanese history, some of
ancient literature mention how matsutake is loved by aristocrats 1,200 years ago.

3. chestnut: In autumn we often cook the kurigohan (rice seasoned with soy sauce and boiled with
chestnut) The flavor and taste is amazing. Especially the sweetness of chestnut and rice match
together perfectly.

4.Sanma(saury): Sanma is written in Chinese character as autumn sword fish, because its sharp shape
seems like the sword and it is best in autumn. Simple and delicious way to cook is baking with salt
and putting say sauce and serving with grated white radish(daikon).

5. Ichijiku
Essential Japanese ingredients in the kitchen. 25th May 2013
When you read the cook book of Japanese food, you may notice some Japanese unique ingredients
you have to learn. I listed them as following. For details, please ask me in the class. You must use
some of them.

Seasoning:

Shoyu (Soy sauce) ; Soy sauce is made from soybeans and goes very well with almost any ingredient.
There are many varieties of soy sauce such as dark colored or light colored, but the most commonly
used is koi-kuchi shoyu (deep, reddish-brown colored soy sauce).

Su (Rice vinegar); In Japanese cooking rice vinegar is commonly used. Wine vinegar and apple
vinegar are not recommended to substitute for rice vinegar as they are too strongly acidic and lack
sweetness.

Miso (Soybean paste); Miso is a seasoning in paste form made from soybeans. It has a salty and
unique flavor, and is used primarily in miso soup. It is also used for marinating meats and fish before
cooking and as a seasoning in boiled and sauted dishes. Saikyo miso is sweet and less salty not used
for miso soup unless it is specifically called for. There are many varieties of miso. Two or three
varieties of miso may be blended according to personal taste.

Mirin (Sweet rice wine for cooking); This is liquid type seasoning made from mochi gome (sweet
glutinous rice). Its sugar and alcohol contents give a distinctive flavor. Mirin is used primarily to add
delightful sweetness which sugar alone cannot produce. It is also used to put a finishing gloss on
cooked food, and it is essential for cooking teri-yaki for example, because teri means gloss.

Sake (rice wine); As wine is used in French cooking, sake is often used in Japanese cooking. For
cooking purposes, inexpensive sake of any brand will do just as well.

Spice:

Fresh ginger; Most of the flavor is in the skin, so, unless it is used as a relish, unpared ginger should
be used such as when simmering fish.

Wasabi (Japanese horseradish); this is a green root with a strong hot taste. Since fresh wasabi is quite
spicy and expensive, powdered or paste form is commonly used instead at home. But if you request,
we are willing to prepare fresh one.

(This description is referred to Better Home Association.)

Tokyo Journal Magazine introduced the of our Cooking Class Tokyo, 30 Apr 2013

Apr 2013, I wrote recipes and articles on the Tokyo Journal Magazine. Sushi Roll is chosen to start
this columns.

Various seasonal food in Japan, 25 Apr 2013

It is said that there are various seasonal changes of climates depending on four seasons (Shiki in
Japanese) in Japan and each season produce the wide variety of foods. Though we can eat most foods
in all seasons because of the modern technology nowadays, every ingredients are best to be eaten just
in the conventional season. Here, I made the list of seasonal foods in Japan on the basis of the articles
of the specific magazine dancyu Tokyo Ichiba Times which is available freely in Tsukiji Market.

Fresh fish in spring

Madai: In the same season as the cherry blossom bloom, this is
best season to be eaten because of being just ready to bear the eggs and being greasy.
Sawara()This fishs best season is different depending on the place, but
Spring is best for the fish in Setonai Sea where is traditionally famous palace (west side
of Japan) for good Sawara.
Sayori()This fish is available to eat in almost whole a year though,
spring and summer are the best seasons to eat Sayori because of being ready to bear eggs
and coming back into the bay.
NIshinWhile Sawara proves that the spring has come in the
western side of Japan, Nishin lets us know that the spring has come in the northern side of
Japan. March and Spring are the best season.
Hotaru Ika ()Only available from Feb to May.
Iidako()Mar and Apr are the best season when their spawns grow.
Fresh fish in summer
Aji: Though we can eat in every season through whole a year, around
June- July is best season.
Katsuo: In April we can start to eat first Katsuo finish fishing in fall.
Suzuki: Though we can eat in every season through a whole year,
summer is best and we can eat as Sashimi in this season.
Tachiuo: Tashi means Japanese sward and this fish is named
after sward because of similar appearance. The peak comes from summer to the
beginning of fall.
Madako: From June to August the peak of taste comes.
 Awabi: Generally speaking, the best season of shell fish is spring but
this is exceptional this tendency. Awabi is best in summer.
Fresh fish in fall
Sanma: This is typical fish to be eaten by Japanese in fall. We
can eat sanma in summer if we pay a lot, but the both of taste and price are best in fall.
Iwashi: Iwashi can be fished at many places in Japan and the best
season varies depending on the place and species, but popular Iwashi named Maiwashi
comes to peak from summer to fall.
Saba: Definitely fall is best season for mackerel.
Shishamo: This can be fished in very limited area Pacific
side of Hokkaido. Also this is available in very limited season- Oct and Nov when they
come back to their river to bear spawns.
Surume Ika: Surume Ika can be fished at many places in
Japan and available in every season through whole a year. The best season is from spring
to fall.
Hatahata: This usually live at the bottom of deep sea, but this
comes up to bear the spawns in Nov. So Nov is best season to fish and eat.
Fresh fish in winter
Maguro: Depending on the season, the available places are different,
but Black Maguro from Tsugaru sea in winter is believed the best.
Buri: Winter is the best season to eat. Japan Sea is the hot place to fish
this.
Madara: In winter this have Shirako which is spam of fish and it
is the best opportune to taste.
Hirame: This is available
Kinmedai: Though we can eat in every season through a
whole year, winter is the best to taste.
Hotate: Hokkaido and Aomori are famous place to grow up
Hotate. This becomes big and tasty in winter.

Famous Kappabashi Street as a kitchen tool market, 22 Apr 2013

According to the guests to our home, the most popular place to visit is Tukiji Fish Market and the
second is Kappabashi.

This Kappabashi Street is famous for the kitchen tool market for both of food lovers and professional
chefs. More over Kappabashi is popular for foreigners as the place to buy Japanese important kitchen
tool and souvenirs. More than 100 shops are selling food related items.

Kappabashi Kitchen Steet started about 100 years ago, when the traders/whole seller/retail seller
gathered and opened the shops for tools for everyday life and antiques.
As I bought Japanese traditional knife at the market here, many tourists buy their own knives too. We
can ask each shop to carve the name of us on the knife for memorial. It is worth a try once, if you like
Japanese cooking. Some people may buy the specific bawl for making sushi which is made of wood
or bamboo. Of course, the japanese dish and Chopsticks are available here. You will recognize that
you can buy everything which are in Japanese kitchen.

How to access:

15 minutes walk from Ueno, or Uguisudani Station (JR Yamanote Line or JR Keihin Tohoku Line)

15 minutes Asakusa Station (Tokyo Merto Ginza Line, Toei Asakusa Line, Tobu Line)

5 minutes walk from Tawaramachi Station (G17, Tokyo Metro GInza Line)

6 minutes walk from Iriya Station (H19, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line)

How to enjoy Tsukiji fish market, 20 Apr 2013

Many of guests coming to my home would like to visit Tsukiji fish market. It is the one place which
food lovers are recommended to go once. Though I go to Tsukiji market to buy fresh ingredients for
my lesson almost everyday, I enjoy there everytime because of some reasons. I am going to write
down the overview about fish market, today.

The first reason I would like to recommend you to visit fish market is that you will find out various
cultures of Japanese foods. To begin with, you will find bunch of sea foods and vegetables there. For
instance, 480 kinds of sea foods and 270 kinds of vegetables/fruits from all over the Japan are traded
and opened to see and buy for travelers. If you walk into the small paths of the fish market, you must
be surprised to see their variety. Moreover, if you can get up earlier than the other travelers from the
world, you can get the ticket of the Tuna auction for free. (Actually I have not been to the auction.
Once I tried and went to market 5:00 AM, but the tickets were all sold out. They said that we had to
go there before 4:00AM.)

The second reason I recommend you to visit Tsukiji Fish market is that you can enjoy delicious meals
and ingredients which are very fresh definitely. Inside the are of the market, there are 39 restaurants
such as Sushi, Tonkatsu, Unagi, Gyudon and Tempura. Usually in front of the famous sushi restaurant
such as Daiwazushi and Sushidai there are very long lines, so it is better to go there as early as
possible. In addition, if you buy some raw fishes or the other sea foods there, it must be the freshest in
Japan and delicious without any doubt.

Then, how and when to go there?

Shopping at Inside Fish market: It is mainly for the procurement by the buyers from the restaurants
and retailers, so you need to take care of when is available for travelers. AM 9:00-12:00 is available
to buy seafoods inside of the market. Please whach out it is not allowed to go into and buy ingredients
before 9:00 AM, because professional buyers have to do their jobs. Not available on saturday and
sunday.

Eating at Inside Fish market: The restaurants are open from 5:00AM to 14:00PM. You have to wait 2
hours to eat at a famous sushi restaurant, because the reservation is not allowed. Not available on
sunday.

Joining Tuna auction: If you want to join tuna auction definitely, it is better to go before 3:00AM,
because only 120 people are allowed to come in everyday. The ticket is free.

Shopping around the Inside Fish market(Outside Fish Market): You can buy many kinds of seafoods
around the Inside Market too. Not available on sunday. The available time is AM 6:00-12:00.

What Japanese foods do Japanese love best? , 13 Apr 2013

This question is very interesting even for Japanese. The research company Lifemedia released their
survey which was answered by 60,000 Japanese people living in Japan. It shows the popular Japanese
foods for Japanese people. Please take care of that this list doesnt show what Japanese people often
eat but what Japanese people like eating regardless of its costs. On the list of the top 10 foods, we eat
only curry rice, Karaage and Hamburg often at home, but rests of them are not usual foods or not
homemade food, but special foods for special occasion such as celebration or treating ourselves.

1. Sushi (7,251 votes): This is typical food for celebration or something special day. There are various
kinds of fishes and shells on the rice, but the most popular one is definitely tuna. In addition,
Tamagoyaki (baked sweet egg) is popular for children. Many foreigners sometimes misunderstand
that we eat sushi almost everyday, but in real we eat this only once a month at most. Nigiri Sushi is
cooked by profession chef in specialized Sushi restaurant, but Sushi roll is cooked at home with
whole member of family.

2. Curry rice (3,622 votes): As everyone knows, the origin of curry is India. But Japanese curry was
originally introduced from England.

3. Ramen (3,421 votes)

4. Karaage (2,851 votes)

5. Yakiniku (2,194 votes)

6. Sukiyaki (1,688 votes)

7. Sashimi (1,486 votes)

8. Unagi on rice(1,345 votes)

9. Hamburg (1,285 votes)

10. Beaf Steak (1,206 votes)

11. Onigiri (1,107 votes)

12. Katsudon (1,059 votes)

13. Okonomiyaki (Osaka style) (1,035 votes)

14. Tonkatsu (1,010 votes)

15. Seafood Donbur (967 votes)

16. Shabushabu (894 votes)

17. Omu rice (Omelet with rice) (831 votes)

18. Miso soup (802 votes)

19. Fried Pork with ginger (733 votes)

20, Gyoza (729 votes)

21. Okonomiyaki(Hiroshima Style) (715 votes)

22. Natto on rice (715 votes)

23. Nikujaga (simmered pork and potatp) (706 votes)

24. Dep fried shrimp (699 votes)

25. Soba (683 votes)

26. Takikomigohan (676 votes)

27. Takoyaki (669 votes)

28. Rice with raw egg and soy source (659 votes)

29. Baked Sanma fish (604 votes)

30. Tempura (586 votes)

31. Yakitori (583 votes)

32. Deep fried Oyster (552 votes)

33. Tempura on rice (526 votes)

34. Piizza (505 votes)

35. Macaroni Guratin (487 votes)

36. Chawanmushi (459 votes)

37. Scattered Sushi (439 votes)

38. Tamagoyaki (432 votes)

39. Korokke (426 votes)

40. HIyashi chuka (389 votes)

Hanami Cherry blossoms festival, 1 Apr 2013

What is Hanami: Hanami means seeing the view of cherry blossoms (Sakura in Japanese) and
enjoying eating or drinking under the trees of Sakura. This has long history with Japanese for more
than 1,000 years. At the beginning of the sakuras history, only the aristocracy and soldiers enjoy the
excursion to see sakura. In the Edo Era when is about 300 years ago, local people have started
imitating the culture of the upper class and Hanami became the national event in Japan. Now
hundreds kinds of sakura was developed by cross breeding and beautiful chilly blossoms can be
found all over the world.

The reason why Japanese people love Hanami: Sakura blooms for only a week at the beginning of the
spring, so we can see it only at the end of March or beginning of April in a short term. We can
celebrate that the rigid coldness in winter has finished and new and happy season of spring has come
finally. Moreover, Japanese people feel that sakura is very beautiful because of both of its appearance
and short life.

What to eat: The typical foods when we eat for Hanami are bento and onigiri. Both of them are very
popular and handy foods to take out and eat on the sheet on the ground. You can learn these in the
cooking class with Mari if you are interested in.

Enjoying Intensive class, 30 Mar 2013

After launching the intensive class, I offered two intensive classes in this month. I enjoyed these
lessons, so let me introduce three points how we enjoy this course.

First, we cook many many kinds of Japanese and I am happy to introduce from basics to advances as
much as I can. Every meal is like feast actually.

Secondly, I feel that we can be real friends by talking and cooking everyday together. While we cook,
we have much time to chat and talk about counties, friends, and family. I wish I can go to their
countries and see them again.

Finally, I am stimulated to understand the both Japanese and foreign cooking style more. To begin
with, I realize the different way of cooking between Western and Japanese. The guests kindly give me
many questions and I have good chances to think about it well to answer. At the same time, the guest
may offer some interesting idea about their own ways and culture. I am very interested in foreign
cooking, so this makes me feel so interesting and fun! Furthermore, some of them teach me how to
cook their food after class. For instance, a French chef proposed me to learn French sweets fondant au
chocolat and I enjoyed it very much. We named this as Cooking Exchange.

For these points, I enjoy the intensive cooking class everyday and I am looking forward to further
opportunities sincerely.

Introduced as 20 ways to make friends in Tokyo by Travel guide magazine, 23th March 2013,
One of the biggest guide book publishers and web magazines, Time Out, releases the articles about
20 ways to make friends in Tokyo. In this article Japanese Cooking Class Tokyo with Mari is
introduced.

Moving to Tsukiji in Tokyo, 19th March 2013,

We moved to Tsukiji/Ginza area which is Tokyo central area today. We can walk to Tsukiji fish
market for 5 minutes from our home where this lesson is provided. I am happy to be able to serve
very fresh fish which I buy at the fish market for guests everyday.

Launching the new cooking class Intensive Class, 2 March 2013

I am happy to start the new style cooking class named Intensive Class. I would like to explain what
is intensive class today.

This class is for the real food lovers or chefs/cooks who want to learn Japanese cooking as much as
possible for limited time schedule. This class takes more than 3 days and you can learn cooking
whole day long (or whenever you want). We start cooking in morning or noon and cook lunch, then
cook dinner everyday. Even though, we cook 1 main dish + 1 side dish + rice + miso soup in usual
class, we cook 2 main dishes and 2 side dishes in this intensive class. So if you take lunch and dinner
course, you will make 8 dishes for a day. Of course, every menus are your choice. Moreover, I will
help you go shopping to fresh fish market, supermarket, and cooking tool market if you like.

By the way, there are two reasons why I started Japanese intensive class. To begin, first reason is that
I would love to choose intensive class, if I were a traveler to Japan. While the staying cost is
expensive and the duration of the holidays is limited, I love cooking very much and would like to
learn not only try cooking once but also understand and experience both of various foods including
every ingredients and cultural backgrounds deeply. In addition, the second reason is that some foreign
chefs give me inquiries about whole day and consecutive cooking lessons. According to them, they
would like to serve Japanese foods to their customers in each country. I am pleased to hear that I can
contribute to spread Japanese cooking culture widely to offer cooking class to them.
That is why, here I have arranged intensive cooking class for everyone who wants to learn Japanese
cooking at most.

Restart cooking class tokyo after coming back from China, 1st March 2013
We came back from China to Tokyo and resume the cooking class. Now we are offering cooking class
at my parents home in my home town, Kamakura. Though it takes 30 minutes from Tokyo midtown,
if you have interest, please enjoy home visit in county side and cooking/ eating with our family.

Moving to china and tentative closing, 31 Sep 2013

We have moved to China tentatively for 6 months. I was happy to welcome many guests from various
countries since our launching Japanese Cooking Class Tokyo with Mari, but regretfully I have to stop
our cooking class. I am sorry for your inconvenience, but I will promise to resume our lesson after
coming back to Japan on March.

Ranked top 5 on tripadvisor ranking in 2012, 31 Dec 2012

Thanks to friendly and kind guests, Cooking Class Tokyo with Mari was chosen as the top 5
recommendation by tripadvisor in 2012. I believe without doubt that this is just because of our kind
guests. Thank you for coming to our cooking class at our home and giving us your feedbacks and
advises for us. I would like to try my best to improve our cooking class more for future guests and
travelers to Japan next year too.

Sursa : http://japanese-cooking-class-tokyo-
mari.com/recipe/