The secret of soy sauce, dashi, sake, and miso The seasonings for traditional Japanese food are usually quite simple: soy sauce with a bit of grated ginger, or soup with miso paste and a bit of wakame in it. In recipes, the ingredient list tends to only be a few lines long and the directions […]
Nourish
How Ordering Tea is Different in Japan
Don’t let a seemingly healthy habit feed a sugar addiction Can we have two iced teas?” Before Covid, we were at an American diner somewhere in Connecticut, in the middle of one of the hottest days in August. My dad and I had just finished moving me into my new apartment, and we were both […]
Shiso Pesto: A Japanese Take on Traditional Italian Flavors
Shiso pesto is the fusion of two food cultures I went to Italy for the first time two summers ago with my family, and I still bring up the food every chance I get. “Do you guys remember that Amatriciana we had? Oh my god, it was so good.” “But that gelato! I’d fly back […]
Japanese Food and Why Everything Comes With Ginger
A healthful spice, that makes everything nice We forgot to go grocery shopping and our fridge was looking sparse. We didn’t have many vegetables at home, besides some eggplants and a nub of ginger. Can you even cook anything good with just that? But turns out my mom had a plan — she took the […]
To Eat Healthfully for Life, Eat with Your Principles
If you’ve ever looked up a dieting trend, you’ve probably fallen into an endless black hole back-and-forth discussion of robot questions and robot answers, on how to best adopt a healthy lifestyle. Frequently, discussions that look like this: What time is the best time for us to eat? — You should eat when your body […]
Why You Should Love a Japanese Breakfast
What is breakfast food? I was born in the U.S. and spent my formative years there, so, naturally, I developed the sense that a normal breakfast should look something like pancakes, cereal, buttered toast, bacon, or sausages. It’s what was served to me when I went to friends’ houses for sleepovers and it’s what was […]
Rainy Season and the Joy of Cooking with Plums
The most peaceful season in Japan While some people might think the rainy season evokes feelings of gloom, it actually carries my most peaceful and quiet memories. The popular travel destinations are much less crowded, and the streets are less rowdy — a grace period after cherry blossom season and before the onset of summer […]
The Japanese Way of Eating Less Meat
It’s not about going vegan, it’s actually much simpler It’s not that I don’t want to go vegan — thinking about the environmental impact of meat consumption and the health benefits of eating plant-based, it seems like an ideal lifestyle choice that would fall in line with my values. But it can also be hard […]
Why Bento Boxes Are So Popular
They’re healthy, easy to make, and easy to eat I was on the phone with my friend, and she was talking about how she was struggling with her extra weight and the latest diet she’d been undertaking to lose it. She was growing fearful, as it wasn’t just about self-confidence anymore, but also about the […]
Use Miso to Introduce Umami to Your Dishes
One ingredient, three ways It was late at night and I had stopped by the supermarket to buy some salmon filets but hadn’t really thought about how to cook them. When I got home, I looked in the kitchen to see what I could use for seasoning and found the cabinets sparse. Another night of […]
