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From the NYT You're the Boss blog: "Umami is the fifth flavor in food, the untranslatable Japanese word that means "delicious" or "pungent" or "essence" or "gimme more." From 300 B.C. until the early 1900s, there had been but four flavors available to the human tongue -- salty, sweet, sour and bitter -- and then an artist and a scientist, on different continents, discovered the same fifth flavor..." Read entire post here

God bless Las Vegas, home of the $500 Japanese hot pot meal (now that's a value meal!). Check out Betty Hallock's excellent article in the LA Times: Hot pot cooking goes haute. But have not fear. It's not all flash. Betty also talks about her mom's sukiyaki, which sounds heavenly. Check out the piece.

The next Food Forum lecture is going to be a great one: Wasabi On A Hot Dog?! - Rethinking Japanese Ingredients will dig into how American cooking is integrating Japanese ingredients, and not just in the traditional ways. With chef Mike Anthony of Gramercy Tavern, who trained in Japan, and chef Craig Koketsu. Tue, Feb 2nd at 6:30 pm at the Japan Society.

My friends at the Japanese Culinary Center and Sakaya are planning a tasting to answer key questions about sake: How hot is hot sake? How cold is cold? What's the optimal temperature to serve different sake? They'll also cook up chicken hot pot (perfect with hot sake). I'm looking forward to this. On Thu, Feb 4th at 6:30p. Click here for info.

Want to test your sake chops? Head to the Japanese Culinary Center in Manhattan this Thursday, Jan 21st, for their upcoming Sake 101 seminar. Participants will taste 5 sakes, including special varieties not available here. Plus you get to put your sake skills to the test with a blind tasting challenge. Register online.

Check out this excellent Wall Street Journal article about a 72-hour Tokyo eating tour. Now I'm getting hungry...

My coauthor Tadashi and I visited the Martha Stewart Show last week to cook hot pot! Martha chose two dishes, which Tadashi prepared with her on live TV. To check out the segments, click here, then click on the "watch videos" link for kabocha hot pot and beef shabu shabu.

Tadashi and I are thrilled by the lovely writeup our Japanese hot pot book received by Betty Hallock in the LA Times Daily Dish blog today, and by cookbook author Andrea Nguyen including our book in her holiday gift guide. Thank you, Betty and Andrea!

Food historian Dr. Naomichi Ishige: "The wheat-flour batter [of tempura] is called koromo, which means 'clothing'... The 'clothing' should never be like a blanket covering someone who cannot be identified as male or female, but light and translucent, revealing the skin of the wearer." (From "The History and Culture of Japanese Food")

"We've gone through stacks upon stacks of cookbooks to come up with a Top 10 Cookbooks of 2009 list to inspire some gift ideas for the cookbook enthusiasts on your holiday shopping list," writes one of my favorite food sites, Serious Eats. And guess what? The hot pot book made the list! Check out Serious Eats' The Ten Best Cookbooks of 2009!

Calling all ramen-loving college students, and any other ramen lover, too, come to think of it. The Online Colleges website just published "100 Awesome Ramen Recipes for Starving College Students." Don't starve! Click here to check 'em out.

An excellent article by the author Kimiko Barber in today's Financial Times about Japanese tofu, including the history of this important food, plus a look at a traditional artisanal tofu-making family in Kyoto. I actually visited these people five years ago, and as soon as I figure out which drive I stored the photos on, I'll post them! Click here to read the piece.

This past weekend I spoke with Seattle chef Tom Douglas on his live radio show about all things hot pot. Thanks for having me on your program, Tom. If you'd like to give our chat a listen, please click here.

Our hot pot book was mentioned today in the New York Times food section. Here's what Florence Fabricant said: "Steaming bowls sustain body and soul in the cold months. Your grandmother probably knew how to fill this need and the Japanese certainly do, as Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat so deftly demonstrate in "Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One Pot Meals" Once you have assembled the ingredients, the actual preparation is brief...The recipes are blueprints that welcome variation." Read the clip here. Woo-hoo!

I knew Tadashi and I were on to something... Check out this article in Bloomberg News about Michelin-starred restaurants in Osaka. This is the first year that that Michelin rated Osaka and Kyoto, although the guidebook's very presence in Japan has raised controversy. Click here to read the story.

I just came across an excellent article by Trevor Corson on The Atlantic Food Channel entitled Why I Don't Miss Bluefin Sushi. In the piece, Trevor argues, among other things, that demand for bluefin is but historical blip. A must read.

What does it take to become a sushi chef in Japan? And why are traditional sushi chefs there beginning to vanish? Check out the excellent Wall Street Journal article on the state of this high art called A Master's Touch. (Thank you again, Michael R., for another terrific heads up.)

A sublime kaiseki dinner is one of life's great joys, but sometimes I just hanker for a hearty, satisfying bowl of Japanese curry. Check out this terrific article about Tokyo curry joints that just appeared in Bloomberg news. Now I know where to go the next time (a) I'm in Tokyo and (b) I got a jones for curry! (Thanks Michael R. for the heads up.)

Artisanal sake and artisanal cheese, that is, which turns out to be an intriguing, sensual pairing. Join sake mavens Akiko Katayama, of Iron Chef fame, and Monica Samuels as they mix it up with world renown cheese master Max McCalman at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center in Manhattan this Saturday, Nov. 14th. Sounds like a fascinating and tasty event! Click here to register.

My friend Heidi Swanson, who runs the amazing 101 Cookbooks blog, kindly asked me to share some of my favorite cookbooks with her readers. I thought you'd find this post useful, too. Please check it out here. Thanks, Heidi!