Pork

I usually think of grilled fish as a mainstay of a traditional Japanese breakfast (especially salted half-dried shishamo, smelt, which I love), for his recent class at the Brooklyn Kitchen, Atsushi Nakahigashi decided to cook the amazing simmered pork pictured above.

Located in Shitamachi, once the "town below" Edo Castle, where the craftsmen and fishermen lived, it's in my favorite part of Tokyo, one proud of its Edokko sensibility, and chock full of traditional shops and eateries. A hole-in-the-wall there I particularly loved was a tiny joint run by crusty husband and wife that specialized in just one thing -- tonkatsu, deep fried pork cutlet.

Ah, gyoza. What can I say, I love gyoza. Whenever I'm in Japan, sniffing out gyoza shops is de regueur, and gyoza always arrives with my ramen (a frosty beer completes the hat-trick). These steamed-and-fried dumplings are easy to make at home, too, and I'm going to demonstrate how soon at my upcoming Japanese comfort food workshop at the Brooklyn Kitchen on the 19th. To get ready, I've been working on perfecting my technique.

Last night a bunch of hungry souls joined me at EN Japanese Brasserie to experience an amazing meal based on classic makanai, or staff meal, cooking. A highlight was Chef Abe's delicious butajiru, or traditional pork miso soup, the recipe of which he graciously shared with me, below.