Recipes & Articles

I've been in Kyoto for almost a month now, and while most of my dining has been <i>makani</i> -- restaurant staff meals -- I've had a couple of chances to squeeze in some great dinners (details on my restaurant training soon).

A few years ago I got a glimpse at the high art of tempura cooking while visiting Kyoto at an elegant restaurant called Tenyu, and I never forgot it.

My friends know about me and gyoza. I can't resist these fried-then-steamed dumplings stuffed with pork, napa cabbage and garlic chives, so when we rolled into Osaka, we headed directly to a half-century old joint called Tenpei Gyoza.

Back in Japan now and just rolled into the lovely city of Nagoya. First order of business: Nagoya Cochin chicken.

What makes the Japanese way of preparing fish so special?

How bad did I want a Japanese konro grill? Let's just say I had a picture of one tacked up on the refrigerator of my Manhattan apartment for at least five years in the hope, the hope, that someday that I'd have a backyard or rooftop where to use it.

I was curious to see the reaction of fellow commuters as I stepped onto a Brooklyn-bound subway holding a clear plastic bag filled with 20 pounds of salmon parts.

Here is Chef Isao Yamada's incredibly tasty version of a Japanese comfort food classic...

When Chef Isao Yamada recently returned to my place for another cooking session, one of the first questions I asked him was prompted by a reader's comment asking for a method for an all-purpose dashi.

I knew I was in for a treat when my pals at Manhattan's EN Japanese Brasserie invited me to sample cocktails up whipped up by their new mixologist, Gen Yamamoto.

Calling all friends of the Japanese Food Report! Just in time for summer grilling (or winter grilling south of the equator), my coauthor Tadashi Ono and I are in the thick of writing an exciting new cookbook for Ten Speed Press called, appropriately enough, "The Japanese Grill." We're now organizing a team of volunteer recipe testers to evaluate our dishes, and need your help.

Here's another method for sardines, thanks to Chef Isao Yamada: Marinate them in vinegar. In my last post I mentioned I wanted to learn more Japanese sardine preparations, to give me some options for this flavorful but underappreciated fish (at least in America).