Recently we’ve been cooking some Japanese food. I’ve mentioned before that I was once an exchange student in Japan many years ago. So Japanese food has always been one of my favorites. I didn’t cook it for many years.
Takuan (たくあん) made by hand. Basically pickled daikon radish. It’s one of many pickled dishes called tsukemono (漬物) or oshinko (お新香) in Japanese. You can buy it in stores in Japan, but it so much better if made by hand. It takes about a week for the pickled flavor to seep in.
Miso Soup (味噌汁)
Gyudon (牛丼). Basically a beef and onion bowl. In America, we actually have one of the well-known Japanese fast food gyudon restaurants – Yoshinoya – who also other Japanese dishes.
I order my Japanese tea through Yamamotoyama. The seasonal shincha (literally “new tea”) is phenomenal. It is the first fresh/green batch of tea leaves of each year’s harvest.
Other dishes we’ve made recently include: nigiri and sashimi sushi, gyozai, and ramen.
For great ramen (and onigiris) in the Central Florida area, please visit Ramen Takagi in Oviedo. Takagi-san and her husband make the most authentic, delicious ramen you’ll find anywhere near here. She also various onigiri by hand right in front of us, which my son LOVES.
