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Omurice (オムライス)

If you’re like me and secretly enjoy covering your scrambled eggs in ketchup, then you’ll love omurice(オムライス). “Omu” is an abbreviation for “omuretsu” (omelette pronounced with a Japanese accent) and “rice” (pronounced raisu) refers to the sweet and savory chicken rice it’s filled with. It’s unclear where the dish originated, but in Japan omurice is [...]

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Best Pork Chops

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Pork chops can be effortless and delicious, but first you need to understand a few things about the pork that’s sold in supermarkets. Pigs in the US have been selectively bred to be very lean over the past fifty years. According to the National Pork Board, a 3 ounce serving of pork tenderloin has 3 [...]

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Kkaennip Kimchi (깻잎김치)

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Kkaennip (깻잎김치) is an herb unique to Korean cuisine that’s often translated as “wild sesame” in Asian grocery stores. It has broad green saw-toothed leaves and a strong camphor-like scent that’s somewhere between basil and mint. That’s probably because kkaennip isn’t related to sesame as the name implies, but is a part of the genus [...]

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Kenchinjiru

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When people think about Japanese soups, miso soup is about the only one that comes to mind for most. But with harsh winters and rampant poverty only a few generations ago, there’s a rich culinary history of soups and stews in Japan. For vegans that are dismayed to find out that many Japanese soups contain [...]

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Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

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The secret to making a great spaghetti and meat sauce is to build layers of flavor (beyond the meat and tomatoes), and to allow them to meld together in a balanced way. It’s a fairly simple thing to do when you’re including dozens of ingredients and simmering them together for hours, but I wanted to [...]

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Lemongrass Ginger Syrup

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Ginger is one of those spices that you generally don’t need a lot of, but it’s hard to buy just a small piece. That’s why I like buy it in bulk and preserve it. I’ve talked before about preserving ginger in vodka, but juicing it and creating a syrup is another great way to make [...]

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Chocolate Almond Granola

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I’m not a huge cereal fan, but I make an exception for granola. Whether I’m having it in milk, on yogurt or popping clusters by the handful, I could go through a bag of the stuff in a day or two. Unfortunately most packaged granolas are loaded with fat and sugar and aren’t exactly cheap. [...]

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Easy Chicken Teriyaki (Pan-fried)

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If you’ve been following this blog for long, you probably remember that I’ve posted about chicken teriyaki before. It was a grilled preparation that involved brining, grilling and basting the chicken, and while delicious, it’s a fair amount of work. While teriyaki may have originally been a grilled dish, these days in Japan, the chicken [...]

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