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April 29, 2024
 

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THE WAY OF WASHOKU

LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jun 24, 2001
Hiyashi somen: the cool slurp of summer
On a hot summer day nothing refreshes like cold, wet noodles. Japan eats a rice-based diet most of the year, but in the summertime, to lighten the hot-weather menu and relieve pressure on dwindling rice storage from the previous fall, the population turns to cold noodles.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jun 17, 2001
Savoring rewards of slow food
In addition to just eating a plump one with a bowl of hot rice to improve digestion and settle your stomach, there are four basic condiment staples made with dried salt-preserved Japanese apricots (umeboshi). If you were ahead of the game and pickled your umeboshi this time last year, now is the time to reap the benefits of your labor. Prepared traditionally taking more time than work, umeboshi could really be the poster child for the slow food movement. These four offshoot preparations of umeboshi are no exception to this time intensity.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Jun 3, 2001
Ume, back in the pink
Get out the salt and pop open the white liqueur — the season for ume is upon us. The diminutive Prunus mume — referred to erroneously as a plum but technically an apricot — has hit the shelves and is available in its preferred unripe form for the next month and a half. Farmers growing these apricots take extra precautions — the fruit notoriously falls from the trees while still unripe, especially when disturbed by seasonal rains, lending its name to stormy July weather, tsuyu ("plum rain").
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
May 20, 2001
A good reason to hit the sauce
When a friend of mine dragged two other friends from the States to Osaka to eat at the first restaurant I apprenticed at in Japan, they were prepared to pay 10,000 yen for the pleasure of eating the omakase, a several-course menu selected by the chef. What they were not ready for was the main dish: a big, steamed fish head, the traditional kotsu mushi (literally, "steamed bones"). Eyes widened and chopsticks were timidly taken up to probe the foreign matter presented on beautiful Bizen-yaki ceramic-ware. Later, the plates mysteriously returned to the dish sink devoid of anything but the fish bones, the famous nanatsu dogu, the bones shaped like seven different farmers' tools found in the head of a tai.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
May 6, 2001
A flavor-enhancer to be handled with care
For a younger, less taste-aware version of myself, coal-black briny-sweet Chung King brand soy sauce was all I needed to accompany the corner Chinese restaurant's ubiquitous white rice. As I got closer to the bottom of the bowl the poor rice would become salty enough to render the last bites inedible.
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Apr 22, 2001
Taking stock of basics
All great food begins with perfect dashi (stock).
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE WAY OF WASHOKU
Apr 8, 2001
Rice grains of wisdom
I spent five years cooking in fine dining restaurants in the U.S., and yet I was not quite prepared for life as an apprentice in a Japanese kitchen.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Ukraine is far from doomed
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
When will Japan intervene to support the yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has reiterated the government's readiness to take an appropriate action as the yen continues to slide against the U.S. dollar.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.

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