Edamame: Eat them fresh and green, with a beer or two
Edamame, or immature green soybeans, are the quintessential snack to have with an ice-cold beer, especially in summer. Their popularity has spread around the world in recent years, but the habit of eating fresh, salted green soybeans out of their pods has a history in ...
Once a food for the upper classes, tofu is now enjoyed by the masses
It's not certain exactly when tofu was introduced to Japan. One theory holds that it was brought over from China by the great Buddhist priest and scholar Kukai, also known as Kobo Taishi (734-835) in the early ninth century during the early Heian Period ...
Gomachu: Imbuing tofu with the power of sesame
At Gomachu, tofu is fun, and possibly even exciting. It may even be sexy — the jury is still out. I realize I'm pushing the boat on a foodstuff that, while globally praised for its nutritional value, has about as much visual appeal as a ...
Nuwara Kade: Sri Lankan cuisine that take spice seriously
Hands up if you think spicy food in Japan could do with being (a whole lot) spicier? My hand is up — both of them, in fact, and I'm not alone. Ajith Prasanna Rodrigo, owner of Nuwara Kade, a Sri Lankan bar and restaurant located roughly ...
Ceramic grinding wheels produced by Noritake Co. in Nagoya, usually used to cut or grind metal and glass, are gaining unexpected attention thanks to the increasing popularity of Japanese food in other countries. Demand for grinding wheels is expected to expand at home and abroad ...
Food for thought: A traditional Okinawan diet may help prolong life
The view that, if there is a Garden of Eternal Life, it is likely located in Okinawa, may be a touch exaggerated but few places offer better models for the correlation between food, health and longevity than Japan's southern islands. "Being Okinawan, being different," Donald ...
Gundam-shaped tofu to go on sale Friday
Sagamiya Foods Co., known for producing Gundam robot-shaped tofu, will put the latest of its unusual tofu series on store shelves Friday. About two years after the last Gundam tofu hit the market, the Gunma Prefecture-based tofu-maker on Thursday unveiled its new tofu whose shape ...
A stroll through Nishiki, Kyoto's favorite food market
Nishiki Market's most famous son, the celebrated artist Ito Jakuchu, is probably best known for his elaborate set of scrolls called "Colorful Realm of Living Beings," painted during the Edo Period (1603-1867), when Japan was not open for tourism. While most of the "beings" on ...
Buddhist dining in unexpected places
I've been aware of shōjin ryōri (traditional vegetarian Buddhist cuisine) for some time. I've had in my mind the image of a Buddhist practitioner painstakingly preparing the seasonal vegetarian dishes, mindful of each ingredient. And from time to time I have vaguely recalled that ...
