Hosui Pears are very round, medium to large Asian Pears. Their mild flavour is sweet with little acid or tartness, which allows it to be a bit more complex and makes it a very popular pear for its taste. Some think its fragrance reminds them a bit of brandy. The skin is rosy-bronze or golden…
Japanese Food
Houji-Cha Tea
Houji-Cha Tea is a green tea with hardly any bitterness in its taste. It is an inexpensive tea and very common, yet it is light, refreshing, and aromatic. To make it, tea leaves are steamed, dried, then pan-roasted at a high temperature. The leaf colour changes from green to red. The more it is roasted,…
Hukamushi-cha Tea
Hukamushi-cha Tea is sencha tea that is steamed for a long time. This reduces bitterness, and makes it milder. It is a fragrant, green tea with full flavour. When brewed, the tea will be somewhat cloudy. Cooking Tips To make tea for 5 people: use 5 teaspoons of tea to 3 cups (750ml) boiling water….
Ichiban Nashi Pears
Ichiban Nashi are medium to large sized Asian Pears that ripen very early in the season.The skin is light brown with brown russetting. The flesh has a delicately sweet taste, and is always crisp and crunchy. Storage Hints Store in fridge for up to 6 weeks.
Imo
Imo is a generic Japanese word for “tuber.” It can be used to refer to potatoes (“jyaga imo”), sweet potatoes (“satsuma imo”), yams (“yama imo”) or taro (“sato imo”). History Notes Both potatoes and sweet potatoes in Japan are originally from the Americas, though many Japanese cultivars have been developed. Language Notes “Sato-imo”, means “starch…
Ito Konnyaku
Ito Konnyaku are a thicker version of yam noodles (“shirataki”.) They are made from Konnyaku Powder. Like shirataki, Ito Konnyaku noodles are sold packed in water in cans or bags, or sold dried. Cooking Tips Generally the noodles are quite long; cut them into manageable lengths that make them easier to eat. Good in stir…
Japanese Cucumbers
Japanese Cucumbers is just an English-language generalization for cucumbers grown in Japan. Obviously, there’s more than one type of cucumber grown in Japan. Varieties classed by English speakers as Japanese cucumbers include Kyoto, Palace King, Soarer, Sooyow Nishiki, Suhyo, Tasty Green, and Tsuyataro. The cucumbers are long, narrow and have thin skin. They tend to…
Japanese Food
Japanese Food is a very elegant cuisine. When anyone debates, “what are the great cuisines of the world”, Japanese has to be up there on the list. It even influenced the 20th century movement in France called “nouvelle cuisine”, in terms of both preparation and presentation. Japanese cooking has a larger number of ingredients served…
Japanese Knives
Japanese knives are prized for their craftmanship and technical refinement. Some Japanese knife makers have been in business 400 to 700 years.
Japanese Pickles
In Japanese cuisine, pickles or a pickled item appears in some form at practically every meal, even breakfast, either as a condiment, a relish or a garnish. They serve to act as a contrast with the food and to cleanse the palate. In Japanese, pickled foods are known as “tsukemono.” Sometimes, they are referred to…
Japanese Quail
Japanese Quail are raised both for meat and eggs. The birds have all their feathers when they are four weeks of age. Cinnamon-coloured feathers usually indicate a male, but not always. Males will weigh 3 ½ to 5 ounces (100 to 140 grams); females 4 to 5 ½ ounces (120 to 160 grams.) The birds…
Japanese Sauces
Japanese sauces are very simple sauces, compared to, for instance, the complexity of French sauces. Any cooking for Japanese sauces is generally just a brief, light simmer on the stove to reduce the liquid, and while a sauce may be an assembly of other sauces, those other sauces are all obtained commercially off the shelf….
Japanese Yellowtail
This is a species of Yellowtail Jack fish that is raised in Japan and fished from Japanese waters. It is slightly different from the Californian Yellowtail Jack fish. When young, the fish is used raw for sushi and sashimi. Older fish are cooked, usually by grilling or simmering. The Japanese name for this fish depends…
Jinenjo
Jinenjo is a variety of the Japanese yams called “Yamaimo.” They have rough skin; the flesh inside is white, and starchy to the point of being mucilaginous. Old-timers swear that the Jinenjo yams cultivated these days are not as good as the ones that used to be gathered from the wild. The ones gathered from…
Kamaboko
Kamobako are Japanese fish cakes that can be coloured and shaped in many ways.
Kamairi-Cha Tea
Unlike Sencha tea, leaves for Kamairi-Cha are not steamed first. They are toasted in pans in heat of up to 575 F / 300 C, shaken often. It tastes very much like Chinese green tea. It is available as leaves or pellets. Sechibaru and Ureshino in southern Japan are well-known for their Kamairi-cha. Cooking Tips…
Kanikama Crab Sticks
Kanikama is artificial crab meat made from a paste of minced white fish that has been flavoured and coloured.
Karashi
Karashi is Japanese hot yellow mustard, hotter than even English mustard. To make it no is vinegar added, so there is no sour aftertaste. You add water to make a paste. It is sold prepared in tubes or powdered. It is usually served with oden, and some dumplings, and to add zing to some sauces….
Karuma Shrimp
Karuma Shrimp are very large shrimp with striped shells. They can grown 7.5 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm), though they are usually sold at 5 to 6 inches (12 to 15 cm.) Each female can produce around 400,000 eggs. The shrimp will only live 1 year in the wild. They are used a…
Kezurikatsuo
Kezurikatsuo are shavings of dried skipjack tuna. They can also be broadly referred to as bonito tuna flakes (“Katsubushi” in Japanese), but when these bonito shavings are on the larger and thicker side, they are referred to as Kezurikatsuo. Cooking Tips Kezurikatsuo are the version of bonito flakes generally used in making Dashi stock.
Kinome
Kinome is a Japanese herb. It is whole leaves from the Japanese Prickly Ash (aka Szechuan Peppercorn) tree. The leaves have a bit of a citrus-fruit aroma, and a milder pepper taste than the berries (see Szechuan Peppercorns) do, with a hint of a mint-like and lime taste to boot. They have more of a citrus…
Ko-Cha Tea
Ko-Cha is the Japanese word for “Black Teas” in general, such as is drunk by Westerners. If drunk with milk and sugar in it, it is called “miruku tei”; if drunk with lemon in it, it is called “remon tei.”
Kobe Beef
Kobe Beef is a very expensive Japanese beef that can cost several hundred US dollars per pound. It is cut from a specific cattle breed called Wagyu Cattle. It is really only Kobe Beef if it’s from Wagyu Cattle that have been reared in Kobe, the capital of Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, according to the…
Koi-Cha Tea
Koi-Cha Tea is a type of tea beverage made from Matcha Tea. It is a strong, thick beverage. The Matcha used is made from the first seasonal harvest of leaves from tea bushes that are at least 30 years old. The drink called “usucha” is also made in the tea ceremony from Matcha, but to…