Recipe - Chawanmushi (Japanese Savory Egg Custard)

Japanese Savory Egg Custard (Chawanmushi)

Chawanmushi is a savory custard unlike any dessert custard, and one of my favorite traditional Japanese dishes.  It's typically served as an appetizer, and it uses special cups, designed just for making Chawanmushi.  This recipe uses ingredients that my family enjoys, but you can get creative and use so many different fillings.  Chicken, spinach, bok choy, asparagus and peas. are also great in this dish!

Review - Green Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant - Seattle, WA

Green Leaf Restaurant

With all of the choices in the International District it can be difficult to find the good spots.  Thanks to the internet and sites like Yelp and Urbanspoon, restaurants are a little easier to choose.  More than reading reviews, I love to see the photos of the food - You can tell a lot from a photo!  So after visiting my Aunt and Uncle who live near the ID, we decided to finally try Green Leaf.

Easter 2011 - Lunch and Cookie Decorating!

I wasn't raised in a religious family. And as much as I am aware that this will offend people, celebrating Easter really isn't much more than a commercial holiday to me - and I love to have an excuse to buy brightly colored decorations and get my family together!

2011 Mochi Making

My family is very far from a traditional Japanese family, actually, my cousin once said we look like an ad campaign from United Colors of Benetton. :) However, one tradition we try to keep alive is annual Mochi making. We don't make Mochi the traditional way, kneading and pounding away at glutinous rice. No, we're modern. There's a machine that will do it for you. I don't think our palettes are distinguished enough to notice the difference anyways. But, even with the machine, it's still a huge task, and that's why we only do it once a year. We get together for lunch and we have a ton of food! Some people just come to hang out and see everyone, and get togethers are always fun with my crazy family!

The process starts at least 1 day before the get together. The rice needs to be soaked in water for about 12 hours.

Review - Japonessa Sushi Cocina

Japonessa Sushi Cocina

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I am Japanese American.  Sometimes it feels awkward to say this, because my family is so much more American and so far from traditional Japanese, or even Japanese American, if you catch my drift.  My parents, and grandparents were born in the US.  No one in my family speaks, writes or reads Japanese.  Most of us have never even stepped foot in Japan.  However, the one thing most of us enjoy, is Japanese cuisine. (Uhh.. I can barely use chopsticks...)