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 - Wann Izakaya - Seattle, WA

Wann Izakaya

I just love Izakaya style dining.  It's like Japanese Tapas, small plates meant for sharing, and lots of drinks to go around.  We've been going to Wann for quite some time and the food is consistently good!  I love the ambiance of the restaurant, and almost every time we are there, Japanese hipsters are there, boisterously speaking in their native tongue and having what appears to be a great time!

Review - Shiku Sushi

Shiku Menu

Shiku

It seems like Ballard has a sushi place on every corner lately.  Moshi Moshi (yuck, I got food poisoning there..), O'shan, the list goes on.  We finally decided to try Shiku.  

Review - Nishino

Nishino

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A friend and I decided to go to Nishino during the Dine Around Seattle promo, a 3 course meal for $30. Neither of us have dined here before so we weren't exactly sure what to expect. We have made our way to several Japanese restaurants in Seattle, so I was looking forward to Nishino!

Recipe - Japanese Tsukemono Layered Rice

As with most families, we have a bunch of family recipes and foods that remind me of my childhood.  I plan to share them on my blog, I am sure other families have similar recipes to ours!  I don't know where this recipe originated, I just know we make it for family gatherings when the theme is Japanese food.  Like our recent Mochi Making day, I figure, if we're going to get together to do a Japanese tradition, we should probably have Japanese foods!   

Tsukemono are Japanese pickles and are common in most Japanese households.  Some may be an acquired taste, and some smell awful!  But even my SO, who isn't Japanese, and wasn't exposed to them until he met me, enjoys them.  If you enjoy pickled vegetables, give them a try!

Japanese Tsukemono Layered Rice

Makes 20-25 servings

• Assorted Japanese Tsukemono pickles

Recipe - Miso Sesame Asian Chicken Salad

I think Asian Chicken Salads are really common, I have several versions that I've made, this one is the easiest, and possibly my favorite non-spicy version!  The dressing is Miso Sesame, with a ton of flavor!  If you are in a hurry, you can buy bottled Asian Sesame dressing too!

This recipe is for a large party sized serving but it can easily be scaled down for lunch or dinner using leftover chicken.

Miso Sesame Asian Chicken Salad

Recipe - Pakui, Pacqui, Pakai...Uhh... Grandma T's Sweet and Sour Pork

I have no idea what the name of this dish is called, or how it's spelled.  My family had a small debate about it, and I don't know if we ever really came to an agreement.  My Grandma's famous recipe is written in Japanese, and none of us can even come close to translating it and even if we could, I don't think she ever cooked from a recipe.  This is a family favorite and really easy to make!

Grandma T's Sweet And Sour Pork

Recipe - Mochi with Daikon and Dashi

Once a year my family gets together to have lunch, and make Mochi.  It's a pretty involved process, and much easier to do with a large group of helpers!  Once the Mochi is made, there are a bunch of ways to eat it... here's my favorite way...

Mochi with Daikon and Dashi

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 - Musashi's

Musashi's

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I have driven by this place a million times and I've said to my SO, "We should try that place sometime..." But the line out the door always changes my mind. It's a tiny little restaurant located in Wallingford, right down the street from Archie McPhee's! The restaurant seats maybe 25-30 people, so it's easily crowded.

We had good timing, arriving around 6:30pm, and we only had a 5 minute wait. That was a relief. We had a back up plan to go somewhere else in Wallingford if the wait was more than 15 minutes. I really hate waiting for a table, but on rare occasions, I'll be patient and wait.

Chirashi $14

Lunch - Uwajimaya's Maki & Inari Sushi

Uwajimaya* Maki and Inari Sushi $6.29

I have to admit, had I not grown up eating these delectables, I would be a little afraid of their appearance. The dayglo pink fish cake? sounds and looks inedible.  Yellow stinky pickles? eww.  And brown unidentifiable pickled veggies - uh, I don't think so!  And to top it off, weird green powder stuff?!  Then there's the other sushi - what the hell are those wrinkly wet brown sacs???!!

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...)