This page may contain affiliate links. So I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about the classic Japanese dish called Nasu Dengaku!
Japanese eggplant is called Nasu. If you’ve never tried it, you MUST! We have had a Japanese eggplant plant in our front garden for several years now. This year, we are having a bumper crop! So I look forward to trying many new ways to enjoy this delicious fruit! Yes, it’s actually a fruit. 🙂
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Stir Fried Japanese Eggplant With Miso!
Japanese eggplant is absolutely delicious stir fried with miso!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Soba Noodles!
I am currently working on my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project. This project is based on the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. The back of the book jacket states that the book contains “the tastes, ingredients, restaurants, dishes, and recipes (more than 70) that every food lover should experience or dream about.” As I am a food lover, I certainly didn’t want to miss out on anything, so I purchased this book and began my project.
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post raves about Vermont Curry With Chicken!
Tonight I made Vermont Curry for the first time. I have read that Vermont Curry is Japan’s most popular curry. I have tried this before at my church. Every so often the church serves this curry for lunch and I’ve always really enjoyed it but never made it myself. So I already knew I would like it (love it!) but the big question for me is why is Japan’s most popular curry called Vermont Curry?
The packaging states “Curry With a Touch of Apple and Honey.” I will try to summarize but it seems this comes from a book called “Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor’s Guide to Good Health”. From the sevendaysvt.com website: “In the book, the author Doctor Jarvis asserted that “honegar,” a mixture of honey and apple cider vinegar, was a miracle cure-all that could combat everything from arthritis to diabetes to heart disease. Later the health fad sparked by Jarvis’ book eventually made its way to Japan, where, according to the House Foods rep (manufacturer), it became known as the “Vermont Health System.” And so, in 1963, Vermont Curry was born as an effort to capitalize on that craze.”
The ingredients you will need to make Vermont Curry With Chicken include chicken, potato, carrot, and onion. After sautéing the chicken and softening the vegetables, you simply will add water and the curry blocks. After simmering for a few minutes you have a delicious Japanese curry and a fantastic taste of Japan!
Look for the Vermont Curry in your local Asian Market, or you can order it here on Amazon. There are varying levels of spiciness including mild, med hot, and hot. I used the hot version, which really isn’t all that hot in my opinion but still delicious! Check out the list of ingredients on the back of the package (see below), and if you are happy after seeing that give it a go! It’s truly delicious!
I garnished my Vermont Curry With Chicken with some green onions and my new favorite Japanese spice Nanami Togarashi. Best served with rice or even pasta!
Nanami Togarashi is a Japanese 7-spice blend includes red chile pepper, roasted orange peel, yellow and black sesame seeds, Japanese pepper, seaweed, and ginger. You can use this to spice up ANYTHING, but it is particularly great on Yurinchi Chicken, rice, and ramen…YUM! You can get it here on Amazon.
I hope you will give Vermont Curry With Chicken a try! You can also substitute other proteins such as beef or pork if you wish. Enjoy this delicious taste of Japan!
Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl
Arigatōgozaimashita!
Grace
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We recently returned from a trip to Japan. Our memories are full of this amazing country and its people, places, and of course food.
The very first meal we enjoyed was at an Okinawan restaurant in Narita, Japan. We had no idea when we walked in that it was an Okinawan restaurant. LOL The very first dish we tried was Okinawan Carrots, aka Ninjin Shirishiri.
We stumbled into the restaurant, realized they only took cash so had to go get money from an ATM. Once we returned, we were given a menu only in Japanese. Then when the waiter realized we had no clue what we were looking at, he presented us a menu in 4 languages (including English) with delicacies such as “3 Kinds of Fish Guts Pickled in Salt.” LOL
I have no idea how the Okinawan carrots ended up on our table. Maybe we ordered it? But I think the waiter just brought it over for us to enjoy while we were trying to figure out the menu! Whatever, it was delicious!!
My husband Steve ordered a delicious Pork stir fry with Vegetables after perusing the menu. I then tried to explain to the waiter what I wanted to order and we continued snacking on the delicious carrots. In the end, only the pork stir fry showed up, and unfortunately we couldn’t communicate with our waiter so my order never arrived! Never mind, I was just happy to be in Japan so all was good!
I was still dreaming about the Okinawan Carrots when I returned home. So I couldn’t wait to make this recipe and share it with others it’s THAT GOOD!
Just a very few simple ingredients are all you need for this most delicious of dishes! Carrots, egg, canned tuna, soy sauce, sesame oil, pinch of salt and pepper, and water! Can you believe that’s it?!
The only fiddly part is peeling and julienning the carrots. Click here for a tutorial on how to julienne carrots. 🙂
The method to cook these is simply stir fry to soften the carrots, then add tuna, the seasonings, and finally stir in a whisked egg. Oh, and garnish with green onions on top!
Are you ready to try these? I promise you won’t be able to stop eating these they are so delicious! It’s also a very healthy and nutritious snack!
Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl
Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl
If you’d like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Cheers!
Grace
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We recently came back from 3 weeks in Japan. The trip was an experience of a lifetime. I was especially pleased because I had the opportunity to try so many different foods. One of my favorites was Yurinchi Chicken!
Yurinchi chicken is the Japanese version of Chinese style fried chicken. It is usually made with chicken thighs with the skin on, coated with potato starch, then deep fried to a crunchy and crispy golden brown. It is served on a bed of lettuce, with a superb tasting Yurinchi sauce poured over it, and then topped with loads of sliced scallions!
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We just returned from a once in a lifetime trip to Japan. We spent 3 weeks there and it was absolutely amazing! In addition to seeing some incredible places, we also had the opportunity to experience many Japanese foods. Some of these meals were in restaurants, but some took place in the AirBnb’s in which we stayed. One of the meals in an AirBnb was particularly memorable – Easy and Delicious Gyudon!
I had wanted to cook a Japanese dish myself when in Japan, and my friend Makoto, of @kyushu.island.cooking on Instagram, came to the rescue!
This recipe for Gyudon, literally “beef bowl”, is a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with ingredients including sake, soy sauce and mirin. The finishing touch is some pickled ginger on top.
This is Makoto’s recipe, and she recommended that I make this dish. She took time to consider what meal may be easy for travelers to create and she steered me to Gyudon.
The ingredients for Easy and Delicious Gyudon are: thinly sliced beef, onion, ginger, sake, mirin, soy sauce, water, sugar, and some brightly colored pickled ginger as a garnish. 🙂 You can buy most of these ingredients in your local Asian grocery, or shop Amazon for pickled ginger, mirin, and soy sauce, as seen below.
Prep takes around 5 minutes. Cook time takes around 10 minutes. I used ready made rice that just needed heating up to keep things simple and voila! In around 15 minutes you will have a delicious beef dish served on top of rice (beef rice bowl) that your whole family will adore!
Whether traveling or not, you will absolutely love this Gyudon! Deliciously simmered beef in gorgeous spices and served over rice topped with pickled ginger. Enjoy!!!
I didn’t have a Donburi bowl (Japanese rice bowl) to serve this in when I made it, but I think serving this dish in a Donburi bowl (such as the one below) would definitely enhance the experience. 🙂
You want to follow Makoto on Instagram at @kyushu.island.cooking! Please view this link for a trip to her blog! She shares incredible Japanese recipes and also hosts genuine cooking experiences in Kyushu Island!
Find her recipe and link to Makoto’s blog here: https://japanese-food-cooking.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-to-make-gyudon.html
And join us for more food fun by signing up for our email list here. 🙂
You may also enjoy these other incredible Japanese dishes!
Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl
Cheers!
どうぞお召し上がりください
Dōzo omeshiagarikudasai (enjoy your meal in Japanese!)
Grace
This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.
The book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton lists edamame as one of the foods to eat. She says that the foods she lists in her book are the tastes that every food lover should experience or dream about. I am working my way through these foods, and edamame is food #29 that I am posting about!
Edamame are young soy beans that are harvested before they are ripened or hardened. Spicy Edamame is my favorite way to eat edamame
The first time I discovered edamame was at the cinema. They were offering this on their menu, I ordered, and happily shelled and munched my way through the film! These were salted edamame, and oh so delicious.
But I like SPICE. So I found a recipe for Spicy Edamame, from a Japanese restaurant here in San Antonio, which I tweaked a bit and let me tell you…I was in HEAVEN! These Spicy Edamame are absolutely addictive. They are bathed in a hot chili oil and ginger based sauce…need I say more?
I can sit and snack on these all day…and did I happen to mention that edamame is really good for you? Nutritionally sound..you can feel good about enjoying this most delicious and healthy snack, or side!
By the way you’ll make more of the ginger based sauce than what is needed for this particular recipe. So you can use the extra ginger based sauce as a dipping sauce for veggies, or even mixed into some rice!
The ingredients include soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, ginger, green onions, hot chili oil, and garlic. Before I made this I wasn’t very familiar with mirin, but I learned that it is similar to sake. It’s an essential ingredient in Japanese cooking with a lower alcohol content than sake but with a higher sugar content. I used Aji-Mirin by Kikkoman, which you can purchase here on Amazon.
You will also need some hot chili oil for this recipe. Amazon has a good selection of hot chili oils, including Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp (Chili Oil Sauce) and it even comes with a little spoon. 🙂
I hope you’ll give this absolutely delicious Spicy Edamame a try.
All credit for this recipe goes to former culinary arts student Anthony Santonastaso!
Cold Soba Noodles With Dipping Sauce
Please follow along with me on this quest to try the 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, from the book by Mimi Sheraton! Join me in this journey and discover new foods, experiences, and cuisines which I hope will add inspiration, fun, and joy to your life! Visit the 1,000 Foods to Eat Project page to view a list of the foods tried so far.
Edamame is #29 on my list of foods to try. 29 down, 971 to go!
If you’d like to follow along and be a part of the 1,000 Foods Project, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Cheers! Grace
My sister is Japanese, and when I told her I made Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl she mentioned that was her favorite. I’m so happy because now I can make Katsudon for her!
I’m going to Tokyo in March 2020 to participate in the marathon. I say “participate” rather than “run” because I’m totally incapable of running the whole thing! I am yearning to learn more about Japanese cuisine to prepare for this trip short term. Long term, I want to be able to impress my sister. 🙂
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