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Learn How To Make Delicious Okra Ohitashi!

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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 the simple and delicious Japanese salad called Okra Ohitashi!

Okra Ohitashi

Do you like okra? It seems that this is a fruit, yes FRUIT! that people either love or hate! I’m a member of the lovers of this fruit, and was so very happy to find out about this Japanese salad called Okra Ohitashi!

This dish, Okra Ohitashi, was inspired by a post from my friend @kitchennao. She had written about this dish, and mentioned that she had used red okra for it!

We have been growing red okra in our garden, and as soon as I saw this I knew that I absolutely had to try this simple Japanese salad made with okra!

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How To Make Nasu Dengaku – Miso Glazed Eggplant

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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!

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. 🙂

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Amazing Soba! – 1000 Foods To Eat Project

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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!

Soba noodles in a bowl, soba sauce in a bowl, and green onions, wasabi, grated daikon and chopsticks

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.

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Amazing Vermont Curry With Chicken!

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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!

Vermont Curry With Chicken served with rice and garnished with green onions, with kimchi and a salad in the background
Rich and Delicious Vermont Curry!

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?

Vermont Curry
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.”

Vermont Curry, chicken, onion, carrot and potato
Ingredients Required for Vermont Chicken Curry

What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Vermont Curry With Chicken?

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!

Vermont Curry
The Vermont Curry Sauce are made of blocks which you will break up and add to your skillet
Vermont Curry With Chicken

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!

Vermont Curry
Back of the Vermont Curry Package

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

Nanami Togarashi is a Japanese 7-spice blend includes red chili 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.

Vermont Curry With Chicken, kimchi, and a salad
Vermont Curry With Chicken Garnished With Green Onions and the Final Touch Nanami Togarashi 🙂

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!

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy

Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl

Gyudon on rice topped with pickled ginger in a bowl

Yurinchi Chicken

Yurinchi Chicken

Indian Butter Chicken

Indian Butter chicken

Arigatōgozaimashita!
Grace

Vermont Curry With Chicken

Vermont Curry With Chicken

Grace (Based on Directions From Vermont Curry Package)
Vermont Curry With Chicken is an easy to make and delicious dish! Your whole family will love and enjoy this delicious taste of Japan!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 31 mins
Total Time 41 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 package Vermont Curry Sauce Mix by House Foods 8.11 oz package
  • 1 lb potato peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 large onion peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 large carrot peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 lb chicken thigh or breast meat cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 tbsp olive oil split
  • 5 cups water approximately; more or less depending on how thin or thick you like your curry

Instructions
 

  • Add 1 tbsp oil to a large skillet and heat to med high. Add the chicken and saute until browned.
    chicken sauteeing in a skillet with wooden spoon
  • Remove the chicken and add the other tbsp of oil, then add the cut up vegetables (potato, carrot and onion). Saute for around 5 minutes (stirring constantly) and add water a little at a time if the vegetables start sticking to the pan.
    onions carrots and potatoes
  • Add the chicken back in, then add the water. If you like your curry a bit thicker, perhaps only add 4 cups of water to start with (you can add more later to thin the curry). Bring to the boil, and then lower to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
    onions, carrots, potatoes, chicken, and water in a skillet
  • Break apart the Vermont Curry Sauce blocks, and add to the skillet. Stir until the Vermont Curry Sauce blocks are completely dissolved (around a minute or so).
    onions, potatoes, carrots, water, chicken, and Vermont curry blocks
  • Let the mixture continue to simmer. Stir every once in awhile until the curry starts to thicken (around 10 minutes). If your curry is too thick at this time, begin to add extra water a little at a time until you achieve your desired thickness.
    Vermont Curry With Chicken

Notes

Serve this with rice, or even pasta!  I recommend garnishing with some green onions, and adding some Nanami Togarashi  for some extra flavor!  Enjoy this incredible taste of Japan!  
Keyword Curry

Okinawan Carrots

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Okinawan Carrots
My version of Okinawan Carrots

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

Dinner Menu in 4 languages
Page from the Okinawan Restaurant Menu 🙂

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!!

Okinawan Carrots
The Okinawan Carrots we had in Japan

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!

Dreaming of Okinawan Carrots

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?!

Carrots, soy sauce, egg, sesame oil, tuna

The only fiddly part is peeling and julienning the carrots. Click here for a tutorial on how to julienne carrots. 🙂

Julienned 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!

Okinawan Carrots

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!

Some Other Japanese Recipes You May Enjoy!

Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl

Gyudon on rice topped with pickled ginger in a bowl

Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl

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

Okinawan Carrots

Okinawan Carrots

Grace
These carrots cooked Okinawan style are a flavor sensation! Just a handful of ingredients produces this yummy side which you won't be able to get enough of!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 15 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 3 carrots medium to large sized
  • 1 egg whisked
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 5 oz tuna canned tuna in oil – you will only use around 1/2 keep the rest to snack on!
  • salt pinch of
  • pepper pinch of
  • water for cooking the carrots
  • 1 green onion sliced for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Peel and julienne your carrots. The finer your carrots are julienned, the quicker they will cook!
    Julienned carrots
  • Whisk one egg in a small bowl and leave it to the side.
  • Heat up a skillet to med-high. Pour the oil from the tuna can into the skillet and heat up.
  • Once the oil is heated, add your carrots. Stir fry for approximately 10 minutes or until softened. Add a bit of water here and there to help the carrots cook. You don't want it watery though, so if you add water be sure to let the water burn off.
  • Once the carrots are soft and pliable, add the 1/2 can of tuna, breaking it up and stir. Then add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and pinch of salt and pepper. Lastly, add in your whisked egg, and continue stirring until the egg is cooked.
  • Remove and serve immediately, garnished with green onion!

Notes

Eat this as a healthy and nutritious snack, or as a savory side dish to accompany any meal!  It’s so good you won’t want to stop eating it!  Enjoy this delicious taste of Okinawa!
Keyword Carrots, Stir fry

Yurinchi Chicken

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Japanese Fried Chicken
Tanoshiya’s Delicious Yurinchi Chicken!

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!

What is 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!

Tanoshiya Izakaya
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Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl

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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.

beef and onions simmering in a sauce
Easy AND Delicious Gyūdon Japanese Beef Bowl

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!

Simple and Few Ingredients Needed!

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.

Thin beef, onion, sugar, sake, soy sauce, mirin, ginger, pickled ginger, rice
Ingredients for Gyūdon

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.

pickled ginger
Pickled ginger
mirin
Mirin
Soy sauce
Soy Sauce
Ginger and pickled ginger
Ginger and Pickled Ginger

Easy and Delicious Japanese Recipe!

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!

Gyudon on rice topped with pickled ginger in a bowl
Gyudon (Japanese beef bowl) served on top of rice! Absolutely delicious!

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. 🙂

donburi bowl
Donburi bowl
Gyudon, chopsticks and Japanese Kit Kat

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!

Yurinchi Chicken

Yurinchi Chicken

Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl

Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl
Gyudon, chopsticks and Japanese Kit Kat

Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl

Makoto
Incredible 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. What more do you need?! 🙂
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb sliced beef (thin) you should be able to find this at your local Asian market
  • 1 onion sliced thinly
  • 4 in ginger peeled and sliced into thin strips
  • 1.5 cups water or beef broth
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup sake
  • 1/2 cup mirin
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • pickled ginger for garnish – as much as you want!!

Instructions
 

  • Slice onion and ginger thinly.
  • Put sliced onion, ginger, sake, water, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce in pan, and put it over middle heat and bring it to boil
  • Add sliced beef, lower the heat, and boil it down for about 10 min.
  • Serve rice in a “Donburi” bowl, put simmered beef over it, and decorate the dish with some pickled ginger
Keyword beef bowl

Cheers! 


どうぞお召し上がりください
Dōzo omeshiagarikudasai (enjoy your meal in Japanese!)

Grace

Healthy and Nutritious Spicy Edamame

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Spicy Edamame in a bowl

1,000 Foods to Eat Project

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?

Spicy Edamame in a bowl

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!

Hot Chili Oil and Ginger Sauce!

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.

Aji-Mirin
Kikkoman Aji-Mirin

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. 🙂

Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp (Chili Oil Sauce)

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!

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

Cold Soba Noodles With Dipping Sauce

Soba noodles in a bowl, soba sauce in a bowl, and green onions, wasabi, grated daikon and chopsticks

Japanese Pickled Cucumber

Japanese Pickled Cucumber

Korean Spicy Bean Sprouts

Korean Spicy Bean Sprouts

1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die

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

Spicy Edamame in a bowl

Spicy Edamame

Inspired by Sushihana’s Restaurant’s Spicy Edamame created by Anthony Santonastaso
This absolutely delicious and spicy edamame is perfect as a side or a snack! You can feel so good about eating this healthy and nutritionally sound food! Enjoy!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 12 mins
Cook Time 7 mins
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups edamame can use frozen
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp hot chili oil I used Dynasty brand (Chinese style hot chili oil)

Ginger Sauce

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce I used Kikkoman
  • 2 tbsp mirin I used Aji-Mirin from Kikkoman
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 ts sugar
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1.5" piece ginger peeled and minced
  • 4 green onions sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced

Instructions
 

  • Prepare edamame if frozen. Cook according to package directions and leave aside.
  • Prepare your Ginger Sauce by combining soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, ginger, green onions, and garlic.
  • Heat up the butter in a large pan on med high heat. Add the edamame and continually stir around 3 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat, and stir in the hot chili oil and 3 tbsp of the Ginger Sauce.

Notes

Enjoy this deliciously sweet, salty, and spicy moreish snack!!!  So good you’ll be craving it time and time again!  Please note you will have more than enough of the ginger sauce so you can use the residual as a dipping sauce for veggies or perhaps mixed into rice.  
Keyword Edamame

Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl

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Katsudon and Rice Bowl

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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