Takenoko Tempura — Fresh Bamboo Shoot Tempura from the Garden Every spring in Kyushu, bamboo shoots push up through the ground and need to be harvested before they get too big. This year I dug up a batch from our garden — and the first thing I made with them was tempura. Takenoko tempura (たけのこの天ぷら)…

Tori ten (とり天) is a regional specialty from Oita Prefecture here in Kyushu — chicken coated in a light tempura batter and deep-fried until golden and crispy. It’s less famous abroad than karaage or tonkatsu, but in Oita it’s the local pride, served everywhere from home kitchens to diners. The magic is in the batter:…

Crispy Outside, Silky Inside — The Magic of Agedashi Tofu Agedashi tofu (揚げ出し豆腐) looks like restaurant food but is quietly easy to make at home — I make it when I want something a little special without much effort. Blocks of firm tofu are coated in potato starch, fried until golden and crisp, then served…

Japan’s Ultimate Comfort Food — Made Easy Nikujaga (肉じゃが) literally means “meat and potatoes,” and it’s about as homey as Japanese food gets — every family has their own version, and this is ours. Sweet, savory, and deeply comforting, it’s the kind of pot that makes the whole kitchen smell like home. Traditionally, nikujaga simmers…

The Bowl That Explains Japanese Home Cooking Oyakodon is one of those bowls I can put together from what’s already in the fridge on a weekday — chicken and egg simmered in a sweet-savory broth over rice. It’s one of the most popular donburi in Japan. The name means “parent and child bowl”: chicken is…

Japan’s Favorite Ketchup Pasta Napolitan (ナポリタン) is a nostalgic, no-fuss lunch a lot of Japanese people grew up with — a pasta dish that, despite the name, has nothing to do with Naples. It was invented in postwar Japan around ketchup, sausage, and whatever vegetables were in the fridge, and became one of the country’s…

The Fish Dish That Feels Like Home Karei no nitsuke (カレイの煮付け) — simmered flounder in a sweet soy sauce broth — is one of those dishes that appears on Japanese dinner tables without fanfare. No special occasion. No elaborate prep. Just fish, a few pantry staples, and about 20 minutes. I made this last weekend…

If you’ve come here because you saw the word mehikari somewhere and wanted to know what it is: it’s a small deep-sea fish caught off the Pacific coast of Japan, sold whole, and named for its enormous eyes, which shine green when the light hits them. In English it’s called greeneye. It’s a regional fish,…

The Japanese Egg Dish That’s in Every Bento Box Tamagoyaki was one of the first things I learned to make properly — a rolled omelette built by layering thin sheets of seasoned egg in a rectangular pan. In our house it turns up everywhere: in bento boxes, on the breakfast table, as a small side…

Japan’s Favorite “Whatever You Like” Pancake Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) literally means “grilled as you like it,” and that’s exactly how we treat it at home — a savory cabbage pancake you build with whatever’s around, topped with pork belly and finished with sweet-savory sauce, mayo, bonito flakes, and aonori. It’s one of Japan’s most popular casual…