Kitsune udon is the bowl I reach for when I want something warm and gentle — udon noodles in a clear, golden dashi broth topped with a sweet simmered tofu pouch. It’s one of the most loved noodle dishes in Japan, especially in Kansai (Osaka and Kyoto), where the broth is kept light so the…

If you’ve ever ordered kitsune udon at a Japanese restaurant, the star of the dish is that sweet, juicy, golden pouch of fried tofu floating on top of the noodles. In Japanese it’s just called age (揚げ) — short for aburaage (油揚げ), the thin sheets of fried tofu — but when seasoned this way for…

Kinpira gobo (きんぴらごぼう) is one of those side dishes that appears on Japanese tables so regularly it barely gets noticed — I usually make a batch at the start of the week and pull it from the fridge on busy nights. And yet it’s one of the most satisfying things to eat alongside a bowl…

In our house, tonkatsu is a Friday-night kind of dinner — the sort of meal that turns an ordinary evening into a small treat. It’s a thick piece of pork loin, coated in panko breadcrumbs, fried golden and served with a tall pile of shredded cabbage and tonkatsu sauce. One of Japan’s most beloved home…

Ask a Japanese family what’s for dinner on a tired weeknight and “curry” is one of the most common answers — ours included. Japanese curry rice — kare raisu — is one of the most popular home-cooked meals in Japan. Almost every Japanese household has a box of curry roux in the pantry, and everyone…

There’s a dish I come back to again and again when I want something deeply comforting — daikon simmered with thinly sliced beef in a savory-sweet dashi broth. In Japanese, it’s called daikon to gyūniku no nimono (大根と牛肉の煮物), and it’s one of those side dishes that makes a bowl of plain rice taste like a…

Nanban Zuke — Japanese Sweet and Sour Fried Fish Nanban zuke (南蛮漬け) is one of my favorite things to make ahead — fried fish marinated in a sweet-and-sour sauce with vegetables that actually gets better as it sits in the fridge. The fish drinks up the vinegar marinade and the flavors deepen overnight, so I…

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…