Japanese Wild Boar Hotpot Wild boar hotpot originated from Tanba Sasayama (丹波篠山市) in Hyogo prefecture (兵庫県) and soon spread around the region as an autumn/winter dish. This dish can now also be commonly found in the region around Mount Amagi (天城山) of Shizuoka prefecture (静岡県), and the city of Gujo (郡上市) of Gifu prefecture (岐阜県)….
Author: Phil Sperss
On different kinds of Sea Urchin (Uni/うに) found in Japan and around the world.
Uni (うに), or sea urchin, is a staple ingredient served at high end sushi restaurants around the world. The bright yellowish-orange part of the sea urchin that is actually consumed are the gonads (reproductive organs) of the sea urchin. The taste of uni is actually highly variable depending on the diet, season and location from…
On Ramen Noodles – A Biochemist’s Take
This article has been kindly edited and proofread by Esmé. How and Why to Make Ramen Noodles Alkaline The source of alkaline salts in ramen noodles typically comes from kansui powder or sodium carbonate. Both liquid and powdered kansui was originally made by harvesting alkaline crystals from lake shores in China. These were later dissolved and…
Gizzard Shad (Kohada, コハダ) Nigiri
Recipe on how to prepare Gizzard Shad (Kohada, コハダ) for sushi. Kohada, (コハダ) or Gizzard Shad (Konosirus punctatus), is a kind of silver skinned fish (hikarimono,光り物) that is typically served at traditional edomae sushi restaurants in Japan. It belongs in the Clupeidae family which is the same family as herring and sardines, which means that…
Bouillabaisse with Sea Urchin Rouille
Bouillabaisse with Sea Urchin Rouille Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish soup that originated from Marseille in France. The dish originated from a way to utilise fish that was too bony to sell by stewing them together with a variety of herbs to make an amazing fish stew. This traditional dish was then adapted with…
たまひも親子丼 Tamahimo Oyakodon
たまひも親子丼 Tamahimo Oyakodon This post follows my previous post on the traditional Oyakodon and is a variation on it using tamahimo eggs (たまひも), kinkan (キンカン) or chochin (lantern/ 提灯) eggs. These eggs are the eggs that are harvested from the hen when the hen is slaughtered. This means that they have yet to be fertilised…
Double Blind Taste Testing- Expensive vs Cheap Chicken
Is expensive chicken worth it compared to cheap store brought chicken? We try carrying out a double blind taste test to find out. In this test, we brought 5 different chickens to compare. Of the 5 different chickens, one was the famous Nagoya Cochin名古屋コーチン(7000¥), one chicken was labeled as generic “from Japan” (1800¥), 3 chickens…
