This weekend my feed was flooded with women my age at Lollapalooza, explaining why they were at Lollapalooza. So I put the headphones on, found Lolla streaming on Your Tube, and made myself a tequila soda and a tomato sandwich with my Japanese umami salt (don’t worry we will be talking about that). Danced and cooked all weekend.
MY FAVORITE SET FROM DOM DOLLA
Life has been smoothing out after a few really rough years, if I am being honest. The ramen shops have given me so much, but as we turn the corner to our 10 year celebration of Otaku Ramen, I am reflecting a lot. Most people will say “10 years is a good run,” and unless you own a restaurant in it’s 9th year, that sounds about right. It’s simply impossible to imagine the focus of your life only having a shelf life of ten years. The shops are humming along, but what’s next for me?
This is what I have been exploring here, so thank you for joining me.
I am doing what I have done for the last ten years when I have felt untethered from life, I go to Japan. There is no place on earth that makes me feel the way Japan does; both like I was born to be in Japan, and at the same time, that I will never understand or be accepted into the culture.
So get ready for this kitchen to be switching gears into all things Japanese. So this week I wanted to put some of my favorite home cooking recipes from the Japanese pantry on your radar.
If you are a paid subscriber, get ready for my Japan picks as I head back in a few weeks and dive headfirst back into the food culture of the country I will forever be learning from, that has given me so much joy and passion.
Can’t wait to take you with me.
Arigato,
Sarah
Spicy Napa Cabbage Pickle
Got some flimsy, Napa cabbage laying around the back of your vegetable bin. This is a perfect use of that cabbage. I keep this one on hand pretty much at all times and it really doesn’t take long at all so give it a go and note the pickle is fine, but all it is is so you can use to press your pickle down.
SSM
If you begin to cook Japanese food relatively often in your home, you will want to always have some SSM on hand. I learned this recipe from my first teacher in Japan and the incredible cookbook author Elizabeth Ando.
Japanese Fried Chicken "Kara-Age"
This is the actual recipe from my ramen shops OTAKU RAMEN. We call it Tokyo Fried Chicken (TFC to be cute). This is my all time favorite fried chicken. It gives popcorn chicken vibes, with the always distinctly simple ingredient list of the Japanese pantry.
Japanese Chicken Stock
As I have come to learn about Japanese food, it’s simple but it’s not easy. Chicken stock actually very easily burns and doesn’t like oxygen. Once I was taught this stock by my sensei, I never went back to french stock. No, there is no mirepoix, nothing but bones and water. Which means those bones and that water need to be REALLY GOOD, cause there is no where to hide. I simply can’t make dingy stock any more. I also prefer this stock because it has one flavor - chicken. All the other flavors can be added as you cook.