I had an interview by Forbes JAPAN (https://forbesjapan.com/). I introduce my entrepreneurial stories, the art of Ramen & Gyoza making, the secrets of my class and vision for the future etc. To read this article (*only in Japanese), please click here.
Gyoza (餃子, gyōza) are dumplings filled with ground meat and vegetables and wrapped in a thin dough. Gyoza are also known as pot stickers in English. Gyoza originated in China (where they are called jiaozi), but have become a very popular dish in Japan since most of Ramen shops also offer Gyoza on the menu. We usually use ground pork, nira chives, green onion, cabbage, ginger, garlic and sesame oil, but some gyoza specialty shops have also come up with a range of other fillings. Gyoza are found nationwide at ramen shops, Chinese restaurants, Izakaya restaurants and a small number of gyoza specialty shops.
There are mainly three types of Gyoza; Yaki gyoza(pan fried gyoza), Sui gyoza(boiled gyoza) and Age gyoza(deep fried gyoza). Yaki gyoza are most common in Japan. They are pan fried before a mixture of water and potato starch or cornstarch is poured in and everything is covered for a few minutes. Gyoza are usually eaten with a dipping sauce made of equal amounts of soy sauce and rice vinegar. If you like spicy, some drops of chili oil is also commonly added. Gyoza are particularly popular in the cities of Utsunomiya in Tochigi prefecture and Hamamatsu in Shizuoka prefecture.
Related article & video :
– Gyoza Town visit
– Japan Guide : Gyoza town
– Book : Complete Guide to Japanese Cuisine
On the 3rd of February, we have the day of “Setsubun” (seasonal division) in Japan.
Setsubun has been an important time-honored rite to welcome the New Year by banishing evils and keep the house from calamity.
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Unfortunately, we decided to discontinue our recipe app for smart phone. You can watch our movies on Youtube. Thank you!
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I have an exciting news today! Guess what? (Some of you might noticed from the title! )
Yes, I finally launched my recipe app!!! I’ve been teaching Japanese cooking at my private kitchen here in Tokyo and met many Japanese food lovers. I’ve always wanted to teach many more Japanese recipes in the class. But it was hard because the duration of the class and guests’ travel itinerary etc. That’s why I started to create my recipe app with my team. My recipe app “Recipe by YJC” is a FREE app dedicated for YOU, Japanese food lovers! I will keep adding new recipes once or twice a week. You can always check Japanese food recipes anywhere (i.e. grocery shopping at Japanese supermarket!) Download now and enjoy Japanese cooking!
* Now, Recipe by YJC is available for Android, too!!! (As of June, 2020)
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese-style savory pancake cooked on a large hotplate. Okonomi means “As-you-like-it” and recipes differ depending on the region; traditionally Osaka and Hiroshima. Osaka-style Okonomiyaki is literally a pancake which contains flour, dashi, shredded cabbage, Japanese spring onion, meat/seafood and egg etc. Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki has layers of those ingredients, plus egg noodles. It is flavored with a special Okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and Aonori seaweed flakes. To make both Okonomiyaki, special spatula called “Okoshi-gane” is a must tool to flip the whole pancake.
“Okuizome” (first meal) is the Japanese traditional ritual that parents perform around the 100th day after the birth of their baby along with their family and relatives (sometimes friends, too) to wish the baby will never starve by sharing a celebratory meal.
The celebratory meal is in the traditional “one soup and three dishes (一汁三菜）” style and generally consists of Osekihan (rice cooked with red beans), whole grilled fish such as snapper, soup, Nimono (simmered food), and pickles, which are eaten with celebratory chopsticks made of willow.
We prepared Osekihan, Chikuzen-ni (simmered vegetables & chicken), Miso soup with shijimi, Simmered snapper, Pickled plum.
Despite the origin from China, ramen is now a most representative dish of Japan. There are three components of ramen. Soup is made with dashi and seasonings like soy and miso. Chefs develop their own recipes for their soup by combining multiple ingredients, such as pork bones, chicken bones, kombu (kelp), dried fish, vegetables and herbs. Two other components are toppings and noodles. These vary depending on the ramen shop and the region it is produced. Noodles are usually egg noodles and can be thicker or thinner. You can see the dynamic performance of shaking noodles with using noodle strainer at the shop. Ramen toppings reflect the local food culture. Seasoned eggs called Ajitsuke tamago is a must! The classic flavors are miso, salt, soy sauce and tonkotsu (pork bone-based thick soup). Ramen is regionally diverse. Tonkotsu is popular in the south, whereas Shoyu ramen (soy sauce-based ramen) is popular in Tokyo.
Related articles & video :
– Soy sauce based ramen
– Japan Guide : Ramen Museum in Yokohama
– Vegetarian Ramen | Japan Travel
– Japan Guide : Ise jingu & Toba | Wagyu ramen, Tofu ice cream etc
– Book : Complete Guide to Japanese Cuisine
The other day, I went to Nippori area and visited this ramen shop. The name of this shop is Burari (ぶらり). This shop is located in a narrow alley. If you don’t look its location in detail, you may passed the entrance of the alley.
They offer three kinds chicken based ramen only. Those are Torisoba (clear chicken soup ramen), Chicken paitan ramen (cloudy chicken soup ramen) and Tsukemen (dipping ramen). I tasted all of them and my favorite was Torisoba because I could taste the simple, clear but rich flavor from the soup.
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In this vlog, I will introduce seasonal drink that I found at the Starbucks and then one of the famous Japanese garden in Tokyo. This place is called “Hamarikyu gardens”. If you are in Tokyo or planning to come to Tokyo, please visit this garden and have a relaxing time with matcha tea. Enjoy the video! YUCa
YUCa’s Japanese Cooking will be featured on the Japanese TV show “COOL JAPAN” (NHK BS1 channel).
https://www4.nhk.or.jp/cooljapan/x/2020-01-01/11/3049/1887424/
On their new year’s special program, they will feature 25 news and cool activities in Japan and rank them and discuss its secrets. (Oh no!!! I feel excited and also nervous…50:50) .
If you are/will be in Japan, check out this program on the 1st of January, 2020 from 22:00! [Japan time]
Don’t miss it!!!
