Chocolates in Japan

The Chocolate Cellar in Mitsukoshi - Is This Really Necessary?

The Japanese love for exclusivity extends into the food culture. Satie Dominique Chocolat in the Mitsukoshi flagship store in Nihonbashi has a "chocolate cellar" where clients can store their treasured chocolates for future consumption.

Luxurious? Silly?

Regardless of your opinion, the market is there, and it has captured the attention of Tokyo chocoholics.

Mochi Cream

Henri Charpentier

Usagiya Dorayaki Wagashi

Theobroma Chocolate Shop

Yukari's Classes at the Institute of Culinary Education

Get in the kitchen with me at ICE in NYC on June 9th and 10th. I am thrilled at the opportunity to teach in NYC. One class is on incorporating more vegetables into your repertoire and the second is on becoming fluent with miso.


Vegetables in the Japanese Kitchen

Click Here or on the course title above to view available dates and times for this class.
While many associate Japanese food with sushi and wagyu beef, vegetables take center stage in the Japanese kitchen. Learn about the Japanese pantry, filled with kanbutsu dried goods, dips and dressings, under the guidance of Tokyo resident and author Yukari Pratt. You will make Vinegar-Based Pickles; Miso Soup (with a variety of options for ingredients); Takikomigohan (rice cooked with vegetables); Daikon Salad with Umeboshi (pickled plum) Dressing or other Composed Japanese Salad; Gyoza Dumplings; Kiriboshi Daikon (dried daikon) with Tofu and Carrots; Aburaage and Cheese (deep-fried tofu with cheese); and more.



Beyond Miso Soup

Click Here or on the course title above to view available dates and times for this class.
What do you do with a tub of miso besides making miso soup? Sweet, salty, dark, light, smooth, or chunky---miso's diversity lends itself to many dishes. Led by Yukari Pratt, who teaches cooking classes and writes about food out of Tokyo for publications like Food & Wine, Metropolis, and Japan Times, you will master a few dishes that make the most of miso, and learn the secrets behind Nobu's signature miso cod. These recipes will have you licking your spoons clean. On your menu: Sumiso (vinegar and miso dressing) with Vegetables; Gomamisoae (sesame and miso dressing) with Vegetables; Nerimiso (miso dips) with Vegetables; Tonjiru (a hearty miso soup of pork, carrots, potatoes, konnyaku, and leeks garnished with shichimi spice); Saikyo miso fish (fish marinated in a sweet miso marinade and grilled); and more.

Keishindo Ebi Sembei

Higashiya Nama Wagashi

Pierre Marcolini Chocolates

If you arrive to his Ginza shops and the lines are not out the door, consider it a sign from God and go in!

Imahan Sukiyakai

Imahan for sukiyaki, shabu-shabu.

Cave de Relax

My favorite wine shop in Tokyo, Cave de Relax in Toranomon, has opened up a tasting counter at the back. The owner, Kunio Naito, makes a mean Aqua Pazza and he does a great job in stocking a wine shop.

Cave de Relax
Shinbashi 1-6-11
Phone 03-3595-3697

Ponzu and Goma-dare Recipes

There are two sauces typically served with shabu-shabu, a creamy, nutty, slightly sweet goma sesame sauce or a tart-soy ponzu sauce. I tend to do the meat in the sesame sauce and the veggies in the ponzu sauce. These are both easy to make at home for when you make nabe at home.
Ponzu
4 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 Tablespoons dashi
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon vinegar
kombu

Combine and let rest with kombu. The kombu will add umami to the sauce.

Goma-dare Sesame Sauce
3 Tablespoons nerigoma sesame sauce (NOT tahini)
2 Tablespoons dashi
2 Tablesppons mirin
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
minced garlic to taste

It is nice to have finely chopped green onions and shichimi spice to add to the sesame sauce.
For the sukiyaki, a raw egg, scrambled well in a bowl is what many people will dip the cooked meat in.

Riding around town on my scooter and getting pulled over by the cops...

I was on my way to work this spring on my scooter. It was my first day with an official parking spot in the office building and I was thrilled. I could see the police stationed at the intersection but was not concerned. However, the first cop motioned me to pull over. The second cop came up to me and greeted me. He put his hand on my scooter and said that there have been a lot of scooter accidents lately and that I should be very careful. With that, he gave me a pack of tissues and wished me well.

I drove off laughing. I love this country!

Sembikiya - The Ultimate Fruit Shop

To see upclose the expensive melons and other fruit delicately wrapped to protect it from bruising, come to Sembikiya. Established 172 years ago, Sembikiya has been offering the best fruit in the country.

In Nihonbashi at the base of the Mitsui Tower, there is a casual restaurant on the first floor attached to the fruit shop. On the second shop is the restaurant. Both serve curry, fresh fruit and juices.

In the shop you can purchase fresh fruit, fruit preserves, and fruit based desserts.

Omuraisu - Omelette with rice, a standard yoshoku meal

Among the popular items you will find at a "yoshoku" restaurant. Yoshoku loosely translates as Western-style restaurants. I sometimes throw together an "omuraisu" which is simply an thin omelette-style egg crepe surrounding ketchup-flavored rice. OK, more than ketchup, but not much more. You can add bits of cooked chicken or mushrooms. It is a good way to finish off the rice in the rice pot.

Touring Tsukiji Market with Nakamura-san

A tour of the Tsukiji Market is essential for any foodie. The world`s largest fish market is a maze of a variety of seafood. The guided tours by Nakamura-san will bring your experience of the market to another level.

Click on the link for Nakamura-san`s website.

Mamegen Osembei

In the corner of this osembei shop you can often watch as rice crackers are grilled right in front of you. Roasty, toasty aromas waft through the air. But I come to Mamegen for the flavored nuts from minty shiso, green tea peanuts, or the popular wasabi-flavored nuts that pack a punch. Mamegen also has outlets in many depachika, such as Takashimaya, but this location is the main shop (honten).

Mamegen
Azabu Juban 1-8-12 Minato-ku
Phone 03-3583-0962