All posts in category Japanese Food

The Lost Lunch—A small food group

It was early on a Saturday afternoon. I don’t know who ate, drank and smoked here. I don’t know who left these things here. But these items were there in the gutter, by a storm drain. And if you want to know the truth, these are three of the four food groups in Sanya. I’m [...]

The Street Eaters—A small repast

Come. Join us for a bite. The rice tastes of asphalt, The ramen tastes of beer. But we are the Kings of Rainwater Tea, And we are always here. (Pictures taken in Sanya, Minami-senju, Tokyo in April, 2012)

The Cooking Show—A small, zesty something’s different

I love to cook, and I am told I’m pretty good at it. But I usually wing it from other people’s recipes and don’t really create original dishes of my own. Oh, I modify a recipe over time if I prepare it more than once. Like any cook, I change things to suit my tastes [...]

Nattō of Love—A small reprint

(This was originally published, as is, on McSweeney’s Internet Tendency in 2004.) Do you like soy sauce, tofu, miso soup? The humble soybean gives us so many edible wonders that you probably didn’t know it is also used to make what Westerners consider to be one of the foulest foods ever to come from Japan. [...]