Why We Got a Headlamp When we first brought Kaka home, it was nearing wintertime, so we wound up walking her in the dark alot, using our phones’ flashlight to guide our way. After a Costco run, we found some really affordable Duracell headlamps, thinking it’d be a better alternative and also a useful emergency […]
When we were in Japan in October of 2019 we were lucky enough to do a WorkAway with a lovely family in Iwanai. Akiko-san (Aki) the mom, taught us about Japanese cuisine like gobo root, kinako, and miso. She spoiled us with delicious home cooking and when we asked about her miso soup and if […]
Last time we talked about the basics of buying a knife so it is only natural that we go over how to keep that knife sharp or how to sharpen a knife. While it seems backwards, a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one, since it’s less predictable and even if it can’t […]
I get asked which knife people should get all the time. I really do find this a difficult question as knives are a very personal kitchen tool. Both the shape and the material of the blade and handle can impact your cutting experience and when fatigue will start to come in. How you hold a […]
Making Legit Mochi from Rice – not Rice Flour We’ve made it to Part 4 of our Mochi Making Journey! If you’re just joining us, feel free to catch up with Part 1 here where we tried a standard mochi recipe via steaming. We tried cooking directly over the stove in Part 2 and got […]
Welcome to Part 3 of our Mochi Making Journey! If you’re just joining us, feel free to catch up with Part 1 here. In Part 1 we tested a pretty standard mochi recipe via steaming, but our mochi kept tearing. In Part 2 we used a cooking directly over the stove method and skipped using […]
Welcome back to our Mochi Making Journey! This time, we are testing a new method and 2 different ratios for making mochi. Instead of steaming the mochi dough, we are going to cook it directly on the stove, based off Leo’s Japanese Dojo Recipe (via Youtube) and Chef Tomoko Kato’s Recipe (via NYT) recipes. You […]
Welcome back to our Oyaki experiment! Last time we talked about how we had discovered the discrepancy between Japanese All Purpose (AP) flour, called chuurikiko, and American AP flour. The American King Arthur AP flour we used has a higher protein content of 11.7% compared to the 9% typical of Japanese AP flour. In our […]
One of my favorite desserts of all time is the fantastically soft and squishy Japanese treat: daifuku mochi (大福餅), or “big luck”. Mochi has long been something we’ve wanted to attempt, but the fear of taking on something with such a long tradition and that seemed complicated held us back. In reality, it’s not that […]
Let’s go over how to make fresh red bean paste at home! One of our favorite flavors or fillings is red bean paste and homemade red bean paste is by far the best way to enjoy this delicious sweet, because you can control the sweetness and texture so it pairs perfectly with whatever you use […]
