Had this at Hanasanshou inside Park Hotel Tokyo

A beautiful bowl of Hoto topped with a seasoned egg because I have free will.

Just curious because I see and bookmark these delicious looking bentos all the time. But I always wonder do people just eat them cold/room temp? I imagine most of it is fine just the shrimp tempura and maybe the rice seems like it should be warm but obviously you wouldn’t want the lettuce, carrot other things to be warmed up! Just curious what is typical :)

I run a Japanese spot in NYC and I’ve been thinking a lot about how people here understand the word izakaya.

In Japan, izakayas are where people go after work to drink, eat, and unwind. They are kind of like a cross between a pub and a tapas bar. Drinks usually come first (beer, sake, shochu), and the food is designed to pair with that: fried chicken, skewers, noodles, and small plates you share with friends. It is usually casual, sometimes loud, and the focus is on hanging out as much as on eating.

Outside of Japan, I have noticed a lot of people expect an izakaya to be closer to a sushi restaurant or ramen shop. Some even think it just means “Japanese restaurant” in general.... I've even had people think that it is the name of the place and that I somehow own all the izakayas in NYC. XD

So I am curious:

• If you have been to izakayas in Japan, what stood out to you?
• If you have only been outside Japan, how would you describe the experience?
• What do you personally think makes an izakaya different from other Japanese restaurants?

I would love to hear different perspectives.

— Kiyo

This new rice cooker recipe has become one of my favorite foods to make at home. Simple, easy and healthy. Texture of the eggs is hard to get "right" though. I used this recipe: https://youtu.be/VCT4HQBXWCE

Finally perfected my yakitori setup. Everything’s conveniently from nijiya in socal even the binchotan!

Afternoon from Down Under

A rather subjective question given the individuals tastebuds and the untold amount of Foodcourt retailers selling a Katsu offering, but can anyone say they have found a Roux purchased in Australia that has the exact same, or very close to the consistency, taste and colouring as the Foodcourt restaurant (loosely used definition)?

We have dabbled previously in homemade recipes before moving to Roux purchased from Asian Speciality Food Stores due to the time taken to make the homemade and relative similarity in taste between homemade and the retail product.

We currently use the "House Foods Vermont Curry" and while we don't mind it for the taste, it doesn't even come close to the Foodcourt Katsu. Again, subjective I know, but it's almost like the Katsu's sold in the Foodcourt are made from the exact same recipe OR same commercial source. I would love to be proven wrong, but I can't see the retailer making their own Roux all the time....

Picture shown of Kokumaro for visual aspect but also comes up consistently as one of the better ones to try. If anyone has feedback on this one, will be happy to hear....

Does anyone know the name? Bonus points if you can recommend an NYC restaurant making them! I lived in Japan as a kid and my whole family was in love with these soft, buttery, salty potatoes at various festivals and street fairs.

Kawashimaya Mirin Cooking Wine, Japanese Traditional Sweet Rice Seasoning, Made in Japan 16.9 fl oz (500ml) https://a.co/d/6gn9t5K

Aoba Ramen has lines out the door, but it's 100% worth the wait if you want some of the best soy sauce ramen in Asahikawa.

On the menu at a neighborhood ramen spot. In addition to 3 types of miso ramen and miso ice cream.

I like miso.

These bois are probably a couple millimeters too thick, but oh well 🙃

Also, who knew it'd be a bad idea to dump 100g of maizena on my counter! I certainly didn't

i’m living in france, and i’ve only been able to find orange sweet potatoes.. does anybody know where i may be able to find japanese sweet potatoes?

been craving for ochazuke after watching Midnight Diner📺 I'm so glad I tried it! it's one of my comfort food now. tasty and so easy to make too, just having hard time finding some of the ingredients (furikake, pickled cucumber, etc) 😭

in this pict I use leftover white rice, leftover grilled salmon, katsuobushi, japanese pickled cucumber, furikake and dashi powder then pour it with hot genmaicha.

I was looking for aburaage, for tonjiru. I found this in the freezer case, labeled "tenpura". Doesn't look like any tempura I've ever seen. 🤔 Can anyone tell me if this is the right kind of fried tofu for tonjiru?

Recipes
Nasu x many
Minced pork x 100g
Green onion X 1
Garlic x3
Ginger x3
Cayenne pepper
Chili oil
bean paste
sweet bean paste
Shaoxing wine
Five-spice powder
Sichuan pepper
Salt, black pepper
Potato starch

Oh, there are so many seasonings

Does anybody know the ingredients for this refrigerated 7-11 salad dressing? Or does anyone live in Japan who can take a picture of the Ingredients the next time you go to 7-11? This is the best Japanese dressing I’ve ever had but they don’t sell this in bottles and I miss it.