Tofu Dengaku – Grilled Miso Tofu

Tofu Dengaku

Tofu Dengaku is a tasty meatless dish where steaks of firm “cotton” tofu are topped with a flavoured miso paste and then grilled. Two teaspoons of sesame oil can be used in place of the tahini, but I find the oil makes the miso topping a bit too runny. The miso mixture a bit salty, but remember that […]

Udon Noodle Soup

Udon Noodle Soup

Our new family tradition of going to a nice restaurant for our birthdays started when I would ask to go to the only Japanese restaurant in Riyadh, the Tokyo restaurant. The restaurant had large private rooms (restaurants were divided into sections for men and for families/women), so we could often dine with other families from […]

Kabocha no Nimono – Japanese Simmered Pumpkin

Kabocha no Nimono - Japanese Simmered Pumpkin

Homemade Japanese dishes are often variations on a few cooking styles – one of the simplest and tastiest is the simmered dish. Here, I made Japanese simmered pumpkin with dense, buttery kabocha squash, which is not only tasty, but the cooked peel is edible! You can use the basic broth to cook potato, sweet potato, daikon, […]

Gobo to Ninjin no Kimpira – Burdock and Carrot Kimpira

Gobo to Ninjin no Kimpira - Burdock and Carrot Kimpira

At this time of year in 2010, Tomiko and I flew to Tokyo and spent a month staying with our friend for hanami – cherry blossom viewing. Tomiko and I got gobo to ninjin no kimpira – burdock and carrot kimpira – from the supermarkets in Tokyo and ate it on fresh, white rice for breakfast […]

Green Beans and Tempeh with XO Sauce

Green Beans and Tempeh in XO Sauce

This tempeh recipe is a riff on a dish that we love at our favourite Chinese restaurant here in Toronto. The beans in that case are mixed with a bit of ground pork, but here I replaced it with some tempeh. Originating in Hong Kong, XO Sauce is a Chinese sauce made from dried seafood, including shrimp, […]