Archive | August, 2007

Three Summer Recipes ３つの夏レシピー

30 Aug

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第一　Japanese Peach-Sake Jam

First, a word about Japanese peaches 白桃 (hakutō): amazing. They are typically about the size of my fist, with pure wine-white flesh and bright pink skin. They are sweeter and juicier than any other peach you may ever taste; eating one usually results in pure ecstasy, accompanied by a vast pool of peach water at your feet. They are well worth the $3 apiece (minimum!) price tag, always a very special summer treat. So what to use as a substitute? Ordinary white peaches will do, but you may want to add more sugar (or maybe honey?) to the recipe. And don’t you dare use yellow peaches or I will hunt you down and kill you.

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The Insular Summer 島国根性の夏

28 Aug

Whaaaaat?!

I really like their pants. (more…)

Sapporo is Food 札幌と言えば、郷土料理

20 Aug

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Most of the time, when I tell Japanese people what state I’m from, they look at me with a cocked head or a confused squint. To explain, I usually say that Wisconsin is like the Hokkaido of America: just about as north as the country gets, aggressively cold in the winter, full of relatively unspoiled natural scenery, mostly rural, and famous for snow, corn, dairy products, and beer.

The comparison may only work on a superficial level, but it makes an effective springboard to discuss Hokkaido food. Befitting its cold climate, its history as a northern frontier, and its (surprising) German influence, the cuisine of Japan’s old “barbarian island” 蝦夷が島 is remarkably hearty, heartier than one might expect of Japanese food – and believe me, Japanese food can be very, very hearty.

But while homey fare like tonkotsu ramen, hamburger steaks, Japanese curry, and okonomiyaki are popular throughout the country, for some reason I find Hokkaido’s meibutsu particularly warming and stalwart: (more…)

Sapporo is Beer 札幌は、麦酒

6 Aug

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But it isn’t just Sapporo Beer.

I am a beer geek. I’ve discussed this is previous posts, occasionally at length. When I travel, I tend to plan my itineraries around trips to breweries and bottle shops, meticulously plotting out marathon bar crawls just to find that Rodenbach on tap, that Yona Yona on cask, or any number of malt-based thrills I seek.

In Japan, such thrills are generally few and far between. Even in huge, international cities like Tokyo and Osaka, you have to go a bit out of your way to get the good stuff when it comes to beer. But in Sapporo, it almost seems like the good beer finds you. (more…)

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