by Maki Watson Zenzai is a very traditional Japanese dessert soup made with ‘azuki’ beans and ‘mochi’, or glutinous rice cake. For ‘shiratama zenzai’, we’re making a particular kind of mochi known as ‘shiratama dango’ – shiratama translates directly as ’round white jewel’, and dango being the name for very popular glutinous rice balls that...

Tofu is an international food these days. People eat tofu in many ways. They are unique andimaginative and I love them. I introduced one of the most popular, authentic Japanese tofu dishes at our previous workshop. If you go to Izakaya (café or bar) in Japan, you will definitely see ‘agedashidōfu’ on the menu. It’s...

by Maki Watson Dining is not only about taste. It is about harmony among our five senses: touch, taste, hearing, eyesight, and smell. I think that eyesight is very important one with ‘dashimaki-tamago’, as the brilliant yellow of pasture-raised organic eggs does the perfect job of brightening the palette of tables or lunch boxes. Yes,...

by Maki Watson ‘Konsai no nimono’ is the first of the ‘okazu’, or side dishes, in this recipe series. Actually, I call it vegie stew!, but it is very different from western style stew. It uses base flavourings that are common to Japanese cuisine: sugar, soy source, mirin and dashi stock.  Usually it is cooked...

by Maki Watson Gohan (rice) and miso-shiru (miso soup) are the staple elements of Japanese dining. At meal time we serve gohan and miso-shiru along with ‘okazu’, or side dishes (we’ll be covering some winter-inspired okazu later in the series)! To tell you the truth, I enjoy making and eating gohan and miso-shiru often, however...