Crónicas Nikkei #1 — ¡ITADAKIMASU! Sabores de La Cultura Nikkei

While growing up within two different cultures left my siblings and me with bittersweet challenges, we have always had the sweet comforts of the family meal and a “welcoming” table that satisfied both our appetites and spirits.

Feasting on distinctive recipes passed down from my father’s Russian-Jewish family, and my mother’s exotic blend of Japanese-Hawaiian heritage, serves as a reminder that we are a family nourished by honoring our ethnicity and the diverse ingredients that make us whole.

My family, blessed with the piquancy of two cultures, serves meals that are both savory and resplendent. While we often felt excluded …

I made some soba for dinner today. Soba is a Japanese noodle made with buckwheat flour. My memory of soba noodles is having them with my obachan (grandma) at this one restaurant I grew up with called Oki’s in Monterey Park, California, which is no longer open.

I must have been around six years old when one day, I was at Oki’s with my two aunts. I was trying to explain to them I wanted soba.

Although at that time, I didn’t know what they were called. I never knew the Japanese words for the things I ate. I still …

Ever heard of Washoku? It’s a culinary and cultural tradition of Japanese dishes now quietly prevailing worldwide. If you know Washoku, then Wagyu may not sound peculiar.

“Wagyu” is defined by Larry Olsmed, who wrote “Kobe Beef Scam” in the Forbes magazine (4/13/12) as follows: “Wagyu, on the other hand, means ‘Japanese Cattle’ and refers to the entirety of the nation’s breeds.” Beyond that, its definition gets vaguer depending on who you ask and what country you are in. It could be taken to refer to all cows in Japan, including the Western and European breeds with which we are …

以下では日本食の特質について考える。その意図は、NIKKEIの人たちが日本食について日頃イメージし・思っていることと、以下で指摘することとの間に共通点・共有部分があるか、ないか、また、たとえそれらがなくともNIKKEIの人たちの賛同・納得が得られる部分があるか、ないか、を考えること、にある。さらに言えば、そうした結果に至るのは何故なのかを考えてみたいからである。そうするなかで、NIKKEIの人たちの、ひいては世界中の多くの人たちの、日本食についての理解や認識が深まるのではないか、と考える。これが、いささかテーマとずれるが、あえて取り組んだ理由である。

2005年7月20日、朝日新聞は「和食人口の倍増計画」と題する記...

It’s been 20 years since I graduated from college (!), and I realized I don’t have much to show from those days.

Old, laughably out-of-date clothes were turned into rags years ago; I’ve upgraded my cheap stereo with better equipment and newer CD technology; and I’ve driven several cars since my beloved Mazda Mizer. What I do have still with me are some books, a few pieces of artwork (I went to art school), jade plant (it’s huge), and my rice cooker.

It’s a small, three-cup cooker made by Matsushita, with an old “National” logo on its switch. My parents …