Japan Eats!

Our guest is Elizabeth Andoh, who joined us 14 times and shared her truly deep insight into traditional Japanese food culture. 

Elizabeth is a food writer and Japanese cooking instructor based in Tokyo, and she has lived in Japan for over 50 years. She runs the culinary arts program called A Taste of Culture https://tasteofculture.com/ , which offers a great opportunity for non-Japanese people to explore Japanese culture through its food. 

Elizabeth is also the author of 6 cookbooks, including the award-winning “Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Kitchen” and “Kansha: Celebrating Japan's Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions”.

Today’s topic is mouthfeel or 食感 “shokkan” in Japanese. The Japanese language has far more adjectives to describe mouthfeel. For example, according to a 2003 study, the Japanese language had 445 words, French 227, Chinese 144 and English and German around 100 to describe the texture of food in your mouth. 

In this episode, we will discuss why Japanese people have so many different words to describe mouthfeel, examples of mouthfeel expressions that are unique and essential to understanding Japanese food culture and much, much more!!!

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Our guest is Hannah Kirshner who is a food stylist and author of Water, Wood, and Wild Things published in 2021. She joined us in Episode #223 to discuss her wonderful book and introduced us to her fascinating life in Yamanaka, a small town in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. 

Hannah’s connection with Yamanaka has been deepening over time since her first visit in 2015 for a three-month apprenticeship at a sake bar. Then she moved to the town in 2018, fully immersing herself in the local culture through unique experiences, such as working at a sake brewery and carving wood trays with near-extinct ancient techniques. 

You can read her book and/or listen to Episode #223 to get to know her deep insight into Japanese culture in detail. 

There is no strict definition but generally speaking, Kominka means a residential house over 50 years old with classic value. Like in many other countries, depopulation is becoming an issue in Japan and as a result, vacant houses are abundant nationwide. In other words, in those depopulated areas, you can find Kominka with lots of charms at very reasonable prices. Hannah happened to find a great one in Yamanaka and bought it in 2021. In this episode, we will discuss why Hannah decided to buy an old house in a rural area in Japan, how she found an ideal property, the joy and challenges of renovating the house in an eco-friendly manner, her advice to potential Kominka owners and much, much more!!!

Our guest is Karl Palma, who is the chef and owner of Karl’s Balls based in New York City. His mission is to introduce the soul of takoyaki, which is one of the most beloved traditional comfort foods in Japan, to the world.

Karl joined us in Episode #189 in 2020 and introduced us to the basics of takoyaki. Takoyaki is one of the biggest stars of Japanese summer festivals and it is seasonally timely to delve into the delicious, savory snack with a rich cultural background!

In this episode, we will discuss why the simple bite-size balls are a piece of art, distinctively different styles of takoyaki between Osaka and Tokyo, the upcoming exciting takoyaki festival in Japan that Karl is invited to, and much, much more!

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Our guest today is Thomas Frebel, the creative director at Noma. Noma is the famed restaurant in Copenhagen with numerous accolades, including three Michelin stars and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ No. 1 spot four times in a row from 2010 to 2014.

Since its opening in 2003, Noma’s chef/owner René Redzepi has been inspiring the world through his strong philosophy of cooking with Nordic traditions and his never-ending pursuit of creativity. Noma’s landscape has reached far beyond Nordic countries, and Redzepi and his team have been actively exploring various food cultures in the world, including Japan.

Since Thomas joined Noma in 2009, he has been working closely with Chef Redzepi, and has served as the executive chef at Noma’s restaurant project in Tokyo called INUA.

In this episode, we will discuss the unique concepts of Noma beyond the famous restaurant, what Thomas learned through his job at INUA, Noma’s pop-up dinners in Kyoto this fall, what happens after Noma restaurant’s closure at the end of 2024, and much, much more!!!

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Our guest is Timothy Sullivan who is the Director of Education and lead instructor at the Sake Studies Center at Brooklyn Kura. He has over 16 years of experience teaching about sake, and in 2007 he was awarded the prestigious title of Sake Samurai by the Japan Sake Brewers Association. Since 2013, Tim has served as the Global Brand Ambassador for Hakkaisan Sake Brewery. He has played a pivotal role in developing and advancing the American sake industry.

In this episode, we will discuss how the Japanese sake industry has been reviving solidly thanks to sake ambassadors and educators like Tim, how the American sake industry has been powerfully developing, what types of sake to drink now, how you can gain knowledge of sake to make the most of your precious glass, and much, much more!!!

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Our guest is Bob Broskey, who is the Executive Chef Partner of RPM Restaurants based in Chicago.

After working at Michelin-starred restaurants in Chicago, he joined the team at RPM in 2019. Now he oversees multiple restaurants in Chicago, Las Vegas and Washington DC, reflecting his talent in managing popular restaurants in diverse genres. In addition to Bob's profound experience in cooking seafood, he is now one of the most knowledgeable chefs about Japanese wagyu beef in the U.S.

In this episode, we will discuss Bob's recent visits to Wagyu farms in Japan, how Wagyu is different from regular beef from a chef's point of view, why Wagyu is so appealing to highly skilled chefs like Bob who have diverse options of meat to choose from, the best way to taste Wagyu, and much, much more!!!

Photo courtesy of Lindsay Eberly.

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Our guest is Shinji Sakamoto, a seafood expert based in Tokyo. Shinji’s background is unique and impressive. He trained himself as a buyer in the world's biggest seafood market called Tsukiji, and worked in Japan, Singapore and the U.S. to support operations of the seafood departments at major corporations. He also received a formal culinary education at one of the top culinary programs in Japan.

You may have heard about the Tsukiji Market, which was relocated in 2018 and is now called the Toyosu Market. It is the Central Wholesale Market in Tokyo and every high-end sushi restaurant in the world relies on the market to secure the best-quality seafood available.

In this episode, we will discuss how Shinji became a seafood expert and buyer at the world's biggest fish market, why the Toyosu Market is so important regardless of whether you are in the seafood industry or a seafood lover, how the market works to offer prime seafood in the best condition, and much, much more!!!

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Our guest is Steven Pursley, the chef/owner of Menya Rui in St. Louis, Missouri. Menya Rui opened in 2022, and since, Steven has received numerous accolades for his job at the ramen shop, such as Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chef in 2023.

Steven has the right reasons to be recognized as a great ramen chef. He grew up both in Japan and the U.S. as a child under his American and Japanese parents, so he has lots of fond memories of Japanese food and in particular, ramen.

His soul search led him to study ramen in Japan, and his 24-seat ramen shop Menya Rui represents who he is now. For example, he makes everything from scratch, including noodles, which is highly challenging for even an experienced ramen chef in Japan.

In this episode, we will discuss why Steven decided to pursue a career in ramen, what he learned in his three-year intensive training at ramen shops in Japan, his unique philosophy of ramen, his advice to future ramen chefs, and much, much more!

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Our guest is Dr. Arielle Johnson. Arielle is a flavor scientist who advises some of the top chefs, restaurants, and bars in the world. For example, she co-founded the fermentation lab at the restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, which has been named the best restaurant in the world multiple times by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Arielle is currently the Science Director of Noma Projects and co-founder of Retronasal Industries among other important roles. 

Arielle is also the author of “Flavorama: A Guide To Unlocking The Art And Science Of Flavor”, which came out in March 2024. The book is a wonderful tool for all of us to understand the science of flavors and to apply it to our daily lives in fun and practical ways. 

In this episode, we will discuss how Arielle got into the world of tastes and flavors, the joy of applying science to top restaurants' kitchens in the world, how you can use food science in your daily life with tips from Arielle’s new book Flavorama and much, much more!

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!

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Our guest is Takuma Inagawa who is the founder and CEO of WAKAZE. WAKAZE is a unique and forward-minded producer of Japanese sake based in Paris, France. 

The Japanese sake industry has been facing challenges domestically due to various reasons, such as the decrease in the drinking population and the increase in competitive products in the market like wine and shochu. Compared to the peak of sake consumption in the 1970s, Japanese people drink only a quarter of sake now. 

Ironically, the government regulations are not helping to stop the decline as they restrict licensing new sake businesses that can revitalize the industry. 

However, WAKAZE is presenting a model to conquer the challenges by producing new styles of sake with traditional techniques and an innovative mindset. 

In this episode, we will discuss why Takuma left his successful career as a business consultant and decided to start a sake brewery in Paris, his out-of-the-box approach to sake production, how he managed to convince French consumers to drink Japanese sake made in Paris, his new sake production in America, his global plans to grow the popularity of sake, and much, much more!!!

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