Japan Eats!

My guests are Rich Shih and Jeremy Umansky, who just wrote a great book on Koji -  the title of which is “Koji Alchemy – Rediscovering the magic of mold-based fermentation”.  Koji is the national mold of Japan.  It is used to make almost all fermented products in Japanese cuisine, such as miso, soy sauce and sake.  Koji is also becoming a culinary keyword lately, and top chefs in the world such as Rene Redzepi and Ferran Adria have been actively utilizing it in innovative ways.  Jeremy joined us on Episode 135 and discussed his mind-blowing and effective ways to use koji.  In this episode, we will discuss what is in their fascinating new book - what koji is, why it is so special and powerful in producing great flavors, what you can make with it in both traditional and modern ways and much, much more!!!  Japan Eats is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, we will discuss why Lillian decided to start Kokoro Care Packages, the artisanal farmers and producers they works with, challenges they face in running the niche global business and much, much more!!!Japan Eats!  is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Shinobu Kato who is the owner and brewer of Kato Sake Works in Bushwick, Brooklyn.  Shinobu soft-opened his sake brewery in March 2020 after several years of dreaming and careful planning while working as IT project manager at a major corporation in the US.As you may know, New York City already has the first sake brewery Brooklyn Kura in Industry City, which opened in 2017.  The owners Brian Polen and Brandon Doughan joined us twice (Episodes 105 & 176) to discuss their experience of opening and managing a craft sake brewery outside Japan.  Now here is the second craft sake brewery in New York City where Shinobu makes unique sake that is both authentic and American.  In this episode, we will discuss how Shinobu got into sake, his life philosophy that prompted him to a new career, the challenges he has been facing in making Japanese sake abroad and much, much more!Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Amanda Cohen who is the chef and owner of Dirt Candy in Lower East Side and co-owner of Lekka Burger in Tribeca in Manhattan.  Amanda has been cooking vegetarian food for the last 20 years, since when vegetarians were in the absolute minority.  She is a James Beard Award-nominated chef and definitely a pioneer of the vegetable-forward movement in the US.  Amanda visited Japan in December 2019 to discover vegetarian food culture in the country.  Japan is a Buddhist society and had the heavily restrictive meat consumption policy that lasted 1200 years until the end of 19th century.  In this episode, we will discuss what Amanda discovered in Japan, how she applies the discoveries to her dishes in New York City, what vegetarian cuisine means in our modern society and much, much more!!! Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Atsushi Kono who is the chef de cuisine at Chikarashi Isso in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. Previously Atsushi was the executive chef and General Manager at Torishin, which is the destination for authentic yakitori in New York City. Chikarashi Isso opened in October 2019 and serves beautiful yakitori by Atsushi along with the executive chef Michael Jong Lim’s kappo-style Japanese dishes. Sushi and ramen became familiar terms around the world, but not many people know enough about yakitori. Yakitori simply means grilled chicken, but profound skills and craftsmanship are behind it. In this episode, we will discuss what yakitori is, how Atsushi got into the world of yakitori, why cooking ostensibly simple chicken skewers requires years to master and much, much more!!! Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Massud Ghaussy who has a Japanese food and restaurant blog on instagram under TokyoManhattan. His posts not only describe restaurants he has visited, but also include many other elements behind the dishes, such as history, culture, cooking methods. He appeared on Episode 125, 136 and 152 and shared his favorite Japanese chefs and restaurants in Paris, NY and in Tokyo as well as sushi restaurants in NY and Tokyo. In this episode, we will continue our conversation with Massud, but the theme is not his favorite restaurants. In order to help you to understand Japanese food more deeply, we will discuss different genres of Japanese cuisine and how they were created. For example, what is honzen ryori? It is the mother of kaiseki cuisine created by samurais! Also, we will talk about various concept of taste and flavors that are unique to Japanese cuisine such as umami and kokumi.  Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Marc Krampe who is the chef and owner of Southern Hospitality Kitchens in Lafayette, Louisiana.Marc has a unique relationship with Japanese cuisine through his wife’s heritage. His interest in Japanese food has developed over time and now he beautifully incorporates Japanese and Southern American elements on his dishes. Marc is also a chef devoted to sustainability. In this episode, we will discuss Marc's unique family background, how he studied Japanese cooking, his efforts to be local, sustainable and global at the same time, and much, much more!Japan Eats!  is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guests are Alexis Agliano Sanborn and Chris Whittaker.  Alexis joined us on Episode 106 in 2018 to discuss the production of her new film “Nourishing Japan”. She is the producer and director of the film and now it is finally on view.  Chris is a professional composer, conductor and pianist, and he created beautiful songs for the film. Their new film “Nourishing Japan” introduces us to the unique Japanese food education philosophy through an example of the unique school lunch programs at an elementary school in the Tohoku region.  Healthy eating has become an important subject globally in recent years. The Japanese government enacted new legislation for food education, or Shokuiku, in 2005 to improve Japanese people’s diet and lifestyle of all ages.  The film inspires us to think what food education can do to our healthy mind, body and beyond. In this episode, we will discuss the philosophy of Japanese food education, how the Japanese school lunch programs differ from those in the US and other countries, what children actually can learn thought the programs, who support the system to function and much, much more!!!  Japan Eats! is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Katsushi Sakai who is the Sushi Head Chef at Kyo Ya, the iconic Japanese restaurant in East Village, Manhattan. Sushi began to draw attention around 1960s in the US and its popularity has seen exponential growth since 1980s. Who would have imagined 50 years ago that many Americans would eat raw fish on a daily basis?Katsushi came to New York in 2004 after working in Ginza, Tokyo, which is the capital of greatest sushi restaurants. In New York, he built his career from Assistant to Head Chef to Head Chef himself at the legendary Sushiden in NY. He also worked at Sushi Ginza Onodera and Sushi Nakazawa, two of the most reputable sushi restaurants in NYC before he joined Kyo Ya. Katsushi is one of the talented chefs who have been supporting the popularity of sushi in NYC. Today, we will discuss how he built his career as sushi chef, his philosophy of sushi making after 22 years of experience in Japan and New York City in total, how he balances sustainability and highest quality of fish and much, much more! Japan Eats!  is powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Erik Ramirez, who is the chef and owner of the modern Peruvian restaurant Llama Inn, the casual Peruvian spot Llamita and the modern Nikkei Peruvian restaurant Llama San.  Peruvian cuisine is a hot genre in the culinary world right now.  As you may know, there are Peruvian citizens of Japanese ancestry called Nikkei who has influenced Peruvian cuisine over the last century.  And Erik is a Nikkei descent.Nikkei cuisine is getting attention globally too.  For example, Ferran and Alberto Adria brothers of El Bulli opened the Nikkei restaurant Pakta in Barcelona in 2013, and Maido in Lima, Peru is currently ranked #10 in the 50 World Best Restaurant list.  In New York, Erik is a big ambassador of Peruvian and Peruvian Nikkei cuisine.  In this episode, we will discuss Erik’s unique family background, his passion for Peruvian culture, what Nikkei cuisine is, how he expresses the uniqueness of Peruvian food on his plates, and much much more!Photo Courtesy of Paul BarberaJapan Eats is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.