Japan Eats!

Elizabeth Andoh was born and raised in America and is not ethnically Japanese, but Japan has been her home for more than four decades. She received her formal culinary training from the Yanagihara School of Traditional Japanese Cuisine in Tokyo. In 1972, she began her own culinary arts program, A Taste of Culture, that combines spicy tidbits of food lore with practical tips and skill-building lessons on how to prepare Japanese food. Andoh lectures internationally on Japanese food and culture, and is the author of six books on Japanese cooking, including two IACP award-winners, An Ocean of Flavor (Morrow, 1988) and Washoku (Ten Speed, 2005). She was Gourmet's Japan correspondent for more than three decades and was a regular contributor to the New York Times travel section for many years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Japan Eats, host Akiko Katayama is joined by Stefen Ramirez of Tea Dealers, which aims to introduce premium teas to America by offering only rare, single origin teas from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and India and pairing them with contemporary artisanal ceramics from around the world. Stefen first started in the tea business at the NYC flagship of one of Japan’s largest tea companies as a tea specialist and buyer in 2003. Two years later, Tea Dealers began, exclusively, as a private client business that curated luxury tea collections for high profile individuals. In April 2015, Tea Dealers made its selections available to the public online, and also at its first retail store. It is located inside of the Japanese restaurant, 1or8 in the south side of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and offers free weekly tea tastings on Tuesday and Sunday afternoons. There is no reservation needed and you are welcome to walk in anytime.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Japan Eats, host Akiko Katayama is joined by Hiroko Shimbo, an authority on Japanese cuisine who has earned world-wide recognition. She is a chef-instructor at respected culinary schools, a consulting chef to diverse food service industries, and a cookbook author based in the United States since 1999. Her latest book, Hiroko’s American Kitchen: Cooking with Japanese Flavors, was selected from among 500 books to receive the IACP 2013 Cookbook Award as the best American cookbook of the year. Hiroko’s American Kitchen offers an entirely new perspective on Japanese cooking. Rather providing instruction for preparing authentic Japanese cuisine, the book focuses on a larger audience of cooks by integrating Japanese flavors and cooking techniques with readily available produce, meats and seafood to recreate dishes already familiar to the America table but with unique added appeal.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on Japan Eats, we're joined by restaurant consultant Atsushi Nakahigashi, who's swinging by New York all the way from Kyoto. Nakahigashi is from a long line of chefs and restaurateurs, but before settling on a career in food, he tried his hand at professional bass fishing for several years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Japan Eats, host Akiko Katayama is joined in the studio by Tomoko Kato, an alum of Bouley and Le Bernardin who is behind the dessert bar at Patisserie Tomoko. A unique pastry shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Patisserie Tomoko combines French and European style pastries with a touch of Japanese inspired tastes and flavors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Japan Eats, host Akiko Katayama is joined in the studio by managers Luke Davin and Emma Kramer of Osakana fish market. Osakana is a Japanese-style fish retailer dedicated to providing high-quality, local, and seasonal seafood to the community. Here, customers will find fresh, expertly sourced fish, prepared and presented with respect by the team behind Okonomi. They offer a careful selection of local seafood for customers to purchase, and also provide a community space in which people can learn more about these ingredients through discussions, meals, tastings, and classes.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On the season premiere of Japan Eats, host Akiko Katayama is joined in the studio by Henry Sidel, president of Joto Sake. Joto is Japanese for “highest level," and is the exclusive importer for several multi-generational, family-owned breweries in Japan. Their bottles feature English-language labels with producer names, locations and helpful tasting notes. With distribution in over 35 states, and top wholesale distributors in each market, Joto is recognized by distributors, buyers, consumers and the press as the finest sake importer in the category.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Japan Eats, host Akiko Katayama is joined in the studio by Shingo Gokan, head bartender of Angel’s Share and winner of the Bacardi Global Legacy Cocktail Competition. Tune in to hear them discuss how he began bartending in Japan at the age of 18 and came to New York in 2006 not knowing a word of English, only to become the “World’s Best Bartender” a short time later.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Japan Eats, host Akiko Katayama is joined in the studio by Chris Johnson, aka The Sake Ninja. As a sake sommelier, Johnson is one of the foremost experts on sake in the United States. Tune in to hear them discuss the differences between sake varieties, food pairings, sake judging competitions, and more!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Japan Eats, host Akiko Katayama is joined in the studio by Jesse Falowitz, whose long travels around Asia finally lead to his opening a shōchū business in Japan. Falowitz calls shōchū the predecessor to whiskey in Japan, and puts its flavor profile "somewhere between a sake, a whiskey, and a vodka." He tells us all about how the drink is made, why single distillation matters, and shōchū's possible next conquest: the cocktail bar.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.