Jijimi（Korean-style pancake）美味しいチヂミの作り方

A simple and delicious Jijimi recipe with a to die for sauce. All done in under 10 minutes. Great appetizer for parties or an afternoon snack.

Jijimi Ingredients:
3 eggs
4 tbs flour
sliced ham
4 stocks nira
2 tbs chilled water

Sauce ingredients:
2 tbs vinegar (apple vinegar if you have it)
2 tbs soy sauce
minced garlic
1/2 tbs sugar
red chili paste

Half-Price Eats in Japan

How to get half-price eats in Japan.

How to Make Okonomiyaki

A fun little video I put together on how to make okonomiyaki with readily available ingredients found not only in Japan, but all over the world. This is also my take on a cooking video with a fun opening, music, and dialog that hopefully keeps it interesting throughout the video's entirety[4:58]. Enjoy and make sure you try the recipe out. It is delicious.

Delicious Okonomiyaki

I recently tried making okonomiyaki and it was as the title of this post says, delicious. I was quite easy to make too with ingredients that are readily available in supermarkets anywhere. The above picture is the result.

Pringles in Japan

Its mofoing Pringles time. Now I wasn't really a Pringles fan in America and I can't say that I am in Japan, but I have actually bought them of my own volition here and that has to do solely with the crazy and delicious flavors they come up with. Around Christmas, I snapped these photos at the local supermarket. If Pringles would put these flavors out in America, they might actually save some face and stop losing to Doritos and Tostitos.

First up we have Onion Cheese Gratin, which is looking mighty fine in its pink can. When I first saw it, I was excited because I thought it was lasagna, but on reading the label found out it was not to be :(.

Next, Honey Roasted Chicken. Made to coincide with the Japanese tradition of, you guessed it, buying honey roasted chicken or KFC for Christmas. Some traditions are better left unexplained and not understood. I do give a round of applause to the chicken industry and KFC marketing departments though.

Lastly, Bacon Sour Cream (I guess the potato part is implied). Seemingly the tamest of the three, but still something that I haven't seem from Pringles in the USA.

What are the flavors in your neck of the woods? If you can top this, by all means try. I'm sure when spring comes Pringles Japan will.

Tangy & Spicy Udon

Broth:

• Shitake Dashi (or make your own broth by throwing some shiitake mushrooms in hot water)
• Sesame oil (a good drizzle)
  
• Soy Sauce ( a glug)
  
• Crushed red pepper (a good sprinkle)
  
• Cayenne pepper (a good sprinkle)
  
• Vinegar (a glug slightly less than that of the soy sauce)
  

Main dish:

• Lettuce (spinach or your favorite variety)
• Chicken sausage thinly sliced
• Fresh shitake mushrooms
• Kitsune (fried bean curd)
• Kimchi
• Crab (imitation is fine)

Other:

• Udon noodles

Method:

• Combine broth ingredients and bring to a boil
• In another pan, combine main dish ingredients except for crab and lettuce
  
• Bring another pot of water to boil, add udon noodles and let boil for 3 minutes. Rinse with cold water and set aside.
• Add lettuce to main dish pan and allow it to wilt
• Put noodles in serving bowl
• Pour broth over noodles
• Add main ingredients on top of noodles
• Top with crab
  

Octopus Balls

Takoyaki is a great thing.  Believe it our not, I never tried takoyaki during my study abroad in Osaka.  Previously, I had tried some supermarket bought fare only to be persuaded that it wasn't for me.  But on this trip, I decided to try the real thing from an actually takoyaki store and a famous one at that.  I tryied my luck in Shin Sekai Osaka, a part of town close the Tennoji Zoo and Dobutsuenmae subway stop, and boy was my world rocked.  The long line caught my interest at first, but then the pictures of TV personalites that I actually recognized hightened my interest.  Well "I'll give it a go" I thought.  The man in the pictures with the TV celebs was actually working on the from lines, so I thought it would be a good experience at the least.  But boy was I surprised, the takoyaki was actually good.  Piping hot and 8 balls for 300 yen was a good deal, and it was only 10 o'clock in the morning.  Yes, that's right, I had takoyaki for breakfast and it was so good that I went back the next day.  If you find yourself in the retro entertainment district of Shin Sekai I recommend you try the joint on the corner.  You'll walk away with a full stomach and a smile.

Dreaming of a Ham, Egg, & Cheese Sandwich

When living abroad there are always certain foods and things that you just can't find except in your native country.  For the most part this is fine because there are so many new foods and tastes to experience, but every once in a while that urge creeps up.  The other day I was craving a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich on an everything bagel (from New Jersey), so I decided to put together this little tribute video to my favorite food.

Okonomiyaki

In this video we cover my recent trip to a J-League Soccer game and my stop at a local restaurant to sample some okonomiyaki. Come along and experience it with me.

(For a more detailed okonomiyaki recipe check out this link)