Miso Hungry Podcast

Tsukimi or Otsukimi (月見)literally means “moon-viewing,” and refers to Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon. The days for the celebration of the full moon and the celebration of the waxing moon normally fall in September and October of the modern solar calendar. The tradition is thought to date back to the Heian era (794—1185) when […]

This week we have another special guest – Kate, aka the yaki imo girl, aka our #1 Miso Hungry Podcast fan, from Eat Recycle Repeat! She’s joining us to talk about her very favorite food – Japanese sweet potatoes! (Our apologies in advance about the sound quality this week – Kate was Skyping with us […]

This week, we were lucky enough to have Matthew Amster-Burton agree to do an interview with us. You might know him from his fantastic podcast, Spilled Milk that he does with Molly Wizenberg, his blog Roots and Grubs, or his book Hungry Monkey. We gave him the option of choosing whatever topic he wanted, and […]

Bento boxes! We love them. You should too. You can get bento boxes pretty much anywhere in Japan. Train stations, convenience stores, department stores… and they’re almost always guaranteed to be delicious. One of our favorite things about bento boxes is the variety of foods you can get in a single bento. Rice, meats, veggies, […]

We only had two more days together in Tokyo before Allison and Son headed to Kyoto for a few days and Rachael and her family stayed in Tokyo, and there was a lot for us to do! Day 6 First off, sushi. Because hello, we're in Japan... but we hadn't had sushi yet! (I know, what's wrong with us?) We headed off to a good kaiten sushi place ("conveyer belt" sushi) where we ate our fill of good, but super-inexpensive sushi. (Kaiten sushi, or "conveyer belt" sushi, is a type of sushi bar where the sushi chef(s) stand in the center and make the sushi, and then place each plate on a conveyer belt that revolves around them. The customers sit at a bar around them, and take a plate off the conveyer belt anytime they see something they want to eat. You pay by plate (sometimes they color-code the plates; here all the plates cost the same amount, except for a few specially-marked ones) so at the end of the meal they just tally it up for you.) The mango pudding also really hit the spot on this hot, hot day!

We just have to say, we have the most awesome fans ever. Seriously, you guys rock. While we love you all, you'll get to see who currently has the ranking of #1 fan in just a bit... Our next few days in Japan involved a lot of great food... oh, and a typhoon. (If you missed the first part of the trip, you can listen here!) Day 3 (Our 3rd day together was Allison's 5th day in Japan, which is why the day numbers might seem a little off sometimes...) So first things first, Allison just had to try the Shiro Cream Puff from Beard Papa's that Rachael had been raving about. Made with tapioca flour and a cream cheese filling, she was instantly obsessed. Since Rachael and her family got to spend our day 5 (a Sunday) seeing old friends at church, Allison and Son ventured to Don Quixote, which we describe as "Wal-Mart on crack". Seriously. Then we went to Bassanova! Green curry soba for the win! But the much more exciting part of this was getting to meet Kate!!! We're still flipping out over the fact

We're back from Japan! (Actually, we've been back for almost two months already. But we haven't been able to record until now, so...) We're back from Japan! We've fallen hard for the combinis (convenience stores, like 7-11 and Family Mart). We have a renewed obsession with onigiri. And we miss Japan like crazy now that we're back!!! So what did we do in Japan? Well, on the first day we were both there (Allison arrived a few days before Rachael did), we all went and visited the Tokyo Skytree. And by visited, we mean stood around and looked up at it. When we were there, you had to have a reservation to get up into the Skytree, because it's only a few months old. So instead we got curry pastries. And while we were sitting around eating, met some very interesting people! The next day, we all rented a car, and off to Mt. Fuji we all went. (Mr. Fuji drove.) We got to check out a Japanese rest stop, which is ridiculous compared to what we're used to in the US. It's got an entire food co

Tsukemono (漬物), literally “pickled things”, are Japanese pickles. They are valued for their unique flavors and textures and commonly used as a garnish, relish, condiment, palate cleanser or digestive. Served with rice as okazu (a side dish), with drinks as otsumami (a snack), as an accompiment to or garnish for meals, and as a course […]

It's summer! And aside from having songs from 70s movies that were set in the 50s stuck in our heads, we can't stop thinking about all the fantastic summer foods we love. So without further ado, let's dive right into all the fantastic summer foods Japan has to offer! Produce Cucumbers - look for them in tsukemono (pickled cucumber), sliced with miso-sesame dressing, and kappa maki (cucumber sushi rolls) Eggplant can be found grilled, steamed with miso glaze, in vegetable curries, and pickled in tsukemono Musk melon. The outside looks like cantaloupe, but the inside is yellower. It has a very distinct flavor (and it's pricy - $100/piece!) Many melon-flavored things can be found in Japan, such as Hi-Chew, ice cream, and sodas Watermelon - just like here in the US, watermelon is a popular summer fruit in Japan (though it's far more expensive there!) Pepsi will be offering a Salty Watermelon-flavored Pepsi starting this week (July 24th)... if any of our listeners are in Japan right now, we'd lov

In which we try not to get kicked out of Japan, refer to dates as "yesterday" when in fact they happened nearly two months ago, and take shoyu shots (try saying that five times fast). It's been (ahem) 6 weeks since our last episode went up. Yeah... it was supposed to go up a week after our last one, but it turns out Rachael has a full-time family, Allison had a big deadline she had to meet, and oh right - we went to Japan! So yes, while we had all the best intentions of having episodes recorded, edited, and posted for the entire time we were gone... that definitely didn't happen. Instead you get them now! So when we refer to things such as the Diablo III launch happening yesterday or our Japan trip as "upcoming" rather than "already happened and we miss it already"... you'll know why. Most etiquette you'll run into in Japan is fairly common most everywhere. For example, wait until everybody is served to start eating. Don't talk with your mouth full. (But it is okay to slurp your ramen noodles! W

We all know foreign countries have lots of rules that are strange to us… especially when it comes to Japan! * But since we’re foreigners, it’s expected that we can’t possibly remember all their etiquette rules… so it’s totally fine to throw all manners to the wind! ** To help you out with that, here […]

Have you entered our Zojirushi rice cooker giveaway yet? If not, don’t forget to head on over and enter… the contest ends tomorrow! Chopsticks are called hashi in Japanese. They are also known as otemoto or o-temoto, a phrase which is commonly printed on the wrappers of disposable chopsticks. “Te” means hand and “moto” means […]

Have you entered our Zojirushi rice cooker giveaway yet? If not, don’t forget to head on over and enter! Miso. It’s about time we talked about it… it is a part of our podcast’s name, after all! Alright… so we know miso is important in Japanese cooking. But what exactly is it? Fermented soybean paste. […]

Make sure you don’t miss the Zojirushi giveaway we’re doing! How is rice grown? In Japan, young seedlings are first raised in nursery beds until they are large enough to be transplanted into water-filled paddy fields during the rainy month of June. The rice needs a long, hot growing season and a warm, dry maturing […]

Last week, we talked about seaweed. This week (and next week), rice! (Hey, that means we’re halfway to sushi!) Rice is important. Super important. In fact, it’s one of the most important topics we could talk about because of the HUGE influence it’s had on Japanese society and culture. Rice is more than a staple […]

This week, we’re talking seaweed… or as we like to call it, sea vegetables. In Japanese, the word for seaweed is “kaiso”. Kaiso are an important part of the Japanese diet. The Japanese have been harvesting them for thousands of years, both wild and cultivated. Kaiso are highly nutritious (many sea vegetables are especially rich […]

Part two of our Japanese pantry episode in 3… 2… 1… (If you missed Part 1, listen here.) This week, we’re talking about all the other essential ingredients that should be in your Japanese pantry. Because, you know… Japanese food does consist of more than just rice and shoyu. So, what else is important? White […]

In which nobody’s gotten any sleep, Allison confuses herself about shoyu, and we go off on a ton of (interesting and relevant-ish, we promise!) tangents. Although this was supposed to be a single episode, we just had so much information we wanted to tell you about what ingredients are important for your basic Japanese pantry, […]

Prepare yourself… today, we’re completely and totally geeking out. (Especially Rachael.) Why? Because today’s topic is something we get especially excited about – TOFU! You might think tofu is a silly thing to get excited about, but we’d bet that’s because you’ve never tasted fresh, homemade tofu. (Trust us. It’s amazing.) So what is tofu? […]

“There are five attributes to a great chef: Take your work seriously Aspire to improve Maintain cleanliness Be a better leader than a collaborator Be passionate about your work.” -Masuhiro Yamamoto, Japanese Food Critic Jiro Ono in JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Jiro Dreams of Sushi is […]