Beginner-friendly
14 recipes
Yaki Soba: Japanese Sauce-Fried Noodles with Pork and Cabbage
Japanese sauce yakisoba made at home: fry steamed noodles alone first, add pork and cabbage, then finish with sauce for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Yuba Sashimi: Chilled Fresh Soy Milk Skin from Kyoto and Minobu
Fresh Japanese yuba served cold, as sashimi. How to drain, unmold and cut sashimi yuba, spoon kumiage yuba, grate wasabi, and keep it at 50°F or below.
Shirokuma: Kagoshima Shaved Ice with Condensed Milk and Fruit
Shirokuma is Kagoshima's shaved ice under condensed milk, fruit and sweet red beans. Learn the assembly order, how to keep it from melting, and what to buy.
Takana Meshi: Aso Pickled Mustard Greens Mixed Into Warm Rice
Takana meshi from Aso, Kumamoto: pickled mustard greens fried in sesame oil and folded into warm rice. Choosing the pickle, the frying cue and kinshi egg.
Takikomi Gohan: Japanese Dashi Rice Cooked with Chicken and Shiitake
Takikomi gohan is Japanese rice cooked with dashi, chicken and vegetables. Learn the soak-and-drain rhythm, why the toppings stay unstirred, and smart swaps.
Tsuyu-yakisoba: Kuroishi Sauce-Fried Noodles in Hot Broth
Tsuyu-yakisoba is Kuroishi, Aomori's Worcestershire-fried noodles under hot soba broth. Learn the frying order, the broth cue and which noodles to buy.
Ise and Tsu Hanpei Salad: Mie's White Half-Moon Fish Cake with Bonito Dressing (Hanpen)
A simple salad from Ise and Tsu in Mie Prefecture, Japan: a purchased ready-to-eat hanpei fish cake, cut into cubes and plated with hand-torn lettuce, cucumber matchsticks and diced tomato, then dressed with Japanese-style dressing mixed with bonito flakes. Covers how the regional half-moon hanpei differs from Kanto's airy hanpen and the grey kuro-hanpen, how to shop, and why product labels decide storage and allergen questions.
Kakigōri: Japanese Fruit Shaved Ice with Cooked Azuki (かき氷)
How to make one bowl of Japanese fruit kakigōri: finely shaved ice layered with a condensed milk and clear mizore syrup mixture, cooked azuki at the bottom, mandarin, watermelon, kiwi, chunky pineapple sauce and a cherry on top. Covers one-serving amounts, the assembly order, safe use of a shaved-ice machine, ice texture, variations, and the story of ice houses and shaved ice in Japan.
Hineksa' Aga'ga': Chamorro Red Rice Recipe from Guam
Hineksa' aga'ga' is Chamorro red rice from Guam, cooked in annatto (achote) seed water with bacon, onion, garlic and green peas. A fiesta table staple.
Seblak Recipe: West Java's Chewy, Spicy Kerupuk Soup
Seblak recipe: chewy soaked kerupuk simmered in a spicy kencur-scented broth with egg, greens and macaroni. Covers soaking, kencur substitutes and storage.
Ful Medames: Egypt's Breakfast Fava Bean Stew
Ful medames is the fava bean dish Egyptians eat for breakfast. Canned versus dried beans, balancing cumin, lemon, tahini and olive oil, substitutes, taking the canned taste out, mashing so it isn't dry, storing it, and menus with bread and eggs, for home cooks.
Charquicán Chileno: Squash and Potato Stew with Ground Beef
Charquicán, the Chilean winter stew: coarsely mashed potatoes and squash with onion and ground beef, topped with a fried egg, plus its drover-food history.
Carcamusas: Toledo's Pork, Chorizo and Pea Stew
Carcamusas is a Toledo bar tapa of pork, chorizo, jamón and green peas in a tomato sauce cooked down until it clings to bread. Ready in about an hour.
Puto: Filipino Steamed Rice Cakes with Cheese and Salted Egg
How to make puto, the Filipino steamed rice cake, with rice flour and coconut milk. Topped with cheese and salted egg, plus tips to keep drips off the tops.