Tokyo=Foodie Nirvana

Greetings from Tokyo!

Each time I return I vow to explore more and have more variety in my adventures...yet I can't help but be lured by the endless varieties of top-notch food available here. When presented with the opportunity of an unforgettable culinary experience, all else seems to fall by the wayside as I follow the next red lantern or aromas of yakitori.

I'm just starting to catch up on blogging, but you can view posts on my travels on my Tokyo blog, here.

Clara's Mint Tea

I find mint tea addictive and as easy to drink as water. My friend and fellow foodie, Clara, shared this excellent recipe for mint tea. She created this tea as an aid for digestion. The combination of herbs and spices is not only soothing for the stomach, but also lovely to look at, and pure aromatherapy.

Combine the following in a tea pot that holds several cups:

A few fresh mint leaves
Slice of fresh ginger, chopped
Half a teaspoon of fennel seeds
1 or 2 cardamom pods (crushed)
1/2 small stick of cinnamon

Pour boiling water over ingredients and let steep from 15 min. to an hour. Strain and drink with meals either slightly warm or cold. Clara says she always keeps some of this tea in the fridge. You can keep a concentrated version and add water when drinking. Experiment with adjusting amounts of ingredients to taste. Personally I prefer lots of mint, cardamom and ginger, a little less cinnamon.

Samovar Tea Lounge

Tea is one thing I've grown to love so much I couldn't imagine a day without it. I drink a variety of tea throughout the day--black, green, jasmine, oolong, blended, chai--and herbal tea in the evening. It has powers to pick you up and put you back into focus, but is also calming and restorative.

One of my favorite tea retreats is Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco--there are three locations, but I adore the one perched atop the upper terrace of Yerba Buena Gardens overlooking the big fountain. This serene and inviting lounge features a carefully composed menu of healthful dishes to compliment their wonderful teas, as well as enticing, multi-cultural food and tea pairings such as the Moorish Platter with Mint Tea, or the Japanese Maki Bowl, Soup and Ryokucha Brown Rice Tea.

I went to Samovar recently with my friend Deborah, and we both had their Tea Soup, which was essentially their heartier, more elaborate version of a traditional Japanese ocha-zuke--tea poured over a half-bowl of rice, sometimes with pickles, condiments or other toppings. At Samovar this humble dish was transformed by fresh veggies, shiitake mushrooms, wakame and braised tofu. I had my lunch with an aromatic, eye-opening gyokuro green tea from Japan.

The interior of Samovar is inviting and bright, their music takes you to all corners of the tea world, their tea transports you to a state of well being, and the staff is well informed and passionate about tea culture. Seating is avilable outside, where you can enjoy the spectacular view of the city from the top level of the park. Teas are also available for purchase online, so check out their informative site.

Lentil Soup with Red Wine

Of all soups, I think I love lentil soup the best. Over the years I've made countless variations of this wonderfully versatile and economical soup, but the standard version usually contains chopped onion, celery, carrot, maybe garlic, and fresh herbs. Mushrooms, zucchini or chopped tomato and/or a bit of tomato paste are good too, and I've also tried curry powder. Sometimes I cook it with broth, sometimes just with water if I have no broth on hand. I may add crumbled cheese or greens towards the end of cooking. I've also made it with ham, but lentils are so hearty I don't really miss meat.

Only recently did I discover how to add additional complexity and richness to lentil and other bean soups without adding meat or meat-based broth. I simply add a generous pour of wine while the beans are simmering. I've only tried red wine, but I don't see why you couldn't use white. I just toss in whatever leftover wine we have lying around (we have a lot of opened samples of wine that go to waste because Thomas is in the wine business). The wine adds an instant fruity/acidic depth to the soup.

The lentil soup in the photo was one of the best I've ever made, containing red wine. I added shaved parmesan and arugula at the end.

Soup for Breakfast

I love soup so much that I will gladly eat it for breakfast. This practice seems more common in other parts of the world - I've heard the popular Vietnamese pho noodle soups are commonly eaten for breakfast, and a traditional Japanese breakfast might be miso soup with rice. Soup is easily digestible, warming and comforting, so it makes sense to have it first thing in the morning.

Recently I discovered that a divine combination for breakfast is hot chicken or vegetable broth, a handful of baby spinach, and a squeeze of lemon juice, with rice on the side or stirred directly into the broth. With a good broth, this simple soup doesn't really need much more, in my opinion, but you could also add sliced green onions or a splash of soy sauce to jazz it up. Add sliced tofu or shiitake mushrooms for a heartier soup. A cup of jasmine tea makes this a perfect start to the day.

Red Snapper Nabe with Ginger and Citrus

Red snapper nabe with ginger and citrus

Veggie nabe with udon noodles

A general term that Japanese use to refer to quickly stewed one-pot dishes is nabemono, or sometimes yosenabe, or just nabe for short, which literally means "pot." There are many reasons to enjoy nabe dishes - they are versatile, quick, easy, delicious, warming, communal, and healthful.

There are many kinds of nabe containing ingredients that vary with the regions or personal preference. They can contain any combination of seafood, chicken or meat with assorted vegetables, tofu, and sometimes noodles, all cooked together in a bubbling broth (or sometimes without broth as in sukiyaki, which is also technically a nabemono). The broth can be a very light dashi (simple stock flavored with konbu seaweed and/or dried bonito), or more heavily flavored with miso, soy sauce, or other ingredients (and I've even used just plain water). Depending on how heavily flavored the broth is, you can have a dipping sauce on the side to dip individual bites before consuming, or none at all.

Nabe dishes bring people together because they are usually prepared at the table on a portable burner. Everyone can be involved in cooking by placing ingredients in the bubbling pot, and eating when ingredients are just cooked through. Longer simmering creates a tastier broth at the end, when you can add udon or other noodles and create a delicious soup. A decorative clay pot or cast iron pot is often used for a nice presentation.

I've been making a lot of nabe, stew and soups as we get more into winter, and also because I've been under the weather and watching my diet. I can't find my tabletop burner so I've been cooking these on the stove and bringing the pot to the table when done. These dishes are so simple to prepare, easy to digest, and comforting. I've been making them with chicken broth and not using any dipping sauce.

One standard nabe I make contains sliced daikon, carrots, baby bok choy, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, spinach (pictured above). I cook the daikon and carrots first until somewhat softened, then add the other ingredients, and also include udon noodles towards the end, with delicate greens such as spinach last. Very clean and healthy.

Another version I made recently features red snapper with veggies, thinly sliced ginger, and lemon zest with juice in a chicken broth with veggies, creating a deliciously fragrant broth. I simmered the ginger slices in the broth first until softened, then added carrot, with bok choy and tofu next. I added the fish and lemon zest at the end until just cooked through. Squeeze lemon juice over everything and serve with a bowl of rice on the side.

If you would like to try a simple ponzu-style dipping sauce on the side for your nabe, combine equal parts soy sauce and lemon or lime juice. You can garnish with thinly sliced green onions or hot pepper for a little kick.

Crab season is here, so I'm thinking I'll have to try a crab nabe next, might be nice for New Year's. More info on nabemono here.

The Making of a Foodie in Tokyo

Read my latest post on my Tokyo blog: about my coming-of-age as a foodie in Tokyo, and about Andrew Zimmern's latest show in Japan.

Sardines with Arugula Salad

I never get tired of sardines in any form, and when I'm alone you might catch me eating them straight from the tin with my fingers. I wish more people would give this healthful little fish a chance. I think those who like fish in general, but are canned sardine-haters, are put off by the tiny (edible) bones, or the shiny skins, or fishy scent - all of which I find are a delightful part of the sardine eating experience. They are tasty, generally inexpensive, and packed with omega-3's, calcium and other minerals, so are worth a try in your next sandwich or salad.

My favorite easily accessible brand is King Oscar's brisling sardines packed in olive oil. These tiny little fish are silky and flavorful, but have become rather pricey - so I switched to the cheaper Brunswick brand in olive oil. Larger fish, but a nice firm texture with good oil. Another commonly found, perfectly good brand is Beach Cliff, but again, I recommend the kind packed in oil, not water. I used to consume nothing but water-packed sardines simply in an effort to avoid the extra calories, until I finally tasted oil-packed, which are so much tastier. Water-packing seems to make the fish more water-logged and bland. BELA-Olhao from Portugal are also nice (love the colorful packaging), especially the kind flavored with lemon, but I've found these fish to occasionally have remnants of scales which don't bother me but I'd imagine would really turn off some people.

One reviewer on Chowhound rated thirty kinds of sardines, proclaiming the Angelo Parodi Sardine Portoghesi the best. This leads me to realize how many more sardine brands there are to try and I need to make more of an effort to find these tasty imports. You can read about the great sardine taste-off here.

The other day I wanted something more than a quick snack, so tossed together a salad with ingredients I had on hand: canned sardines, arugula from the garden, a sliced boiled egg, and a small Persian cucumber. Some oil from the sardines imparted enough of a dressing, so all it needed was a squeeze of citrus and fresh pepper. A yummy variation of the usual salad with tuna.

Pizzeria Delfina

Delfina in San Francisco's Mission District offers some of the best pizza ever, at prices that are reasonable for the city. I still haven't tried Delfina's restaurant, but have eaten at the tiny neighboring pizzeria twice. Last night we met friends Deb and Blake to try several pizzas and small plates, and the absolute winner was the phenomenal broccoli rabe pizza. Tender bitter greens, creamy custardy cheese, briny olives, crispy crust. I'm starting to drool just thinking about it.

Other notable items were the Napoletana pizza, sardines with crostini, and the fresh-stretched mozarella. A nice wine list too - we enjoyed a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo for $18.

Fresh Porcini Mushrooms

I've never encountered these mushrooms fresh, and my understanding is they are hard to come by. Thomas was able to get a hold of two of these superb mushrooms through a restaurant friend. They aren't cheap, but are worth the money. Each porcini was larger than my hand, with edible stems, so two provided a two-course meal for three of us quite easily.

We kept it simple: thinly sliced lengthways, sauteed in good olive oil, a little salt. Brown slices on both sides. The first course was fresh arugula tossed in vinaigrette with browned porcini slices on the side. I'm still thinking about those meaty, fragrant mushrooms accompanied by those pleasantly bitter greens. Exquisite.

The second course was also simple, just more of the porcini tossed in pasta with olive oil and a shaving of parmiggiano. This porcini meal was almost better than Thanksgiving dinner, which we had the next day.

Thanksgiving Dessert

Everything turned out wonderfully for our feast - the tender turkey (my dad always buys kosher), Thomas' creamy potatoes and gravy, my mom's butternut squash, Grace's roasted root vegetables - but I think this year Linda's picture-perfect desserts won the prize. She made everything in this photo except for the pound cake. Our favorite pear almond tart was divine, and the crust on the apple galette superb. She made two delicious pumpkin pies which sustained us for breakfast on the following days.