Tag: food

Japanese Cuisine · Mental health essays

Itadakimasu And The Ritualisation Of Japanese Food

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Itadakimasu essay by Jamie Ryder.

It’s 2015. Shoryu, a popular Japanese ramen chain, is opening in Manchester. I’m ready to find the meaning of life at the bottom of a bowl of ramen and when I walk through the door, I hear the phrase itadakimasu! and the banging of a drum. I don’t really think much of the word until the drum bangs again and I hear it repeated for the next customer. And the next customer. And the next customer.

Since then, I’ve been back to Shoryu several times and I continue to search for the meaning of a life at the bottom of every bowl of ramen. But it’s not the only thing that’s stuck with me. Itadakimasu is a word that captures a lot with a little, a proclamation of what Japanese food is or can be. 

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Mental health essays

Can We Develop Healthier Eating Habits With Kuchisabishii?

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Kuchisabishii essay by Jamie Ryder.

It’s a Friday night. You’ve had a long week at work and you’ve already eaten plenty that day. But you have a craving for pizza, even though you know you’re full in the sense of getting all your calories and basic human needs satisfied. You know you aren’t ‘hungry’ in the ‘I’m-starving-not-actually-starving-life-or-death’ kind of way that gets said so much it’s a first world cliche (especially if you’re from the UK). 

You order the pizza anyway because the craving demands it. And once you’ve finished, all you can think is why did I eat that goddamn pizza? I wasn’t even hungry.

If that sounds familiar, then maybe it’s time to embrace the concept of kuchisabishii. This Japanese concept roughly translates as ‘lonely mouth.’ But rather than it being a damnation of mindless eating, kuchisabishii offers a reframing of why we eat when we’re bored or sad. 

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Guest Posts

Guest Post: A Bowl Of Heart: A Film About More Than Just Ramen

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If it takes time to become acquainted with a person in any meaningful way, then a bowl of noodles needs to be raised for John Daschbach. After spending an entire year filming a master ramen chef, the Tokyo-based filmmaker’s latest film Come Back Anytime beautifully captures the feeling of finally getting to know someone.

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Japanese Cuisine

Diving Into The Wonderful World Of Japanese Snacks With A Sakura Co Box

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Japan is famous for having some of the most unique food in the world, which also extends to snacks and sweet treats. As someone with a massive savoury and sweet tooth, it was a lot of fun to dive into a Sakura Co box that housed a themed range of Japanese snacks and discover new surprises.

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Japanese Cuisine

Learn How To Make Scrumptious Sake Kasu And Beef Pie With Green Beans

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Sake kasu and beef pie.

When it comes to food recipes, I love mixing and matching ingredients from different cultures to experiment with flavours and indulge my own creativity. Many of my recipes are influenced by Japanese ingredients and one of the most recent dishes I’ve experimented with is beef and sake kasu pie with green beans.

Read on to learn how to make this crunchy and delicious pastry meal in your own kitchen.

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The Kokoro Files

The Kokoro Files: Yota And Noriko Suzuki

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When it comes to Japanese ingredients, koji is one of the most versatile and misunderstood food products out there. I like to think of it as the Batman of the fermentation world because it’s the hero mould we need and deserve. It elevates everything it comes into contact with and makes food and drink more delicious.

So, it’s always great to see more brands spreading the koji love and that’s the case with Koji Soupe. I caught up with owners Yota and Noriko Suzuki, who are on a mission to bring more koji awareness to Montreal.

Read on to learn more about the business, what got them interested in fermentation and where they see the future of Koji Soupe. 

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Japanese Cuisine

Kokoro Care Packages Offers A Diverse Range Of Regional Japanese Food Products

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Kokoro Care Packages.

Japanese food is among the most diverse and multi-layered cuisine on the planet, with flavour profiles that spark the imagination. A large volume of regional Japanese food doesn’t get to be experienced outside of the country, so it’s wonderful to see businesses like Kokoro Care Packages changing that by offering bespoke Japanese food hampers from regions all over Japan.

Run by Lillian Hanako Rowlatt and Aki Sugiyama, Kokoro Care Packages is built on a foundation of bringing people closer together with new foods and tastes. I had the opportunity to see what was in Kokoro’s Community Favourites of 2020 package, which really opened my eyes to the huge range of regional Japanese products that are out there.

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The Kokoro Files

The Kokoro Files: Alice Ngan

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Ecila Choco.

It’s a known fact that Japanese sake goes well with pretty much anything, especially chocolate! Alice Ngan has explored this combination with Ecila Sake Chocolates, a brand that uses sake and sake kasu to create premium chocolate products.

Yamato Magazine presents an interview with Alice that covers her experience in sake, opening up a chocolate business in Toronto and exploring the local nihonshu scene. Remember that stressed is dessert spelt backwards, so grab your favourite sweet treat and enjoy reading this interview at your leisure. 

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The Kokoro Files

The Kokoro Files: Lillian Hanako Rowlatt

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The Kokoro Files shares the stories of people who’re connected to Japan through heritage, food, culture and travel experience. The word ‘Kokoro’ is Japanese for heart, but it’s more than the physical organ. Kokoro is passion, love and connection all at once and Lillian Hanako Rowlatt channels that sentiment with Kokoro Care Packages.

Yamato Magazine caught up with Lillian about the story of her brand, her love of Japanese cuisine and her desire to help local farmers share their produce with a worldwide audience. 

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