Spicy Kimchee Nabe

Full disclosure: I love to cry when I eat. Not tears of sadness, but the kind of tears that result from consuming something so spicy that, in addition to firing up the intestines and causing beads of sweat to manifest on the skin, it overcomes the sinuses to force droplets of delicious joy to escape the eyes. Such a reaction is my definition of a complete dining experience. Which is why my obsession with Japanese food is somewhat curious, since most Japanese dishes are lacking in spiciness. Except those that are Korean inspired, such as Spicy Kimchee Nabe.

For a white girl with plenty of experience eating Asian food but not much experience making it myself, attempting nabe with such deep flavor was quite intimidating. The good news for me is that this dish is entirely dairy-free; no heavy creams that make my skin crawl simply because they are suspected of being the main ingredient in cellulite. Also, the directions are fairly simple: boil up some water, throw in some veggies, and add some seasoning. Here's what I used to make my very first Spicy Kimchee Nabe:
-about 4 cups water
-1 cup bean sprouts
-1 cup nappa, chopped
-4 shitake mushroom caps, quartered
-1/4 package tofu
-3 pieces kimchee, chopped
-4 tbsp "Togarashi" red pepper  (as pictured below)

Pay no attention to the 12/31/13 expiration date; if you keep your pepper in the freezer it will last. We used it last night and we're still alive and kicking.

-1 tbsp mirin
-1 tbsp miso

Boil the water in a pot, ideally a clay "nabe" pot. Add the nappa first, since it's the most firm of the veggies and will take the longest to cook. The beansprouts and the shitake can follow shortly after. Hold off on the tofu until the veggies start to soften, since tofu gets weird holes in it when it's boiled too much. Once that happens, add the pepper, then wait 30 seconds and add the kimchee. Right before everything is ready, add the miso and mirin. Stir for 2-3 minutes and then serve. It's as simple as that! Oh, and be sure to keep whatever soup is leftover, as it will make an excellent base for shin ramen the next day. 

Ringing in 2014 with Osechi and Ozoni

Osechi, courtesy of Tokubei 86

As with all Japanese celebrations, the right food is essential to starting off the new year. There are two main components of the New Year's Day feast; the first being osechi, which looks like a bento box but is designed to be eaten over the course of a day or two. The idea behind osechi is to give the woman of the house a break from cooking; in Japanese culture, much like in traditional Italian culture, the woman is responsible for all meal preparation.
To a non-Japanese consumer, osechi may seem like a random assortment of deliciousness. Each component, however, has a specific meaning.
-Konbumaki (seaweed wrap), often contains fish. Konbu is a much thicker type of seaweed that the nori used for sushi. This is another food whose meaning has to do mainly with word association; the word yorokobu means joy, so konbumaki is said to bring happiness.
-The holes in lenkon (lotus) are meant to help one obtain a clear vision of the future.
-One sato imo plant, a type of root very similar to a potato, breeds many others; hence it is eaten in hopes that one's family will be blessed with children.
-Ebi, aka shrimp, are a wish for longevity because they have a curvy shape like an old man's spine. Plus, their whiskers look kind of like a beard.
-The yellow color of nishiki tamago, or egg, represents gold. Eating it invites wealth.
-Kamaboko (broiled fish cake), which are red and white in color, are usually arranged in such a way as to resemble a rising sun, which conjures feelings of hope for the dawn of the new year.
-The word "mame" in Japanese means "health"; hence the sweet black bean known as kuromame is eaten to ensure good health. The golden color of the mashed kuri (chestnut) signifies gold, or wealth.
-The reason behind kazunoko (herring roe), lies in the name itself as well as the fact that they're eggs. "Kazu" means number, and "ko" means children; hence kazunoko is a wish for fertility.
-The word tazukuri translates to "rice paddy maker", since these tiny sardines which are marinated in soy sauce have long been used to fertilize rice fields. They are meant to ensure a good harvest, aka a year of eating well.
 -Kouhaku namasu consists of cut daikon (radish) and ninjin (carrot); as with kamoboko, the white and red color combination is said to symbolize hope a good future.

-Finally, Yakizakana, or grilled fish, is eaten with the intention of achieving professional success.
In addition to osechi, a soup called ozoni is also eaten. There are several variations depending on region- the one we had was in clear broth- but ozoni must always contain mochi. Made from rice, mochi's sticky texture is meant to signify a long, strong life!

Ozoni

"Cutting away" 2013 with Soba

Tempura Soba, courtesy of NYC's Tokubei 86

Considering that they're both gluten-free and incredibly nutritious, it would seem as though soba noodles would be a perfect food to start the year with rather than end it. But for Japanese people, such things as heath benefits are trivial compared with tradition dating back hundreds of years. Eating soba on New Year's Eve has long been a must in many regions of Japan; the practical explanation for this is that during the Edo period, when this practice began, Japanese people discovered that the buckwheat plant yielded the most delicious soba-making flour in December after it was exposed to a bit of frost.
There is also an element of symbolism rooted in the annual feast; the action of "cutting away" the soba broth before slurping up the noodle itsef is said to represent the leaving behind of troubles that have been endured over the past 12 months. Further, the long length of the noodles is said to represent long life, which is why soba is eaten both to give thanks that one has survived to the current day and to ensure a long, healthy future. Today, it is possible for Japanese and American people alike to enjoy soba on the last day of the year. If you're in the mood to diy, there are plenty of Japanese markets throughout NYC (such as Sunrise or M2M) that sell it packaged and ready to boil; otherwise, restaurants such as Cocoron offer easy to understand menus. There are many ways to eat it-hot or cold, alone or with toppings- but this year, my boyfriend and I decided to live dangerously and order the hot tempura soba. In our defense, the delicious deep-fried coating on top of our noodles contains veggies.

Christmas @ Kyo Ya (aka a Festivus Feast)

Flash forward to Christmas Day. We'd been back in New York for exactly three weeks, and we had a serious hankering for some good washoku that we didn't have to cook by ourselves. To celebrate the holiday and satisfy our craving, we headed to what is probably the most elegantly authentic Japanese restaurant in all of New York City (I'll leave it to you to look up where it is...I don't give up my secrets that easily!)

We start off with some seafood...

Nanbanzuke (Small fish similar to sardines that are marinated in vinegar)
served with onions 

These succulent oysters garnished with ginger and peppers were as
amazing as they look!

Uni (sea urchin) sashimi. With its impossibly creamy texture, it's no wonder
this delicacy has been referred to as the sexiest food in the world! 

Ebi fry (shrimp) with gobo (burdock)- super crispy!

Move on to some white meat...

Jidori (Organic chicken). See how it's pink in the middle? It does indeed mean that
it hasn't been fully cooked. But since jidori is both free range and organic, the risk
of samonella that scares people into charring their chicken is extremely low.  

Kurobuta (black pork). It comes from the underside, or belly, of the pig, and when
cooked correctly as shown here it literally melts in your mouth.

...And finally, some shime (which is what Japanese people call a rice or noodle dish served at the end of a meal)!

Unagi over rice

Inaniwa Udon, which consists of noodles flatter and a bit finer than your average udon. 

Their display of omotenashi, complete with a gift of chocolate cake that they let us take to go,  made us feel right at home! It was the kind of incredibly attentive service we'd become accustomed to in Japan, right here in NYC.