Kyoto Foodie: Where and what to eat in Kyoto

home cooking: uni-ikura donburi on soba-gohan (うにいくら丼、そばごはん編)

This is a rendition of the ever popular Uni-Ikura Donburi, here we serve it on soba-gohan (rice with soba kernels).

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home cooking: Wagyu Roast Beef with Onion Shoyu Sauce Donburi (和牛ローストビーフ玉ねぎ醤油ソース丼)

Wagyu Roast Beef Donburi is a recent invention of Paku and it kicks!
This novel donburi features fine wagyu (Japanese beef) roast beef, on a bed mugi genmai gohan (barley brown rice) and fresh mizuna and topped off with a shoyu based onion sauce.

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Saba Yuzu Kosho Nabe (Mackerel Yuzu Pepper Hotpot) 鯖柚子胡椒鍋

Winter is the season of both aozakana (literally, blue fish) and nabe (Japanese ‘hotpot’). Saba (mackerel) is a very unusual addition to nabe, and this includes black pepper! This is actually a family recipe from Paku’s house. (Yuzu was Peko’s addition) We both felt that while this [...]

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home cooking: Shake Gohan (Salmon Rice) 鮭ご飯

This is a dish that is truly delicious beyond mere words.
If there is no shake gohan in heaven, do you really want to go?

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hirezake (hot sake with Tiger Fugu fin) 虎ふぐのひれ酒

Hirezake is a somewhat rare drink in Japan. It is often enjoyed by older men at exclusive sushi and fish cuisine restaurants, especially in the autumn and winter.
The dried fin of the fugu (pufferfish, blowfish) is steeped in hot sake for about ten minutes and served.
A hot cup [...]

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Sanma-no-shioyaki (Salt-grilled Pacific Saury) 秋刀魚の塩焼き

Quick and simple, a 10 minute wonder, fresh sanma is delectable.
One of the best preparations of fish in Japanese cuisine is ‘shio yaki.’ shio means salt and yaki means grilled. Fish in Japan is something that is often eaten raw, so you can be sure that generally all fish in Japan [...]

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home cooking: Wagyu Steak Donburi

The land of fish happens to produce the finest beef in the world as well. Japanese have a knack for perfecting things, whether it be fax machines, cameras, or the production of beef.
You have probably heard of Japan’s excuisite beef, Wagyu (和牛) literally ‘Japanese beef’. Kobe-gyu (神戸牛) is surely the [...]

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aozakana(青魚): Seasonal Autumn Fish Dinner

aozakana (青魚) literally, ‘blue fish’ are in season from mid-autumn throughout the winter. These are such species as mackerel (青魚, saba), pacific saury (秋刀魚, sanma), sardine (鰯, iwashi), and jack mackerel (鯵, aji). Their blue colored backs give these well loved fish their Japanese name.
In Japan, the cold months are the [...]

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