14 Comments

Eh, nothing wrong with being a dilettante. By the third generation after immigration, the food is the most obvious cultural survivor of the first generation for most people-- and sometimes not even that. I'm one of two white Brits married into a diverse, pan-Asian/global California family, and I do get a bit eye-rolly about "cultural appropriation" and all that. Thanks to Grace Young's cookbooks (Chinese-American from SF, rather than Chinese) I may be the best stir-fryer in the family. 😂

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Love those heady, early days of a relationship when you'll try just about anything, even if you don't really like it... just because you think your partner does like it. And so what if, in this case, your "partner" is a new cuisine? Enjoy those deep, passionate kisses now... before they evolve into a quick (albeit meaningful) peck on the lips.

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Hank Shaw

Love our Japanese food, a tie for first place with Mexican. Here in Victoria, Australia in our smallish coastal town we are forty to have a really fine Japanese restaurant, headed by “Master”. Yes, he is referred to as such by the staff. I made an arrangement with Master to cook a special dish for my wife and I, fresh abalone. Now I do a pretty good job of cooking abs, but what Master did was on another level, or three! He insisted that the abalone be live when received in his kitchen, at a precise agreed time, so I was under pressure to deliver the goods. Well worth it, wish I had photos.

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Hank Shaw

Love this. Don’t have the time you do right now to dive into all these cuisines - and am still working through your books. There is, however, a great hand roll bar in Fort Worth with (usually) seven different kinds of uni that was swimming yesterday; it scratches the Japanese itch for now…

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Hank Shaw

Since I retired I’ve been expending beyond game and fish, started with Thai and some Chinese, spurred on by recent appearance of intermittent lactose intolerance—the absence of dairy from Asian food is good for me. But have not yet dared Japanese tho we love sushi. Will you recommend the best starter book for me? We do have an excellent Asian market here in Michigan and a fair one in Florida.

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Jul 12, 2022Liked by Hank Shaw

Sonoko Sakai's book was very impressive. I like books that take a casual but serious approach to the introduction of a real and gently evolving cuisine (which is usually found in the home) and hers is definitely one of them. I find I rely heavily on cookbook-writing ambassadors that bridge a connection between the familiar and non-familiar. That usually involves someone who has spent time living in both worlds... Sonoko Sakai, Fuchsia Dunlop, Olia Hercules, etc., etc.

I find it's hard to truly get your head around a cuisine until you go spend some time in the country it came from and really get a feel for it. Unfortunately my "next up" travel list is 190 countries long, so in the meantime, it's all about exploration and flirtation!

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one of the easiest and flavor-changer things one can do with one of the main ingredients in the sushi/sashimi arena is to get real, fresh wasabi - there are growers in Half Moon Bay, Shasta, coastal Oregon....grinding up the real thing vs. colored horseradish is a night and day difference.

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