I live in a sushi-loving town. Oddly enough, it’s Chicago. A lot has changed in the past 30 years in the former home of the Stockyards, Hog-Butcher to the World. Back in the 70’s, when I was in college, I tried to get a classmate to eat a piece of raw tuna sashimi. He recoiled in horror. I’ve since lost touch with that guy, but I’m willing to bet that he’s currently scarfing down sushi and sashimi on a regular basis with the rest of the Baby Boomers and Yuppies.
It’s easy, amidst the sea of nigiri and makimono, to forget that there’s more to Japanese cuisine than raw fish and vinegared rice. My own love of Japanese food began with noodles eaten at a Japanese dive on north Clark Street (which used to be the heart of a big Japanese community back in the 50’s). Now most of the Japanese restaurants along that stretch of Clark Street are sushi parlors. There are very few of the old places left, and that’s a shame. A few of our favorite recipes from the “cooked cuisine” of Japanare: Sukiyaki, Carrot Kimpira and Yams in White Miso Sauce. Look for them on the Japanese Cuisine page.
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