Semiserious Chefs

Shichimi Togarashi – 七味唐辛子 – means ‘seven spice blend,’ but it’s funny that if you break down those syllables a little you end up with Shi chi mi togarashi -しちみ とがらし – ‘scrubbing.’ Perhaps this tingly, spicy blend helps to scrub your innards? I don’t think so. I just found it an interesting aspect of […]

Yes, if you are a food buff you probably already know that tebasaki chicken wings are a particularly common dish found in and around Nagoya, Japan. If you know any Japanese you probably know that tebasaki, (or debesaki) 手羽先, translates specifically to ‘chicken wings.’ With this in mind, I understand if you find my use […]

This recipe was created after my recent discovery of dried bean curds. There are a lot of recipes floating around for simple salads and soups using these tofu skins, but I so much enjoy kkakdugi (Quick Korean Radish Kinchi) that I thought for sure you could use bean curd sticks for a similar snack. After […]

This sauce is a SUPER EASY staple to have in your repertoire. Perhaps you’ll measure for the first few times you make it, but soon enough you will find that you can easily toss together a rough proportion, or even experiment with some of your other favorite flavors, (try adding ginger or substituting ponzu!) for […]

First off, always give credit where credit is due. Although there are some subtle changes that make this recipe my own, I definitely used Anthony Bourdain’s recipe as a major leaping off point. As soon as I read that he uses a two day technique with a partial fry and a freeze in the middle, […]

Oi-muchim (오이무침): oi for cucumber and muchim for mixed or tossed, this quick Korean side dish is very common as a snack and of-course a banchan for any meal or special bapsang. (Sometimes it is also written as Oi Saengche (오이생채) from the Chinese influenced Korean writing for live vegetable since it is not ‘dead’/cooked.) […]

Over the last couple of years I have really expanded the line of products I purchase from The New Central Market here in Anchorage. Given, they have expanded, too. The one thing I don’t usually go for, and probably because I simply like to cook myself, are their pre-made dishes. The owner, Somya, is always […]