Japanese

Sushi bake is essentially a California roll casserole in which the main ingredients of the popular sushi roll are layered, then baked for an easy comfort dish. This recipe uses imitation crab, but feel free to use real crab meat, or equal amounts cooked or canned tuna or salmon. Furikake, the Japanese seasoning mix, flavors the rice, while Kewpie mayo and cream cheese bind and add richness. (Both furikake and Kewpie mayo can be found at Asian supermarkets and online.) A final drizzle of sriracha mayo brings it all to life.

Apolinaras and I ventured back to HMart on Super Bowl Sunday and enjoyed big bowls of udon soup for lunch from the Japanese section of food court. We always go back and forth on what to order because everything looks so tasty, but I think we made a good choice, because the soup was just delicious and packed with thin slices of tofu, seaweed, green onions, and broccoli– so good! We’d also never had udon noodles before and had a great time slurping them up.

Most freshwater and ocean fish can be marinated for only 30 minutes at most—or they turn opaque and are essentially "cooked" before you even go out to the grill. The exception, though, is strong-flavored, oily fish like amberjack, bluefish, salmon, mackerel, marlin, mullet, or even our old standby, farm-raised catfish, which can stand up to longer marinating. In fact, marinating these oily fish for a longer time makes them taste even better.

A sweet-and-salty miso glaze turns tofu into little bites of comfort food, traditionally served on skewers. Active Time: 15 min Total Time: 15 min

Cool soba is often served plain alongside individual portions of dipping sauce. Ready-made tsuyu is available in bottles, but its flavor pales compared with fresh, which requires just four ingredients -- soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and dashi, the traditional Japanese broth for which I make the highly unorthodox substitution of soba cooking water. Other flavors, commonly wasabi or ginger, can also be added. Bucking tradition again, I find that soba also goes well with heartier garnishes and dressings.

3 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup sake or dry sherry
1½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar