Vlogmas: Japanese Market Haul
Hiii! It’s Remi!
Today we’re talking FOOD! You know I’m all about eating healthy, nutritious, and delicious food, and that’s why I’m going to share all my weekly grocery staples and favorite snacks that I got on my weekly grocery run to my favorite Japanese Market, the Mitsuwa in Santa Monica.
Recently, Nate has been talking about leaving the city and living in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming with acres of land for the price of a year's worth of private school tuition. While that all sounds great, I am such a city girl at heart (born and raised in LA), and I have no desire to pick up and leave it - at least for now. Especially because my parents are here too!
While I like the idea of having a farm, the actual work that needs to go behind caring for all those animals sounds like a lot of work, and I’m not one to get my hands THAAAT dirty (although we are getting more chickens soon — stayed tuned for more on that!) The only way he might be able to convince me is if he reframes the country home as a vacation home, one that we can escape to for months at a time in the summer but not to permanently live in.
But here’s the thing — if the town doesn't have a Japanese market — there’s no way in hell I could survive there. Where would I get my natto to make my omelets?!? Where would I get all my yummy Japanese snacks? What about all my go-to recipes? that I rely heavily on to keep me full and happy?
For me, a Japanese market is a MUST. See, I grew up eating Japanese food. My mom is an amazing chef, and it’s my comfort go-to food. Some of my favorite recipes are Dashi stock, Chanko Nabe (or Sumo Stew), Mille-Feuille Nabe, Oyakodon, Miso Nikomi Udon, Miso Eggplant Stir Fry, Sukiyaki. These recipes are such a go-to when I need comfort food or an easy way to get my protein and veggies in!
I get all of the ingredients for these recipes during my trek to the Japanese market!! My grocery haul includes protein, veggies, soup bases, and snacks. So let’s start with the bulk of my shopping — the protein!
#1. The Protein Haul
When I go to Mitsua, I buy a TON of meat so that I have everything I need all ready to go for the week. And if I’m not going to cook the meat for three to four days after I go to the market, I just throw it in the freezer. When I’m ready to cook it, I can just defrost and get cooking.
One of the staple meats that I get is the sukiyaki meat, which is like really thinly sliced beef. I’ll usually throw some vegetables in with it, and it’s a great way to have a tasty medley of protein and veggies (the essentials!).
Another meat I love to get is pork belly. I have a bunch of recipes that I loveee to make that include pork belly — like Miso Eggplant Stir Fry. I just cut the pork belly up into one-inch chunks and stir fry it with miso, eggplant, and okra. It’s another great way of getting those veggies in and is sooo yummy.
I got two trays of pork belly at the market today — some thickly sliced and some thin! I’m gonna use the thinly sliced pork belly for my Mille-Feuille Nabe, which is a layered vegetable and pork belly hotpot (so simple, so delicious!). To make this, I put these thin pork belly strips into the napa cabbage leaves like a crepe and then cook them with dashi stock and ginger! You’ve got to try this if you haven’t already!
This week, I’m also making Chanko Nabe, or Sumo Stew. Why’s it called Sumo stew? Well think of a Sumo wrestler! They need to put weight on, and they need a lot of protein to do that! This stew has tons of great protein in it — it’s created to give you energy. It’s also comforting, warm, and absolutely perfect for winter.
#2: The Veggie Haul
You’ve gotta get those good greens in the mix, and I love throwing plenty of veggies into my meat dishes and soups. Today at the market, I grabbed some soft tofu to use with the Sukiyaki and also for miso soup! I also use shinjuku, which is a great staple vegetable with a mustardy taste and a great crunch!
Next, I grabbed long green onions (regular green onion on steroids!) that I’m going to use for stir fry. I also got okra, regular green onions to use for various flavoring, and of course the napa cabbage that I mentioned earlier to make the Mille-Feuille Nabe.
To top off the vegetable list, I snagged some daikon radish for miso soup, as well as some ginger and garlic. Daikon is a massive white radish that has a bitter flavor when it’s raw, but when you cook it — surprise! It’s mild and delicious. You can also make this with the miso glaze! Either way, it’s an awesome vegetable.
#3: The Soup Base Haul
Soup bases are an essential part of the meals on my list, so I’m gonna share how I make them with you! I mentioned the dashi stock when I was talking about making Mille-Feuille Nabe. If you’re new to dashi, it’s the BEST.
Everything is always dashi. It’s the base that makes up for pretty much 90% of all Japanese food, and it is seriously so easy to make. If you know how to make dashi, you can make so many Japanese foods.
It’s mind-blowing. I make my dashi with dry bonito flakes and kombu kelp, which is a brown seaweed that has tons of iodine, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and Vitamins B, C, D, and E in it! It also adds amino acids to the dashi, so it’s great for muscle recovery.
To finish up the bases, I grabbed soy sauce and sweetened sake, another staple for cooking Japanese food!
#4: The Snack Haul (AKA My Guilty Pleasure Haul)
Last but not least — the snacks! The first thing that I got was Choco Flakes. If you haven’t tried these, you’re missing out. These are frosted flakes covered in chocolate, and they’re sooooo good. Next, I grabbed a caramel corn snack. It’s puffy, crunchy, carmelely, and an absolute necessity when it comes to my guilty pleasure.
To follow that, I got these amazing umeboshi chips! If you’ve never heard of umeboshi, it’s a sour plum that is often used as a topping to be eaten over rice with natto and mentaiko. Natto is a traditional Japanese dish made from fermented soybeans. It’s super slimy and sticky in texture, and a lot of the time people eat it for breakfast! I like to throw it over rice or put it in an omelette. It’s a probiotic superfood that’s great for gut health!
Umeboshi is also really great for the body, especially the immune system. That’s why I love that it can be made in the form of chips. Now, I get to have a crunchy, sweet, and sour snack that’s also bolstering my immunity — ummmm, yes please!
Next, I snagged my staple go-to sweet snack: Fran. Have you ever tried Pocky? They are delicious sticks covered in chocolate or strawberry cream. But most of the time, they’re really stingy with the amount of cream they cover the Pocky with. That’s why I love Fran — it’s like Pocky on crack. You get like ten times the amount of cream, and it’s the best indulgent snack for sweet cravings!!!
Finally, I got some kuzukiri, or kudzu jelly noodles. It came with a packet of black bean syrup, which is really tasty to put on top. I also grabbed some matcha jelly with adzuki beans to top off my snack list!
Until Next Time!
Well, that’s all for my Japanese Market Haul today! Lately I’ve been on a Japanese food kick, making lots of savory bone broths with yummy root veggies, fermented miso soups, and having rice with umeboshi plum, hijiki seaweed and eating NATTO while cooking to jazz (so fun!!).
I have really enjoyed embracing my culture by eating the foods that comfort me, and I hope you enjoyed hearing about all the goodies I got. And maybe you can try out one of the recipes I shared! If you do, be sure to post a picture of it and leave a comment below on this post or tag me on Instagram, @rrayyme!
Until next time —
