EVENT News
Eat-Japan 2013 at HYPER JAPAN 2013
As the UK’s biggest celebration of Japanese culture and cuisine, HYPE R JAPAN prides itself on bringing the best of traditional and contemporary Japan to London. Coming to Earls Court from 26- 28 July, HYPER JAPAN 2013 promises to be bigger and better than ever. Along with a mouth watering array of Japanese food and drink at Eat Japan 2013, the event will feature modern Japanese entertainment such as manga, anime and cinema, fashion and beauty, technology, music, and art, as well as refined traditional culture, travel information, and more. Read on for a just a small taste of what’s on offer from Eat-Japan at HYPER JAPAN 2013.
The Eat-Japan Sushi Awards are back again for HYPER JAPAN 2013 with five Japanese restaurants in the UK battling it out to win Sushi of the Year. This is your chance to taste unique sushi creations from some of the leading sushi chefs in the country, and ultimately have your say in who is crowned Sushi Roll Champion of 2013. You’ll also have the chance to see how real professionals go about making world class sushi- guaranteeing an amazing culinary experience, not available anywhere else.
The Eat-Japan Sake Experience 2013 is a Japanese sake event unparalleled in scale. In addition to increasing awareness, the Sake Experience 2013 will give participants the opportunity to taste many diverse varieties of drinks, learning about the different temperatures and ways in which sake can be enjoyed. Ticket holders can also meet sake brewers, attend mini-seminars from a sake sommelier, and participate in polls and prize draws. Many sakes on offer for sampling can also be purchased by attendees at the event.
Food Court
HYPER JAPAN will be once again hosting a variety of stalls selling Japanese food, hot and cold alcoholic and soft drinks, teas, candy, ingredients, snacks, sweet treats, and more. Offerings will range from tempting street food like okonomiyaki and ramen noodles, as well as super healthy blends of green tea, to exquisite sushi, premium sake, and traditional liqueurs from Japan. In addition to freshly made food, visitors will be able to take home candies, cakes, and snacks, as well as Japanese ingredients and cooking supplies.
Demonstrations
Eat-Japan 2013 will be hosting three days of exciting expert led demonstrations on Japanese cooking and drink on the main stage. These demonstrations will both entertain and educate, inspiring you to create your own Japan inspired culinary masterpieces. In past events, featured demonstrators in the Eat-Japan area have encompassed a wide range of Japanese culinary fields, ranging from sake sommeliers to desert chefs and sushi masters, including Japanese drinks expert Natsuki Kikuya and award winning chocolatier William Curley, and this year’s event promises to be equally diverse. Targeted at everyone from accomplished cooks and interested amateurs, Eat-Japan 2013 will show you how to get the very best out of Japanese ingredients.
Tokyo Trends: A Sake Update from Japan’s Capital
More people than ever are choosing sake with their meals at Japanese restaurants here in the UK. But what’s happening in Tokyo, where sake has been a staple choice since time immemorial. We’ve asked Marie Chiba, bartender/sake sommelier at Nihonshu Stand Moto, a standing-room-only sake bar slap-bang in the middle of Shinjuku, Tokyo, to update us on what’s hotting up the sake scene in Japan’s capital. Nihonshu Stand Moto is a favourite haunt of brewers and sake industry workers, so it’s a great place to check out if you’re ever in Tokyo—ask for Marie and she’ll show you what’s what.
Discover Japas, Japanese Tapas
Japas, essentially a Japanese version of tapas, was invented by Atsuko Ikeda, the founder of Atsuko's Kitchen. A crowd favourite at HYPER JAPAN, Atsuko, who presented the ‘Japanese style dishes at home' demonstration at HYPER JAPAN 2012 Spring, will be once again returning to the Christmas event, where she will show you how to prepare a delicious selection of Japas dishes to wow your friends and family. With Atsuko's help, you'll be able to wow your friends and family with exquisite Japanese nibbles all the way through the festive season!
Japanese Festival Food
There are lots of festivals, known as matsuri, around Japan as summer turns to autumn. Whilst are many different kinds of matsuri, the one most enjoyable aspect is always Japanese street food, known as yatai stalls.
Matsuri also feature entertainments like yo-yo balloons and shooting games, but yatai stalls are decisively the most popular attractions.
Below are the results of a poll by Japan’s famous music chart list compiler Oricon on the most popular yatai foods:
1.Takoyaki (fried octopus)
2.Yakisoba noodles
3.Kakigori (shaved ice)
4.Okonomiyaki
5.Chocolate banana
6.Candy floss
7.Jyaga butter (jacket potato with butter)
8.Yakitori chicken
9.Crepe
10.Yaki ika (grilled squid)
Healthy Dishes for Summer
Summer-the best season to do something fun; outings, sports, festivals, and travelling to make the most of the lovely weather. But that (fingers crossed) intense heat can cause fatigue and make you feel lethargic. Take a leaf out of the athletes' book and optimise your diet for summer--although you probably won't have to be quite as strict as them.
Eat-Japan Blog Roll: Expert Insight on Japanese Food & Drink
When faced with the variety and diversity of Japanese food and drink, it's nice to have a bit of expert advice to guide you through. That's why we've been reading the blogs of some of the leading Japanese food and drink professionals in the UK today.
Whether you want to know more about the world of rice wine, discover how an award-winning Japanese chef engages with UK suppliers, or be inspired by musings on the possibilities of Japanese cooking, there's a blog out there for you. Discover something new about Japanese cuisine—go beyond the menu into the kitchen, the brewery, the mind of the chef! Here are three of our favourite blogs from three of our favourite UK-based Japanese food and drink experts
Savour Umeshu This Summer
For over a thousand years the Japanese have been enjoying a drink that epitomises the warmth and zest of the season. Whether in a fruity cocktail or on the rocks, for a touch of sunshine in a glass, umeshu is well worth getting to know.
Time For Tea
Golden Week has arrived and with it, anticipation of the year's first tea harvest as blue skies and vibrant, lush fields welcome dancing streamers of colourful carp to play. The crowded cities of Japan meanwhile heave a collective sigh, bidding farewell to salary men and women, as packed trains whisk them home to pastures green and fresh.
Dragon Volcano: Sushi Roll of the Year 2012
Discover the secrets of this year's explosive Sushi of the Year, Dragon Volcano, and a little more about the chef and restaurant behind it.
Taste Discovery Zone: Eat, Taste, Enjoy
HYPER JAPAN Spring 2012 welcomed a whole host of foodies to the Taste Discovery Zone, sponsored by Kikkoman and S&B, eager to learn more about how to create simple, authentic, Japanese style dishes at home. The ever-affable Atsuko Ikeda was back again this year, with sessions introducing us to yaki udon and wasabi cream, whilst newcomer to the Eat-Japan Food Court Elsa Gleeson took on the dessert menu. For all things sake, Natsuki Kikuya, Eat-Japan’s Executive Sommelier and curator of the Sake Awards, enlightened us with her informative seminars on the delights of Japan’s national drink.
The Renaissance of Sushi
Sushi, once a bona fide Japanese concept, has gone global. The beauty of its simplicity is providing the basis for a plethora of imaginative culinary adventures and delights. Whether from the seasoned professional, keen cook or novice, the re-invention of sushi has begun.
Above: Varieties of sushi from late Edo / early Meiji period (based on printings by Gyokusho Kawabata: with thanks to Mizkan Group Co., Ltd.)
The Season of Sake
Sake is the quintessential drink of celebration and commemoration in Japan, and will have been raised in many a toast during the party season by friends and family throughout the land in a wish to bestow health and harmony in the coming year.
Northern Delights
The skies are clouding over, there’s a chill in the air, and cashmere jumpers are flooding the high street, it can only mean one thing; it's time for some soul food. Get ready to warm your heart and nourish your day, Japanese style.
The Power of Seaweed
Seaweed, it's everywhere. For an island nation that loves its seafood it's no surprise that some of Japan's most popular dishes, from sushi to miso, use one form or another of these sea growing vegetables.
Tang, Crunch and Zing, All In A Pickle
Late autumn sees the preparation of pickles, the unsung heroes of practically every Japanese meal. Pickles can always be depended on to provide that sweet tang with a bowl of rice, a satisfying crunch with your ramen, and a sweet palate-cleansing pause as the sushi dishes roll in.
From deep purple hues to vibrant greens, oranges and yellows, pickles make for a beautifully rich addition to a meal in both colour and taste. Walk through any market in Japan and you will see the huge variety of pickled vegetables on offer. Carrot, cucumber, aubergine, radish, onion and ginger, the list goes on as Japanese cuisine continues to add texture and vibrancy to its repertoire, in the form of the humble pickle.
Raining Rice
Japanese cuisine loves the seasons.
Whether it's finding local fresh bamboo shoots in the spring to add to a bowl of steaming rice, or throwing some daikon into a stew to keep warm in the winter months, there is always a seasonal twist to be found in the Japanese larder. What remains faithful and dear to all however, and always ready and waiting in the cupboards, is that most essential of ingredients to many a dish; rice.
Beat the Heat: Natsu-Bate Recipes
Japan’s long, hot summer can cause fatigue and lose of appetite – known as natsu-bate. But it also means delicious dishes, designed to be reviving, vitamin-laden, flavour-packed, and simple to make in the summer evenings. Okay, it’s not quite as hot and humid here in the UK, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try the recipes out.
Sushi: A Many Splendoured Dish
HYPER JAPAN 2011 hosted the Sushi Awards 2011: UK Sushi Roll Championship, a UK-only version of the renowned Sushi Awards created especially for HYPER JAPAN and sponsored by KIKKOMAN and Tsuno Foods! The Awards celebrated rolled sushi, but you can find out about the many different types of sushi here.
SUSHI: A MANY-SPLENDOURED DISH
Sushi’s not really a Japanese word anymore. It’s one of those rarest things – a term that’s the same in every language in the world. So whether you’re in Tokyo, Tobago or Turin, when you want vinegared rice topped with raw fish, you ask for sushi. That kind of globality is limited to very few foods: sushi is joining the ‘elite’ ranks hamburger here. Still, sushi is still a quite general term and not much help when you want to order specifics. So to make things a little easier, here’s a quick guide to the various kinds of (sub category) sushi that make up the term sushi. Once you've brushed up on the various types of sushi, remember to get your ticket to the Sushi Awards 2011 and try out the maki sushi, the most popular type in the UK right now.
The Benefits of Miso
Tuesday, 03 May 2011 15:47
Heard about miso but not sure what it is or how to use it? Find out about the benefits here.
So, what is miso? Put simply, it’s fermented soybean paste, which, let’s face it, doesn’t sound too appetising. How about this, then: miso is the holy grail of healthy eating, a versatile, reasonably priced and delicious tasting superfood with scientifically proven health benefits. That should make you a little more inclined to try it. We’re going to explain the basics of miso right here, and then suggest some authentic Japanese recipes to try, as well as tips on using miso in your non-Japanese dishes.
