I trained in Tokyo for eight years, mastering the discipline of washoku—traditional Japanese cuisine. But I got restless. So I cooked my way through Southeast Asia, spent a year in Mexico City, and fell hard for the food of Peru. Now I see connections between cuisines that others miss: the umami in dashi and fish sauce, the heat in shishito and Szechuan peppercorns, the way Japanese technique can unlock flavors from any tradition. I'm always fermenting something.
Recipes
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Chewy Sweet Corn & Cotija Mochiko Fritters
Imagine Mexican street corn (elote) and a Japanese savory pancake had a beautifully chewy, crispy baby. By binding fresh sweet summer corn and salty cotija cheese with glutinous rice flour, we get an ultra-crispy, pan-fried exterior with a bouncy, mochi-like center that's perfect for a summer izakaya night.
Hard-Seared Scallops with Aji Amarillo-Miso Huancaina & Crispy Purple Potatoes
I love when a dish practically vibrates with flavor. We're taking sweet, dry-packed sea scallops, hitting them with a brutal, crust-building sear, and resting them on crispy smashed Andean potatoes. The real magic is the Aji Amarillo-Miso Huancaina sauce—a Peruvian classic supercharged with Japanese umami—all cut by a bright hijiki seaweed salsa criolla.
Wok-Blistered Japanese Eggplant with Kewpie Aji Verde & Quinoa Chaufa
This is where Tokyo meets Lima on a ripping hot cast-iron surface. We're aggressively blistering Japanese eggplant until the cell walls collapse into creamy perfection, then drenching it in a Peruvian aji verde that swaps traditional cheese for an umami-bomb of shio koji and Kewpie mayo.
Hamachi & Watermelon Aguachile with Yuzu-Serrano Broth
I've eaten my weight in acid-cured seafood from Lima to Ensenada, and nothing beats the immediacy of a Mexican aguachile. Here, we're crossing the fierce, bright heat of Sinaloa with Japanese precision—using sweet summer watermelon and aromatic yuzu to cure buttery yellowtail just minutes before eating.
Aji Amarillo & Brown Butter Miso Mazemen
Mazemen is the unsung hero of the ramen shop—a brothless noodle dish that relies entirely on a rich, emulsified sauce clinging to every strand. In this version, we're taking the structural DNA of an Italian Cacio e Pepe, but building it with Peruvian aji amarillo, nutty brown butter, and Japanese white miso.
Coconut-Lime Halibut Kinilaw with Charred Jalapeño Oil
This cooling summer lunch is where Filipino kinilaw meets Japanese curing techniques and Mexican heat. By quick-curing the halibut and buffering our acid with rich coconut milk, we get a melt-in-your-mouth raw fish dish that refuses to turn chalky.
Stories
View allChewy Sweet Corn & Cotija Mochiko Fritters: A Tokyo-Oaxaca Mashup
Imagine Mexican street corn and a Japanese savory pancake had a beautifully chewy, crispy baby. These mochiko fritters are the ultimate summer izakaya bite.
July 13, 2026
A Peruvian-Japanese Love Letter: Seared Scallops & Miso Huancaina
Sweet sea scallops meet the vibrant heat of Peru and the deep umami of Japan in this unapologetic mashup of flavors.
July 11, 2026
Wok-Blistered Japanese Eggplant with Kewpie Aji Verde & Quinoa Chaufa
Tokyo meets Lima on a ripping hot cast-iron surface with this creamy, blistered eggplant draped in an umami-packed Kewpie and shio koji aji verde.
July 9, 2026
Hamachi & Watermelon Aguachile: Sinaloa Meets Tokyo
Discover how the fierce heat of a Mexican aguachile meets Japanese precision in this sweet, fiery, and buttery raw seafood preparation.
July 7, 2026