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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Aji Amarillo & Kurozu Braised Pork Belly (Nikkei Adobo)
A Tokyo-meets-Lima comfort dish where rich pork belly is slow-braised in an aggressively sharp broth of Japanese black vinegar, soy, and aji amarillo paste. The fierce acidity tenderizes the meat while cutting the fat, creating a melt-in-your-mouth bite that finishes with electric, citrusy heat.
Aji Panca & Black Garlic Glazed Cauliflower "Robata" with Whipped Sesame Tofu
This is my love letter to both the smoky robatayaki joints of Tokyo and the street-side anticucho grills of Lima. We're hard-charring cauliflower florets and glazing them with a sticky, fruity, umami-dense tare made from Peruvian aji panca and black garlic. Served over a cool, creamy whipped sesame tofu to catch every drop of that glaze, it's the ultimate izakaya-at-home dinner centerpiece.
Ahi Tuna "Yukhoe" Bowl with Gochujang-Yuzu Cure & Cold Glass Noodles
This is what happens when you cross the DNA of Korean raw beef yukhoe with Japanese sashimi traditions. We are taking beautiful ahi tuna, slicing it into thin strips, and hitting it with a high-speed 3-minute cure of gochujang, yuzu, and white soy. Served over bouncy, ice-cold sweet potato glass noodles with crisp Asian pear, it is the ultimate fast-prep umami lunch bowl.
Masa Chochoyotes in Smoked Ancho-Shiitake Dashi
When I lived in Oaxaca, I fell in love with chochoyotes—little masa dumplings with a thumbprint in the center. I realized nixtamalized corn has an alkaline bite almost exactly like the kansui used in ramen noodles, making them perfect for a Japanese-style broth. We are dropping these shio koji-spiked dumplings into a rapid dashi made from dried ancho chiles and shiitake mushrooms, two ingredients that share a deeply savory, dark-fruit umami profile.
Tamarind-Black Garlic Glazed Salmon over Miso-Brown Butter Udon
A sticky, tart tamarind and black garlic glaze creates a beautiful lacquer on perfectly pan-seared salmon. Resting on a bed of chewy Sanuki udon tossed in an emulsified brown butter-miso sauce, this dish is my ultimate answer to refined comfort food. The sharp tartness of the tamarind cuts right through the rich, umami-heavy noodles.
Quick-Cured Duck & Charred Treviso Winter Salad with Sake-Kumquat Citrus Dressing and Crispy Buckwheat–Nori Crunch
This is my February restaurant-bowl obsession: rosy duck breast that’s been quick-cured for precision, then seared hard for that shatter-crisp skin; bitter winter greens kissed by heat; and a bright kumquat-sake citrus dressing that clings like a light ponzu. The crunch is pure “Tokyo-meets-anywhere”: toasted buckwheat (kasha) + sesame + nori—like furikake’s louder, nuttier cousin.
Stories
View allElectric Umami: Aji Amarillo & Kurozu Braised Pork Belly
A Tokyo-meets-Lima comfort dish where sharp Japanese black vinegar and fiery aji amarillo create a melt-in-your-mouth pork belly.
March 9, 2026
Tokyo Meets Lima: Aji Panca & Black Garlic Glazed Cauliflower
A love letter to Tokyo's robatayaki joints and Lima's anticucho grills. This charred cauliflower with whipped sesame tofu is an absolute umami bomb.
March 7, 2026
The Ahi Tuna Yukhoe Bowl: A Tokyo-Seoul Mashup
What happens when Japanese sashimi DNA meets Korean yukhoe? A high-speed, umami-packed 3-minute cure that turns ahi tuna into your new favorite noodle bowl.
March 5, 2026
Oaxaca to Tokyo: Masa Chochoyotes in Smoked Ancho-Shiitake Dashi
Discover how Oaxacan masa dumplings and Japanese dashi share a secret alkaline connection in this umami-packed, cross-cultural bowl.
March 2, 2026