Recipes by Kenji Nakamura
20 recipes
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.
Aji Amarillo & Shio Koji Chicken Breast Yakitori
Chicken breast gets a bad rap on the grill, but Japanese fermentation science completely changes the game. By curing lean protein with umami-rich shio koji and the sunny, fruity heat of Peruvian aji amarillo, we lock in moisture and flavor before hitting the high heat. This is Tokyo-meets-Lima street food for your backyard.
Cast-Iron Pressed Maitake with Umeboshi-Ancho "Chamoy"
If you've never pressed a mushroom under a heavy iron skillet, your life is about to change. We're using high heat to violently expel water, collapsing the cellular structure to create a meaty, impossibly crispy center piece. Basted in a sticky, sweet-sour-spicy glaze that connects the dots between Japanese pickled plums and Mexican chamoy, this is the ultimate elevated izakaya snack.
Guava-Miso Glazed Pork Belly Torta with Yuzu Kosho Mayo
This is what happens when a classic Mexican street torta takes a detour through a Tokyo izakaya. We're taking thick slabs of pork belly, searing them in their own fat, and lacquering them in a sticky, sweet-and-smoky guava and red miso glaze.
Wok-Seared Shio Koji Flank Steak with Poblano-Shishito Rajas
This is what happens when a Mexico City taqueria meets a Tokyo wok station. We're breaking down the fibrous muscle of flank steak using the enzymatic magic of shio koji, then hitting it with screaming high heat to capture that essential wok hei. Tossed with blistered poblanos and finished with a sharp yuzu kosho crema, it’s a weeknight dinner that doesn't compromise on bold, punchy flavors.
Kyoto Diner Morning: Chorizo & Green Cabbage Breakfast Okonomiyaki
This is what happens when a Japanese savory pancake wakes up in Mexico City. We are taking crisp green cabbage, binding it in a dashi-rich batter with spicy chorizo and gooey Oaxaca cheese, griddling it until deeply caramelized, and crowning the whole thing with a crispy-edged fried egg. The real secret? A smoky Morita chile and maple tare that brings the perfect sweet-heat to your morning.
Izakaya-Style Charred Octopus Esquites
I love the late-night street food energy of both Tokyo and Mexico City, so I smashed them together. We're taking tender octopus, giving it a blistering hard sear, and tossing it with charred sweet corn, shio koji mayo, and togarashi. It's smoky, sweet, briny, and the ultimate umami bomb to pair with an ice-cold beer.
Mezcal & Hibiscus Cured Salmon Tiradito with Aji Amarillo-Yuzu Emulsion
Sashimi and ceviche share the same DNA, but tiradito is where they truly meet and fall in love. Here, I take fatty sushi-grade salmon and give it a 45-minute quick-cure in smoky mezcal, dried hibiscus, and shio koji. The result is a visually stunning, incredibly fudgy piece of fish swimming in a bright, fiery aji amarillo-yuzu emulsion.
Quick-Seared Scallops with Tomatillo-Kombu Broth & Crispy Sushi Rice
I love playing with the sharp, green bite of raw tomatillos and lime. Here, that classic Mexican acid profile collides with the deep umami of cold kombu dashi and white miso to create a vibrant, cooling broth. We're floating screaming-hot, unilateral-seared scallops over crispy sushi rice cakes—a study in temperature, texture, and cross-cultural flavor DNA.
Kobujime Tuna Tataki with Morita-Yuzu Ponzu over Cold Soba
Listen, if you are eating raw tuna without curing it first, you are leaving half its potential flavor on the cutting board. We are using a classic Japanese kobujime (kombu cure) to pump the fish full of natural glutamates before flash-searing it tataki-style. Paired with a smoky Mexican morita chile ponzu and cold green tea soba noodles, this is the dinner I make when I want something intensely savory but totally refreshing.
Cast-Iron Duck Breast Tacos with Yuzu-Charred Salsa & Hatcho Miso Beans
Izakaya culture and the Mexican taqueria share the exact same culinary DNA: loud flavors, smoke, and food meant to be devoured with one hand while holding a cold drink in the other. In this mashup, we use a heavy cast-iron skillet twice—first to gently render the duck fat, and then ripping hot to aggressively char tomatillos and Japanese negi. We ground the whole thing with a puree of black beans and Hatcho miso, creating an absolute umami bomb.
Robata-Blistered Japanese Eggplant with Red Curry-Chorizo Ragu
This is what happens when a Tokyo izakaya takes a detour through Mexico City and Bangkok. We're using intense, robata-style high heat to collapse the spongy cell structure of the eggplant, then loading it up with a spicy, porky ragu where chorizo fat blooms Thai red curry paste into an absolute umami bomb.
Binchotan-Charred Short Rib Skewers with Yuzu Kosho Salsa Macha
Whenever I hit a late-night street food stall, whether it's in Osaka or Oaxaca, meat on a stick is the universal language of flavor. For this dish, I'm taking the holy grail of grilling cuts—beef short ribs—and smashing them into a cross-cultural collision. We give the beef a fast shio koji cure for maximum tenderness, glaze it over screaming hot coals with a smoky morita chile tare, and finish it with an electrifying yuzu kosho salsa macha.
Fire-Kissed Yuzu Kosho & Ancho Lamb Chops with Shiso Chimichurri
A Tokyo-meets-Oaxaca grilling masterpiece. Frenched lamb chops are rapidly marinated in a fermented paste of yuzu kosho and earthy ancho chile, then hit with extreme heat to render the fat, served alongside an herbaceous shiso-cilantro chimichurri.
Shio Koji Macerated Watermelon Tartare with Gochujang & Yuzu
People always think I am serving them spicy ahi tuna until they take a bite. By quick-curing finely diced watermelon with shio koji and sea salt, we trigger a rapid osmotic reaction that draws out excess water. The result? A dense, meaty texture with deeply concentrated sweetness that perfectly balances a fiery, savory gochujang and yuzu dressing.