Why am I learning to cook? I am learning because I feel every woman, if she thinks of herself as independent, should be able to cook for herself and not rely on someone else to cook for her.
That’s what Harumi Kurihara says, anyways! Ooooh, who is Harumi Kurihara you ask? Well, the New York Times calls her the empress of domesticity. The Americans call her the Japanese Martha Stewart.
She wrote a book called Harumi’s Japanese Cooking – I bought it recently and it’s amazing! It’s got recipes in it that you can use if you’re – NOT – Japanese and want to learn to cook healthy, yummy Japanese food. She is SO down to earth. She’s also got books called Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking and Everyday Kurihara which I would like to purchase as well. I’ve read through every recipe in the book, even though I haven’t actually… cooked anything from it yet! Here’s an example of one of her recipes:
Image: japantimes.co.jp
Chicken with Soy and Balsamic Dressing 
From Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking by Harumi Kurihara
Image: teamsugar.com
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, sliced
coarsely ground black pepper
1 lb boneless chicken thighs
a little sunflower or vegetable oil
a few basil leaves — for garnish
For cabbage:
1/2-3/4 cups of roughly chopped cabbage
1 Tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
1 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper
PREPARATION
1. Put the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic and pepper in a bowl and stir to combine. Cut the chicken diagonally into bite-sized pieces and marinate for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken, turning halfway to brown both sides.
3. To make the sautéed cabbage: Roughly chop the cabbage into large pieces In a wok or frying pan, heat the oil and butter, add the cabbage, sauté until cooked, then lightly season with salt and pepper.
4. Place the cabbage on a serving dish and arrange the chicken on top. Pour over any remaining sauce from the chicken pan and garnish with basil leaves.
One other thing I love about Harumi is the fact that she’s got some amazing ideas on tableware and the presentation of food. If you look at the photos in her book, every dish looks elegant and laid back at the same time. I definitely love the little dishes that separate each different dish. I wanna get some!! I’m crazy about cute little dishes and setting everything up in an elegant, but NOT FUSSY way. 
Images: http://bentonoibii.livejournal.com/
Oh, and I had my first bento box today! It was so cute, I went to this little restaurant called Bento Japan and got the teriyaki chicken with rice, bean sprouts and mixed veggies. I loved how many vegetables there were in my lunch, it was almost half full of vegetables, which is really really refreshing. I’ve added some links on the side of Japanese bento blogs, my favourite so far is http://bentonoibii.livejournal.com/. I mean look at how cute some of these lunch boxes are!
I want a little curry fish and a rice and seaweed ninja! I’m definitely going to try and get some bento supplies and I’ll let you guys know how it goes.
Naimah.
