Mentaiko no takikomi-gohan / steamed rice with spicy salted pollock roe

Pale pink colored rice with a mild spicy kick.

Endomame to koebi no sattoni / quick-simmered English peas and shrimp in broth

The fresh spring taste of English peas goes well with the mild note of seafood. Here is a combination with coon shrimp (small version of spot shrimp), a Pacific Northwest local species. The tiny bodies of coon shrimp are packed with delicious flavor, making this simple dish a delight.

Warabi no tamagotoji / bracken with egg in broth

A soupy tamagotoji with somewhat strong-flavored bracken coated with egg.

Chuka chimaki / zongzi / Chinese rice dumplings in bamboo leaves (simplified version)

Tango no sekku, one of five traditional seasonal festivals, falls in May in Japan. It is now called Kodomo no Hi or Children's Day, and is celebrated as a national holiday on May 5.
Duanwu-jie, the seasonal festival in Chinese culture, follows the lunar calendar and occurs in June. While zongzi rice dumplings are available year-round, they seem to be everywhere as the festival approaches. The fridge in an apartment I shared with two roommates in Taiwan was literally packed with rice dumplings we received from students and friends as the date neared. Already fully loaded, we continued to be asked, “Have you had zongzi?” The question, of course, was a prelude to giving us more zongzi. People’s generosity was amazing, and since none of us spoke Chinese well enough to politely turn down their offers, more zongji came back to the apartment.

Usually, rice and goodies are separately prepared and assembled when wrapping with bamboo leaves. This is a simplified version where rice and goodies are cooked in the same pan.

Ingen to eringi no kinpira / kinpira saute with green beans and king oyster mushroom

Both soft and crunchy – here's a way to enjoy the contrasting textures of green beans and eringi mushroom! Since they are cooked at the same time, eringi also takes on the strong taste of seasonings, while the green beans stay relatively light inside, making this kinpira quite interesting.

Nasu to sakura ebi no itameni / saute-simmered eggplant and sakura ebi dried shrimp

A slightly sweet, strongly flavored eggplant dish. A great companion for plain rice or sake. Tastes good hot or cold.

Sakura no hana no shiozuke / salted cherry blossoms

Preserved cherry blossoms are used as an aromatic ingredient in drinks, sweets and food.
Typically made with pink double blossoms, sakura no hana no shiozuke can simply be salted or salted and marinated in rice vinegar or umezu (the liquid produced in the process of making umeboshi pickled plums).

Below I used red umezu and the semi-double white blossoms of Prunus serrulata 'Shirotae' (commonly known as Mt. Fuji) from my garden. Cherry blossoms are first salted to extract excess water, followed by marinating in red umezu; they are then dried and preserved in salt. The salt used to preserve blossoms takes on their scent, and can be used as aromatic salt in a number of dishes.