Where else can you find hot dogs in the same cooler as silvery baby anchovies with tiny black dots for eyeballs? Nijiya Supermarket in San Francisco’s Japantown has everything you need to prepare Japanese food at home and more.
I admit to knowing little about Japanese food and next to nothing about cooking it, but this store makes me want to get in the kitchen and get going on some Shabu Shabu, Sukiyaki and Ramen. They have a whole section of beautifully prepped slices of beef and pork for these classic dishes. That takes some of the mystery out of it.
There’s also sliced, prepackaged sashimi, more types of fish cakes than I've ever seen and cod roe. In the frozen aisle, you’ll find everything from shrimp dumplings to frozen burdock. They’ve got a huge selection of super high-end sake and tons of snacks, teas and sauces. The Ponzu shelf alone boasts about ten varieties ranging from $1.99-$12.99.
They have great prices on rice and organic grains like kamut, amaranth and rye. The produce section has many organic selections. I’d love it more if so much of the produce wasn’t packaged on Styrofoam trays and wrapped in plastic. Now I just have to learn how to cook all this stuff. Nijiya’s website has a few recipes, but not all the links work. Can anyone recommend a Japanese cookbook?
Since the sale of much of Japantown, I’m not sure about the eventual fate of this store and others. There’s a city covenant that the character of Japantown be preserved. I sure hope it’s a strong one because it would be terribly sad if this place went away. San Francisco's Japantown is one of only three Japantowns in the United States.
we have a nijiya here in los angeles too! i think there may even be multiple locations in socal, but not sure..i go to the one on sawtelle, the westside's bustling hub of japanese food and culture. i'm also not a fan of the pre-packaged produce, but i love browsing the aisles at nijiya to find favorite staples as well as new things to try.
for cookbooks, i'd suggest Eric Gower's 'Breakaway Japanese Kitchen'. He lived in Japan for years and cooked with Japanese ingredients in non-traditional preparations. Many of the recipes are relatively simple to prepare and easy to build variations upon. He tends to emphasize quality of ingredients and the balance of a dish's flavors, so I think it would be a great way to get more comfortable with using different ingredients commonly used in Japanese cooking.
Being Japanese and living in Buffalo, NY, I am super envious of the variety of asian food available in California. I agree that the produce on styrofoam wrapped in plastic wrap is wasteful but it's a very Japanese way of doing things - you should see the grocery stores in Japan! They do have a very elaborate recycling system in Japan though.
As for cookbooks, I bought a copy of "Harumi's Japanese Cooking" for a friend of mine; he loves it (esp. the "pickled" eggs). Harumi is the Japanese Martha Stewart. The variety of recipes is great and I think the recipes are very accessible to those looking for an introduction to Japanese homestyle cooking. Click my name for a link.
I second the Harumi's cookbook recommendation. Have it, love it! Especially the tofu recipes.
Thanks for the recommendations everyone!
I really appreciate it.
Thanks for the rec of my book, Andrea, I appreciate it. I have a new one out in early May, with lots of new ideas and recipes for Japanese ingredients (Indian ingredients, too). Lots of info on it at
www.breakawaycook.com