Miso Hungry Podcast

Allison Day and Rachael Hutchings
Miso Hungry Podcast

Two Americans with a love for Japanese food, Allison Day and Rachael Hutchings bring you Miso Hungry, a podcast all about Japanese food. Allison is half Japanese and grew up with Japanese-American food; Rachael spent several years living in Japan and fell in love with their food and culture. Together, they work to make Japanese food familiar and accessible to everyone.

  1. 09/24/2012

    Episode 27: Going cookbook-crazy in Japan, and noodle bowls the size of your head!

    We only had two more days together in Tokyo before Allison and Son headed to Kyoto for a few days and Rachael and her family stayed in Tokyo, and there was a lot for us to do! Day 6 First off, sushi. Because hello, we're in Japan... but we hadn't had sushi yet! (I know, what's wrong with us?) We headed off to a good kaiten sushi place ("conveyer belt" sushi) where we ate our fill of good, but super-inexpensive sushi. (Kaiten sushi, or "conveyer belt" sushi, is a type of sushi bar where the sushi chef(s) stand in the center and make the sushi, and then place each plate on a conveyer belt that revolves around them. The customers sit at a bar around them, and take a plate off the conveyer belt anytime they see something they want to eat. You pay by plate (sometimes they color-code the plates; here all the plates cost the same amount, except for a few specially-marked ones) so at the end of the meal they just tally it up for you.) The mango pudding also really hit the spot on this hot, hot day! Look how much we ate! After lunch it was a bit of shopping (where we picked up the two pairs of silicon saibashi that we're giving away!), then made a stop at a combini to get these "Coolish"... ice cream in a pouch. Yes, they're just as awesome as they sound. And then, off to a bookstore in Roppongi Hills... to buy waaaay too many cookbooks. (It's all Rachael's fault.) Rachael and her family had a dinner with Mr. Fuji's work at a super expensive place, so Allison and Son decided they would pass and instead take Rachael's recommendation to go to her favorite udon place. As Rachael describes it, "the bowls are the size of your head." Seriously. It was so good. (If you're ever in Japan, it's called Tsurutontan, and there are several locations. Rachael loves the Nabeyaki udon, Allison adores the curry udon. Really good noodles... and cat-approved! ~_^) Day 7 The next day was our last day together... and we spent it doing more shopping! This time, a trip to Kappabashi, the street that is home to Tokyo's cooking district. Tons of cookware to look at and buy (and wish we had room in our luggage to take more back!) After that, it was off to Ginza... to get lost. Eventually we found the yakitori place we were looking for (which was in a basement, and you entered from an alley, so it was pretty had to find). The yakitori place - Torigin - was seriously good. All sorts of delicious grilled foods! And then it was time to say goodbye. We wish we could have had more time together! But there's always the next time... and until then, we can promise you there will be tons of episodes about all the delicious things we ate in Japan! We're having a contest! You can enter to win one of two pairs of silicon saibashi (cooking chopsticks, like these) that we brought back from Japan. Today is the last day of the giveaway, so don't forget to go enter! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on Episode 25's post. One entry per person. You have until 11:59PM on Monday, September 24th, 2012 to enter. We will ship internationally, so anyone may enter. The two winners will be chosen using random.org. Good luck!

    22 min
  2. 09/18/2012

    Episode 26: So much good food… oh, and a typhoon.

    We just have to say, we have the most awesome fans ever. Seriously, you guys rock. While we love you all, you'll get to see who currently has the ranking of #1 fan in just a bit... Our next few days in Japan involved a lot of great food... oh, and a typhoon. (If you missed the first part of the trip, you can listen here!) Day 3 (Our 3rd day together was Allison's 5th day in Japan, which is why the day numbers might seem a little off sometimes...) So first things first, Allison just had to try the Shiro Cream Puff from Beard Papa's that Rachael had been raving about. Made with tapioca flour and a cream cheese filling, she was instantly obsessed. Since Rachael and her family got to spend our day 5 (a Sunday) seeing old friends at church, Allison and Son ventured to Don Quixote, which we describe as "Wal-Mart on crack". Seriously. Then we went to Bassanova! Green curry soba for the win! But the much more exciting part of this was getting to meet Kate!!! We're still flipping out over the fact that we get to not only say that we have fans as cool as Kate, but that we have a #1 Fan! Kate, you rock, and we think you're totally awesome. Day 4 This was the day we attempted to go Tsukiji fish market. And by attempted, we mean what actually happened was a comedy of errors where Allison and Son got stuck in their hotel, got slightly lost, then ran around looking for Rachael (whose alarm hadn't gone off!) Ah well. At least it was a pretty morning. So after we all got a little more sleep, we headed off to Hamarikyu park where Son did a bit of filming... And then we took the waterboat from Hamarikyu, up Sumida river, to Asakusa where walked up the street to Sensoji temple. On our way, we got to try all sorts of goodies - taiyaki, sweet potato age manju, and (of course) ice cream! After letting the girls play in a park a bit, it was off to Kaikaya by the Sea for dinner - a place that Rachael has been RAVING about for ages. We finally got to try the ginger ale in copper cups that she goes on and on about... And happily, the tuna ribs (along with the rest of the meal) lived up to the expectation that she had set. (The buttery fried goatfish was another huge winner in that meal!) Day 5 Did we mention it was typhoon season when we went? Yeah. And like any sane person would do, we went to the zoo on the day the typhoon was supposed to hit. And dragged poor Kate with us! Zoo food in Japan is surprisingly good, for a ridiculously inexpensive price. Allison's maple syrup-filled pancakes with blueberry jam were fantastic, and the chicken karaage that Rachael got for the girls was crazy good. But the best thing ware the homemade roasted sweet potatoes (yaki imo!) that Kate brought for us. Because she's the yaki imo girl! (P.S. Go follow her on twitter. Tell her we sent you. Be prepared to find out why we adore her so!) That evening we actually got to meet Keizo (since he wasn't there when all we went to Bassanova) and go out for monjayaki! Monjayaki is like okonomiyaki, but waterier. However, still delicious. After dinner, the Fujis went back to their hotel (smart people - there was a typhoon coming, after all!) but Son was still hungry, so we went for ramen with Keizo and his girlfriend. And then it was a sprint back to the rain station, against the rain and wind that were getting stronger by the minute! Yeah. There was a typhoon. Thankfully we were all safe in our respective beds by the time it actually hit. What a day! We're having a contest! You can enter to win one of two pairs of silicon saibashi (cooking chopsticks, like these) that we brought back from Japan. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. One entry per person. You have until 11:59PM on Monday, September 24th, 2012 to enter. We will ship internationally, so anyone may enter. The two winners will be chosen using random.org. Good luck!

    30 min
  3. 09/10/2012

    Episode 25: Miso Hungry Podcast goes to Japan – Part 1!

    We're back from Japan! (Actually, we've been back for almost two months already. But we haven't been able to record until now, so...) We're back from Japan! We've fallen hard for the combinis (convenience stores, like 7-11 and Family Mart). We have a renewed obsession with onigiri. And we miss Japan like crazy now that we're back!!! So what did we do in Japan? Well, on the first day we were both there (Allison arrived a few days before Rachael did), we all went and visited the Tokyo Skytree. And by visited, we mean stood around and looked up at it. When we were there, you had to have a reservation to get up into the Skytree, because it's only a few months old. So instead we got curry pastries. And while we were sitting around eating, met some very interesting people! The next day, we all rented a car, and off to Mt. Fuji we all went. (Mr. Fuji drove.) We got to check out a Japanese rest stop, which is ridiculous compared to what we're used to in the US. It's got an entire food court! Then around and around and around, up Mt. Fuji. Though it was quite warm in Tokyo, it was freezing cold and incredibly windy and rainy up the mountain, so we unfortunately didn't get to spend much time there before sprinting back to the car. But it was totally worth it for the little udon restaurant we found at the base of the mountain. The noodles were handmade - to die for. And the only meat available? Horsemeat! And then, like any normal traveler would do in a foreign country, we went to Costco. Seriously. We went to Costco. Which was one heck of a freaky experience in itself. You walk in, and it looks exactly like every single Costco you ever see in the US. But then they have some different things - like all sorts of different types of sashimi-grade seafood. Fish, fish eggs, uni, seaweed... we're seriously jealous. However, the real reason we were there? Rachael has been tempting the rest of us with Hokkaido Milk Soft Cream ever since we started this podcast, so Allison couldn't pass up an opportunity to try some. So worth it! We're having a contest! You can enter to win one of two pairs of silicon saibashi (cooking chopsticks, like these) that we brought back from Japan. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. One entry per person. You have until 11:59PM on Monday, September 24th, 2012 to enter. We will ship internationally, so anyone may enter. The two winners will be chosen using random.org. Good luck!

    34 min
4.7
out of 5
26 Ratings

About

Two Americans with a love for Japanese food, Allison Day and Rachael Hutchings bring you Miso Hungry, a podcast all about Japanese food. Allison is half Japanese and grew up with Japanese-American food; Rachael spent several years living in Japan and fell in love with their food and culture. Together, they work to make Japanese food familiar and accessible to everyone.

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