We named our blog after the two foods our kids most love: Nori Maki & Pizza. It’s a strange combination, that is, unless you are growing up with a Japanese father and an American mother. To our kids, their two favorite foods have come to symbolize the blend of cultures in our family. We’ve come to realize that our way of eating is deeply intertwined with our cultural differences and our love for each other’s unique qualities. As a family we are both traditional and experimental and we have found a way to celebrate both Japanese and American culture through our love of food and cooking. We hope that you also enjoy our blended ways and encourage you to experiment too.
About Becki: American & Vegan Cook Using Japanese Influences
Becki grew up in Colorado, and at an early age became a vegetarian. She learned how to make veggies the star of every meal. When she met Chi Chi, she learned how to incorporate classic Japanese flavors and seasonings like miso, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and mirin into her vegan dishes. She also learned that Japanese food does not traditionally use meat as a main dish, but more as a flavor. Traveling through Japan with Chi Chi, she decided to let go of her 20 plus year dedication to vegetarianism, in order to fully experience Japanese culture through the food. Although Becki is no longer vegetarian, she has adopted the Japanese way of incorporating only small amounts of fish or meat into dishes. Becki’s recipes in this blog focus on blending or using traditional Japanese ingredients into American dishes such as her Vegan Japanese Pumpkin and Maitake Mushroom Pizza.
About Chi Chi: Foodie Who Loves to Make Authentic Japanese Dishes
ChiChi grew up in Tokyo, Japan and learned to cook watching his mother in the kitchen. One of his earliest recipes he remembers making is Pan Fried Gyoza, and today this is one of our absolute favorite family recipes. ChiChi further developed his Japanese cooking through working at a Japanese bar during college. He came to the United States for graduate school and over the years has stayed connected to his homeland through cooking authentic Japanese meals.
Now that we have children, it brings us great joy to share our food cultures with our children by making them delicious homestyle recipes. One of our favorite family meals is Hand Roll Sushi. Our Hand Roll Sushi meals are a bit like choose your own adventure where everyone gets to put the toppings that they want into each roll. We even have a table top sushi train to deliver each hand roll to our kids. Through this blog we share our family recipes, stories and joy.
We welcome you to our blended table. Kampai!
-Becki & ChiChi