Continuing on with our tahini theme, today we combine this rich sesame paste with umeboshi. Described as the least sweet fruit, I consider ume a best-kept culinary secret. Tangy, salty, with a deep ...

Soak scallops in cold water for 20 minutes. Strain, and pat dry. Remove pits from umeboshi, and mince into a paste. Combine umeboshi with olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Heat grapeseed ...

I have a sushi restaurant to thank for my best hangover remedy. Years ago, a waitress suggested I order, in addition to burdock kinpira and avocado nori, ume shiso nori. The delicate rolls looked like ...

Umeboshi are traditional fermented Japanese pickles made from under-ripe ume—the fruit of Prunus mume, a Japanese apricot. Fermented in a syrupy brine, the firm, raw ume are transformed into soft and ...

There are two reasons to make umeboshi, the sour pickled plums that mellow out the longer you keep them. There’s the plums themselves, but you’ll also be rewarded with umeshu, a salty, plum-flavored ...

When Japanese writer Tsutomu Mizukami (1919–2004) was 9, he entered a Zen temple in Kyoto as a “kozo”—a novice monk who had taken the first step into a monastic life but was not yet fully ordained.