Music Monday on Empty Streets: Utada Hikaru

Since this month I have featured a lot of things that dealt with a Japanese theme, it was only fitting to feature a Japanese Singer. For this week I would like to introduce a very popular singer - Utada Hikaru. Hikaru Utada 宇多田 ヒカル Utada Hikaru, better known by her stage name Utada in America and Europe, and also known by her fans as Hikki, is a Japanese American singer-songwriter, arranger, and record producer.

Before her major debut with her album First Love (1999), she sold several records with mediocre success. After First Love's release, which went on to become the best-selling album in Oricon's recent history, Utada would go on to have three of her Japanese studio albums rank in Top 10 best-selling albums ever in Japan (#1, #4, #8) and an overall six of her albums, two English-language and one compilation, thus far in her career charting within the 275 Best-Selling Japanese albums list.

Utada currently has 12 number-one singles to date on the Oricon Singles chart, with two notable record achievements for a female solo or group artist: 5 of them being million-sellers and 4 placing in the Top 100 All-Time Best-selling Singles. For her achievements, she was described by Time Magazine in 2001 as a "Diva On Campus," while attending Columbia University for a brief, career-break semester in 2001. In 2003, Utada was ranked #24 in the survey of Top 100 Japanese Pop Artists of All Time by HMV, and #10 in HMV's Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time in 2006.

Additionally, Utada is also credited for two theme song contributions to Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts video game series: "Simple and Clean" and "Sanctuary". In 2007, her single "Flavor of Life" reached #2 in worldwide digital download yearly single chart with over 7.2 million downloads, and contributes to 12 million digital sales for her over the same year.

Here are her singles for you to enjoy:

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Food Friday on Empty Streets: Tuna Teriyaki

I just love cooking Tuna Teriyaki for dinner especially when one is in a hurry to get some rest and would only have the patience to prepare and easy to cook meal.

Ingredients

2 pounds yellow fin tuna, sliced thin

1 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup sake

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Procedure

Mix sauce, pour over fish and marinate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the charcoal grill. Drain off excess marinade and bring to a boil in a sauce pan. Remove from heat.

Grill tuna slices 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove tuna to serving platter and pour heated sauce over top.

Here is the Beef Teriyaki version for those that love meat:

Food Friday on Empty Streets: Tsukimi Soba Recipe

I love Japanese Soba and one of my favorite recipes is that called Tsukimi Soba. Tsukimi soba is hot buckwheat noodles with a raw egg topping. Tsukimi means moon viewing in Japanese. Since the egg resembles the full moon, these kinds of noodle dishes with egg toppings are called "tsukimi."

Here is the recipe for you to try and it is fairly easy and the ingredients can be quickly found in any Japanese food store :)

Ingredients:

* 14 oz. dried soba (buckwheat noodles)
* 6 cups dashi soup
* 1/3 cup soy sauce
* 2 Tbsps mirin
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 4 eggs
* 2 Tbsps finely chopped negi or green onion

Preparation:
Heat dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and salt in a large pot to make soup. Boil soba noodles in another pot, according to the cooking instructions indicated in the packages. Serve soba noodles into four bowls. Pour hot soup over soba noodles. Crack an egg on top of the noodles in each bowl. Sprinkle negi on top of noodles.

Here is a video presentation I found that also shows how Tsukimi Soba is made:

Food Friday on Empty Streets: California Maki

I just love japanese dishes and nothing is easier to make than that of my favorite chow down bite size meal - California Maki.

Here is how to make this personal favorite:

Ingredients

* 5 cups cooked Japanese Rice
* 5-10 crab sticks
* 5-10 1/2 inch strips cucumber
* 5-10 1/2 inch strips ripe mangos
* kikkoman soy sauce
* wasabe
* 5 nori sheets
* 5 tbsp mayonnaise


Directions

1. Let the rice cool
2. lay nori sheet over a bamboo mat or cling wrap
3. spread 1 cup of the cold cooked rice on the nori sheet
4. aline crabstick,cucumber,mangos and squeeze mayonaise on top.
5. gently roll nori sheet till it forms a log.
6. slice the rolled up california maki with a wet sharp knife, arrange on a serving platter and enjoy.
7. DIP
8. kikkoman soy sauce and wasabe

And to further spice it up a bit here is a video that teaches of a different version of the California Maki: