Japanese taste inspires this American chef
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, October 14, 2003
California native Eric Gower recently returned after a decade or so in Japan exploring aspects of Japanese cooking — using shiso, ginger, sake and tofu, and fresh produce, fish and meats.
Now he’s put the results of his own experiments in fusion cooking into a book, "The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen: Inspired New Tastes," full of easy recipes for American home cooks to try.
Most of them take very little time to prepare — including the two sampled here.
With the "bacon" recipe, Gower says, the idea is to slice the lean pork very thinly so it doesn’t need much cooking; the sugars in the marmalade brown very quickly under a hot broiler. The "bacon" is good with rice, some pickles, and perhaps a salad or other vegetable side dish.
Another thought: This would be great with poached eggs and a mimosa on a Sunday morning.
