Do you want to own the largest sushi that isn’t edible?  You probably thinking why would I get sushi that I cannot eat, and what is this fuss about of a giant sushi.  We at Pogogi had to bring this up, even though it has nothing to do with food but more about comfort.  These are cushions were talking about….. Sushi cushions that is.

Just take a look at these pictures. 

The new craze in the past decade is fusion food.  With a wave of immigrants from the last 50 years have brought their cultures and foods in the areas they have settled.  Since the 70s, Chinese food is probably the biggest fusion type food in the Western world. 

Many understand that the foods served at Chinese restaurants in North America and Europe are not authentic Chinese food.  The menus are more catered to the Western palate where ingredients are swap for something local or simply adjusted by lowering or increasing the amount used.

This is probably one of the most unusual seafood you may see in a Japanese or Asian restaurant.  This little guy is called the squilla and is from the crustacean’s family (shrimp). 

The Squilla, also known as the mantis shrimp resembles that of a praying mantis.

The taste of the mantis shrimp is similar to that of a lobster rather than the typical shrimp taste.  Many who have tasted it say it's very delicious. 

A common way to cook and eat Squilla is to deep fry them Tempura style as shown in the Instagram photo below.

One interesting unique delicacy in Japan that was popular in the past, but still can be found in some stores is Inago.  Inago basically means in playing English, a “grasshopper” or “locust”.  The most popular way to serve grasshopper or locust is to prepare it using the Tsukudani method.

The base of Tsukudani is basically a soy sauce/mirin sweet mixture that is then simmered along with any types of seaweed, seafood or meat items of your choice, in this case the inago (grasshopers).

Did you know that in Japan, there exist many different types of tofu?  If you don’t know what tofu is, it’s basically soy bean that has been fermented also known as bean curd..  The process starts off with soy milk where it is transformed from liquid state to a gelatin type state using a coagulation technique.

Kamaboko is a Japanese fish cake and is becoming quite popular outside the country of Japan.  It is known by other English names such as fish paste, fish loaf, fish cake, and even fish sausage.

In Long Island City NY, sits an Art Gallery simply called Resobox that brings the culture of Japan to New York.  The name comes from two words, Resonate and Box.  The meaning itself describes a space where many artists can join forces in discussion and to create new arts.  As quoted from Resobox's website,

The space within this Box Resonates, shaking up everything inside.

Ramen has been quite popular in North America for several years and many Japanese restaurants have been adding their own spin of Ramen dishes to their menus.  The popularity has spurred several dedicated Ramen shops opening across New York City as well as many areas of Southern California. 

What a lot of people don’t know is that there are many types of Ramen recipes in terms of the broth and toppings.  In Japan, many regional flavors of Ramen exist, and it can be confusing for many as there isn’t really a nice guide that explains it well……until now!  ;)

Hokkaido Japan, is famous for attractive natural hot springs, volcanoes and glamorous ski resorts. It is the northernmost of Japan’s four major mountains as such, experiences harsh winters, a lot of snowfall and below zero temperatures.

It does not even get hot and humid during summer, remaining comparatively cold instead. Its pristine natural environment however, attracts a horde of outdoor lovers with skiers and snowboarders making the most of the region in the cold seasons while cyclists, hikers and campers visiting from June to September.

Japan is well known in the Tobiko world and is ready to jump into the caviar market where it will be in direct competition with the countries of Iran and Russia.  It will be Japan’s first domestically created caviar that will be shipped worldwide.  Japan is respected internationally and renowned for many of its food exports and cooking techniques.