Grilled salmon and chikuwa (tubular fish paste cake ... Chikako Tada: The author of seven cookbooks, Tada is a Japanese food journalist and editor of Pen & Spoon, a website devoted to food ...

The steam of miso soup comforts me at this time of year. I received my miso from my friend Masami Horie in Shiga Prefecture, who owns a cafe in a 350-year-old house and also publishes good books.

In this dish, they're grilled with butter and a little fish ... if you like. Karasumi is Japanese dried fish roe. Most of the fish roe you'll find at Japanese shops is actually from Taiwan ...