Japan Eats

Our guest is Winifred Bird who is a writer, translator, lifelong cook, and lover of plants, based in northern Illinois.  Winnie recently published a fabulous book called “Eating Wild Japan - Tracking the Culture of Foraged Foods, with a Guide to Plants and Recipes” from Stone Bridge Press.    When we talk about Japanese cuisine, we tend to think of dishes like sushi, ramen and kaiseki without considering enough about native ingredients that play a significant role in Japanese food culture.  One of the most important ingredients is sansai or edible wild plants.  Since two-thirds of Japan’s total land area is forested, you can find amazing seasonal edible plants throughout Japan.  Winnie is one of the very few people who discovered the charm of sansai and wrote a book about it in English, based on her experience of living in Japan for 9 years.  In this episode, we will discuss Winnie’s eventful life in Japan, what sansai is, why sansai is so important in Japanese food culture, delicious sansai dishes that you s