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Dosia Brewer

@dosia.brewer

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Curious cook and gardener

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Move over, marigold—I have a new garden crush! 🌿

This year I grew huacatay for the first time. It’s also known as Peruvian black mint but it’s actually a member of the Marigold family. It tastes savoury and wonderfully complex: a mix of mint, basil and tarragon, with tangy citrus notes.

It absolutely loves my warm, south-facing garden, so I have plenty to experiment with.

Today I made a simple salsa with chopped huacatay, home-grown plums, figs and red shiso. Mixed with fresh lime juice and a pinch of salt, it makes the perfect summer lunch, especially spooned over creamy avocado. As an extra I blitzed some leaves with avocado for a nice creamy dollop on top. 🌿 #perufood #homegrown #cityfood #stadsmoestuin #kruiden by @dosia.brewer

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3 months ago

On Sicily, caper bushes grow wild, squeezing into every crack of sun-baked stone. What we call capers are the unopened flower buds, picked when they are plump and just before they bloom. I had never seen the caper flower. It is such a beauty! After flowering comes the caperberry: larger, crunchier and just as delicious. I packed both in layers of coarse sea salt to bring home to Amsterdam. Now comes the waiting: 40 days of curing before these little salty, punchy flavour bombs are ready for salads, pizza and puttanesca. #foraging #wildpluk #pickle #curing #kappertjes by @dosia.brewer

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4 months ago

When gorse is in bloom, the old saying goes, it’s kissing season. On Anglesey that’s nearly always, but right now, on these soft spring mornings, it feels especially true.

The hedges and hilltops light up yellow with the blossoms of this fiercely thorny bush. The scent is warm, sweet and strangely tropical. Like a mix between coconut and vanilla. I gathered a few hands full, steeped them into milk, and turned it into a custard, curious if that aroma would survive the heat. It did!

I poured the creamy fragrant custard warm over the last of the slightly tart stewed plums. A wonderful combination! Thinking about all the summer berries I will have this new favourite with… #foraging #wildpluk #angleseyfood #gaspeldoorn by @dosia.brewer

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6 months ago

Beauty and the beast🌼🌸
In Japan the first slightly bitter but tender shoots of spring like taranome, fukinoto or tsubomina (swipe!⏩️) are celebrated. They are often simply served as tempura with a sprinkling of salt or a splash of light tempura sauce. I did the same with gingery magnolia petals and the first slightly bitter young dandelions. I pick them when the first flower buds appear and they still look like a tightly knit clump of buds and leaves. I cut them off slightly below the surface and snip off most of the leaves. After dipping them first in tempura batter and then in hot oil they are ready to serve. The magnolia petals are lightly covered in tempura batter and need a slightly hotter oil bath. Delicious spring treats! #japanspring #tempura #magnolia #foraging #wildpluk by @dosia.brewer

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6 months ago

🌸 Sakura fever, Tokyo edition 🌸

I left just before the city tipped fully into blossom fever. When everyone starts scanning streets and parks for the first cloud of pale pink.

But if the branches were holding back, the shops certainly weren’t. Sakura season had exploded indoors: shelves lined with pink everything. I couldn’t resist…
Into my bag went sakura cookies, mochi, scones, chocolate and, inevitably, a sakura latte — most of it sourced during a happy detour through Muji.

The flavour is what keeps surprising me: softly floral, lightly almond-like, just sweet enough, then that tiny saline edge at the end that makes you immediately want another bite. It is delicate and oddly addictive.

For now, no full blossom forecast needed: Tokyo already tastes pink. 🌸 Check my earlier post for a recipe for home made pickled cherry blossom! 🌸✨. #sakurafever #Japanesespring #cherryblosom by @dosia.brewer

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7 months ago

Paper-thin, smoky and deeply savory: katsuobushi is Japan’s umami powerhouse. Shaved from smoked, dried and fermented skipjack tuna, it’s the soul of dashi, the finishing touch that makes tofu sing and greens glow. It dances when sprinkled on top of a hot dish. I went to the harbour of Ibusuki on the southern point of Kyushu to see how it was made and came back impressed and very smoky. Such a complicated process and an interesting mix of traditional and modern techniques. #ferments #fishferment #traditionaljapan # by @dosia.brewer

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8 months ago

Vinegar fields forever!
In Kirishima, on the tip of Japan’s southern island Kyushu, I’m learning everything about kurozu—黒酢, Japanese black vinegar. It is made the slow way under the watchful eye of Sakurajima volcano. The smell when you walk through the fields and fields of pots is deliciously vinegary. Brown rice, koji, and water rest in clay jars outdoors, fermenting in the hot sun for years. The result is less sharp than you’d expect, more mellow, and deeply savory. Lots of umami! It works wonders in dressings and glazes. It brightens up heavy dishes and, diluted and sweetened, it makes a refreshing and healthy drink. I’m hooked!🥢

#kagoshimafood #vinegar #japanesecondiment #blackfood by @dosia.brewer

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8 months ago

Hitting the yatai food stalls in Fukuoka. Fukuoka is the only Japanese city with a streetfood culture. In the evening carts are rolled into town and simpel but efficient kitchens are set up. You can choose almost every Japanese food type but don’t expect an elegant dinner. The turnover is fast and you are not supposed to linger too long over your food. In winter oden おでんis a popular choice. It is real Japanese winter comfort food: simpel ingredients like daikon, tofu, boiled eggs, konjac and fish cakes simmered in a tasty dashi and soy broth. #fukuoka food #streetfood #wintercomfortfood #foodietravel odo by @dosia.brewer

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8 months ago

Winter = peak oyster season in Fukuoka, Japan.🦪🦪🦪

Along the coast, かき小屋 (oyster shacks) are filled with chatter and smoke. Pull on a brightly coloured jacket, claim a crate seat, and grill oysters, fish and any other seafood you can imagine right at your table over glowing charcoal.
It’s hands-on, a little chaotic and joyfully messy. The air smells of grilled seafood and smoke. Shells pile up. Fingers get sticky but nobody minds. And that charcoal smoke? It clings to the shells and gives everything a delicious smoky edge. A quick drizzle of soy sauce, maybe a squeeze of citrus and then eat them straight from the shell. 🦪🦪🦪 #fukuokafood #oystershack #itoshimaseafood #winterfoodie by @dosia.brewer

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8 months ago

🗾🥢A trip to Japan is not complete without okonomiyaki. This big savoury pancake is made with a thin batter and lots of shredded cabbage, plus seafood and/or meat. Each region has its own style, but I love them all!

In Osaka, the batter is mixed with cabbage and seafood or meat. In Takehara, I had Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. Here, the ingredients are not mixed but layered: egg, pancake, cabbage, seafood, meat, and another layer of pancake.

But whatever the style, you always need a generous helping of savoury-sweet okonomiyaki sauce, a sprinkle of aonori seaweed, and some pickled ginger. A perfect lunch on a cold winter’s day! ❄️ by @dosia.brewer

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8 months ago

Shodoshima 小豆島 island is all about soy sauce 醤油. More and more small soy sauce makers are choosing the traditional way of brewing in wooden barrels. Each year a wooden barrel fermentation festival is held here at @yamaroku.shoyu. Shoyu and sake brewers + others interested in kioke fermentation gather to learn making the traditional wooden barrels 木桶 kioke and exchange experiences. I was so lucky to be able to join! by @dosia.brewer

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8 months ago

🍊Citrus season in Japan! That means aromatic yuzu and sharp intense sudachi for cooking. But this time I also tasted so many new tasty types that you can eat just as they are. My favourite one up to now is the dekopon デコポン or sumo orange. Large fruits with the characteristic ‘topknot’. They are super sweet and the little juice filled pearls are bursting with flavour and are almost jelly-like. Oishii!!! Citrus trees grow everywhere, even in Himeji castle! 🏯🍊 #citrus #japanesefruit by @dosia.brewer

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8 months ago