Brioche Vapeur au Sésame Noir

Hi friend! こんにちは! I’m Lina Takahashi, a Japanese-American gal born and raised in Colorado and my love language is making people food! To be honest, my last name was actually a part of my identity that I actually really struggled with as a kid. I grew up as one of very few Asian women in my community in Boulder, Colorado and I used to be incredibly self-conscious of my last name because it sounded “too” Japanese and it was often mispronounced. I wanted a simple last name, a name anyone could recognize and know that I am the same as everyone else — oh, how heartbreaking it must have been for my mother the day I came home and asked her why I don’t have blonde hair and blue eyes. Even throughout questioning my identity as a Japanese-American woman, one thing that I never questioned was knowing for a fact that Japanese food was my absolute favorite. All I wanted to do as a kid was watch my mom cook in the kitchen and learn how she creates this magical food. Who knew I would come to create a platform to share it with you, too! I am thankful for my mother who taught me how to cook Japanese food in a city where it was hard to find Japanese ingredients nearby. She made us miso soup every night, Japanese food like omurice, Japanese croquettes, curry, karaage, sushi and so much more! I know now that it was not an easy feat. She made her own somen and udon broth, she baked her own Japanese shokupan; she was making mochi before Instagram or Tik Tok existed! Ponzu and salmon on rice?! That was my breakfast I looked forward to it in elementary school the day after we had salmon for dinner. Now, all I want to do is share with YOU what I’ve grown up eating and cooking with my Japanese home in hopes that you can bring a little bit of Japan into your kitchen! Many of my recipes have a Japanese twist on them, but a lot of my recipes are also just because I think it tastes good and I hope you do too 🙂 Come say hi and send me any recipe requests on social platforms under @takahasheats and join me in a life of eating, cooking and being in awe of food. Itadakimas! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/takahasheats YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@takahasheats TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@takahasheats