Editor’s note: In the Taste of Life series, cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.

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At events marking key stages in the lives of her two daughters--going to college, graduating and starting a career--Megumi Fujii always celebrated by making “osekihan” (literally “red rice” with the honorific prefix “o”) with miso-flavored pork soup known as “tonjiru.”

Her mother had taught her how to cook osekihan. Fujii’s father ran a building contractor’s office, and her mother was busy from morning, cooking meals and packing lunches for the workers.

“Although my mother was not so good at cooking and was not fond of it either, she would cook osekihan whenever a celebration came up,” says Fujii. Her mother cooked using a steamer. Fujii changed that part and decided to use a rice cooker.

Pork soup may seem somewhat ill-matched for osekihan. In fact, Fujii’s pork soup was handed down from her mother-in-law. Rare for pork soup, it is made with white miso. “She was busy working as a hairdresser. I think this was the only dish I learned from her,” says Fujii.

While she was dating her future husband, Fujii wondered why he would not be pleased by the regular pork soup she cooked. She found out when she visited his parents’ home in Hiroshima to inform them of their wish to marry. She was served pork soup with white miso and was surprised by its thick and mellow nature. She has been cooking pork soup with white miso ever since.

Both her adult daughters now live overseas. When her elder daughter came home temporarily for the first time in three years recently, she cooked this menu before her daughter returned to South Korea.

The red color of osekihan is believed to dispel evil spirits. She made rice balls with osekihan, infusing them with her sentiments--“take care,” “good luck” and “I’m rooting for you”--for her daughter to take home.

Fujii has not actually told her daughters how she feels. “I wonder how much they see,” says Fujii laughing. But she believes that her daughters will understand, even without words, because they are the unchanging flavors handed down through generations.

“Recipes are stories,” she says. They are stories that will be handed down through generations just by being served on the dinner table.

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Megumi Fujii: Born in 1966 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Fujii is a cooking expert and national registered dietician. She graduated from the undergraduate school of nutrition sciences of Kagawa Nutrition University. After working as an assistant on a television cooking program while she was still a student, Fujii established herself as a cooking expert. She is known for her wide repertoire, ranging from side dishes for daily meals to small dishes to accompany drinks, and appears on magazines and television. She has also written many books including “Fujii Bento” published by Gakken Plus.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

Main Ingredients (Serve four to six)

2 cups (400 ml) sticky rice (mochigome), 1 cup (200 ml) rice, 100 grams “dainagon azuki” red beans, Seasoning A (1 tsp each of salt and sweet mirin sake), 1 Tbsp toasted black sesame seeds (iri-kurogoma), 1/2 tsp salt

1. Mix sticky and regular rice, rinse and drain on sieve. Mix sesame seeds and salt to make sesame salt.

2. Rinse red beans, add to pot with 3 cups water and place on heat. When pot comes to a boil, turn to lower medium heat. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes.

3. When red beans have softened, separate beans from simmering liquid. Add water if needed to get 500 ml of simmering liquid.

4. Add rice and simmering liquid to cooking pot of rice cooker and leave for 60 minutes. Add Seasoning A and cook.

5. When rice is cooked, add red beans and mix lightly in cutting motion. Serve and sprinkle with sesame salt.

About 375 kcal and 1.5 grams salt per portion if served to six people
(Nutrient calculation by the Nutrition Clinic of Kagawa Nutrition University)

SHORT MEMOS

The dainagon azuki beans should be boiled somewhat al dente to prevent the skin from breaking. If the cooked red beans are frozen in the simmering liquid, you will be able to cook osekihan anytime by preparing sticky and regular rice. When red beans are to be used, thaw and separate the beans and the simmering liquid.

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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Jinsei Reshipi (Life Recipe) column