I am an American currently living in Japan (for the last 4 years) as an english teacher. Last year I got married, and my wife (Japanese) is now the envy of many because most Japanese husbands don't cook. Anything. Many don't even make coffee. I did cook some before coming to Japan, but most of my cooking experience has happened since getting engaged in 2002, and my repertoire leans heavily to Japanese (of course), Chinese, Asian and Italian. I love cooking anything, but these days I seem to get a particularly good feeling out of cooking traditional, quintessentially Japanese dishes. Some of these dishes are quite easy to make, but many Japanese are stunned to hear of a gaijin making them. One of the few dishes I brought with me to Japan have made for several Japanese friends is my late stepfather's famous onion bread, which had been a favorite at every summer family party we went to. After a few years of mostly just making recipes and taking notes, this year I have finally started to really make my own stuff. One of the first of these dishes was my own version of Chinese Spareribs, which was not only well-received by family and friends but also published my intra-company newsletter. After 4 years and innumerable tries, I still cannot make tempura any better than just "edible".