Recipes

Summer in Japan means light meals, minimal cooking, and lots of cold dishes. The kitchen tools change with the season. Cold Soba (Zaru Soba, ざる蕎麦) The quintessential summer meal. Boil soba, rinse in cold water, serve on a bamboo zaru with mentsuyu (dipping sauce) and chopped negi. Tool needed: A zaru (笊) — bamboo draining basket. Not just functional: the bamboo surface drains the noodles while looking beautiful on the table. ...

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) — “grilled as you like it” — is the Japanese savory pancake originating from Osaka. It’s also one of the most beginner-friendly Japanese dishes to cook at home. Essential Equipment Teppan (鉄板) or Electric Griddle — A flat-top cooking surface is ideal but a non-stick frying pan works perfectly. Okonomiyaki Spatula (コテ) — The wide metal spatula used for flipping, pressing, and cutting the pancake. Any wide spatula works. ...