PROJECT Fig

Sep 20, 2026 | Kitchen PROJECTS

PROJECT Figs

Figs can be enjoyed in many ways, savory and sweet. This project offers two recipes, each a classic approach to fruit in the Japanese kitchen:

  • Kanro Ni, poached in a sugar syrup
  • Shira Ae, napped with a creamy tofu sauce.

ICHIJUKU no SHIRA AE　無花果の白和え

Download a recipe for Figs in Creamy Tofu Sauce

ICHIJUKU no KANRO NI　無花果の甘露煮

Download a recipe for Figs Poached in Sugar Syrup

Find out about ICHIJUKU (figs) in the September 2026 newsletter.

More about ICHIJUKU (figs) in the  Kitchen Culture post.

PROJECT Kanten

PROJECT Kanten

Aug 23, 2026

This project is about cooking with KANTEN, a shelf-stable foodstuff with remarkable gelling properties. It is used to make a wide variety of sweet jellies and savory aspics. Kanten is sold as sticks (they look a  bit like brittle cellophane or styrofoam) and in...

Tengusa (Heavenly Grass)

Tengusa (Heavenly Grass)

Aug 23, 2026

Making sweet and savory jellies and aspics from the sea begins with harvesting tengusa (天草 literally “heavenly grass”), a group of red marine algae that grow in fairly shallow waters. The most common variety is makusa (Gelidium amansii); in Japan most of the...

UCHIWA (flat fans)

UCHIWA (flat fans)

Jul 20, 2026

In Japan, hand-held, flat fans called uchiwa have been creating cooling breezes for millennia. Uchiwa can be many things: In addition to being practical tools in the kitchen (for fanning rice when making sushi... for fanning cooking fires when broiling), uchiwa often...

PROJECT Uchiwa flat fan

PROJECT Uchiwa flat fan

Jul 20, 2026

PROJECT Uchiwa is about uchiwa fans as an important kitchen tool. Uchiwa stoke hot coals when grilling foods like filleted eel and skewers of chicken, brushing them with taré (soy-based basting sauce) as they cook. Uchiwa are also used to cool blow away steam from...

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