Kitchen Culture Cooking Club

EXPLORE and PRACTICE Japanese cooking in your own kitchen

About Kitchen Culture Cooking Club

Welcome to the Kitchen Culture Cooking Club, a community space providing encouragement to those who want to EXPLORE and PRACTICE Japan’s washoku wisdom in their own kitchens.

To facilitate this, themed projects will be posted to this page periodically. Project Assignments and links to relevant reference material stored on this site will be posted to this page. Anyone, anywhere in the world, with a sincere interest in Japanese food culture is welcome to browse the contents of this page and then replicate the themed project in their own kitchen.

For those who wish to display-and-discuss their projects with like-minded people, I invite you to join the KITCHEN CULTURE Cooking Club Facebook Group (formerly the TSUDOI Project), an interactive community space.

Project Shaved Ice

Jun 13, 2023

fluffy kakigoori + hand-cranked machine collage

PROJECT Shaved Ice is about making Japanese-style kaki-gōri confections.

Strawberry Sauce

Many people top shaved ice with fresh fruit or commercially prepared syrups. But for those who would like to make their own, here is a simple-to-make STRAWBERRY sauce.

Note the recipe includes a drop of light-colored soy sauce that adds depth of flavor while mellowing what might otherwise be a cloying sweet sauce.

If you have any questions, post them to the FB group.

Ice Shaving Machines (かき氷器 kaki-gōri ki)

Japanese home kitchen drawers, cupboards, and countertops are filled with gadgets. If you are a serious kaki-gōri maker no doubt you’ll want one (or more) of the many specialty tools available.

The basic mechanism consists of a blade (adjustable to some extent), a chamber to hold a chunk of ice, a dedicated space for placing a serving bowl, and a hand crank (a few are electric-powered).

Looking forward to seeing YOUR kaki-gōri.

Stay cool…

More about kaki-gōri

Visit my KITCHEN CULTURE Blog to learn more about the history of eating ice in Japan and why Japanese ice is so fluffy.

Download a copy of my JUNE 2023 newsletter

Listen to my chat with Akiko Katayama of Japans Eats about ICE!

Recipes and Resources

Stock (Dashi)

Dashi stock is essential to making soups and simmered or stewed dishes. Dashi is also used when making many egg dishes and all sorts of sauces, dips and dressings. Using good dashi will make a noticeable difference in the outcome of so many dishes you prepare.

Click to download recipes for (vegan) Kelp Alone Stock or Standard Sea Stock + Smoky Sea Stock

How to Cook Rice

In Japanese, the word for cooked rice, ご飯 GOHAN, is the same as the word for a meal, ご飯 GOHAN. Indeed rice is central to the meal. Download the Rice with Mixed Grains recipe.

How to Prepare Sushi Rice

Sushi dishes are made with rice that has been seasoned (with sweetened vinegar) AFTER being cooked. Download the Classic Sushi Rice recipe.

Quick Pickles

The Japanese enjoy a wide variety of tsukémono pickles, many can be assembled quickly and are ready to eat within a short time.

Download a recipe for Quick-Fix Hakusai Cabbage.

Elusive Taste of Spring: URUI

Apr 22, 2022

うるい・UruiThe Elusive Taste of Spring Urui (Hosta sieboldiana) is in the lily family; it is often planted as an ornamental in gardens. It thrives in damp soil in areas of partial or dappled shade. It has been cultivated in Japan since the Edo period (1603-1868) though...

PROJECT Flavored Miso

Apr 21, 2022

PROJECT Flavored Miso This Kitchen Culture Cooking Club PROJECT is about making flavored miso in YOUR kitchen… and sharing with fellow members what you have made and how you are using it. This page introduces two new flavored miso mixtures, one redolent with fruity...

Project KUSHI (skewers)

Mar 17, 2022

PROJECT Kushi This Kitchen Culture Cooking Club PROJECT is about making SKEWERED FOOD in YOUR kitchen… and sharing with fellow members what you have made. Many recipes for skewered foods can be found on this website: Black Sesame Miso Tōfu DengakuCrunchy Kushi AgéFuki...

KUSHI (skewers)