Kitchen Culture Cooking Club
EXPLORE and PRACTICE Japanese cooking in your own kitchenAbout 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 KUSHI (skewers)
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 Dengaku
Crunchy Kushi Agé
Fuki no Tō Miso Dengaku
(Vegan & Vegetarian Options) Oden Part One
Oden Part Two
In KANSHA: Miso-Slathered Nama Fu (page 148) and Miso Oden (page 171) and Mitarashi Dango (page 228)
The theme of my March 2022 newsletter is SKEWERS.
Japan’s repertoire of skewered foods is extensive; just a small sampling of savory options above (from upper right, clockwise; KUSHI calligraphy in the center):
Hatcho miso tōfu dengaku with kinomé garnish; mitarashi dango in soy syrup; Sendai miso tōfu dengaku; Sendai miso konnyaku dengaku with white poppy seed garnish; Shizuoka-style oden with ao nori and sanshō pepper; savory miso-and-walnut stuffed shiso maki; blended miso tōfu dengaku; green yomogi and blond awa fu dengaku with dark and light miso.
Visit the Kitchen Culture blog post for more information.
Looking forward to seeing YOUR KUSHI (skewer) dish at Kitchen Culture Cooking Club.
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.
Rainy Season Kitchen
RAINY SEASON KITCHEN TSUYU (梅雨 literally, "plum rain") comes to the Japanese archipelago every year as spring turns to summer. The constant dampness of tsuyu encourages the growth of kabi (mildew, and molds) requiring a strategy (taisaku 対策) ... and diligence...
Great Graters
The Japanese developed two very special graters for two specific foods: 鬼おろし機 oni oroshi ki (“monster graters”) made from bamboo used to coarsely grate daikon into shards and鮫の皮 samékawa graters made from nubbly sharkskin that transform tough, fibrous wasabi roots...
HATSU-GATSUO
初鰹 HATSU-GATSUO First Catch of the Season Japan’s seasonal sensibility is always on display at table; here the transition from spring into early summer is celebrated with hatsu-gatsuo (skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) prepared tataki-style. Whole loins of katsuo...
Green Tea
Green Teas 緑茶 RYOKU CHA Green teas are green because enzymes responsible for oxidization have been prevented from doing their (dark and discoloring) work. The Japanese halt oxidation by steaming freshly picked leaves, while the Chinese typically pan-fire or roast tea...
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