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 Kabocha
Classic Soy-Simmered Kabocha & Variations
Kabocha, a pumpkin-like squash with sweet, orangey-gold flesh and dark green, edible skin, frequently appears on the menu in Japan. The classic way to prepare kabocha is to simmer it in a slightly sweet soy-tinged stock. Soy-simmered kabocha is delicious on its own… but it is also wonderful when served with a briefly blanched green vegetable such as okra … or, sauced with savory ground chicken … or, simmered in stock infused with cinnamon and ginger.
Start with a Classic Soy-Simmered Kabocha, a mainstay of homecooking throughout Japan. Then try some (or all) of the variations provided below.
The Kitchen Culture Cooking Club looks forward to seeing what dishes YOU make with kabocha in YOUR KITCHEN.
Kabocha with Crumbly Chicken Sauce
A wonderful combination of savory and sweet flavors, soy-simmered kabocha is sauced with ground chicken (or turkey). Download a recipe for Soy-Simmered Kabocha with Crumbly Chicken Sauce
Soy-Simmered Kabocha with Okra
Soy-simmered kabocha is delicious on its own… but it is also wonderful when served with a briefly blanched green vegetable such as okra.
Download a recipe for Soy-Simmered Kabocha with Okra
Kabocha Spiced with Cinnamon and Ginger
Although cinnamon is not a common seasoning in Japanese home cooking, it does have a fairly long history in Japan (dates back to the Edo Period 1603-1868). Cinammon, in combination with ginger, transforms classic soy-simmered kabocha from side-dish status to enjoy-on-its-own standing.
Download a recipe for Kabocha Spiced with Cinnamon and Ginger.
For additional informatiion and inspiration regarding dishes made with kabocha, visit my Kitchen Culture blog post.
The theme of the October 2021 newsletter is Halloween in Japan. A copy can be downloaded from my newsletter page.
Show Us Your Kitchen Project
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?
Ready to SHARE YOUR KITCHEN PROJECT with others?
KITCHEN CULTURE Cooking Club members, head over to our Facebook Group. Not yet a member? Please join – membership is opt-in and free of charge.
Looking forward to seeing what you’re making in your kitchen…
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.
Shiso Maki
Shiso maki rolls, skewered and seared.Japan’s Tohoku region is justly famous for its walnuts – large, meaty orbs that produce an incredibly rich, aromatic paste when roasted and crushed – and its miso – a full-bodied red (burnished brown, really) fermented soybean...
Yamagata Dashi, a condiment
Chopped eggplant, cucumbers, okra and herbs such as shiso and myōga make salsa-like Dashi 山形だし Yamagata Dashi Somewhere between a salsa and chutney, Yamagata’s summertime signature dish Dashi is a refreshing mixture of chopped vegetables and herbs. It often tops cubes...
Okra
TRIM (left)・SALT-RUB (top right)・FLASH-BLANCH (center right)・STEEP (bottom right) OKRA オクラ The Japanese technique for preparing okra heightens its color (jade green) and flavor (reminiscent of green beans and/or asparagus) while limiting its sticky texture. There are...
Hiya Yakko Chilled Tōfu with Condiments + Umami Essence
HIYA YAKKO 冷奴 When you see an item on a menu being described as HIYA, it means that dish will be served chilled. Pictured above is classic Hiya Yakko, blocks of cold tōfu garnished with grated fresh ginger, chopped scallions and curly flakes of smoky, dry-roasted...
Like us on Facebook for the freshest content or follow Taste of Culture on Twitter.