Recipe Highlights Dashi is the soup stock at the heart of Japanese cooking, and it’s what gives Japanese dishes their distinctive depth of flavor. I usually reach for my homemade Kombu Dashi (昆布だし) when making soups, simmered dishes, and hot pots. When I’m meal prepping, I’ll start a batch of cold-brew kombu dashi the night…
Are you Team Udon or Team Soba? That’s the big question for our June 2026 JOC Cooking Challenge! To join the fun, make either my Zaru Soba (Cold Soba Noodles) or Zaru Udon (Cold Udon Noodles) recipe. These refreshing dishes are a perfect way to kick off the summer, and you can enter for a…
Recipe Highlights Growing up in Yokohama, cold noodle dishes were a household staple through the hot, humid summers. My mom served Zaru Udon (Cold Udon with Dipping Sauce) on the warmest days—thick noodles straight from the ice bath, a cup of cold dipping sauce on the side. It was the simplest meal—and somehow the only…
Recipe Highlights Zaru Soba (Cold Soba with Dipping Sauce) is my family’s go-to meal when the summer heat and humidity soar. I grew up eating it in Yokohama, and it still feels like the most sensible thing to make on a hot afternoon—cold, satisfying, and on the table in 15 minutes. My Zaru Soba recipe…
Recipe Highlights I use a cornstarch slurry almost every time I make a Chinese-style stir-fry, soup, or ankake sauce—it helps retain heat and lock in flavors. That signature smooth, velvety sauce you see in dishes like Mapo Tofu? That’s the slurry at work. In this guide for How to Thicken Sauce and Soup, I’ll walk…
When I moved from Japan to the US, many vegetables I grew up eating weren’t easy to find. Now, Japanese and Asian grocery stores are much more common, and authentic Japanese vegetables are easier to source than ever. In my guide, I’ll walk you through the most popular Japanese vegetables, my cooking tips, and what…
Recipe Highlights I’ve been making this Japanese Cheesecake recipe for parties and potlucks for years—it’s one of those desserts that always draws a crowd, and I love watching people take their first bite and reach for a second slice. What makes it so special is the contrast: A soufflé cheesecake this light and airy shouldn’t…
Before you bake your first loaf of Shokupan (Japanese Milk Bread), your loaf pan needs to be seasoned. This guide walks you through the process and how to keep it in great shape for every bake after that. Table of Contents + View More− View Less Shokupan Loaf Pan I’m Using A shokupan loaf pan…
Recipe Highlights Growing up in Japan, I ate shokupan (食パン) for breakfast almost every morning. Unlike brioche, which relies on eggs and significantly more butter, shokupan is lighter and more delicate, with a subtly sweet, milky flavor. This pillowy-soft Pullman loaf is sometimes called Hokkaido milk bread outside of Japan, named after the region’s famous dairy ingredients….
Recipe Highlights I’ve been making gyoza (餃子) since middle school—it’s one of the dishes my mom and I prepared together, folding dumplings side by side while talking about life. Those memories are part of why I love sharing this Gyoza Recipe. Here, I walk you through the filling ingredients, the folding instructions, and the pan-fry…
