How to Use a Bamboo Steamer: Setup, Liners and Care
To use a bamboo steamer, support it securely over boiling water, keep the food above the water, and leave a
Workshop Notes
Guides, wood stories, and care notes for choosing and maintaining Japanese wa handles.
Hangiri or Ohitsu? Choose the Right Rice Tub
Choose a hangiri when you regularly season and mix sushi rice. Choose an ohitsu when you want a vessel for
Ginsan Steel: Stainless Care in a Japanese Kitchen Knife
Ginsan is a stainless knife steel, also encountered as Gin 3 or Silver 3. It is worth considering if you
Chuka Bocho vs Nakiri: Which Vegetable Knife Fits Your Cooking?
For a compact knife devoted to vegetables, a nakiri is the simpler starting point. A Chinese vegetable cleaver makes sense
Benriner Mandoline: Which Width and Model Do You Need?
For a Benriner that makes both slices and julienne strips, narrow the choice to the 64 or 95 mm families.
Yanagiba at the Sushi Counter: Why the Long Knife Cuts in One Stroke
The yanagiba—a long Japanese knife for preparing sashimi, raw fish or seafood sliced for serving—is long because the cut is
Urushi in the Kitchen
Urushi is the tapped sap of the lacquer tree, brushed in thin coats over a wooden base and hardened rather
Why Ho Wood Is Traditional for Japanese Knife Handles
Traditional Japanese knife handles often use ho (hō / hōnoki, magnolia) because it is light, soft, straight-grained, low in resin
What Is a Deba? A Heavy Japanese Knife for Whole Fish
A deba is a thick-spined, single-bevel Japanese knife made to break down whole fish: removing heads, working through collars, freeing
What *hōchō* means: the cook inside the Japanese kitchen knife
Hōchō (包丁, older 庖丁) is the everyday Japanese word for a kitchen knife. Japanese dictionaries say it began with a
White Steel vs Blue Steel: What #1, #2, #3 and Super Actually Change
White and Blue are Yasugi carbon cutlery steels from Proterial. White is close to iron and carbon; Blue adds tungsten
Stropping Japanese Knives: What It Does and When to Skip It
Stropping is a finishing step: it clears the burr left by the stone and refines the last few microns of
San-mai vs mono-steel: what blade construction changes over time
A san-mai blade uses three layers: a hard cutting core wrapped in softer steel or iron. It is one form
Do Left-Handers Need Left-Handed Japanese Knives?
Does a left-hander need a left-handed Japanese knife? For double-bevel knives—gyuto, santoku, bunka, nakiri and petty—no special version is normally
Knife Roll vs Knife Bag vs Hard Case: What Should a Cook Carry?
Carry a knife roll if a few knives make the daily commute and the roll can be opened flat after
How-To Guides
Camellia Oil vs Mineral Oil for a Knife Blade
For a Japanese kitchen knife that will sit unused, choose a blade oil whose label identifies it for knife or
Kitchen Shears in a Japanese Kitchen: What They Are For and What Makes a Pair Worth Owning
In a Japanese kitchen, shears take over the jobs most likely to chip a thin, hard knife edge: poultry joints,
Japanese Natural Whetstones: Reading the Stone and Its Lore
A Japanese natural whetstone, or tennen toishi, is sedimentary stone quarried around Kameoka in Kyoto Prefecture. The prefecture’s museum listing