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Washoku: The Traditional Japanese Meal and Its Structure
Learn how a traditional Japanese meal is built around rice, soup and side dishes, how the dishes are arranged and what the table manners mean.
Living Traditions
Food and Drink Traditions
Washoku, sweets, fermentation, sake and the seasonal table.
Dashi and the Idea of Umami
Dashi is the light stock behind much Japanese cooking. Learn what it is made from, why it tastes savory and how the word umami came to be named.
Kaiseki: Seasonal Multi-Course Dining
Kaiseki is a refined style of seasonal courses that grew out of tea gatherings. Learn its history, the usual sequence of dishes and its ideas of season and setting.
Matcha and Green Tea Varieties Beyond the Ceremony
A plain guide to how sencha, gyokuro, matcha, hojicha and other Japanese teas differ in how they are grown, processed and served for everyday drinking.
Miso, Soy Sauce and the Fermentation Tradition
How koji mold, salt and time produce miso, soy sauce, mirin, vinegar and pickles, and why fermentation shapes so much of Japanese cooking and flavor.
Sake: Rice, Water and the Ritual Cup
A cultural overview of sake, the Japanese rice wine: how it is brewed from rice, water and koji, and its role in Shinto offerings, weddings and seasonal ceremony.
Seasonal Eating and the Calendar of Ingredients
How the idea of shun, the best moment of an ingredient, guides Japanese cooking, from first-of-season foods to the way the table follows the year.
Sushi: Origins, Styles and Etiquette
How sushi changed from fermented, preserved fish into nigiri, maki, chirashi and other forms, with a short guide to common etiquette when eating it.
Wagashi: Traditional Sweets and the Seasons
A guide to wagashi, the traditional Japanese confections served with tea: their ingredients, common forms and the seasonal motifs that shape each month.
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