The Japanese food that stays with you often isn't from a restaurant at all. It's the simple, soulful cooking of the home kitchen — washoku at its most comforting.
Think a bowl of rice with miso soup and a piece of grilled fish. Oyakodon, chicken and egg simmered together over rice. Nikujaga, a gentle stew of beef and potatoes. Curry rice on a cold night. Onigiri wrapped in crisp nori. None of it is complicated, and most of it comes together in a single pot.
The philosophy on the plate
Japanese home cooking is built on balance and restraint — a little of several things rather than a lot of one. Dashi, the savoury stock at its base, quietly does most of the heavy lifting. Learn to make that, and the rest tends to follow.
Start with a pot of rice and a bowl of miso soup. It's the most comforting meal you can teach yourself to make.
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