GOOD TO KNOW

Wabocho: For Quality & Supreme Washoku

Washoku or Japanese food is increasingly rising in high regarded around the world. It delves beyond the allure of exquisite flavor and embraces an embedded culture of heartfelt hospitality and a time-honored tribute to changing seasons. And the number one, indispensable tool for chefs to achieve high-quality Japanese cuisine is the Wabocho or Japanese knives.…
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Proposition 65

By: Alissa Umemoto Proposition 65 (formally titled "The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986") is a California law passed by voters in 1986. Its goals are 1) to protect drinking water sources from toxic substances that may cause cancer and birth defects and 2) to reduce or eliminate exposures to harmful chemicals.…
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Beef Butcher Diagram

Arrival of Buddhist teachings in 700 AD and cultural factors caused Japanese emperors to prohibit consumption of beef and meats from other hoofed animals for more than a thousand years. Despite the ban, however, the practice of eating wild game, grilled or stewed, was a commonplace. In 1872 during the Meiji Era as Western influences…
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Discover Japanese New Year’s Cuisine – Osechi Ryori

  New Year is the single most important holiday in Japan, and special Osechi-ryōri are traditional Japanese New Year foods.  Colorful Osechi-ryōri dishes are packed in layers of lacquer boxes, called jubako, which resemble bento boxes.  Like bento boxes, jūbako are often kept stacked before and after use. New Year's Day is one of the…
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Maguro Tuna Butcher Diagram

For Sushi, tuna is king.  And among the many types, bluefin Kuro Maguro ranks at the top.  However popular, tuna is a very fragile fish, not able to withstand conventional freezing procedure.  Resolution can be found in the revolutionary, advanced super-frozen technology that quickly deep freezes to a -75 degree F, thus preventing cell corrosion…
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DASHI: The Basic Foundation of Japanese Cuisine

What Is Dashi? Dashi is Japanese stock. It’s the foundation to all authentic Japanese cooking, a base for soups and sauces, and is essential for making Nimono. It’s the building block or the secret 5th flavor, Umami, full of amino acids that create inexplicable "deliciousness".  Dashi is comparable to soup stocks or bouillon in Western…
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