**The Art of Japanese Cooking: A Glimpse into the Chef's Tools**

As a chef who has spent years perfecting his craft, I can attest that having the right tools is essential to creating authentic and delicious Japanese dishes. In this article, I will take you through some of my favorite cooking tools, from the humblest pot to the most intricate utensils.

**Miso Soup and Yūkihira Nabe**

One of my staple pots is a yūkihira nabe, also known as a hot broth pot or Japanese hot pot. This type of pot is designed for simmering and boiling, making it perfect for cooking miso soup, which I love to serve as a starter in our restaurant. To make the soup, I typically combine vegetable and seafood broth with dashi, a traditional Japanese seasoning made from seaweed and dried fish. The yūkihira nabe allows me to control the temperature of the broth perfectly, ensuring that each spoonful is just right.

**Personal Pan and Copper Cooking**

I also have a personal pan made of copper, which I brought back from Japan during my last visit. Copper pans are known for their excellent heat conductivity, making them ideal for cooking Western omelettes or Japanese-style kaiseki dishes. The shape of the pan allows for easy folding and serving of delicate ingredients, such as seaweed or pickled vegetables. In contrast to aluminum or stainless steel pans, copper pans retain heat longer, ensuring that each dish is cooked evenly.

**Steamer and Hagama**

A good steamer is essential in Japanese cooking, particularly when it comes to steaming fish or vegetables. I use a traditional hagama steamer, which has been passed down through generations of chefs in my family. The hagama's unique design allows for precise control over the steam pressure, ensuring that delicate ingredients are cooked gently but evenly. When grilling or searing food, I also rely on a separate grill, where I can achieve a crispy texture on the outside while keeping the inside juicy and tender.

**Wooden Stove and Rice Cooking**

One of my favorite memories is cooking rice using an old wooden stove, which has been passed down from my ancestors. This traditional method allows for a more nuanced and complex flavor profile than modern electric stoves. By carefully controlling the temperature and moisture levels, I can coax out the perfect texture and aroma from each grain of rice. The wooden stove also adds a unique fragrance to the cooking process, reminiscent of Japan's ancient past.

**Sushi Rice Preparation**

When preparing sushi rice, I use a special technique that involves rinsing the rice thoroughly before cooking it in a seasoned dashi broth. Once cooked, I mix the vinegar and sake into the rice while it's still warm, allowing the flavors to penetrate deeply into each grain. This process requires great care and attention to detail, as even the slightest deviation can affect the final result.

**Chopsticks and Utensils**

My favorite utensils are a set of hand-forged chopsticks made from high-quality wood or bamboo. These delicate tools allow me to scoop up ingredients with precision and control, making them ideal for plating dishes like sashimi or tempura. I also appreciate the versatility of my chopsticks, which can be used for both fine dining and casual meals.

**Loco Scale and Fish Preparation**

When working with seafood, I rely on a specialized loco scale made from stainless steel. This tool allows me to carefully extract each piece of fish or shellfish from its shell, making it easy to prepare the ingredients for cooking. The loco scale is designed to remove scales gently but effectively, ensuring that delicate flesh remains intact.

**Skater and Fish Preparation**

For filleting fish, I use a traditional skater made from high-quality bamboo. This tool allows me to expertly remove the skin and bones from each piece of fish, revealing its delicate flesh beneath. The bamboo skater is also gentle on the fish's scales, making it easy to preserve their natural texture.

**Golden Ice Snapper and Kim Meda**

My favorite fish to cook is the Golden Ice Snapper, a type of Japanese sea bass that is prized for its firm texture and delicate flavor. To prepare this dish, I rely on my trusty kim meda, a traditional Japanese snapper hook made from high-quality steel. The hook allows me to carefully extract each piece of fish from its container, making it easy to fillet or serve whole.

**Emotional Connection to My Tools**

Each of my tools has a unique story and history behind it, and I cherish every one of them as if they were part of my own family. From the humblest pot to the most intricate utensils, each tool plays a vital role in creating authentic Japanese dishes that delight and inspire our customers.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello my name is matu i'm head chef of the node 17. today i'm gonna show you that every tool i use for sariko's maya makassar omakase meaning it's the chef's choice there is no menu so people sit down they don't know what's coming so i'm gonna show you the knife i use for the service japanese knife is very specific just one purpose to cut the ingredients this is the deba this one used for the break down the fish scaling out as you see the single bevel a single bevel means one side is flat the other side is much sharper than like a boss bevel this is strong to sometimes chop off the heads of the fish and break down the fish like that this shape made by me because i'm shopping every day everybody different shape so this is my shape this is the same knife this used to be a same size next knife is the unagi bojo it's called edosaki so this tip opened the eel this has a double pebble it's a very traditional sushi it's a fresh water here it's in season then i use this knife to open the ear next knife is the usuba this knife is special for cutting the vegetable you cannot cut in the hard thing only vegetable like cassini slice it's called kanto style this shape is square it's a tokyo style knife this is called nukimono this is only vegetable too compared to this one it's a very pointy so i can use for the some framework small technique like a little vegetable i use two different kinds this is actually the my name i'm mata then my family name is matsuzaki this is actually my gift from my wife next knife is kenga taganagi this is only for slicing the fish possible sinner and more longer doesn't damage or anything to the fish then when you eat it you can taste differently let's say you have a very dura knife to slice the sashimi you can feel like a very different day this is a japanese steel and this is called aoko it's a japanese blue steel another knife used to be this size this is the service knife before so i used to using this knife but now it's retired long time ago that my older boss gave it to me then i using every day it's kind of this like a tourist if you take care you can can be used for lifetime and this is for my history and my tradition next to it's the called canaloroshi these are a few different sizes sometimes i graded the radish like a vegetable this is a machine made and this is the handomeg a little bit of hammering working on the steel compared to this one this is very line up straight but this is very random personally like the tool made by the hand when you're using you feel that such a craft craftsmanship sometimes i use the used zest then and zest on the food like a sashimi like i served a stewed octopus i'm prone to use this on the top of that made up by the like a bamboo next one it's a very similar but uh this is a specifically made of wasabi this is the very traditional style called samehada it's a summer meaning it's a shark this grated pot is made by the shak skin this surface makes finer smooth grating on the wasabi this is the two kind of cutting board made by the ginkgo nuts the hinoki cypress is a very common for using the cutting board in japanese cuisine made by the miya daiku it's a carpenter also or ginkgo nuts kinko nuts cutting board it's a softer generally people use many kind of cutting board such as plastic very easy to get the knife to do so that's why we kind of use for the this special cutting board for the service once in uh six months and we call it the carpenter shaped uh like a surface to make a board straight then clean surface nowadays people wasting stuff you know oh this is dirty throw it away and buy new one but these some kind of quality tool that if you maintenance well it can be a lifetime i'm really like to be uh that kind of style use the one two you know getting all together so we are like growing together you know the next two i show you the kind of boxes this is the tabako ice goes inside so i put another piece of wood then have a paper then and keep the like a fish this is a very traditional way to keep the like a fish or sub to the counter because these have no electronic just the ice on the bottom that the temperature doesn't go cold as refrigerator our food is very important for the temperature of the food so i don't want to serve very cold cold fish to the customer there is no farm or anything so fish doesn't get dry this is the when i presented the ingredients to the customer i use this kind of box i have to show everything i do then people can understand my food this is a sea urchin from hokkaido so this box is just made for the sea urchin it's very beautiful showing to this like a piece of handmade too our style of the food is not 17. it's a very ingredient focus sometimes i just sub customer directly as it so they can feel just the ingredients next uh i show you the ceramic this is the ceramic i use every day this is called matchawang it's usually made by the people making the green tea i served the sushi by the bare hand so when i take the rice i need to touch the little bit of water and vinegar to coating my hand then lice doesn't stick and this is for like a soy sauce and this is a brush so every piece i make in front of the customer we use a homemade soy sauce to touch up then i make a sushi then brush to the last and sub to the customer i don't like to serve the soy sauce to customer everything i prepare for them they just eat just the right amount to fill the best condition of the food this is called mishima style very traditional way to like kind of stamp make a pattern and these two mishima i use for you know wasabi and this is sometimes marinated with tuna this is also called mishima very similar style this one from edo period and this is the very vintage it's like almost like 300 years old this is one of the my favorite my best friend father is the ceramic craftsman this is the first ceramic i own by myself to buy and directly talk to like my friend father on the like a phone then he pick for me and send it to me then he passed away while ago so this is very important so this is my torture very important to know that who made it how they made it to i understand that some quality and like a craftsmanship that's so joy so i'm so happy to work here this is called hyundai very important tool for making the rice i'm mixing the lice with the rice vinegar for the sushi if you're doing too much it's a kind of lice is broken gets mushy just mixing rice it's very complicated sushi it's the lot of people don't know think it's fish is important but the most important ingredient is a rice if rice is bad everything is bad for my personal preference when i cut the cherry i like to very thinner to this side it's exactly like a fit my hand so i couldn't find the right size for it so i bought the big spatula then i cut myself so this is a very special miyajima for me and this is the heat when i put in the rice inside of the boxes they suck the moisture from the rice so it doesn't get mushy it's a keep best condition of the rice next to it's called sribachi and sri cookie it's a mixing bowl this actually has the surface of the like a tents that good for the mixing thing this also helps graded ingredients this is a small bargain this is like a sesame seeds more like aroma comes up that's how i use for these two this is called uh geta it's a very traditional like uh wooden like uh called made by the kiri it the very soft wood counter is uh like a little high for me so when i cutting something i'm very short guy so i need to like a height a little bit so that's why i wear in the bugetta and this is the uh gift from the chef notes it's not really comfortable but for me it's gets you get used to it when i start to service i use the apron this where then feel like yes i'm going to start work that kind of helps me to change my mind next tourists are called bonzar it's a japanese traditional kind of strainer made by the bamboo bamboo is a very strong for the uh like a water sometimes we use like a weta bonzaro put the salt on the top of it then line up the all the fish then cure i cure the fish by the salt so that kind of drain like a drain i don't want to touch the fish with water while i'm curing the salt so that's why this strainer is very important the regular bundle i use for the preparation and this is the same bonus but the very special one called dento koge it's a japanese craftsmanship when i cook something to the customer i showed to my ingredients the kind especially like a display i use the special bundle this is a marquis this is also made by bamboo when i make some time like a load with seaweed to make a shape of the lol traditionally it's a i make a sutomaki and kampyorol which is a japanese squash i boil the vegetable i can wrap around and squeeze to the vegetable that kind has many purpose this is checker i use for the sesame seed take it up then it's sesame comes up made by the bamboo this can't i don't want to show to like a steel shaker this is much our like a style and to use this kind of uh tool more can i say more elegant to use this kind of tool then also this one made by the handmaid craftsmanship i wanna show you to the microchip please follow me all the prepping like clearing the fish like a simmering kind of fish and everything happening here next to it's the japanese traditional pan these are made by the aluminum so it's cooked faster when i usually using this pan i use some kind of player this is called so we use something no handle then when i cook something multiple or places doesn't burn the handle to something pouring something simmering something then we use this kind of too this is the one each pattern made by the hammer hammering the pan it makes pines stronger and also this stands for heating ingredients very quickly i heat up like you know miso soup some of the i'm boiling the vegetable and also or like a simmering like octopus all kind of japanese cuisine use this kind of too this is called yukihira nabe sometimes good to have a handle then this is made by the udom so if it's burnt and like broken it's a replaceable this is actually my personal pan and bring from my house each two that my favorite i pick by myself before this opened the restaurant i went back to japan for like uh five days i go there specifically i pick by myself to use for the my kitchen copper pan copper is a heating is faster than aluminum and stainless we use for cooking the egg western omelette is a very different way but the japanese omelette it's uh this shape and sin layer to flip so many times to hazard layer the biggest ones are like at this size next to reach the steamer we actually put the water inside and throw on the fire then the steamer the inside has the hole on it so all the hotness coming from the hole i use this steamer for like a chawam mushi like egg custard and also steaming the fish when i want to grilling and skins crispy i use a grill and when i want these ingredients to be maybe softer different texture i use the steamer this is called hagama the most important ingredient is lice so how we cook rice is very important back in the time it's a lot let's say edo period long long time people used to use this to cooking the rice at home and the time there is no gas so putting the wooden stove to from the top of it this sometimes all the techniques cannot replace by the technology that's why we're using for this way this wooden house gets the moisture too this has like a lounge so when it's cooking the rice inside it's water it's uh like circulating it's very important for the cooking delight to put on the setup here fire set on the middle then we put the license water then on the way because of let the moisture out it gets harder nice then after the harder rice i pour the vinegar then rice drink the vinegar so that's how i mix the sushi rice this is the pan people usually using buy this before i put in the warmer i cool down the rice like like this and also sometimes we use japanese charcoal and to making the fire next to it's the chopsticks this is the chopsticks for plating the food compared to other chopsticks fits your hand very like a naturally light and very detailed work to something put on the top of the plating chopsticks almost you can do anything you can stop something and you can cut something and if you flip it there is a kind of special shape on that then you can scoop something made by the bamboo this is also a gift from the chef notes from the uptown these are my favorite and next one is the made by the steel i usually prefer to use this for in the kitchen when i deep frying something i can use for this one and also or simmering something i can poke on something it's very useful too those chopsticks are just a regular i wanna pick something multiple oh and this is uh i bought for omret to turn the egg it's very easy to use so each chopsticks it's a different purpose i use next is the raw kokaki it's a loco means a fish scale this is made by stainless when i using the scale the fish each fish is scaly it's a very sometimes it's so hard sometimes it's very soft so kind of heavy duty it i use this uh big skater this is more like a traditional type of the skater made by the brush compared to stainless this is much softer even just a skater japanese make for the using for the long time and this is actually a a arrived today so this is a kim meda it's a golden ice snapper as you can see the fish comes whole fish so we don't buy fillet or anything all the process we preparation here it's a uh from scratch like a one to ten so i use the skater this small spoon like a scoop something that i check the flavor uh let's say making the dashi making the sauce we use like a small detail there is a little like a mark on this this it's hammering each time shape is elegant and i like to use this kind of dust people buy cheap stuff throwing away and wasting the stuff once you have this kind of thing you can almost use forever i also have a emotion for that you know my knife my spoon my choc sticks all the my part of me i have a emotion for the this kind of two for in this restaurant i have a more hundred of two each one is different but each of the tools are very important for me to use for quick magazines traininghello my name is matu i'm head chef of the node 17. today i'm gonna show you that every tool i use for sariko's maya makassar omakase meaning it's the chef's choice there is no menu so people sit down they don't know what's coming so i'm gonna show you the knife i use for the service japanese knife is very specific just one purpose to cut the ingredients this is the deba this one used for the break down the fish scaling out as you see the single bevel a single bevel means one side is flat the other side is much sharper than like a boss bevel this is strong to sometimes chop off the heads of the fish and break down the fish like that this shape made by me because i'm shopping every day everybody different shape so this is my shape this is the same knife this used to be a same size next knife is the unagi bojo it's called edosaki so this tip opened the eel this has a double pebble it's a very traditional sushi it's a fresh water here it's in season then i use this knife to open the ear next knife is the usuba this knife is special for cutting the vegetable you cannot cut in the hard thing only vegetable like cassini slice it's called kanto style this shape is square it's a tokyo style knife this is called nukimono this is only vegetable too compared to this one it's a very pointy so i can use for the some framework small technique like a little vegetable i use two different kinds this is actually the my name i'm mata then my family name is matsuzaki this is actually my gift from my wife next knife is kenga taganagi this is only for slicing the fish possible sinner and more longer doesn't damage or anything to the fish then when you eat it you can taste differently let's say you have a very dura knife to slice the sashimi you can feel like a very different day this is a japanese steel and this is called aoko it's a japanese blue steel another knife used to be this size this is the service knife before so i used to using this knife but now it's retired long time ago that my older boss gave it to me then i using every day it's kind of this like a tourist if you take care you can can be used for lifetime and this is for my history and my tradition next to it's the called canaloroshi these are a few different sizes sometimes i graded the radish like a vegetable this is a machine made and this is the handomeg a little bit of hammering working on the steel compared to this one this is very line up straight but this is very random personally like the tool made by the hand when you're using you feel that such a craft craftsmanship sometimes i use the used zest then and zest on the food like a sashimi like i served a stewed octopus i'm prone to use this on the top of that made up by the like a bamboo next one it's a very similar but uh this is a specifically made of wasabi this is the very traditional style called samehada it's a summer meaning it's a shark this grated pot is made by the shak skin this surface makes finer smooth grating on the wasabi this is the two kind of cutting board made by the ginkgo nuts the hinoki cypress is a very common for using the cutting board in japanese cuisine made by the miya daiku it's a carpenter also or ginkgo nuts kinko nuts cutting board it's a softer generally people use many kind of cutting board such as plastic very easy to get the knife to do so that's why we kind of use for the this special cutting board for the service once in uh six months and we call it the carpenter shaped uh like a surface to make a board straight then clean surface nowadays people wasting stuff you know oh this is dirty throw it away and buy new one but these some kind of quality tool that if you maintenance well it can be a lifetime i'm really like to be uh that kind of style use the one two you know getting all together so we are like growing together you know the next two i show you the kind of boxes this is the tabako ice goes inside so i put another piece of wood then have a paper then and keep the like a fish this is a very traditional way to keep the like a fish or sub to the counter because these have no electronic just the ice on the bottom that the temperature doesn't go cold as refrigerator our food is very important for the temperature of the food so i don't want to serve very cold cold fish to the customer there is no farm or anything so fish doesn't get dry this is the when i presented the ingredients to the customer i use this kind of box i have to show everything i do then people can understand my food this is a sea urchin from hokkaido so this box is just made for the sea urchin it's very beautiful showing to this like a piece of handmade too our style of the food is not 17. it's a very ingredient focus sometimes i just sub customer directly as it so they can feel just the ingredients next uh i show you the ceramic this is the ceramic i use every day this is called matchawang it's usually made by the people making the green tea i served the sushi by the bare hand so when i take the rice i need to touch the little bit of water and vinegar to coating my hand then lice doesn't stick and this is for like a soy sauce and this is a brush so every piece i make in front of the customer we use a homemade soy sauce to touch up then i make a sushi then brush to the last and sub to the customer i don't like to serve the soy sauce to customer everything i prepare for them they just eat just the right amount to fill the best condition of the food this is called mishima style very traditional way to like kind of stamp make a pattern and these two mishima i use for you know wasabi and this is sometimes marinated with tuna this is also called mishima very similar style this one from edo period and this is the very vintage it's like almost like 300 years old this is one of the my favorite my best friend father is the ceramic craftsman this is the first ceramic i own by myself to buy and directly talk to like my friend father on the like a phone then he pick for me and send it to me then he passed away while ago so this is very important so this is my torture very important to know that who made it how they made it to i understand that some quality and like a craftsmanship that's so joy so i'm so happy to work here this is called hyundai very important tool for making the rice i'm mixing the lice with the rice vinegar for the sushi if you're doing too much it's a kind of lice is broken gets mushy just mixing rice it's very complicated sushi it's the lot of people don't know think it's fish is important but the most important ingredient is a rice if rice is bad everything is bad for my personal preference when i cut the cherry i like to very thinner to this side it's exactly like a fit my hand so i couldn't find the right size for it so i bought the big spatula then i cut myself so this is a very special miyajima for me and this is the heat when i put in the rice inside of the boxes they suck the moisture from the rice so it doesn't get mushy it's a keep best condition of the rice next to it's called sribachi and sri cookie it's a mixing bowl this actually has the surface of the like a tents that good for the mixing thing this also helps graded ingredients this is a small bargain this is like a sesame seeds more like aroma comes up that's how i use for these two this is called uh geta it's a very traditional like uh wooden like uh called made by the kiri it the very soft wood counter is uh like a little high for me so when i cutting something i'm very short guy so i need to like a height a little bit so that's why i wear in the bugetta and this is the uh gift from the chef notes it's not really comfortable but for me it's gets you get used to it when i start to service i use the apron this where then feel like yes i'm going to start work that kind of helps me to change my mind next tourists are called bonzar it's a japanese traditional kind of strainer made by the bamboo bamboo is a very strong for the uh like a water sometimes we use like a weta bonzaro put the salt on the top of it then line up the all the fish then cure i cure the fish by the salt so that kind of drain like a drain i don't want to touch the fish with water while i'm curing the salt so that's why this strainer is very important the regular bundle i use for the preparation and this is the same bonus but the very special one called dento koge it's a japanese craftsmanship when i cook something to the customer i showed to my ingredients the kind especially like a display i use the special bundle this is a marquis this is also made by bamboo when i make some time like a load with seaweed to make a shape of the lol traditionally it's a i make a sutomaki and kampyorol which is a japanese squash i boil the vegetable i can wrap around and squeeze to the vegetable that kind has many purpose this is checker i use for the sesame seed take it up then it's sesame comes up made by the bamboo this can't i don't want to show to like a steel shaker this is much our like a style and to use this kind of uh tool more can i say more elegant to use this kind of tool then also this one made by the handmaid craftsmanship i wanna show you to the microchip please follow me all the prepping like clearing the fish like a simmering kind of fish and everything happening here next to it's the japanese traditional pan these are made by the aluminum so it's cooked faster when i usually using this pan i use some kind of player this is called so we use something no handle then when i cook something multiple or places doesn't burn the handle to something pouring something simmering something then we use this kind of too this is the one each pattern made by the hammer hammering the pan it makes pines stronger and also this stands for heating ingredients very quickly i heat up like you know miso soup some of the i'm boiling the vegetable and also or like a simmering like octopus all kind of japanese cuisine use this kind of too this is called yukihira nabe sometimes good to have a handle then this is made by the udom so if it's burnt and like broken it's a replaceable this is actually my personal pan and bring from my house each two that my favorite i pick by myself before this opened the restaurant i went back to japan for like uh five days i go there specifically i pick by myself to use for the my kitchen copper pan copper is a heating is faster than aluminum and stainless we use for cooking the egg western omelette is a very different way but the japanese omelette it's uh this shape and sin layer to flip so many times to hazard layer the biggest ones are like at this size next to reach the steamer we actually put the water inside and throw on the fire then the steamer the inside has the hole on it so all the hotness coming from the hole i use this steamer for like a chawam mushi like egg custard and also steaming the fish when i want to grilling and skins crispy i use a grill and when i want these ingredients to be maybe softer different texture i use the steamer this is called hagama the most important ingredient is lice so how we cook rice is very important back in the time it's a lot let's say edo period long long time people used to use this to cooking the rice at home and the time there is no gas so putting the wooden stove to from the top of it this sometimes all the techniques cannot replace by the technology that's why we're using for this way this wooden house gets the moisture too this has like a lounge so when it's cooking the rice inside it's water it's uh like circulating it's very important for the cooking delight to put on the setup here fire set on the middle then we put the license water then on the way because of let the moisture out it gets harder nice then after the harder rice i pour the vinegar then rice drink the vinegar so that's how i mix the sushi rice this is the pan people usually using buy this before i put in the warmer i cool down the rice like like this and also sometimes we use japanese charcoal and to making the fire next to it's the chopsticks this is the chopsticks for plating the food compared to other chopsticks fits your hand very like a naturally light and very detailed work to something put on the top of the plating chopsticks almost you can do anything you can stop something and you can cut something and if you flip it there is a kind of special shape on that then you can scoop something made by the bamboo this is also a gift from the chef notes from the uptown these are my favorite and next one is the made by the steel i usually prefer to use this for in the kitchen when i deep frying something i can use for this one and also or simmering something i can poke on something it's very useful too those chopsticks are just a regular i wanna pick something multiple oh and this is uh i bought for omret to turn the egg it's very easy to use so each chopsticks it's a different purpose i use next is the raw kokaki it's a loco means a fish scale this is made by stainless when i using the scale the fish each fish is scaly it's a very sometimes it's so hard sometimes it's very soft so kind of heavy duty it i use this uh big skater this is more like a traditional type of the skater made by the brush compared to stainless this is much softer even just a skater japanese make for the using for the long time and this is actually a a arrived today so this is a kim meda it's a golden ice snapper as you can see the fish comes whole fish so we don't buy fillet or anything all the process we preparation here it's a uh from scratch like a one to ten so i use the skater this small spoon like a scoop something that i check the flavor uh let's say making the dashi making the sauce we use like a small detail there is a little like a mark on this this it's hammering each time shape is elegant and i like to use this kind of dust people buy cheap stuff throwing away and wasting the stuff once you have this kind of thing you can almost use forever i also have a emotion for that you know my knife my spoon my choc sticks all the my part of me i have a emotion for the this kind of two for in this restaurant i have a more hundred of two each one is different but each of the tools are very important for me to use for quick magazines training\n"