The Journal
From the Kitchen
Short reads on how the food is made, and on ordering well across a menu that runs from the sushi bar to the hot kitchen.
Combos and Plates: Ordering a Whole Meal
À la carte gives you control and hands you the quantity problem. A combo hands back a finished meal, with the sides already decided.
Teriyaki Is a Method, Not a Sauce
Teri is shine and yaki is grilled. What is in the glaze, why it goes on at the end, and what you are really ordering when you order a plate.
Spicy on a Japanese Menu: What It Actually Means
Spicy tuna is a preparation, not a heat rating: chopped fish in a creamy chilli dressing. Four kinds of heat, and which one you want.
What “Crunch” Means on a Sushi Menu
Usually fried tempura batter, sometimes fried garlic, sometimes fried onion. The word in front of it is the part to read.
Baked Rolls: The Warm Corner of a Sushi Menu
A finished roll with a soft topping browned on top of it, almost always over a California roll. Why the heat changes everything.
Squid and Octopus: Ika and Tako
Calamari is squid. Octopus is always cooked. Both want either seconds or hours of heat and nothing in between, which explains every rubbery ring.
Pickled Ginger: What Gari Is For
Thin-sliced young ginger in sweetened vinegar, meant for the gap between one piece of fish and the next. Why some is pink and some is not.
The Cold Side of a Japanese Menu
The least-ordered part of the menu and the part that does most for the rest of the table. Three salads, and why one cold dish per two rich ones.
Tofu on a Japanese Menu
Silken and firm are the same curd at different pressures. Where each one turns up, why agedashi is the one to order, and what to ask about.
Takoyaki: The Ball With a Liquid Centre
Octopus in a thin dashi batter, turned in a moulded pan until it has a shell and a molten middle. Why the flakes move, and why you should wait.
Cream Cheese in Sushi: Why It Is There
An outlier in a cuisine that uses almost no dairy. Where it came from, the three problems it solves, and whether the complaint is fair.