Browse Techniques

Ankake (あんかけ) — the glossy, starch-thickened sauce technique — is one of the most versatile preparations in Japanese cooking, extending far beyond the classic ankake tofu dish to encompass a wide range of applications that share the same technical foundation. The technique involves thickening a dashi-based sauce with potato starch (katakuriko) or kuzu to achieve the characteristic semi-translucent, glass-like gloss that coats its subject. Applications: (1) Kani ankake chahan — fried rice topped with a crab ankake sauce; (2) Happosai — Chinese-Japanese stir-fry topped with a thick ankake of mixed seafood and vegetables; (3) Chawan mushi ankake — savoury egg custard finished with a warm ankake that continues heating the custard at service; (4) Nabeyaki udon ankake — udon in a thick, clingy ankake rather than a clear soup; (5) Ankake udon (Osaka style) — thick ankake topped with thinly sliced green onion, ginger, and a poached egg. The sauce temperature must remain above 60°C or the starch begins to retrograde (thin) — this is why ankake is always served immediately after preparation. In Chinese-Japanese (chūka) cooking, ankake is the finishing technique that transforms a stir-fry into a complete dish.

Chawanmushi (茶碗蒸し — 'steamed tea bowl') is a savoury egg custard cooked in a covered ceramic cup, representing one of the most technically demanding preparations in Japanese cooking. The custard is made from eggs (typically 1 egg per 200ml dashi, a 1:3 ratio by volume), seasoned with mirin, sake, and light shoyu, and gently strained to remove all membranes. Solid ingredients (shrimp, chicken, mitsuba, kamaboko, ginkgo nuts, lily bulb) are arranged in the cup before the custard liquid is poured over. The critical variable is steaming temperature: too hot (above 85°C) and the custard sets too rapidly, forming steam bubbles (su-dachi) — a watery, honeycombed, pocked texture that is a significant quality failure. The correct approach is to steam at 80–83°C (achieved by opening the steamer lid slightly or using a 'lid holder' technique), which sets the custard slowly and uniformly to an extraordinarily silky, barely-set texture that quivers when touched. The custard should set firm enough to hold the spoon's impression while remaining tremblingly smooth — a texture described as yawara (yielding, tender) in Japanese culinary vocabulary.

Kakiage (かき揚げ) is a distinct form of tempura where multiple small ingredients are combined in a loose cluster and fried together as a single unit, rather than as individually-battered separate pieces. The name derives from 'kaki' (gathering/scraping) and 'age' (frying) — the action of gathering loosely battered ingredients and lowering them together into the oil. Key kakiage compositions: (1) Standard seasonal mix: onion strips, carrot julienne, mitsuba, and shrimp; (2) Sakura ebi kakiage (spring): the classic cherry blossom shrimp fritter; (3) Autumn sansai kakiage: mountain vegetables with light batter; (4) Corn kakiage: fresh corn kernels, the summer version. The technique requires very light, cold batter (more ice water, less mixing than standard tempura) applied just enough to hold the cluster together — if the batter is too thick, the interior steams rather than fries. The clusters are formed on a serving spoon or spatula, then slid gently into the oil. The characteristic of excellent kakiage is an open, lacy, irregular structure where the individual ingredients are visible through the batter — not a compact, dense fritter. It should appear almost like a cloud of battered ingredients briefly frozen in the moment of frying.

The relationship between sashimi knife cut and eating texture is one of the most nuanced technical areas in Japanese raw fish preparation. Different species require different cuts because their muscle fibre orientation, fat content, and density vary significantly. The primary cuts are: (1) Hira-zukuri (flat cut) — the standard sashimi cut; 8–10mm thick slices drawn toward the body with a single pulling motion; appropriate for most firm white fish and tuna; (2) Usu-zukuri (thin cut) — translucently thin slices (2–3mm) for flounder, sea bream, and other delicate white fish where the paper-thinness creates a different textural register; (3) Kaku-zukuri (square cut) — thick cubes (15–20mm) for tuna, yellowtail, and other fatty fish where the larger surface area holds more wasabi-soy; (4) Ito-zukuri (thread cut) — extremely fine julienne for squid and other dense proteins where the thin strips create a different mouthfeel; (5) Tataki — a surface-seared preparation with visible flame markings; (6) Sogi-zukuri (angled cut) — the blade held at 45 degrees for broad, thin slices of salmon or other thick-fleshed fish. Each cut affects how the fish breaks apart in the mouth, how the wasabi and soy sauce interact with the flesh surface, and how the cooking finishes on the palate.