List of Japanese cooking utensils
Encyclopedia
The following items are common Japanese cooking
tools used in preparing Japanese cuisine. For a list of general cooking tools see the list of food preparation utensils.
Cooking
Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
tools used in preparing Japanese cuisine. For a list of general cooking tools see the list of food preparation utensils.
Knives
- Deba bochoDeba bochoDeba bocho are Japanese style kitchen carvers used to cut fish, as well as chicken and meat. They come in different sizes, sometimes up to 30 cm in length. The deba bocho first appeared during the Edo period in Sakai. It is designed to behead and fillet fish...
: Kitchen carver - SantokuSantokuThe Santoku hōchō or Bunka hōchō is a general-purpose kitchen knife originating in Japan. Its blade is typically between long, and has a flat edge and a sheepsfoot blade that curves in an angle approaching 60 degrees at the point. The top of the santoku's handle is in line with the top of the...
: General purpose knife influenced by European styles - Nakiri bochoNakiri bochoNakiri bōchō and usuba bōchō are Japanese-style vegetable knives. They differ from the deba bōchō in their shape, as they have a straight blade edge suitable for cutting all the way to the cutting board without the need for a horizontal pull or push. These knives are also much thinner...
and usuba bochoUsuba bochoUsuba knives are the traditional vegetable knife for the professional Japanese chef. Like other Japanese professional knives, usuba are chisel ground, and have a bevel on the front side, and have a hollow ground urasuki on the back side. Usuba characteristically have a flat edge, with little or no...
: Japanese vegetable knives - Oroshi hochoOroshi hochoMaguro bōchō or Maguro kiri bōchō is an extremely long, highly specialized knife used in Japan to fillet tuna and other large fish....
and hancho hocho: Extremely long knives to fillet tunaTunaTuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an... - Tako hiki, yanagi ba, and fugu hiki: SashimiSashimiSashimi is a Japanese delicacy. It consists of very fresh raw meat, most commonly fish, sliced into thin pieces.-Origin:The word sashimi means "pierced body", i.e...
slicers - Unagisaki hochoUnagisaki hochoA Unagisaki hocho is a knife specialized for filleting eel. The sharp tip is pushed into the eel near the head, and then slid along the body of the eel to open up the entire length of the fish...
: Japanese eel knifeKnifeA knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools... - Udon kiriUdon kiriA Udon kiri or Soba kiri is a specialized knife used in the Japanese kitchen to make soba and udon noodles. The knife is also sometimes called Menkiri bocho . To make soba or udon the dough is flattened and folded, and then cut with the menkiri bocho to produce long rectangular noodles...
and soba kiri: Knife to make udonUdonis a type of thick wheat-flour noodle of Japanese cuisine.Udon is usually served hot as noodle soup in its simplest form as kake udon, in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru which is made of dashi, soy sauce , and mirin. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions...
and sobaSobais the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle . Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup...
Pots, pans, and bowls
- Abura kiriAbura kiriis a shallow tray used in the Japanese kitchen to place food on after deep frying. The shallow tray or pan has a rack and an absorbent paper towel to remove excess oil from the food after frying, as for example in tempura....
: Drainer tray for oil - Agemono nabe: Deep frying pot
- DonabeDonabeDonabe are pots made out of a special clay for use over an open flame in the Japanese kitchen. Often, the food is cooked right at the table on a gas burner for various nabemono dishes such as shabu-shabu....
: Ceramic pot for use on an open flame - HangiriHangiriIn Japanese cuisine, a hangiri , also known as handai is a round, flat-bottom wooden tub or barrel used in the final steps of preparing rice for sushi. Traditional hangiri are made from cypress wood bound with two copper bands...
: Rice barrel - MakiyakinabeMakiyakinabeMakiyakinabe is a square or rectangular cooking pan used to make Japanese style rolled omelettes. It is also known as tamagoyakiki ....
: Rectangular pan for omelets - MushikiMushikiMushiki or seiro are two different types of Japanese steamers.Mushiki are round steamers made from bamboo like those used in Chinese cuisine. They can be stacked on top of each other so that the steam can cook many different servings simultaneously...
and seiro: Steamers - Otoshi butaOtoshi butaOtoshi buta are Japanese-style drop-lids for use in Japanese cooking. These round lids float on top of the liquid in a pot while simmering foods. They ensure that the heat is evenly distributed and reduce the tendency of liquid to boil with large bubbles...
: Drop lid - Rice cookerRice cookerA rice cooker or rice steamer is a container or kitchen appliance dedicated to cooking rice. Rice can also be cooked in general-purpose saucepans.-Overview:...
: Electric appliance for cooking rice - SuribachiSuribachiSuribachi and surikogi are a Japanese mortar and pestle. These mortars are used in Japanese cooking to crush different ingredients such as sesame seeds....
and surikogi: Grinding mortar and pestle - Takoyaki pan: Frying pan for takoyakiTakoyakiis a popular ball-shaped Japanese dumpling or more like a savory pancake made of batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan...
- TetsubinTetsubinTetsubin are Japanese cast iron pots having pouring spout and handle crossing over the top, used for boiling and pouring hot water for drinking purposes, such as for making tea. Because iron is released into the water, the water is appreciated as a dietary source of iron.Tetsubin are traditionally...
: Cast ironCast iron cookwareCast iron is used for cookware because it has excellent heat retention properties and can be produced and formed with a relatively low level of technology. Seasoning is used to protect bare cast iron from rust and to create a non-stick surface.-History:...
teapot. - Tetsunabe:Cast ironCast iron cookwareCast iron is used for cookware because it has excellent heat retention properties and can be produced and formed with a relatively low level of technology. Seasoning is used to protect bare cast iron from rust and to create a non-stick surface.-History:...
pot (common for sukiyakiSukiyakiSukiyaki is a Japanese dish in the nabemono style.It consists of meat which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin...
) - Usu and Kine: Large mortar and pestleMortar and pestleA mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix solid substances . The pestle is a heavy bat-shaped object, the end of which is used for crushing and grinding. The mortar is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, ceramic or stone...
for pounding riceRiceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
Other kitchen tools
- Ami shakushiAmi shakushiAmi shakushi is a ladle or scoop used in the Japanese kitchen. The ladle is made from a fine wire mesh and is used to remove small pieces of unwanted food or foam from a liquid. For example in deep frying, the ami shakushi is used to remove small drops of batter during the frying of tempura...
: Scoop with a net bottom - Katsuobushi kezurikiKezurikiis a traditional Japanese kitchen utensil, similar to a wood plane or mandoline. It is used to shave katsuobushi, dried blocks of skipjack tuna ....
: MandolineMandolineA mandoline is a cooking utensil used for slicing and for cutting juliennes; with suitable attachments, it can make crinkle-cuts. It consists of two parallel working surfaces, one of which can be adjusted in height. A food item is slid along the adjustable surface until it reaches a blade mounted...
-like device traditionally used to shave katsuobushiKatsuobushiis the Japanese name for dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna .Shaved Katsuobushi and dried kelp - kombu - are the main ingredients of dashi, a broth that forms the basis of many soups and sauces in Japanese cuisine.Katsuobushi's distinct umami flavor comes from its high...
. - Kushi: Skewers
- MakisuMakisuIn Japanese cooking, a makisu is a mat woven from bamboo and cotton string that is used in food preparation. Makisu are most commonly used to make a kind of rolled sushi called makizushi , but they are also used to shape other soft foods such as omelets, and to squeeze excess liquid out of food.A...
: BambooBambooBamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
mat for sushiSushiis a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
rolls - OroshiganeOroshiganeOroshigane , also known as oroshiki are graters used in Japanese cooking.These oroshigane differ significantly from Western-style graters, as they produce a much finer grating...
: Graters - OshizushihakoOshizushihakoA oshizushihako is a box or mold used to make oshizushi . The box is traditionally made from wood, but nowadays often made from plastic. The box can be taken apart into three parts, a bottom part, the rectangular walls, and a top part. Before use, the wooden box should be put in water so that the...
: Box for pressed sushiSushiis a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari... - SaibashiSaibashiSaibashi are Japanese kitchen chopsticks used in Japanese cuisine. A special version of chopsticks , they are used in the preparation of Japanese food, and are not designed as a tool for eating....
: Japanese kitchen chopsticksChopsticksChopsticks are small, often tapered, sticks used in pairs of equal length as the traditional eating utensils of China and its diaspora, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Northern provinces of Laos, Thailand and Burma. Generally believed to have originated in ancient China, they can also be found in some... - ShamojiShamojiA shamoji is a flat rice paddle used in Japanese cuisine. It is used to stir and to serve rice, and to mix vinegar into the rice for sushi....
: Rice paddle - TsukemonoTsukemonoare Japanese pickles. They are served with rice as okazu with drinks as an otsumami , as an accompaniment to or garnish for meals, and as a course in the kaiseki portion of a Japanese tea ceremony....
ki and tsukemonoishi: Japanese-style picklePicklingPickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...
press - Urokotori: FishFishFish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
scaler - ZaruZaruA is a draining basket made from bamboo used in the preparation and presentation of Japanese cuisine. It can be used in a similar fashion to a sieve or colander, both of which are common in western cooking. Additionally, well-designed zaru are used to present food directly, as for example zarusoba...
: Bamboo draining basket - Iki jime: Awl or spike, used on fish's brain.