Japanese Cuisine

Japanese cuisine does not begin with a recipe.
It begins with observation.

With the condition of an ingredient.
Its texture, its moisture, its tension.
And with the question of what it needs in this moment –
not what would be technically possible.

What is also often overlooked is not the what, but the when.
Not the technique itself, but the moment in which it becomes appropriate.

Cutting, frying, grilling, simmering, steaming –
these techniques are not complex.
But their difficulty lies not only in precise execution,
but in the decision of which technique suits this ingredient,
in this condition,
at this time.

Kaiseki cannot be learned quickly.
Perfection takes many years.

But something else can be learned in a shorter time:
structure.
systems.
a way of seeing.

Techniques can be taken along,
translated into one’s own kitchen.
And an understanding can develop
that leads to appreciation –
even without perfect imitation.

Perhaps this is the fundamental difference:
Japanese cuisine does not ask first what is possible,
but what is appropriate in this moment.