Japanese Cuisine

Japanese cuisine is the art of restraint made delicious — a culinary tradition built on the belief that the finest ingredient, handled with exacting care, needs almost nothing added. Ramen broth simmered for 18 hours. Rice washed seven times before cooking. A slab of fish so fresh it still tastes of the ocean, laid bare on vinegared rice. The Japanese concept of umami — that deep, satisfying savory dimension — was not invented here, but it was first named and understood here. From the austere elegance of kaiseki multi-course dining to the chaos and joy of Osaka's street food stalls, Japanese cooking contains multitudes. It is simultaneously the most precise and the most democratic of world cuisines: ramen shops and Michelin stars, konbini onigiri and three-day dashi. At its heart is a reverence for ingredients, seasons, and craft that is unlike anything else on earth.