Aya Mori

Some chefs come to Japan expecting to learn new recipes. Instead, they often find themselves rethinking the way they cook entirely. Japanese cuisine includes many techniques that appear quiet and simple at first glance. Katsuramuki — the practice of peeling vegetables into long, paper-thin sheets — and carefully preparing dashi are some of the most well-known examples. At first, these techniques may seem almost too simple. In fact, many chefs who study in Japan for the first time wonder why...