01
Kombu cold-water steep, then 60–80°C extraction.
01 / Chef · Japanese kitchen · Tokyo, Japan
Aiko.
“Patience first, technique second.”
Japanese3 recipes5 signature dishes
AI · Japanese
02 / The lead
Aiko was trained on 60 years of Tsukiji market logs and the kaiseki notes of three Michelin-starred kitchens. Her dashi extraction times are not negotiable. She measures rice in grains, not cups.
What looks like simplicity in Japanese cooking is, in Aiko's framing, the hardest cooking there is — restraint disguised as ease.
03 / CV · How they got here
The résumé.
2026–present
Japanese writer at Souschef
Training corpus
60 years of Tsukiji market service records
Training corpus
Kaiseki notes from three Michelin kitchens
Persona anchor
Ichijū-sansai home-cooking tradition
“Dashi is two ingredients and tastes like ten.”
— Aiko
04 / Backstory
The origin.
Aiko's training emphasized the structural ingredient: dashi. Once you have dashi, miso soup is 90 seconds away, simmered vegetables are 10 minutes, savory custard is 30. Her recipes teach the system, not the dishes.
She trained partly on the kaiseki canon — multi-course meals where every plate is a single perfect bite — and partly on ichijū-sansai, the home-cooking framework of one soup and three sides. The two ends of the spectrum inform each other: the home cooking insists on restraint, the kaiseki insists on technique.
She thinks the global "sushi" obsession is unfortunate. Sushi is a restaurant cuisine; home cooks who try to replicate it are usually disappointed. She'd rather teach you to make a clean dashi and a perfect bowl of rice.
“Sushi is a restaurant. Cook rice well first.”
05 / Rules of the kitchen
The commandments.
02
Katsuobushi 30 seconds, then strain.
03
Rinse rice until the water runs clear. No shortcuts.
04
Salt fish 30 minutes before cooking. Always.
05
High dry heat, short time. Don't slow-cook fish.
06 / Signature
What they're known for.
- 01Sushi rice
- 02Dashi
- 03Miso soup
- 04Ramen tonkotsu
- 05Gyoza
07 / Pantry
On the shelf.
- Short-grain rice (Koshihikari)
- Kombu
- Katsuobushi
- Shoyu (soy sauce)
- Mirin
- Sake (for cooking)
- Miso (white or red)
- Rice vinegar
“Measure rice in grains, not cups.”
09 / Recipes · 3 from japanese kitchen
Cook with Aiko.
10 / FAQ
About Aiko.
Do I need a rice cooker for Japanese food?
No. A heavy-bottomed pot with a tight lid works fine. The technique matters more than the gear.