Masterclass

The best sushi rice to buy in the UK in 2026: Yamazaki Emi no Kizuna in 5kg and 1kg bags, and Hakodate Nanatsuboshi from Hokkaido, compared on grain, origin and...

The best matcha to buy in the UK in 2026: how matcha is made, how to read grade words, and three matcha products we stock for lattes, iced green tea...

A plain buying guide to sake for UK home drinkers: five bottles across the main grades, what each is best for, and how to serve and store them.

Japanese green tea is not one taste. Sencha is steamed and rolled leaf, hojicha is that leaf roasted brown, and genmaicha is green tea mixed with roasted rice, so each...

Furikake (ふりかけ) is a dry Japanese seasoning made for cooked rice: a mix of granules and flakes, usually built on sesame and seaweed, then flavoured with bonito or with plants...

The best dashi to buy in the UK in 2026, led by our own Kōmi shiro dashi and aged Kōmi ma kombu, with Shimaya and Marutomo powders compared on ingredients,...

Soy sauce is not one thing. What you pour over sushi rice at home is rarely what a professional kitchen cooks and marinades with, and the two rarely swap well....

Miso is a fermented soybean paste made with kōji, a rice-, barley- or soybean-malt culture that drives the fermentation, plus salt. Rice-malt miso (kome-miso) dominates the Japanese market at around...

What Is the Difference Between a Maki Roll and a Hand Roll? A maki roll is rice and fillings rolled inside a full nori sheet with a bamboo mat and...

Can I Use Arborio Rice for Sushi? Arborio rice can be used for sushi in an emergency, but it will not behave like real sushi rice: it is a medium-grain...

Most of what's sold as "teriyaki sauce" in the UK is a sweetened soy glaze that has almost nothing to do with the technique the word originally described. Kabayaki is...

Squeeze a line of Kewpie next to a squeeze of Hellmann's and the difference is obvious before you even taste it — one is pale and stiff, the other is...