Masterclass

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...

Buying sake as a gift is easy once you know three things: what to avoid, what says "I thought about this," and what actually looks good on a table. Here's...

Umeshu and sake are both Japanese drinks made with rice — but that's where the similarity ends. If you've ever wondered whether umeshu counts as a sake, or which one...

Wine is unique among the major fermented drinks: the grape already carries its own sugar, so there is no saccharification step the way there is with sake, beer or whisky....

Japanese whisky is a distilled spirit built on the Scotch method but tuned to a different palate: less peat, and a character built to survive dilution in a highball. It...

Japan makes a remarkable range of drinks from rice, and they are easy to muddle. Sake is brewed, shochu is distilled, mirin is a sweet rice seasoning, and umeshu is...

Almost everything that makes Japanese food taste deep and satisfying comes back to two linked ideas: umami, the savoury fifth taste, and dashi, the stock that delivers it. Understand the...

Junmai and daiginjo answer two different questions: one is about ingredients, the other about polishing. What each means, what they taste like, and which to buy.

Shirodashi is a seasoned liquid concentrate; hondashi is instant dashi powder. What separates them, which to use when, and what we stock on both sides.