Ten wedding gifts for couples who love Japan, anchored by a SHIN Damascus Gyuto and framed by mono no aware and the shokunin ideal.
Cooking
Everything we’ve learned about actually cooking — not the photogenic kind, the Tuesday-night kind. Recipes, technique guides and kitchen how-tos, most written around the knives we make and the way Japanese kitchens approach prep: fewer tools, sharper edges, less waste. You’ll find step-by-steps for the things people quietly get wrong (chopping an onion without crying, gripping a knife so your knuckles guide the blade), gift guides for the cooks in your life, and the occasional opinionated detour into why a good board matters as much as a good knife.
5 Most Toxic Products to Remove from Your Kitchen Immediately
PFAS in scratched non-stick, microplastics off plastic boards, fragrance in scented candles: five kitchen culprits and the safer swaps for each.
Japanese Knife Gift Guide: Choosing Knives for Others
Buying a knife for someone whose kitchen you’ve never seen? How to choose by likely skill level instead of guesswork, with the quiz as a shortcut.
Which Japanese Knife for Which Technique: Showcasing Each at Its Best
The Gyuto rocks, the Santoku push-cuts, the Bunka splits the difference. Each blade shape has one signature move it was ground to do best.
How to Chop an Onion Without Crying: A Step-by-Step Guide
The trick is the root: leave it attached and it anchors the onion through the horizontal, vertical and cross cuts. A sharp blade and a damp towel do the rest.
What’s the Difference Between Gyuto, Santoku, Bunka and Kiritsuke?
‘Gyuto’ translates to cow sword and dates to the Meiji era. What actually separates these four blades by shape, history and how you cook.
A Japanese Holiday Gift Guide: For Those Who Dream In Snow-Covered Fuji-San
Every Oishya knife ships with a 5 yen coin, a pun on ‘go-en’: five yen and a good relationship. Gift picks from washi-wrapped KATA Damascus to Hiba boards.
The Ultimate Guide to Eating Sushi: Do’s and Don’ts for Beginners
Ginger cleanses the palate between pieces, not on top of them. Sushi-bar etiquette from chopstick rules to soy, wasabi and the omakase counter.
How Home Cooking Can Save the Planet
Roughly a third of the food produced worldwide is thrown away. Cooking from scratch cuts the packaging, food miles and waste that industrial meals rack up.
The World Of Dumplings: Gyoza, Pierogi, Dim Sum, Pielmieni And More
Nearly every cuisine folds dough around a filling. Crispy-bottomed gyoza, butter-fried pierogi, Cantonese har gow and Russian pelmeni, side by side.
Is R2 and SG2 Steel the Same in Japanese Knives?
Fraternal twins, or the same steel under two names? R2 and SG2 share the carbon-moly-vanadium recipe of powdered stainless, with a few telling differences.
How To: Cutting Tuna Fillets for Tataki (Seared Tuna Slices)
Tuna is one of the few fish the FDA won’t make you freeze. How to slice sushi-grade fillets across the grain for tataki, plus an optional quick-freeze.
Mastering Cooking Oils: Oishya’s Expert Advice for Health-Conscious Home Chefs
Not all fats are equal. Olive, coconut, avocado and canola oils sorted by smoke point and health profile, and which ones to leave on the shelf.
Choosing the Right Stainless Steel for Your Kitchen Knives: VG10 or AUS10?
VG10 holds a keener edge; AUS10 shrugs off more abuse. The composition split behind Oishya’s Seki and Sakai Kyuba lines, and which suits your kitchen.
Beginning Your Journey With Japanese Kitchen Knives: Individual Knives vs. Sets
One gyuto or a full set? Where the santoku, bunka and kiritsuke each earn their place before you commit to a matching set.
Nature’s Hidden Gems: 15 Edible Flowers to Enliven Your Cooking
Borage tastes of cucumber, thyme blossoms hit harder than the leaves, lavender sweetens honey. Fifteen edible flowers and what each does on the plate.
How The World’s Most Expensive Japanese Swords Are Made
Forged from low-impurity iron sand and folded again and again, a nihonto is closer to ritual than manufacturing. Inside the making of Japan’s costliest blades.
The Art of Japanese Knife Sharpening: Traditional Techniques and Modern Tools
The swordsmiths called toko treated blade upkeep as sacred. How that reverence carries into whetstone work and today’s sharpening tools.
The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Sharpening Japanese Knives with Whetstones
Coarse 400-grit for repair, 8000 for the final polish. A first go at whetstone sharpening, from soaking the stone to the finished edge.
Decoding the Japanese Knife Grading System: A Comprehensive Guide
White steel, blue steel, carbon steel: Japanese grades come down to composition and heat treatment, not brand names. What each one actually tells you.
Why a Marble Mortar and Pestle Belongs in Every Home Kitchen
Ceramic mortars soak up yesterday’s garlic; marble, being non-porous, doesn’t. Why it wins on hygiene and longevity, and how to match a pestle to it.
Fermented food: Beetroot Sourdough Drink
Four beetroots, water, salt and a week on the counter make a tangy, probiotic-rich drink. Here’s the ferment, its betalains, and how to cook with it.
Why is kimchi so healthy + recipe
Lactic-acid bacteria, not vinegar, do the work in kimchi, building probiotics and freeing up nutrients. The science, the kimjang tradition, and a recipe.
How to sterilise jars
Before you pickle or bottle jam, the jars need sterilising: wash them, boil for about ten minutes, then air-dry and store clean.
Japanese knives: how to spot the real deal vs. a knock-off?
How do you tell a real Japanese knife from a fake? Read the steel, the grind and the edge geometry, plus the marketing tells that dress up a cheap blade.
When to Replace Your Trusty Cooking Knives: A Comprehensive Guide
Some knives are past saving: an edge that won’t hold after sharpening, cracks or chips, a wobbling handle, rust in the steel. Four signs it’s time to let go.
Upgrading kitchenware: why should you invest in good, sharp kitchen knives?
Cheap blades chip, dull within weeks and tire your wrist. The case for spending more, with Oishya’s Sakai Kyuba damascus as the counter-example.
A Beginner’s Guide to Choosing Your First Japanese Knife: A Newbie’s Essential Advice
Santoku means ‘three virtues’: slice, dice, mince. Why it makes a sane first Japanese knife, and what to check in weight, balance and handle feel.
Ein Leitfaden für Anfänger bei der Auswahl Ihres ersten japanischen Messers: Die wichtigsten Ratschläge für Einsteiger
Welches japanische Messer zuerst? Das Santoku steht für ‘drei Tugenden’ (schneiden, würfeln, hacken), plus worauf Sie bei Gewicht, Balance und Griff achten.
Effortless Maintenance, Lasting Performance: The Promise of Rust-Resistant Cooking Knives
Chromium in the steel is what stops a blade rusting, staining and pitting. What rust-resistant knives ask of you day to day, and what they give back.