People who know me are acutely aware of how much time I spend with food: cooking, dining, classes, etc. This is a list of the things I often use to prepare food.
Tools
Knives
I’m partial to Seki-made blades with western grinding and handling. I tend to stick to ~60 rockwell.
- Paring: when size suitable.
- Petty: when size suitable.
- Western deba: when I need a thicker base–e.g. cutting small bones.
- Gyuto: 90% of tasks.
- Sujihiki: long-form, single-motion precision cutting.
- Tsubaki oil: deters rusting.
- 1000, 4000, 6000, 10000 grit stones: set the blade, sharpen to normal use, touch up, mid-session touch up and mirror polish.
- Rubber board: life hack from the world’s top sushi chefs. So good.
Cookware
- (2) steel saucier: not just for sauce–a good general-purpose tool if it’s big enough.
- (2) copper rondeau: insane for reductions/braises with a fond. Low-and-slow precision heating is fantastic.
- (2) carbon steel skillet/fry-pan: I don’t think it’s possible to get better sears.
- (1) carbon steel wok: Chinese fries usually lend better to extraordinarily high-heat, flash sears. Most home kitchens can’t get that hot, but carbon steel seems to fare moderately better than traditional iron in a home setting with smaller flames.
- (1) nonstick aluminum fry-pan: I make French omelettes sometimes.
- (1) steel stock pot: not only useful for stock but also for e.g. steaming crabs and cooking pasta.
- (1) clay handi: there is no better vessel for biryani and its relatives (e.g. Persian polo).
- (1) steel pressure cooker: good in a pinch if I don’t have hours to cook certain things.
- (1) sous vide system: there isn’t really a substitute if the dish calls for it.
- (1) steel butter warmer: surprisingly useful for constructing sauce or infusing fat.
- (1) clay comal/tawa: I find the sizable intersection in culinary tools between the indigenous Mexicans and Indians fascinating. Despite virtually no contact, similarities abound.
- (1) granite metate/ammikallu: yet another Mexican/Indian connection. I tend to prefer granite to basalt for my uses.
- (1) basalt molcajete: here the irregular volcanic formations are essential for optimum pulverization. Try making pesto with one of these instead of with the prototypical heavy wood in marble arrangement. Blasphemous and delicious.
Brands
Except regarding my knives, I’m not that partial to brands. I only use knives made by grandmaster Ichiro Hattori. Otherwise, there’s some great stuff at: