Walking into a Japanese apartment, you first take off your shoes. (Pull-off shoes without laces are recommended when visiting Japan.) Then you start to understand something wonderful about Japanese culture. Space is at a premium so families have to learn to live, cook, and eat together without much privacy. This often results in well-behaved children, a sense of order in the household, and a family unit that appears to be functional and happy. Sure, this is only a tourist’s first impression (many Japanese families would find this notion a reach) but the contrast with the typical American household is striking.

And that sense of order also extends to the kitchen. On this occasion, we were visiting Chef Masato Ishizuki who had offered to teach us a couple of recipes, the first one being tonjiru or pork stew. The concept is simple. Pork (we use boneless country-style ribs) is sautéed and then carrots, scallions, and onions are added to the pot. Once the carrots have softened, in goes the daikon and shiitake. The liquids are soy, sake and also dashi, although chicken stock works just fine here. (Dashi is the holy water of Japanese cooking but chicken stock is fine by me.) The pork is cooked until tender and then the stew is finished up with tofu, red miso and freshly grated ginger with a splash of toasted sesame oil.

What did I learn? The basic pantry ingredients – soy, sake, and in this case dashi instead of mirin – are the foundation of much of Japanese cuisine. Second, the Japanese pantry also has strong players including miso, toasted sesame oil, and grated ginger. The takeaway? Use powerful ingredients, work in a clean, orderly kitchen, and, above all, keep it simple. Good lessons for life as well as cooking.

Chris Kimball

Christopher Kimball is founder of Milk Street, which produces Milk Street Magazine, Milk Street Television on PBS, and the weekly public radio show Milk Street Radio. He founded Cook’s Magazine in 1980 and was host and executive producer of America’s Test Kitchen until 2016. Kimball is the author of several books, including "The Yellow Farmhouse" and "Fannie’s Last Supper."