Basic Recipe – Furikake (Rice Seasoning from Kombu & Bonito)

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Furikake sprinkled over a bowl of white rice

Furikake rice seasoning – made from kombu, bonito, sesame, and seaweed.
Image generated by ChatGPT (© 2025, used with permission).

Basic Recipe – Furikake (Rice Seasoning from Kombu & Bonito)

Context: This simple, fragrant seasoning captures the essence of Japanese umami cooking. Furikake transforms what might otherwise be kitchen scraps—kombu and bonito from dashi-making—into a savory, nutritious topping for rice or vegetables. It’s a perfect example of resourceful cooking in both medieval and modern kitchens.

Kamaboko (Japanese Fish-Paste Cake)

Kamaboko fish-paste cake sliced into pink and white pinwheels on a wooden board

Kamaboko (fish-paste cake) — pink and white pinwheel slices for celebratory service.
Image generated by ChatGPT (© 2025, used with permission).

Basic Recipe – Kamaboko (Japanese Fish-Paste Cake)

Did you know? The oldest written mention of kamaboko dates to 1115, during the Heian period, when it was served on bamboo skewers at a noble banquet. By the 1500s, it had evolved into molded loaves, and Odawara (near modern Kanagawa) became famous for its skilled kamaboko artisans—a reputation it still holds today.

Context: Kamaboko appears on the Second Tray with O-zoni at the Crown Tournament Feast. It’s a classic celebratory food: the pink-and-white pairing signals auspicious good fortune, so neatly sliced kamaboko shows up in New Year’s osechi and formal banquets. The technique is simple but tactile — and the result is pleasantly springy with clean, ocean-sweet flavor.

Basic Recipe – Kaku-Mochi (Traditional Japanese Square Rice Cake)

Traditional Kaku-Mochi being kneaded and cut into squares on a wooden board

Traditional Kaku-Mochi – glutinous rice kneaded and cut into squares.
Image generated by ChatGPT (© 2025, used with permission).

Basic Recipe – Kaku-Mochi (Traditional Japanese Square Rice Cake)

Context: Kaku-Mochi, or square rice cakes, form the heart of O-zoni (Rice Cake Soup), served at the 2019 Crown Tournament Feast. These rice cakes were a symbol of prosperity and endurance, reflecting both samurai field traditions and the ritual importance of rice in Muromachi-period Japan.

Basic Recipe – Vegetarian Dashi (Kombu–Shiitake Stock)

Ingredients for vegetarian dashi: kombu, shiitake mushrooms, and clear golden broth

Ingredients for Vegetarian Dashi – kombu, shiitake mushrooms, and a clear golden broth.
Image generated by ChatGPT (© 2025, used with permission).

Context: This vegetarian dashi forms the foundation for many dishes in the Muromachi-period Crown Tournament Feast, including O-zoni (Rice Cake Soup). Dashi is the clear stock that underpins nearly every element of honzen ryori dining — simple, elegant, and full of umami.

O-zoni (rice cake soup) from the Crown Tournament 2019 feast

O-zoni – Rice Cake and Simmered Vegetables with Fish-Paste Cake
Photo: Avelyn Grene (Kristen Lynn)

Originally published 1/29/2020 Updated 11/6/2025

Kitchen Adventures – Crown Tournament 10/19/2019: O-zoni (Rice Cake Soup)

Context: In Muromachi-period formal dining (honzen ryori), o-zoni is a welcoming soup — a composed bowl of mochi (rice cake), seasonal vegetables, and savory elements in a clear broth. The feast version here uses square kaku-mochi in vegetarian kombu-shiitake dashi so more diners could enjoy it. Regional variations exist, but rice cake is essential.

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Find of the Week

This week we’re highlighting something extra special: a 1,000-Year-Old Italian Sourdough Starter. In medieval and Renaissance Europe, sourdough was the main way to leaven bread long before commercial yeast — so this lets you bring a taste of true period practice into your own kitchen.

👉 Try the Italian Sourdough Starter

✨ Last Week’s Pick

We don’t want you to miss this gem either! The Medieval Monk’s Blend Seasoning adds an instant touch of historic flavor to any dish, sweet or savory.

👉 Medieval Monk’s Blend Seasoning

Weekend Spotlight

Autumn is here, and with it comes the joy of putting up fruit for the colder months. This weekend we’re shining a light on two freshly updated recipes that show how preservation was practiced in the late medieval and early modern kitchen:

Elizabethan Orange Marmalade – Hannah Woolley’s Queen-like Closet (1675) teaches us how to turn oranges, apples, and sugar into a luxurious marmalade once reserved for the wealthy. I made mine with blood oranges, and it vanished almost immediately among taste testers!
To Dry Peaches – From The Forme of Cury (c. 1390), a simpler, earlier preservation method. Drying fruit was practical, delicious, and perfect for adding color and sweetness to a feast board.

Together they show the spectrum of fruit preservation: from everyday dried fruit to the most fashionable banquet marmalade. Both make wonderful largesse or feast-table offerings.

Olive wood honey pot – perfect for serving marmalade.

Serve marmalade in an olive wood honey pot with a matching spoon for a rustic, period-inspired touch.

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