Video summary

The Japanese Only Need 23 Groceries Every Week - Stop Buying The Rest (Save Hundreds)

Main summary

Key takeaways

Cooking

Presenter / Channel

No specific channel name is provided in the subtitles. The presenter promotes their book The Complete Japanese Kitchen Handbook (frugaljapan.shop) and references a Japanese grocery strategy (23 ingredients) to save money.

Core Cooking Concept

Meals are built from a small set of basic ingredients—often plain/cheap items found along the store’s “outside walls”—then combined into simple Japanese-style dinners:

  • Rice (often a daily staple)
  • A main protein or savory dish
  • Vegetables/sides (commonly quick techniques like simmering, searing, or brief blanching)

Ingredients (23-item list) — quantities when provided + key uses/notes

  1. Chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)

    • Sliced thin against the grain; seared until caramelized; finished with a marinade for glaze.
    • No quantity listed in steps; prices referenced per pound.

  2. Short-grain rice (Botan Calrose)

    • Example: 5-lb bag makes ~30 adult servings.
    • Served with butter + soy sauce for breakfast.

  3. Firm tofu (Azumaya, 16 oz block)

    • Press ~10 minutes, slice ~1/2 inch thick, sear with soy sauce + mirin.
    • Serve over rice with green onion.

  4. Green cabbage (3-lb head)

    • Sliced thin (mandoline) for cold shredded cabbage.
    • Also used fried with butter + soy, or folded into okonomiyaki batter with egg.

  5. Eggs

    • Breakfast: raw egg stirred into hot rice (tamago kake gohan) with soy sauce.

  6. Nori (toasted seaweed sheets)

    • Cut/snipped; wrapped around onigiri (tuna mayo filling mentioned).

  7. Fresh ginger

    • Use ~1 teaspoon grated; added while chicken cooks to boost flavor.

  8. Soy sauce

    • A “base sauce” used in many recipes.
    • Example formula: teriyaki = 3 parts soy + 1 part mirin + 1/2 part sugar, simmer 2 minutes.

  9. Salmon

    • Cure: 1 Tbsp salt + 1 Tbsp sugar rubbed over fillet; sit 1 hour uncovered on a rack in the fridge.
    • Then rinse/pat dry and cook.

  10. Green onions

    • Trim root ends; keep in water; slice and scatter as a finishing aromatic.

  11. Mirin

    • Used in sauces/glazes (e.g., teriyaki glaze and other bases).
    • Example: soy + mirin + dashi (equal parts) + sugar mentioned for “judon/beef bowls.”
    • Glaze example: soy + mirin + sugar simmer 2 minutes.

  12. Fruit in season (cheap/varies)

    • Examples: apples, mandarins, peaches, Asian pears.
    • No preparation method described beyond buying seasonal fruit.

  13. Garlic

    • Crushed clove added to hot oil/pan to release flavor quickly.
    • “10 seconds of work per clove” mentioned.

  14. Mushrooms (cremini or shiitake, 8 oz pack)

    • Sliced thin; sautéed with soy sauce + mirin.
    • Served over rice with raw egg cracked on top.

  15. Rice vinegar

    • Dressing example: 3 parts oil : 1 part rice vinegar + spoon soy sauce + squeeze ginger juice, shaken 30 seconds for ginger-sesame dressing.

  16. Yellow onions (3-lb bag)

    • Base for simmered one-pan meals like oyakodon (onion + soy + mirin + dashi; add chicken; pour over rice with soft egg).

  17. Cucumbers (English cucumber)

    • Quick side: thin-sliced on mandoline; tossed with rice vinegar + salt + sesame oil for ~4 minutes to make sunomono.

  18. Sesame oil

    • Finishing drizzle: ~1/2 teaspoon used on rice/egg and cucumber side.

  19. Carrots (2-lb bag)

    • Slice thin on diagonal; cooked in the same soy+dashi pan as onions.
    • Whole carrots last longer than baby carrots.

  20. Daikon radish

    • If daikon isn’t available: substitute with extra carrots or small turnip.
    • Cubed and simmered with miso paste + pork slices + enough water to cover (tonjiru mentioned); mostly hands-off ~30 minutes simmering.

  21. Leafy greens (spinach or napa cabbage)

    • Blanch 30 seconds, squeeze dry, dress with soy sauce + sesame oil (ohitashi).

  22. White miso paste (shiro miso)

    • Used for miso soup: spoonful whisked into hot dashi with tofu cubes and green onion; bowl ready in ~6 minutes.

  23. Hondashi (dashi powder)

    • Soup base flavoring; described as dried bonito fish + kelp extract.

Step-by-step cooking methods (key timings/temps/technique cues)

Shogayaki-style chicken thighs (from #1)

  1. Slice chicken thighs thinly against the grain.
  2. Toss with:
    • Splash of soy sauce
    • Spoon of grated ginger
  3. Drop chicken into a hot pan in a single layer.
  4. Cook until edges caramelize, then flip once.
  5. Add a splash of marinade; reduce until glossy glaze forms.
  6. Serve:
    • Over rice
    • With shredded cabbage dressed with lemon squeeze + pinch of salt

Timing cue: “about 8 minutes from a cold pan to a plate.”

Pan-seared tofu slab (from #3)

  1. Press tofu ~10 minutes (plate + can setup).
  2. Slice into ~1/2-inch thick slabs.
  3. Sear in a hot pan with:
    • Splash of soy sauce
    • Mirin
  4. Cook until edges caramelize.
  5. Serve over hot rice with scattered green onion.

Simple Japanese rice “breakfast” (from #2)

  1. Heat rice (rice cooker runs once daily; dinner timing referenced as 6:00 pm to build the week around the pot).
  2. Top hot rice with:
    • Butter (melting)
    • Soy sauce (splash)

Timing cue: not specified; essentially immediate once rice is hot.

Salmon cure + two uses (from #9)

  1. Cure fillet: rub 1 Tbsp salt + 1 Tbsp sugar evenly.
  2. Place on a rack over a plate in the fridge, uncovered, for 1 hour.
  3. Rinse under cold water; pat dry.
  4. Portion.
  5. Two uses:
    • Weeknight sear: sear skin-side down in hot pan with a splash of butter for ~5 minutes.
    • Crudo-style: slice thin against the grain; serve chilled with drizzle of soy and a spoon of pickled cucumber.

Timing cue: cure 1 hour, sear ~5 minutes.

Teriyaki glaze formula (from #8 and #11)

  1. In a small pan combine:
    • 3 parts soy
    • 1 part mirin
    • 1/2 part sugar
  2. Simmer 2 minutes until glaze-like.

Technique cue: coat protein in-pan.

Onigiri / nori uses (from #6)

  1. Snip nori sheet in half (scissors mentioned).
  2. Wrap around a triangle of hot rice.
  3. Add a scoop of tuna + mayonnaise filling (mentioned).
  4. Other uses:
    • Crumble over rice
    • Tear into broth for ocean flavor

Ginger-sesame salad dressing (from #15)

  1. In a jar combine:
    • 3 parts oil
    • 1 part rice vinegar
    • Spoonful soy sauce
    • Small squeeze of ginger juice
  2. Shake 30 seconds.

Sunomono cucumber side (from #17)

  1. Slice cucumber thin (mandoline).
  2. Toss with:
    • 1 spoonful rice vinegar
    • Pinch of salt
    • Splash of sesame oil
  3. Let it come together in ~4 minutes.

Leafy greens “ohitashi” (from #21)

  1. Boil greens for 30 seconds.
  2. Lift out with a strainer.
  3. Squeeze dry by hand.
  4. Dress with soy sauce and sesame oil.
  5. Serve as a mound beside rice/fish.

Mushroom rice with raw egg (from #14)

  1. Slice mushrooms thin.
  2. Sauté with soy sauce + mirin.
  3. Spoon over hot rice.
  4. Crack raw egg on top.

Miso soup (from #22) using tofu + greens

  1. Whisk spoonful miso paste into hot dashi.
  2. Add tofu cubes.
  3. Add green onion.
  4. Ready in ~6 minutes.

Tonjiru-style daikon + miso soup (from #20)

  1. Cube daikon in a pot with:
    • Spoonful miso paste
    • A couple slices of pork
    • Enough water to cover
  2. Cook until daikon is soft and slightly sweet.
  3. ~30 minutes total cooking time referenced (mostly hands-off simmering).

Equipment / prep / technique cues mentioned

  • Rice cooker (runs once daily)
  • Hot pan for searing/caramelizing edges
  • Mandoline for thin slicing cabbage/cucumbers
  • Plate + can setup for tofu pressing
  • Rack over a plate for salmon curing
  • Small pan for simmering glazes/sauces
  • Jar for shaking dressing
  • Strainer for blanching and lifting greens
  • Scissors for cutting nori sheets
  • Windowsill + small glass of water for keeping green onions

Chef tips / common themes / mistakes implied

  • Choose forgiving cuts: chicken thighs stay tender compared to breast (“does not turn to sawdust”).
  • Avoid overbuying convenience products: many “prepared” items are just base ingredients with markup (e.g., pre-marinated tofu, bottled sauces, frozen meal tofu).
  • Build flavor from Japanese core elements: soy sauce + mirin + dashi/miso + ginger/garlic/nori.
  • Embrace quick cooking timelines: e.g., 8 minutes for shogayaki, 5 minutes for searing, ~4 minutes for sunomono, 6 minutes for miso soup.
  • Use fresh aromatics: fresh ginger is emphasized over jarred paste.
  • Reduce waste / store produce smartly: cabbage and whole carrots last longer than pre-cut convenience versions.

Plating / serving suggestions (as described)

  • Shogayaki plate: rice + chicken on top; shredded cabbage mound beside with lemon + salt dressing.
  • Japanese diner style cabbage: cold shredded cabbage pile next to hot pork cutlet.
  • Mushroom rice: sautéed mushrooms over hot rice with raw egg cracked on top.
  • Ohitashi: small mound of dressed greens next to rice and fish.
  • Sunomono: cucumber side next to rice and grilled fish.
  • Miso soup: warm component of the “rice + soup + one dish” meal.
  • Nori/onigiri: nori-wrapped onigiri for lunch/snack.

Variations discussed (concise)

  • Chicken thighs: shogayaki method (sliced thin, seared, glazed).
  • Tofu: seared slabs over rice; treated as a central ingredient.
  • Cabbage: cold shredded; fried with butter + soy; or folded into okonomiyaki batter.
  • Salmon: seared skin-side down (~5 minutes) or chilled crudo with soy + pickled cucumber.
  • Daikon: substitute extra carrots or small turnip.
  • Mushrooms: sauté + spoon over rice with raw egg.

Referenced sources at the end

  • The Complete Japanese Kitchen Handbook by the presenter (available at frugaljapan.shop).
  • Mentioned brands/ingredients include: Botan Calrose rice, Azumaya firm tofu, Kikkoman soy sauce, Mizkan mirin, Marukan/Mizkan rice vinegar, Ajinomoto hondashi, Hikari Organic Shiro Miso.

Original video