Hiroshi Tanaka

Osaka-based food writer focused on umami, dashi, and the fundamentals of Japanese home cooking. Believes the secret to good cooking, anywhere in the world, starts with how you build flavor in the first ten minutes.

Hiroshi writes about Japanese home cooking from his small apartment kitchen in Osaka. His contributions to CookinCity center on umami — what it actually is at a chemical and practical level, and how home cooks anywhere can layer it into the food they already make. He's a strong believer that you don't need expensive ingredients to cook well; you need to know what each ingredient is bringing to the pot.