Chikuzen-ni, and the Day I Step Down from the Kitchen 2026/4/24 (Fri)

Kanon
April 24, 2026 11:23

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Today, my husband said he was going to make chikuzen-ni.

I’m not even sure if he has ever made it before.
When he asked, “How do you make it?” I told him my way.

I don’t remember ever looking at a recipe.
I must have copied the way my mother did it,
and before I knew it, I had been cooking it the same way for decades.

I used to tear the konnyaku by hand.
Today, I cut it with a knife and made small slits across the surface.
I dry-roasted it in a pan without oil,
until the moisture was gone and it began to make a faint squeaking sound.

People say burdock skin is nutritious, but I can’t stand it, so I peel it.
I peel the carrots too and cut them into rough chunks.
Sometimes I score the carrots slightly, but I didn’t mention that today.

Once the konnyaku had dried, I added my husband’s favorite olive oil.
Then the root vegetables went in to sauté.
The chicken went in last.

I don’t use dashi stock.
The vegetables and chicken release enough moisture on their own,
and I let it simmer in that.

Two tablespoons of sugar,
one tablespoon of sake,
one tablespoon of mirin,
two tablespoons of soy sauce,
and about a teaspoon of dashi powder.

Turn the heat to low and let it simmer for a while.

Taste it.
If it isn’t sweet enough, add a little sugar or mirin.
If it needs more depth, add a little soy sauce.
One teaspoon at a time.

That’s how I explained it.

Since retiring, cooking for just the two of us has become truly painful for me.

Deciding what to make.
Buying inexpensive ingredients and figuring out what they can become.
Putting the groceries away.
Wrapping vegetables so they won’t spoil.
Washing the dishes after eating.
And then thinking about the next day’s meals all over again.

When the children were home and I was working,
this was simply part of “living.”

Now there are only two of us.
And when I realize that half of it is just for myself,
I can’t seem to find the motivation anymore.

That’s why I decided to move into a place where three meals a day are provided.
On the 29th, I will leave Shizuoka and go to Matsuyama.

There is a kitchen in my new place,
but I probably won’t use it much.
I think I will eat most of my meals in the dining hall.

I won’t have to plan menus.
I won’t have to go grocery shopping.
I won’t have to clean up.
I won’t have to think about tomorrow’s meals.

This isn’t laziness.
I think it is simply stepping down, at last,
after spending so many years running a kitchen.

Today, my husband made chikuzen-ni.

Whether it turned out well or not isn’t very important.
What mattered was that I put into words
the kitchen routines I had carried with me for decades.

Rather than teaching him a recipe,
I feel as if I handed him a small piece of the history of my kitchen.

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#ChikuzenNi
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