8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

Sunday, October 18, 2015

8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

One day, I was watching Japanese TV show and was surprised that some tourist visiting Japan were really excited to purchase Japanese unique kitchen gadgets at Tokyu Hands, which is a Japanese department store sells an incredibly number of various products. When I lived in Osaka, Japan, I sometimes went there to buy beauty products, electrics, kitchen gadgets, stationary and etc. Anyway, the woman on the TV show said that Japan had so many interesting kitchen gadgets which were very cleverly made, and the main reason she had come to visit Japan was to get those! She said that she fell in love with Japanese products and periodically visits Japan to get new kitchen gadgets which she would use at her kitchen. I was born and grew up in Japan, and often saw many Japanese kitchen gadgets in my normal life there, so until watching this TV show, I didn't realize that those were very unique products of Japan in the world's view. Today, I went to Mitsuwa, a Japanese supermarket in U.S., and found some interesting Japanese kitchen gadgets there. I'm going to share 8 unique Japanese kitchen gadgets I found at Mitsuwa with you. If you visit Japan, I think you can probably find these at supermarkets or discount stores very easily. If you live in U.S., you can also get these at Mitsuwa or Amazon.

1. Doraemon Hard-Boiled Egg Mold
You can turn your standard hard-boiled eggs into very kawaii Doraemon shaped hard-boiled eggs! Doraemon is not well known in the U.S. yet, but it has been very popular Japanese TV animation for children in Japan for over 30 years. Doraemon is also popular in some Asian countries. In order to make kawaii hard-boiled eggs, simply boil your eggs and peel hard-boiled eggs while they are hot. Then put them into the molds, and place them into cold water for 10 minutes. You can enjoy very adorable hard-boiled eggs. :)

I also found this Japanese hard-egg mold has so many positive reviews on Amazon, and this is very affordable.

2. Rice Ball Molds
If you love Japanese rice balls but find it difficult to make triangle shaped rice ball with your own hands, these rice ball molds will help you. When I was a child, I actually used to use these molds to make perfect shaped rice balls. :)

3. Rice Ball Wrap
If you have ever bought Japanese rice balls in Japan, I think you had no idea how to open the rice ball wrap at your very fist time. Even though it is pretty hard to get used to opening the wrap, you will notice that it's a very cleaver product. If you use this wrap, your nori will never wet, and you can really enjoy very crispy nori as soon as you open it. :) My mother-in-law sometimes sends us this type of rice ball wrap, and my husband and I really enjoy rice balls with crispy nori and feel like as if we were eating rice balls purchased at convenience store in Japan!

This is a Yamamotoyama rice ball making kit which includes nori, rice ball molds and rice ball wrap. Yamamotoyama (山本山) is one of the most famous nori manufactures in Japan. I always love their nori. :))

4. Microwave Bowl for Making Ramen
I have never used this type of microwave bowl for making ramen but thought it is pretty interesting. You can actually cook instant ramen in microwave with using it.

Just add water, ramen noodle, your favorite vegetables into this bowl and cover the lid. Then, microwave it for several minutes, and enjoy your ramen in this bowl. It's very easy to cook!

5. Toastamp
This is a stamp to make an adorable toast. Just stamp it on your sliced bread, and toast it. :) I think small children will enjoy having a kawaii toast every morning!

I thought these bread cutters are also cute. I remembered that some foreign YouTubers living in Japan introduced these kawaii products in their videos. These already have some positive reviews on Amazon.

6. Sushi Roll Mold
If you would like to make sushi rolls but cannot figure out how to use makisu, which is a tool to make sushi roll, you can use this sushi roll mold. You don't need special technique for making sushi roll at home.

7. Japanese Gyoza Mold
Do you like gyoza? Gyoza is Japanese style dumplings filled with ground meat and vegetables. I don't need this gadget to shape the gyoza, but if you would like to make perfect shaped gyoza or would like to make a lot of gyoza in a day, this small gadget will help you. :)

8. Charcoal for Making Rice
I am not sure if this charcoal is considered a kitchen gadget, but I love this product! If you would like to make truly delicious rice, you really should use it. Jut put the charcoal, water and rice in your rice cooker. Then, simply cook rice. Because charcoal absorb odor from rice and water, you can make truly delicious rice. :))