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Ayako Yuki

@umamisource

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I’m Ayako 👋sourcing rare heirloom Japanese ingredients for Top Chefs @thehouseofumami sustaining 🇯🇵 farms, traditions & heritage📍US & Japan

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【Umamisource Journey 2026 Spring 】
Part I Kansai Regions : Kyoto & Nara,

Hi there ! I’m Ayako, Umami Curator of @thehouseofumami

For the past Six weeks, I’ve been traveling through rural Japan, visiting producers—some I look forward to seeing every year, and others I’m meeting for the very first time. Many have generously opened their doors, allowing me to step inside their workshops and witness their craft up close.

Even as a Japanese myself, I’m constantly surprised—discovering unknown processes, unexpected ingredients, and a depth of knowledge that humbles me daily. This journey has already taken me on more than 10 Shinkansen rides, and long walks through mountains and along rivers. It is, without question, one of the most precious and irreplaceable experiences.

The true strength of Japan’s food culture and craftsmanship is rooted in its small, independent producers. Their extraordinary level of artisan skill, unwavering dedication, and strong mentality are what give birth to the treasures of our country.

I believe these rare ingredients find their highest expression when they are elevated beyond everyday cooking—transformed into works of art on the plates of the world’s most talented chefs.

As Japan faces serious challenges with a declining and aging population, the future of these traditions depends on connection. Seeing these historical ingredients brought to life in extraordinary dishes across the globe is a profound achievement—not only for me, but for the producers themselves.

My journey exists to connect these two worlds: the finest producers and the most visionary chefs. It is, at its core, mission-driven.

Step by step, I hope this work enriches lives and helps ensure that Japan’s legacy of craftsmanship continues for generations to come.

#thehouseofumami #umamisource #japantrip #craftmanship #rareingredient by @umamisource

In Japan a mikawaya knocks at the kitchen’s back door and sources what the chef requests. Introducing my dear friend, Ayako Yuki. She has traveled all over Japan to source innovative and heirloom umami ingredients with a purpose ❤️…

What most don’t know:
More than ever, Japan’s culinary artisans and farmers are struggling to survive the current threat of extinction; Japan’s population has an average age of 50, and the youth are not marrying or having children. 👴🏼👵🏼
The most-famed village for yuzu in all of Japan has no one to harvest the orchard. current population is 38. 😮

Ayako works directly with farmers/artisans to bring the absolute best-of, and new ingredients like “rock miso,” you can grate like a truffle and, flavor and fragrance-packed dried yuzu powder stopped chocolatiers and chefs in their tracks when we did tastings at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market.
(🙏 @ClemenceGourmandise @GourmandiseLA and @SamLovesTheMarket )

Green teas, shoyus and misos may seem all alike, but these ingredients chefs were already using?
Every chef told us they’d be ordering from Ayako after tasting.

The secret is Ayako.
She has sought out miso and soy sauce houses with over 160 years of fermentation and depth of flavor literally imbedded into the wooden barrels, ceilings and walls.
Ayako is a super taster, and chefs told me they appreciated her palate. They also love that she’s a home cook and uses the ingredients herself.

“Astounding!” and “Wow!” Were what
Michelin chefs and teams exclaimed, repeatedly.

@TheHouseOfUmami not only helps to sustain family businesses (many with 10+ generations), but also their ancient culinary traditions – Japan’s cultural heritage.

Your comment, likes and shares help us inspire Japan’s next culinary farmers and artisans - at risk of otherwise vanishing.🙏

Please also thank our chefs with follows and book your celebratory dinners @ProvidenceLA @AddisonRestaurant @MelisseRestaurant @CitrinLA @TheHarbourHouseInn @Atelier.Crenn
(in order as visited🙏)

Special thanks to @theherbalchef

Meshiagare,
Robin (& Ayako @UmamiSource )

#Michelin #LaListe1000 #JamesBeard #Gastronomia #HoneyGirlGrows #HouseOfUmami by @umamisource

Do you know the difference between Ichiban Dashi vs Niban Dashi?

1️⃣Ichiban Dashi
Clear, aromatic, and precise. This is where you let ingredients speak without interference. Think delicate broths, custards, compositions where restraint is the point.

2️⃣Niban Dashi
Deeper, rounder, more grounded. Less about aroma, more about structure. This is where you build body for soups, braises, sauces that need backbone.

Same kombu. Same katsuobushi. Different extraction, different role.
Come check out our dashi collection @thehouseofumami by @umamisource

So, what is Bubu? Tiny, crispy rice pearls from Kyoto 🫧

Not beads. Not candy. Not hail… but close. Arare means “little hail” in Japanese, and now you know why.

Made from mochi rice, naturally gluten-free. Light, toasted, and quietly savory✨

Savory or sweet, they go anywhere you want a little crunch and a little sound:
・Ochazuke, soups, and sushi
・Salads and poke bowls
・A crispy crust for fish
・Ice cream, parfaits, and chocolate
・Cake and dessert decoration

Available in three colors:
・Beige, the classic
・Pink Mix ✦
・Turquoise Blue ✦

✦ Dreamed up by our Umami Curator, Ayako, and made exclusively for us by our producer in Kyoto. Colored with natural ingredients. (Real hail doesn’t come in turquoise. Ours does.)

🌾 Gluten-free | 🎨 Naturally colored | 📍 Made in Kyoto by @umamisource

【LA Chef Con】October brought wonderful meetings and reconnecting with so many chefs in Los Angeles.

At the LA Chef Conference 2026, our tasting table for @thehouseofumami welcomed chefs and friends from the restaurant and hospitality industries.

This year, we featured some true hidden gems, including yuzu juice made from yuzu grown from seed in Kochi Prefecture. We also shared special artisanal ingredients: 100% roasted sesame pastes from Kyoto, dark soy sauce from a maker with more than 190 years of history, one-of-a-kind sansho pepper, and over 40 of our signature products.

Thank you so, so much for cooking with our ingredients, stopping by and tasting with us, and for your continued support. We’re grateful to share these rare and precious finds with you, and we’ll keep working to make each tasting experience even better! 😘

#lachefcon #thehouseofumami #umamisource #rareingredients #tastebetter
Special Thanks to :
@metzger_brad
@rob_gentile
@kyleconnaughton
@lumberjackieo
@rachelhaggstrom
@yeschefmarco
@cimarustila
@brandon_hayato_go
@samuelmonsour
@asiaticchefroyv
@chefheatherwong
@pizza_robot_william_joo
@gateaux_inc
@erikaachan
@thevaleriegordon
@chefstevesamson
@jonyao
@ianscaramuzza
and many more chefs！

@thehouseofumami by @umamisource

Soybeans, salt and water. That is the entire ingredient list — no rice, no barley, which is unusual for miso.

A sheet of washi paper, dated December 6, 1721.

It records an unusual instruction: pack the barrel in three layers, each with a different amount of water and salt. Then stack three tons of river stones on top and leave it for two years.

The uneven packing is deliberate. The weight of the stones drives the moisture and salt through the layers, and the barrel evens out on its own. Nobody stirs it — not once.

They don’t sterilize the walls or the barrels either. The microbes stay in the wood and the clay and carry over into the next batch.

Our Umami Curator Ayako climbed to the top of a six-ton barrel in Okazaki to see it for herself.

This is why we visit. by @umamisource

Happy Dashi Day! 🍂🍲

As autumn brings a little chill to the air, we start craving the comforting warmth of soup—and dashi.

Today, I made onion oden using our Bonito & Kombu Dashi and Vegetable Dashi @thehouseofumami. Gently simmered until tender, the onions soak up the savory broth, bringing out their natural sweetness. I put the garnish of Ito-Katsuo ( thinly shaved Katsuobushi like Threads)

Oden is a traditional Japanese dish of vegetables, eggs, fish cakes, and other ingredients slowly simmered in a light, flavorful dashi broth—a cold-weather favorite in Japan.

Simple, nourishing, and full of comfort. Stay warm, eat well, and enjoy a little dashi happiness. 🤍

#dashi #thehouseofumami #kombu #oden #umamisource by @umamisource

One sheet of ma-kombu. Three ingredients. Outside Japan, most chefs know the first. Far fewer meet what comes next.

Ma-Kombu — the classic dashi kombu. Steep it cold overnight, or bring it to just under a simmer and pull it before it boils. Clean, deep, and it leaves little behind but flavor.

Oboro Kombu — paper-thin shavings taken by hand from the surface of ma-kombu. Add it to hot broth and the delicate sheets soften almost immediately, releasing umami as they go. They also lend the liquid a silky, barely-there body — without starch, cream, or flour. Finish a clear soup with it, drape it over rice or fish, or use it where you want kombu flavor without the weight of a whole sheet.

Battera Kombu (Shiroita Kombu) — the pale inner sheet left after the oboro has been shaved away. Thin, translucent, and seasoned with vinegar, it is traditionally laid over cured mackerel in battera and saba-zushi. Beyond sushi, chefs cut it into fine strips or smaller pieces and fry it crisp, using it as an umami-rich garnish for seafood.

In Tsuruga, artisans hand-shave ma-kombu sheet by sheet into oboro. What remains at the center becomes Shiroita. One sheet of kombu, transformed by the knife.

Shop now — link in bio. by @umamisource

One chef describes the aroma of Tosaka Nori, that “It’s like walking into a flower shop”💐
Crisp and springy when rehydrated. The texture transforms into chewy and almost jelly-like form with light heat. And talk about that deep crimson color and those frilled edges. Instantly adds drama to a dish.
We think this is the perfect summer sea vegetable. How would you use it?

✍️Note: Soak in plenty of water for 4 min to rehydrate. It expands to about 5–6 times its original volume. by @umamisource

From the mountains of Wakayama to my table. 🌿

Two years ago, I traveled deep into the mountains of Wakayama to visit the farmers who grow this beautiful Japanese sansho.

Getting there from Tokyo took nearly seven hours—a Shinkansen, three local trains, and finally more than an hour and a half by car into the mountains.

It was a long journey, but visiting producers is always one of my favorite parts of what I do. There is so much to learn when you see where an ingredient actually comes from and meet the people who care for it every day.

I first visited during the very short season when the delicate sansho flowers bloom for only a few days. A month later, we returned to see the young green peppercorns—large, vibrant, and incredibly fresh.

To preserve that character for chefs and cooks overseas, the peppercorns are carefully dried and the dark seeds are removed, leaving the fragrant green husks. When ground, the color is almost like matcha. 💚

I wanted to show that this special sansho isn’t only for professional kitchens.

So I used it with something I cook often at home: salmon.

I made a simple butter-soy sauce, added the whole sansho peppercorns, then finished it with finely chopped candied yuzu peel, also from Wakayama.

A little spicy. A little citrusy. Floral and aromatic, with the richness of butter and soy.

So simple—and SO good.

From the mountains of Wakayama to an everyday dinner at home, this is exactly why I love discovering ingredients at their source and finding new ways to use them.

My deepest thanks to the farmers who carefully tend these sansho trees every day. Growing exceptional sansho depends so much on the unique mountain environment—and on the knowledge and dedication of the people behind it.

Thank you, always. 🌿

And yes… this salmon with sansho butter sauce was absolutely delicious. 😊

#thehouseofumami
#DiscoverTheTasteOfJapan
#JapaneseSansho
#JapaneseIngredients
#umamisource by @umamisource

Happy Matcha Monday !!
Today, I made a Matcha Latte with this Uji Matcha Paste that I had curated in Kyoto 🍵💚

What I really love about it is how beautifully green it stays — with no artificial coloring.

And because it’s already in a smooth paste form, it blends so easily. No whisking forever, no little lumps… just a beautiful matcha latte in seconds 😋

But what makes this especially interesting to me is that the color stays vibrant even when heated, without losing that lovely matcha flavor.

We often see matcha fade or turn brown when it’s used in cooking or baking, so I think this opens up so many possibilities beyond just Matcha Latte.

It also contains no sugar, making it easy to use in sauces and other savory applications.

I’m already imagining what chefs could create with it… 💚

Matcha Paste available from @thehouseofumami very soon !! Enjoy 😉 by @umamisource

Have you ever drunk dashi from a wine glass?

This is one of my favorite ways to appreciate a really beautiful dashi—simply, before a meal.

I made this one with exceptionally high-grade Rishiri Kombu, aged for two years, and premium katsuobushi from Makurazaki, Kagoshima, one of Japan’s most celebrated regions for traditional bonito production.

No garnish. No seasoning. Nothing else needed.

Just warm dashi in a wine glass, held up to the light so you can see its beautiful clarity and golden color—and slowly taste the layers of umami from kombu and katsuobushi.

Dashi may also offer gentle benefits beyond its flavor. The natural glutamates in kombu and the amino acids in katsuobushi may support digestive health, and enjoying a warm, savory cup in the evening may help create a calming ritual before sleep.

Of course, these are gentle suggestions—not medical claims. But sometimes, a warm cup of dashi is a beautiful way to slow down, settle in, and prepare for the night.

Sometimes dashi doesn’t need to be the beginning of another dish.

It can be the experience itself.

Cheers. 🥂

#Dashi #RishiriKombu #Katsuobushi #JapaneseFoodCulture #umami by @umamisource