Check It Out

No.191 (7/8/11)

Gastrologer, Harumi Kurihara

By Nao H. Kauffman
Chief Editor

My favorite home cooking chef is Harumi Kurihara. She is a Japanese version of Martha Stewart. Many people love her homemade recipes and her unique cooking ideas and techniques because those can easily be applied to their own home cooking.

She has been a cooking expert for 20 years, but has not steered away from just being an ordinary housewife. When you view her demonstrating recipes on cooking shows, you feel the sense as if she's in your own kitchen showing you how to cook and enhancing your cooking skills. There is a lot of love put into all of her recipes which center around family bonding. While she was supporting her husband, who was once a TV newscaster during their early married life, she had many opportunities to guest host. That brought her success as a gastrologer; resulting in 112 published cooking books. She currently owns numerous cafes (cafe Yutori no Kukan) and restaurants (Yutori noKukan) in Japan; in addition to running 53 shops called “share with Kurihara Harumi,” which sell her original kitchen items, tablewares, interior goods, clothes, and etc.

Her recipe books are available in English, which introduce many basic techniques of Japanese home cooking. I usually give book copies on various occasions to my foreign friends who adore my Japanese dishes. “Harumi's Japanese Cooking” published by Conran Octopus Limited, U.K. is thoroughly sorted by categories with a great introduction to Japanese cuisine and cooking. The later published book “Everyday Harumi” provides readers with great essentials for Japanese cooking and a variety of close-to-home recipes. Many Americans probably love the dishes once they learn these "soul foods" can be incorporated in their everyday Misawa life. I normally purchase the books through Amazon.com, which are quick, easy and at reasonable prices.

Starting with “Best Cookbook of the Year” Winner of Groumand World Cookbook Awards in 2005, her books and cooking activities were successfully recognized world wide. She has been hosting her own cooking show called “Your Japanese Kitchen” through NHK World television since 2007. If you don't mind watching the local show in Japanese, you can view “harumi kitchen” on Fridays at 9:30 a.m. on NTV, which is broadcasted in the program, Sukkiri(Freshen up!) by RAB in Aomori on channel 1. The recipes and photos are also available on the web site:

You can learn about her down-to-earth cooking style and performances even though you may not fully understand Japanese. I am sure the show will definitely inspire you and become part of your weekly must watch TV schedule.

Insider Art & Design Co. Ltd.

Copyright © 2008 All rights reserved.