Editor’s note: In the Taste of Life series, cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.

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Japanese cooking is just a part of daily life and there is no need to make things harder than they have to be. All along, Kazuko Goto has been telling people to simply enjoy the flavors associated with the changing seasons.

It has been 10 years this December since "washoku" (traditional Japanese cuisine) was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Goto is the vice chairman of “Washoku Bunka Kokumin Kaigi,” the National Council for Japanese Cuisine Culture, a group that focuses on handing down Japanese cuisine to the next generation.

On Japanese cuisine day in November, she gave a lesson at an elementary school in Shizuoka Prefecture and used Japanese tableware to serve the school lunch. One student remarked, “It’s just like eating at my grandmother’s house.”

The sight of a traditionally set dinner table was normal until a short time ago, but that has been changing.

“That is why it is important to experience and feel it,” she says. Starting this week, we will introduce three recipes that have been important parts of Goto’s life.

First up is “spinach and apples dressed in sauce,” a recipe that brings back memories from her childhood. Goto’s family headed a tea ceremony school in Kyoto for generations. The household was run by her grandmother, who was born in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and also came from a family of tea ceremony masters.

“Adding the sweet and sour apple to a dish of sesame dressing is refreshing and colorful,” Goto says.

Using familiar ingredients to delight others perfectly captures the spirit of tea ceremonies. It was the first recipe that Goto introduced in a magazine once she became a cooking expert.

She showed us how to carefully make the dish. Boil spinach and then immerse it in cold water to stop the cooking process when the texture and green color are at their best. Then immerse the spinach in dashi stock to absorb the flavor. Grate freshly toasted sesame seeds and enjoy the dish right after mixing it in the sauce.

Although it may not be your first choice on a busy day, the time and effort put into this dish pay off in the fantastic flavor.

“The seasonal ingredients determine the menu,” says Goto. Cold weather will preserve the sweetness of the greens growing in the field.

There is also a key to presenting the dish. Scoop the spinach with chopsticks supported by your other hand and place it on the dish. Then, consciously pull both of your hands back smoothly. You will see natural beauty revealed in front of you.

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Kazuko Goto is a cooking expert and vice chairman of the National Council for Japanese Cuisine Culture. She was born in Kyoto as the first daughter of Urinsai Tokuo, the 13th head of the Mushakoji Senke tea ceremony school, and Sumiko Sen, an expert on “kaiseki ryori,” the meal served to guests before ceremonial tea.

Goto offers Japanese cuisine that suits modern life and puts her efforts into food education. She has written books including “Cha-kaiseki ni manabu hibi no ryori” (Daily Dishes Inspired by Tea Ceremony Meals), “Goto Kazuko no osechi ryori” (New Year’s Dishes by Kazuko Goto) and “Washoku no osarai jiten” (Reference Book When Reviewing Japanese Cuisine).

BASIC COOKING METHOD

Main Ingredients (Serves 2)

100 grams spinach, liquid for immersion (1 cup dashi stock, bit of light-colored soy sauce), 1/4 apple, for sauce (2 Tbsp white toasted sesame [shiro-iri-goma], 1 tsp light-colored soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 Tbsp dashi stock)

1. Bring water to a boil in pot. Have large bowl filled with cold water ready nearby. When water comes to a boil, hold spinach by the leafy part and place the stem in hot water. When the stems soften and bend when pressed to the bottom of the pot, immerse the whole spinach. When color turns vivid, remove from pot and immerse in cold water. Remove right away, line them up and squeeze out water.

2. Cut spinach into 3 to 4 cm lengths. In container, mix stock and light-colored soy sauce to immerse and soak spinach in. Without peeling, remove core from apple and finely cut into slices 2 to 3 mm thick.

3. To make sauce, place white sesame seeds in mortar and grate by moving pestle in a figure-8. Grate halfway so sesame seeds retain some shape. Add light-colored soy sauce and sugar and mix. Pour dashi stock and mix to uniform texture.

4. Add spinach that has been drained lightly and apple and mix.

About 65 kcal and 0.6 gram salt per portion
(Nutrient calculation by the Nutrition Clinic of Kagawa Nutrition University)

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The Taste of Life series, translated from The Asahi Shimbun’s Jinsei Reshipi (Life Recipe) column, will next appear on Jan. 11.