No Stove — What Japan Eats When It's Too Hot to Cook

There are nights in a Japanese summer — the kind where the air doesn't cool even after dark — when turning on a stove feels almost cruel. Japanese home cooking has an answer for exactly this: a small repertoire of dishes built to need nothing but a fridge, a bowl, and a few minutes. Here are five we keep coming back to.

Hiyayakko — The Dinner You Don't Cook

Cold tofu, a few drops of good soy sauce, and whatever's in your fridge — ready in five minutes.

Asazuke — Quick Pickles from Whatever's in the Fridge

Thin-sliced vegetables, rice vinegar, ten minutes — made from whatever's already in your fridge.

Kurozu Soda — The Vinegar You Drink on Ice

Black rice vinegar, honey, and cold sparkling water — Japan's quiet summer answer to the shrub, ready in two minutes.

Sesame Dressing — The Bottle That Starts as Seeds

Ground sesame, mayonnaise, soy sauce and vinegar in one bowl — the supermarket bottle, made in ten minutes.

Sunomono — The Cucumber Salad That Isn't Creamy

Cucumber and wakame, salted, squeezed and dressed in rice vinegar — the sour little dish that resets your mouth.