Grinding, Crushing and Mixing

The Japanese have a marvelous utensil they call a suribachi, which is used for crushing, grinding and blending foods. For tossing saladlike dishes, the suribachi is particularly useful, as the dressing is prepared and the food tossed in the same bowl. A suribachi is also wonderful for Western-style creaming of butter or shortening and sugar.

The bowls of most suribachi are ceramic, though some modern versions are made of tough plastic. The stick (called bō or surikogi in Japanese) is usually made of fragrant cedar wood. Often suribachi come with plastic or rubber grips on the base to prevent the bowl from sliding about. A damp towel or cloth placed between the suribachi and counter will do quite well, too. The friendliest arrangement is to have someone else hold the bowl while you grind with the stick.