Due to the declaration of a state of emergency issued on January 8, 2021, the business hours of restaurants were shortened. The last order for many restaurants is now 7 pm, making it difficult for some people to have dinner outside. Also, working from home has increased opportunities for people to cook for themselves, including people who aren't used to it. Some people only have a limited number of recipes they know, and that can get tiring after a while.

Fortunately for people in Yokohama City, there's an alternative thanks to a restaurant with a novel concept...

A writer from our sister site Grape decided to investigate...

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BYOI: Bring your own ingredients (and we'll cook you a dish)

The sign outside the restaurant says "Project supporting people eating at home: Bring in your ingredients and we'll cook it for you for as little as 200 yen per dish."

If you bring your ingredients between 10 and 16:30 on weekdays only, the restaurant will cook your food for as little as 200 yen per item, adding seasonings and other ingredients they have on hand. "You can use vegetables you bought, fish you caught, or even vegetables from your field," the sign adds.

Curious about what kind of food can be cooked and what kind of people are using the service, the writer went to the restaurant with some ingredients bought at the supermarket.

This unusual service is provided by 中国料理 堀内 "Chinese Restaurant Horiuchi"

Here are the ingredients:

From left to right: pea sprouts, taro root, cabbage, daikon radish, pork thigh, baby onions, chicken, and tatsoi, a green vegetable which is a bit unusual in Japan.

Amazing improvisation skills make for delicious dishes

The restaurant wasted no time. Eitaro Komagata, the manager, who has been in the Chinese cuisine business for 23 years, was in charge.

First, he chopped and prepared the ingredients the writer brought in. "I'm chopping, but I haven't decided what I'm going to make yet," he said, looking unsure.

But, moments later, he quickly divided the ingredients into groups for each dish.

While the writer was busy snapping pictures, he came up with ideas.

Here are the ingredients he chose for the first dish!

What would he make with the taro root and tatsoi? At the supermarket where the writer bought it, their sales pitch was tatsoi is "perfect for stir-frying" and that's indeed what he did.

In addition to the ingredients which had been brought in, he added shimeji mushrooms, minced pork, and chopped green onions from their kitchen and created: "Stir-fried Taro Root and Minced Meat with Black Pepper"!

The black pepper gave it a nice kick, and it went perfectly with the tatsoi, which is softer than Chinese cabbage! Normally, these dishes are meant for takeout, but the writer wanted the benefit of trying the dishes when they were at their freshest, so she had them at the restaurant. This dish was so delicious that the writer never paused to rest her chopsticks and she had finished it before she knew it.

And now on to the second dish. Here come the baby onions and pork thighs in a stir-fry.

After a while, the second dish was ready! The chef added red and green bell peppers from the kitchen, and the result was "Pork and Onion Huíguōròu Style." (*huíguōròu 回锅肉 is Sichuan-style double-cooked pork).

This dish was also well-seasoned and tasted great. As it turned out, baby onions are sweeter than the normal kind, and that was part of the chef's plan.

Finally, it was time for the third and last dish. Chef Komagata started with three items: pea sprouts, which many people grow at home, daikon radish, and chicken meat. He then added red bell pepper and bamboo shoot slices from the kitchen, and made "Stir-fried Chicken and Daikon Radish with Salt"

The tenderness of the daikon was perfect. Pea sprouts can sometimes have a grassy smell, but there was none of that here. It was another successful dish!

The cost for the three dishes was 600 yen! In the case of seafood, which requires a lot of work, the cost can be more than 200 yen, but this time, each dish was prepared for 200 yen.

This is a great price and an excellent service for those who are struggling with their dinner repertoire, or for those who can't cook for themselves but want to have a hot home-cooked meal. Even for those who live alone, it is easy to prepare some rice in the rice cooker to eat with these dishes.

Mr. Komagata explained that people often bring in foods they have received as gifts as well as meat and seafood they have at home, but he'll accept anything you bring in.

If you happen to live in the area, or just want to support a local eatery trying to help the community it serves, why not give it a try?

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