A mandoline vegetable slicer by Japanese company Benriner is standard equipment in most Japanese homes and restaurant kitchens around the world. We prefer this tool’s simplicity, durability and efficacy over other more complicated models. It comes with three interchangeable blades: The fixed straight blade—which is also removable and replaceable, ensuring long-term durability—creates slices ranging from .5 mm to 5 mm. Use the dial on the underside of the mandoline to fine-tune and adjust the thickness of your slices. You can also screw in one of other two blades, which allow you to julienne or finely shred your vegetables. We especially love that the finger guard, which extends across the width of the entire blade, is easy to handle and keeps a firm grip on ingredients while slicing. Additionally, a non-skid base, safety handle and notches in the mandoline will keep the device steady whether you lay it across a bowl or prop it against a countertop.

It is a standing joke around the office that I LOVE this rice washer. It is just the right size, so storing it is not a pain (it’s small enough to keep it on my drain board at all times), it’s lightweight, it’s well-designed, and—if you like—it also washes rice. Why do we all have huge colanders, anyway? This 2.5-quart colander is the perfect size for 95 percent of your kitchen draining jobs. With rice, the device allows one to cover the rice with water and swish it around; there are tiny drain holes in the bottom and larger holes near the spout. You can use this simple bowl for washing any sort of produce, including berries—a simple but brilliant concept. As for cooking rice, I use a ceramic Japanese rice cooker (the Kamado-San Double-Lid Donabe Rice Cooker—available in our store) and use slightly less water than rice.