Sonoko Sakai facts for kids

Sonoko Sakai is a Japanese American cooking teacher and food writer. She teaches people how to cook and writes about food. Before she focused on food, she worked with foreign films. She helped buy and produce movies.

Sonoko Sakai writes about Japanese food for the Los Angeles Times. In 2011, she started an organization called Common Grains. This group helps share Japanese food and culture. It especially focuses on rice and other grains. Common Grains has hosted cooking classes and food events. They have even held fun competitions for making onigiri (rice balls). In 2013, she helped prepare a big Japanese dinner for 800 employees at Google.

Sonoko Sakai's Early Life

Sonoko Sakai was born in Queens, New York City. Her father worked for Japan Airlines in New York. She grew up in different places, including the United States, Mexico, and Japan. Today, she lives in California.

Sonoko Sakai in the Media

Sonoko Sakai's cooking stories and recipes have been in many newspapers and magazines. These include The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Saveur. She has also been on TV and radio shows.

She appeared on the Food Network. She was also on public radio shows like Good Food and The World. Sonoko Sakai was featured on KCET's The Migrant Kitchen. In that show, she demonstrated how to make a type of soba noodles.

She also shared her cooking knowledge on different podcasts. She talked about making dashi (a Japanese broth) on the Big Root podcast. On the Milk Street radio show, she explained how to make broth, bento boxes, and udon dough.

In 2021, Sonoko Sakai appeared on PBS's Milk Street Television. She showed viewers how to make udon noodles at home. She also shared a recipe for udon noodles with a spicy meat and mushroom sauce.