5 ideas to use Japanese small plates “mame-zara” and “kozara”
Easy collecting and storing in the shelves, Japanese small plates are a good way to enjoy Japanese tableware at your own home. Because of the casual nature, it makes a perfect gift for your friends and families too. We would like to give advice on how to make good use of Japanese small plates by giving a different angle. You don’t have to buy it as a set, and it’s fun to choose your favorite items one by one and collect them. Even small plates with different designs could be a unique presentation by being served on a large plate or tray, enjoying considering the balance of color, materials, texture with other plates and the combination of food.
There are a variety of plates on a Japanese dining table. We eat a small portion of food along with rice, miso soup and main dish. The size of Japanese small plates are around 5 inches or less, in different shapes, made of different materials, with or without patterns. The word “mame” for “mame-zara” means beans, often used when describing something very small in Japan. It is a dish easily fit in your hand. “Kozara” is larger than “mame-zara.” There are no distinctive definitions for “mame-zara” or “kozara”, except for the small size and use for a small portion of food or spices and sauce such as pickles, chopped green onions, soy sauce and wasabi. For Western cooking, they are the perfect plate for butter, cream and jams with a cup of coffee or tea, or with dried fruits, nuts and slices of cheese with your favorite choice of drinks.
However small they might be, there are many ways to use it, more than just putting food on it. It is perfect for placing small and easy-to-lose items as a stylish tray or also as a saucer for soap and candles.
1. Chopsticks and cutlery rest.
“Mame-zara” is perfect as a chopstick rest. When eating sashimi, you can use it as a soy sauce dish as well. This colorful and beautiful Dancing Cranes Kutani Sauce Plate will be eye catching for your guests. Let’s choose your favorite one according to the theme of the dining.
2. Accessory trays
Why don’t you place small and easy-to-lose important accessories on RINKA Eight Petals Usuki Sauce Plate and RINKA Water Chestnut Usuki Sauce Plate? These flower shaped plates are beautifully presentable as an interior decorative item as they are. They are also a good option for key storage.
3. Stationary trays
This is useful for organizing stationery items that you want to keep on your desk, such as paper clips and rubber bands. Putting them on Full of Cats Kutani Sauce Plate and Soukyu Kiln Cat Kutani Sauce Plate will make you smile every time you use it.
4. Candle holders
Why not choose a small plate as a candle holder that suits your mood. It’s nice to put tea light candles on Rinkuro Kiln Old Imari Story Kozuke Imari Bowl Set for a Japanese-themed dining room.
5. Soap dishes
Yellow Peony Kutani Sauce Plate is a refreshing small plate to put wet soap on. The yellow and green floral plate gives a washroom a sense of cleanliness, freshness, and lively energy.