How Much Water Is Just Right? Shigeo Kitade Teaches You to Make Tortillas That Puff Up Using Only Corn Flour
Shigeo Kitade, who went from DJ to restaurateur, breaks down the only two ingredients in his tortillas: corn flour and water. The key to judging quality isn't the recipe—it's whether the tortilla puffs up when it's cooked.
The Mexican staff at the shop never measure water when making tortillas—it's all done by feel. That might sound like the humble words of a seasoned craftsman, but Shigeo Kitade says it's simply the truth. Corn flour absorbs water slowly, so no matter how precise the recipe, your hands still have to sense the dough's condition for themselves.
Kitade's path is anything but conventional. He started out as a DJ drawn in through Jamaican music, then dove headfirst into the food industry, learning to cook at what is now his business partner's restaurant in New York. In 2013, he opened "Kitade Shokudo." In 2020, he launched the taco stand "KITADE TACOS" at GranSta Tokyo inside Tokyo Station, followed by "Brooklyn Ball Factory" at Nihonbashi COMMISSARY, specializing in tortillas made from 100% domestic corn. Come April 2026, he'll be opening "Kitade Shokudo 2" in Tokyo's Shiomi neighborhood.
The shop's signature dish is the kind of taco you'd find on New York streets: small, handmade tortillas stuffed generously with fillings. The filling can be whatever you like, but what really determines whether the dish is good comes down to that shell.
The only ingredients are corn flour and water. Flour goes into a large bowl, water is drizzled in while stirring upright with the fingertips, letting the flour bind together into a mass. Don't panic if it seems like you've added too much water—corn flour absorbs slowly, so it takes time to knead until the moisture is fully incorporated. The standard to judge by is whether the dough feels springy and chewy (mochimochi), with no cracking on the surface when pressed with a finger. This feel is the benchmark you need to memorize.
For the tacos, the shop consistently shapes the tortilla dough into golf ball-sized portions, about 30 grams each. The dough goes into a tortilla press, flattened quickly by the weight and leverage of two iron plates, then cooked on a hot skillet. Kitade relays what his Mexican staff tell him: a good tortilla is one that puffs up while cooking. The moisture in the dough evaporates instantly, causing the tortilla to expand; without enough moisture, it won't puff up, and the texture turns dry and crumbly (bosoboso).
Freshly cooked tortillas are soft with a satisfying chew. Nothing goes to waste—leftovers can be turned into tortilla chips, or made into tostadas by frying the tortilla and topping it with ingredients. The shop currently grinds its own flour from dried domestic corn, aiming to push the flavor even further.
Kitade Shokudo is located at 1F, 8 Building, 1-13-5 Iwamotocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Phone: 03-6240-9920. The nearest station is Kodenmacho Station on the Tokyo Metro, a 5-minute walk away. Hours are weekdays 11:30–14:00 (last order), 17:30–21:00 (last order); weekends and holidays 11:30–14:00 (last order), 17:00–21:00 (last order).
