Customer Reviews

The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen: Inspired New Tastes

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I was getting a little tired of tiny, pretty portions of subtle food. I was starting to lose faith in ever becoming anything but a fair fried-chicken cook, when WHAM! I was hit with a cookbook that delivers flavor and elegance. I first saw one of Eric Gower's recipes in an issue of Sunset magazine - scallops with miso, ginger and ruby grapefruit. I followed the directions carefully, and I had about the best meal of my life. All of a sudden, I was a good cook! I bought the book -Breakaway Japanese Kitchen- and by now, I've made just about everything in it. I can now produce all kinds of robust, Asian-ish dishes that burst with flavor and joy and abudance. Garlic, tarragon, ginger, lemon and mint and blended here and sprinked there. And, I've learned that with these recipes, you really can make the substitutes that Grower suggests. It's all good. It's all easy. I understand Grower is publishing a new cookbook soon. I can hardly wait.

As a guest in Eric's home several times over the past nine or ten years, I've seen Eric blossom from an excellent cook to a truly inspired one. And, recently, from the other side (a host's point of view) incorporating his unique recipes and their underlying themes of simplicity and uncompromising commitment to quality and taste into my menus has resulted in many compliments from guests.

Their palates ranging from the dullest and most provincial to the most jaded have been awakened and they have literally cried out with sensuous moans of delight.

Unlike previous parties where I have been able to take most of the credit for the recipes, I've had to give the credit where it was due.

Plus, the recipes from The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen, with their accompanying luscious photographs, are easy to re-create and given me time to enjoy the marvelous food along with my guests.

My favorites for parties:

Ceviche Japonesa --It works equally well with salmon instead of scallops. Chunk the seafood and make the dressing in advance, so all you need to do before serving is to mix in the dressing.

Broiled Pork loin with Dates, Umeboshi and Walnuts --the secret to this dish is not to broil it but to braise it!

Mint-Cilantro Udon -- making the sauce ahead of time and cooking fresh pasta just before serving makes this a super easy dish that is as close to perfectly refreshing as any pasta dish could possibly be.

Pan-fried Rib-eye with Ginger and Shallots -- an excellent party dish that does not suffer from further simplification by combining the first sauce-making step with the last one in the final stage. This way, you can also give the meat resting time before slicing it.

Hot Vegetable Summer Salad Vinaigrette -- hold back on serving all of it, because the leftovers eaten cold the next day are very good too.

Baked Onion Chicken Thighs Umeboshi and Shiso -- this is the one that really has people knocking each other over for the recipe. Prepare it in advance, but just leave the final baking step until forty minutes before you plan to serve.

I expect I'll be turning to this cookbook time and again as there are recipes that I willl make again and plenty more new ones to try.

PS I understand that if you go to Eric's web site http://www.ericskitchen.com/ after you purchase your copy, you can learn how to get it signed.

I placed this book on my wish list based on the strength of one recipe ("Boozy Potatoes") which I'd picked up off a food blog. It was subtle, delicious, and simple -- blending japanese flavors (sake, soy) into a medium I'd only approached with a more western palate in the past.

Now, having received the book as a gift, I can see that the Boozy Potatoes recipe was just the tip of the iceberg. After reading the book cover to cover in one sitting (it's not large, but it's densely packed with goodness) I broke out 3 of the recipes the following night. Preparation was easy, and the flavors popped, there was minimal fat and salt -- and best of all each dishes flavors were incredibly well balanced. I would have been happy to be served any of them at a restaurant. Some of his simple ideas (make a sauce by carmelizing shallots/thyme, then reducing rice vinegar) led to explosive flavors.

The only 'glitch' in the whole process, as mentioned by some of the other reviewers, is sourcing ingredients. Living in Southern California I thankfully have access to some great Asian markets, but since so many of the recipes require Shiso, (which I presume must be gotten fresh) it means planning ahead if I want to prepare many of them. Also -- if you plan to buy this book, you'll need a blender or a food processor. It seems to be by far his favorite kitchen tool! (Not that I mind, the results are spectacular.)

Eric Gower does a great job of blending East and West. His familiarity with Japanese cuisine and his willingness to experiment with Western touches applied to traditional dishes makes for an above-average cookbook. He features a Tonkatsu recipe that calls for baking the pork chops (seasoned with jalapeno, sweet peppers and orange zest) instead of deep-frying the traditional Japanese way. Try the Curried Apple Pilaf or the Rice Vinegar Chicken Breasts recipe. This truly is a cookbook with a twist!

The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen is an excellent little cookbook with a passionate ethos that speaks to the Michelin star in all of us.

Imagine Alice Waters meets Nigel Slater at a Zen barbeque, without the celebrity cook idolatry. A nice twist on Asia-Pacific, emphasizing citrus, vinegars and lots of fresh herbs. Try Crab with Lime Ponzu and Chipotle, Persimmon Yogurt Salad with Ginger, Red Onion and Mint, or Broiled Pork Loins with Dates, Umeboshi (pickled plum), and Walnuts. Gower brings more of a trans-cultural than cross-cultural quality to the kitchen - despite the Japanese inspiration - with his focus on fun, improvisation, spontaneity.

This slender book is beautifully produced, with economic and lively writing, salivating photography and well-organized contents, glossary and index.

Gower's book will appeal to the confident and unconfident cook alike, and especially the jester accustomed to breaking the rules. Anyone looking to break from tradition may want to give thanks to his Soy-Brined Roast Turkey with Ruby Grapefruit and Fennel Gravy. Or, do as I plan and spike Santa's gravy with a fine dusting of minced Habanero.

"Cookbook Watch"

FROM THE WILD, WILD EAST

AN INVENTIVE COOK CORNERS FUSION AND
TAKES JAPANESE FOOD ON AN ADVENTURE.

By Regina Schrambling , Special to The Times

Japanese and fusion are two cuisines that make me nervous. One is daunting and the other usually a disaster. But the best new book I've cooked from in months dabbles in both - with dishes such as edamame in mint pesto and shiso with corn - and nothing is lost in translation.

"The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen" (Kodansha, $27) is by Eric Gower, a self-trained San Francisco cook who lived in Japan for 15 years and whose first cookbook was written in Japanese. Like a photographer who knows his technique so well he will shoot out of focus for greater effect, Gower takes Japanese ingredients and concepts into territory undoubtedly never explored in Tokyo. Or California.

Gower clearly is so comfortable with the flavors and traditions of his second home that he can take a mad-scientist approach to them and make every recipe work in a few steps and very little time. Tofu baked with a pistachio-mint pesto is a combination that would never occur to me, but it's one of the most amazing things ever to come out of my oven.

This is not "Japanese Cooking for Dummies," although a kitchen virgin would have no trouble mastering any of the 45 recipes, each gorgeously photographed by Fumihiko Watanabe. One of the few typical Japanese dishes is a twist on tonkatsu in which the breaded pork cutlets are baked rather than fried. More often Gower borrows concepts and tastes to produce Western food with just enough Eastern exoticism.

His lively interpretation of coleslaw is dressed with ginger and brown rice vinegar and garnished with roasted peanuts. His beet salad is a wonderment with smoked trout, ginger and walnuts; his pot roast is braised with soy sauce and orange (and a hint of very un-Asian chipotle chile). The tofu recipes would convert a carnivore. Even his rice is a hemisphere away from Uncle Ben's: He seasons it with bay leaves and Dijon mustard and substitutes carrot juice for water. With all those, you can forgive him for including the requisite miso-glazed fish.

Gower has a thing for pesto, but he takes one of the most clichéd concepts into another universe. His version made with ground dried shiitakes and roasted almonds borders on brilliant. Like the other reinterpretations, one with edamame and another with pistachios, it was just as great as a sauce for steamed green beans and a spread for bruschetta as it was on pasta.

"Breakaway" lives up to its title in other ways. It includes no appetizers or desserts, and it makes a persuasive case for taking as much care with the choice of serving bowls as with the food in them. (A list of sources is included.) None of the recipes calls for anything more exotic than shiso leaves, miso or brown rice vinegar, all easily located in an Asian grocery. But the vinegar alone was worth the detour: It's as smooth and deep as balsamic but tarter and not as syrupy. Not every one of Gower's creations is a winner - potatoes with sake were soggy, for instance - and yields are sometimes off. But those are quibbles. After I cooked four dishes for a dinner party, one guest went out the next morning to buy his own copy of the book.

At a time when originality seems to be the missing ingredient in far too many cookbooks, "Breakaway" is a good cure for the comfort-food blues.

The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen is an excellent little cookbook with a passionate ethos that speaks to the Michelin star in all of us.

Imagine Alice Waters meets Nigel Slater at a Zen barbeque, without the celebrity cook idolatry. A nice twist on Asia-Pacific, emphasizing citrus, vinegars and lots of fresh herbs. Try Crab with Lime Ponzu and Chipotle, Persimmon Yogurt Salad with Ginger, Red Onion and Mint, or Broiled Pork Loins with Dates, Umeboshi (pickled plum), and Walnuts. Gower brings more of a trans-cultural than cross-cultural quality to the kitchen - despite the Japanese inspiration - with his focus on fun, improvisation, spontaneity.

This slender book is beautifully produced, with economic and lively writing, salivating photography and well-organized contents, glossary and index.

Gower's book will appeal to the confident and unconfident cook alike, and especially the jester accustomed to breaking the rules. Anyone looking to break from tradition may want to give thanks to his Soy-Brined Roast Turkey with Ruby Grapefruit and Fennel Gravy. Or, do as I plan and spike Santa's gravy with a fine dusting of minced Habanero.

If you like cooking, you might have one or two books you simply fell in love with the moment you open it - The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen was the one for me.

Born and raised in Japan, I must admit most Japanese stick with their cooking style in a rigid way. They don't want to mess around with their traditions in the kitchen, depending on overly simple seasonings - salt, sugar, soy sauce, etc.... This also means that Japanese dishes have more room to suit your own taste when compared with French or other cuisines. This is where Eric Gower's culinary adventure started.

Eric shows us his cooking on an "approachable" level, simple enough to cook for anyone who loves cooking but does not have the skills taught at culinary schools. Most dishes require less than half hour for preparation and are great for entertaining and making your families and friends "wow." And healthy! If you are a wine lover, I guarantee that all of his dishes would go well with your favorite wine. Also, they go perfectly well with plain rice or Eric's "Unplain Rice". It is my personal opinion from reading several Japanese cooking magazines, it seems that "30 minute cooking" is a key to attract reader's attention - and the other eye-catcher is "going well with hot steamy rice." Eric's cooking is not just for adventurous and curious folks in the western hemisphere but for Japanese as well (his book was first published in Japan).

West meets East (rather than "East meets west" as others like Ming Tsai have done) - he created a completely different category in rather conservative Japanese cooking.

Some ingredients may be a little unfamiliar for some people if you do not have access to an Asian grocery store or even a good "regular" super market--such as shiso. Don't let your interest go away because of this. This is another great thing about this book as Eric gives you some alternative ingredient choices and encourages us to do so and to tease your own creativity.

Eric reminds you of an important fact with his extraordinary sensitivity and creativity - cooking must be fun. Following the recipes is great, but by using a little bit of your creativity, as suggested by this book, you will see another side of Japanese cooking. This book is great for any novice or the culinary adventurer.

I strongly recommend "The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen."

A great, easy-to-use cookbook with super unusual and creative recipes!

As a big pasta freak, I was especially happy with the outcome of Eric's noodle dish recipes. Very easy to prepare, and awesome results!

Also, the tofu recipes are terrific! Again, not you typical Japanese fare -- really inspired by California farmer's markets as much as Eric's years of cooking in Japan.

Eric also tones down the volumes of salt found in many Japanese dishes. On the whole the recipes are very healthy -- lots of fresh veggies and fruits, limited salt and oils.

For anyone tired of the regular sushi bar grind, this is your book!

Rarely does a cookbook come along that pushes the reset button of approaches and tastes. And, it is done so simply and elegantly and refreshingly. There is an ease to the presentations in this book--a subtle beauty--that generates a graceful, spiritual aura of peace in the kitchen while allowing anyone to turn out fresh dishes whose distinctive ingredients sing solos and harmony all in one. I thank the author for introducing me to new combinations of ingredients and helping me create brilliant flashes on new tastes.