Cafe Japan [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Emi Kazuko (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cafe Cookbooks | Publication Date: November 1, 1998

The essence of Japanese cooking lies in its simplicity; the overarching goal is to preserve each ingredient's natural flavor and texture. These 75 easy-to-make recipes--including tricolor nori-rolled sushi, grilled skewered chicken, and seared yuan salmon--bring home the popular daily dishes of Japan's cafes using ingredients found in many supermarkets or Asian markets in the West. These meals are perfect for those who want light and simple dishes without heavy sauces or spices.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Some mornings you wake up, roll out of bed, and you just know it's a cold soba kind of day. Sound familiar? But if you don't happen to live or work near Japanese noodle restaurants, you're kind of out of luck. "The Japanese," writes Emi Kazuko, author of Café Japan, one of the Conran Café series, "cannot survive, even for a few days, without a bowl of noodles.... So it's not surprising to come across a Soba-ya (noodle shop) every ten yards or so on any high street in Japan." Yeah, well, what about the rest of us?

Fortunately, Kazuko strips away the mystery from Cold Soba, much as she does from many other café-style dishes you would find in Japan. And where words might fail, the fine color photography used throughout the Café series beautifully illustrates just the point the author wants to convey.

Small cafes and bistros in Japan specialize in one item, yakitori, say, or tempura. In other words, there's no such thing as a "Japanese" restaurant in Japan. Fortunately for the Western cook, Kazuko has pulled all these disparate specialists into one food court where ease and simplicity are the hallmarks of dining.

You will find familiar soups and appetizers such as Miso Soup with Tofu and Snow Peas, Clear Soup with Mussels and Watercress, Fried Giant Prawns, and Soft-Cooked Octopus. Main Dishes include Seared Yuan Salmon, Ginger Pork, Chicken Teriyaki, Udon with Curry Soup and, of course, Soba. There are many dishes here that define the popular palate in Japan, but remain more obscure in the West. Kazuko's great talent is making familiar what might seem exotic. If you have suffered a fear of cooking Japanese food, this is a great place to start. And the next time the sun rises on a Cold Soba kind of day, you'll know just what to do. --Schuyler Ingle

About the Author

Emi Kazuko has written several books on Japanese cuisine and also produces restaurant and theater guides for Japanese visitors to London, where she lives.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809225921
• ISBN-13: 978-0809225927
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,165,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Japanese cuisine., February 3, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cafe Japan (Paperback)

Emi Kazuko's Cafe Japan requires access to fresh seafood but produces a range of dishes and flavors which capture the Japanese dining experience. Cafe Japan is a fine introduction to Japanese cuisine, especially for beginners who already love to cook.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast and easy, August 18, 2005

By 

David T. Williams - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cafe Japan (Paperback)

Easy to prepare recipes with a variety of tastes and techniques. for hard core japanese cooking look at the Tsuji cookbooks instead but these are great starter items to build on. I am an experienced japanese cook, but there were a number of items I had not seen before and so far the items I have tried are good. The japanese ingredients section is especially well done.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 star book, September 3, 2005

By 

P. A. Yost "putnam" (Tokyo Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cafe Japan (Paperback)

Hi
I am an American Father living in Japan with a Japanese wife and a 3 year old daughter who is starting pre-school. I love this book as it helps me prepare great healthy food for my daughter mirei's lunch (bento) box.
my wife really thinks I an cook now.
I love this book
putnam