Customer Reviews

First Book of Japanese Cooking: Good Food for the Home and Family

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book while I was in Japan thinking it would be an easy introduction to Japanese cooking that an inspired but unskilled beginner like me could take on--that was a mistake! The book has lots of detailed description and ideas, including illustrations, but the author certainly doesn't cut corners for simplicity. Traditional Japanese home cooking takes time, preparation and practice, and for the most part the recipes in this book are no exception. However, if you're a fairly experienced cook already, and want to get a taste of what Japanese cuisine in all about, then this book is probably what you're looking for.

This book could have been quite a bit better had int included photographs with each recipe. There is a collection of very nice color plates of some dishes near the front of the book but that is not quite the same. A few recipes have line drawings which were moderately helpful but, again, photographs illustrating the various techniques would have been much preferred. It is the lack of photographs in particular that makes it difficult for me to recommend this as a good starting place for beginners and this is a pity because the recipes are, for most part, fairly simple, 'homey' dishes rather than the beautiful but daunting creations featured in some Japanese cookery books. Personally, I did not find a lot in this book to excite me but there are a few interesting little finds (such as the 'Soft Simmered Chicken Gizzards' Appetizer) that make me not sorry I bought it.

This predominantly black & White book does have a few colorful albeit dated pictures in the front.
Japanese-style food is always beautiful though and it gives you an idea of the finished product.
Throughout the book simple black and white drawings illustrate various techniques used to prepare a myriad of recipes.
Simple instructions are easy to follow and there are many yummy recipes.
A good book for beginners.

This one is somewhere between home cooking and party cooking, with some recipes for each type. It also includes a section with menus in the back, describing which recipes to cook together for a yakitori party, several different scales of sushi party, a tempura party, a teppan/mixed grill party, and so forth.

If you're looking for a book that hits both everyday home cooking and fancier home entertaining, this is a good book for it. If you're looking for just home cooking, you may want to look for other books like Naomi Kijima's Bento Boxes. (Full disclosure: I've semiprofessionally taught Japanese cooking classes.)

The information is easy to follow and ingredients aren't so obscure that you can't find them.
I received this book as a gift almost ten years ago and it is still the most used cookbook in my kitchen.
This was my first Japanese cookbook and now it's one of eight yet it's the one I go to first whenever I'm cooking Japanese.

This is a great book to get started with. It gives wonderful descriptions of the various ingredients, and it's instructions are easy to follow.