The Food of Japan: Authentic Recipes from the Land of the Rising Sun (Periplus World Cookbooks) [Paperback]

Walter Wagner (Author), Takayuki Kosaki (Editor), Wendy Hutton (Editor), Heinz Von Holzen (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The attractive Periplus Cookbooks series (The Food of Bali; The Food of Thailand) presents Asian national cuisines for preparing in Western kitchens. This volume offers a compact but thorough survey of the fundamentals of Japanese food, highlighted by more than 70 recipes. A long, helpful glossary of ingredients precedes the recipes, and brief essays on the evolution of Japanese food are informative (e.g., the impact of shojin ryori?the "vegetarian Buddhist temple fare"?with its emphasis on providing five colors and six tastes in a meal). Recipes are "grouped to follow the basic pattern of a Japanese meal" rather than by main ingredient. Starters include clear soups, vegetables and sashimi. Entrees range from sushi to yakitori (chicken on skewers) to remarkable fish recipes such as Kelp-Grilled Tuna, in which the miso-and ginger-seasoned tuna is baked in kelp; also featured are duck, pork and beef dishes. Subtle desserts include the ever-popular Green-Tea Ice Cream. This concise, practical cookbook is a solid introduction to a particularly beautiful and healthy cuisine.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Japanese cookbooks are few and far between, making the latest addition to this attractive series particularly welcome. As with the other titles, this one includes a brief, readable introduction to the country's culture and cuisine, followed by a description of specialized cooking techniques, an illustrated glossary of ingredients, and 80 or so recipes, each of which is accompanied by a stylish color photograph. A bargain at the price, this is recommended for most collections. (Previous titles in the far-ranging series have focused on Vietnam, Bali, and other exotic locales; the newly published Food of Australia is something of a departure, with "contemporary recipes" from chefs rather than traditional dishes.)
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Periplus Editions (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895947951
• ISBN-13: 978-0895947956
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 7.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,647,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stylish and stylized, December 31, 2000

By 

Susan Porjes "Food writer" (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Food of Japan (Food of the World Cookbooks) (Hardcover)

Part of the Periplus series on Pacific Rim cooking, this slim volume features a choice selection of recipes ranging from homey classics like Ochazuke (rice with green tea) to elegant Red Snapper with Sea Urchin Threads. The food styling is gorgeous, though something few of us would be willing to spend the hours to accomplish at home. Carve each piece of potato into a 3D hexagon? I think not.

And, despite an extensive pictorial glossary, many recipes call for ingredients that are not available in Japanese markets in the United States, and are not defined anywhere in the book. Ohba leaf, anyone, or Hime radish? The book's editors in Asia are obviously out of touch with American readers.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the food of japan great book, April 2, 2000

By 

scientificproof (florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Food of Japan (Food of the World Cookbooks) (Hardcover)

Elegant and simple recipes for traditional and popular japanesedishes. Easy format for beginners. Marvelously illustrated with colorphotographs. Includes dictionary of japanese cooking terms first and them proceeds with recipes. Priced reasonably. This is one of a series on international cooking. END

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good cookery book, but please read the full review, April 19, 2011

By 

C. J. Thompson "Arctic John" (Pond Inlet, Nunavut Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Food of Japan: Authentic Recipes from the Land of the Rising Sun (Periplus World Cookbooks) (Paperback)

Takayuki Kosaki and Walter Wagner have published two books that are almost exactly the same. In 1996, The Food of Japan: Authentic Recipes from the Land of the Rising Sun appeared and, 8 years later, in 2004, they published Authentic Recipes From Japan. I should hasten to add, that the latter is not merely the first book published under a different name. The supplementary content in the newer version is a bit more in depth and many of the recipes in each book, while being for the same basic dish, are not exactly the same. Indeed, one would likely not notice the similarities in the two books were it not for the identical photographs. Each book does a few things better than the other but the sum total of the differences is not enough to warrant purchasing both. I ended up buying both before being aware of the similarities and I feel a little cheated. The newer book is part of a 'Authentic recipes from ... ' series and I own several, all of which are very good, while the earlier book also appears to be part of a 'The Food of ...' series. I only own the Japanese title from this set but I do not plan to buy anymore in thus series unless I can first be satisfied that I am not going to be buying just a slightly different version of a book I already own in the 'Authentic Recipes' group.

The foregoing notwithstanding, I should note that both books are very nicely done and would each be great for both the novice and the collector. My only advice is that, if you own one then don't buy the other and, if you own neither, the newer version, 'Authentic recipes from Japan' is probably the better buy.