It is in fact a cuisine rich in foods which are good for you; it has been shown to help prevent disease, and is above all tasty. The style of eating too is conducive to good health: lots of little dishes with small portions, eaten slowly over the course of an evening. It is like Spanish tapas or Greek meze, and just as convivial, especially when accompanied by sake, Japanese rice wine.
Simplicity is one of the surprising and pleasing elements about Japanese cooking. It is similar to Mediterranean cooking which relies on fresh ingredients, simply prepared.
Shirley Booth, who lived in Japan for many years and has taught Japanese cooking to both Japanese and foreigners, gives us a wonderful, engaging history of Japanese food, its styles and traditions-from Imperial cooking to temple cooking and the food of the Yatai or street vendors. She explains every aspect of this great cuisine, the ingredients, the techniques, the essential equipment, the importance of color and presentation. She then goes to share over 200 recipes which she has cooked time and time again. Soups, broths, dumplings, noodle dishes, tempura, sushi, pickles, wonderful tempting classic dishes such as Eggplant with Miso Topping, Broad Beans and Wakame and some simple dishes with a new twist such as Tofu with Peanut and Pumpkin Sauce.
Japanese food is very much the food of today, try some of these recipes and discover a whole new world of sensational flavors and textures.
