Customer Reviews

Food of Japan

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm very passionate about Japanese cooking and have many cookbooks. This is the best, it does not only give you all the classic recipes from sushi to terriyaki and tempura, but the book also contains a lot of healthy excellent dishes.
The background of the ingredients and the recipes the author gives is so interesting you keep on reading. Unfortunately there are few pictures but that should not keep you from buying this book.

Great book for the novice Japanese cook. Contains information on all the unfamiliar ingredients, basic stocks, differences in products, glossary, and several hundred recipes. Managed to make a decent Miso soup on my first try! Highly recommended!

I'm hardly an authority about japanese cooking, but I love this book.

it contains tons of recipes and a lot of background information about ingredients, cutting and cooking techniques, and meal planning. the recipes are easy to follow and Booth adds plenty of information about ingredient selection and preparation, plus cultural background and personal anecdotes. this book does what a good cookbook should. it doesn't just talk about food, but introduces you to another culture and its way of life.

my only complaint is that I wish the book had more pictures.

Author Shirley Booth is a good writer. Initially I borrowed this book from the library, but after I read it for a few minutes I realized what a little gem I had in my hand. I just had to buy it! I am enjoying learning about Japanese food and its origins, and I have had fun making some of the recipes. Good work, Shirley Booth!

This cookbook is incredibly underrated, probably because it is not a coffee-table style cookbook. What it lacks in glossy pictures (there are a few) it more than makes up for in good, authentic recipes.

My mother-in-law sent me a box full of cooking supplies from Japan (dried wakame, a variety of nori, dashi, shiitake dashi, miso, etc) so I set out to find a Japanese cookbook that doesn't substitute button mushrooms for dried shiitake and chicken broth for dashi. The descriptions are inviting, the directions are clear, and the product is delicious.

I already used this book to guide me in a few different miso soups, tempura, and sushi rolling and so far the results have been great. Even my husband (raised in Japan) thinks it tastes wonderful. I would absolutely recommend to anyone intersted in cooking or Japanese food.

(Although she does use authentic ingredients, most of them can be found in the 'ethnic' section of your major grocery store, at an Asian market, or at places like Whole Foods).

This book is really great. I've used a number of its recipes and processes and have not been disappointed. Having lived for some time in Japan, cooking from this book has brought back memories. It also helps decipher all those 'strange and abominable' products in the local Japanese market. Rather than settling for instant noodles, I can now brew up an excellent broth and cook noodles just like the yakuza flunkies outside the subway stations. Her explanation of sushi rice has also been very helpful.
For a beginner (particularly a Westerner intimidated by salt-embalmed fish), I think this book is an absolute must-have. Never in my life would I have imagined that I would have a use for dried sardines, and was pleasantly surprised to find what a flavorful broth they can be coaxed into producing with Ms. Booth's patient guidance.

I rarely feel the urge to buy cookbooks because I don't want to pay 15 or more dollars for 2 recipes. Normally, I'm content to borrow a book from the library once and copy any worthwhile recipes down. I've now borrowed this book 4 times from my library and I've bookmarked all the recipes I want to try. However, I've just realized that I have over half the book marked so I came to amazon to buy it.

I lived in Japan for a year and a half and the while west coast cities can find decent Japanese food usually, the Japanese population in Utah is hardly existent. This book contains authentic recipes for all the foods I've missed since coming home. Including a long sought after recipe for sakura mochi. Best of all, even in Utah, I haven't had trouble finding any of the ingredients called for so far.

The book has a handy introduction and glossary to help people understand terms and ingredients used throughout the book so anyone can learn to make all the delicious meals contained within.

I highly reccommend it!