Customer Reviews

Japanese Family-Style Recipes

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This cookbook has recipes for food that Japanese people actually do eat in everyday life. While fish is a big part of the Japanese diet, sushi is a delicacy in Japan much as it is elsewhere in the world. This book offers some sushi recipes but more importantly offers the kind of stock Japanese meals that families really eat. I speak from experience, I stayed in Japan with a Japanese family for 2 months. Many of my favorite dishes from that stay are in this book. The instructions are clear and concise, the pictures are beautiful. If you appreciate Japanese food and want to make some meals for yourself this is the book for you.

My wife and I received this book as a gift from a Japanese exchange student 3 years ago. She used it to cook Japanese meals for us and now we use it at least once a week ourselves. We have purchased several other Japanese cookbooks since, but this is the very best we have seen. These are recipes that the Japanese actually prepare for themselves every day. Just an easy to understand cookbook with very delicious recipes. The photos of each recipe are also well photographed and appetizing.

When I was on business trips in Japan, my Japanese colleagues took good care of me. So in addition to the "fancy" food that guests usually get (Kaiseki-ryori--the kind where neither the host nor the waiters are really sure what the ingredients are), I got a good sampling of what regular people *really* eat in Japan. I found the "home-style" food to be tasty, even hearty, and eminently healthy too.

On the last day of my last trip (alas, I'm not going back for a while!), I saw this book at the airport and bought it. Am I ever glad I did! It's typically Japanese in that you see what you get before you get it. Just as Japanese restaurants have models of the dishes outside, this book has appealing pictures of every single recipe. The recipes are easy to follow and the results are delicious. Even my Japan-sceptical boyfriend likes them.

I have purchased many Japanese cookbooks on Amazon.com, but whenever I want to make Japanese food, this is the one cookbook I refer to time and time again. The measurements are perfect, and the food always turns out delicious. I make teriyaki and yakitori weekly, and it is just so good. I wish there was a sequel to this cookbook.

I quite like this book. There's a picture for each of the recipes, fifty odd of them. There are however some problems which prevent the book from being really useful.

The recipes are quite short, a page or less each. There's not much in the way of hints and tips, meaning that trial and error is required with some dishes. But I've still no idea firm my "white dumplings" really should be. I'm learning to make some assumptions, due to the instructions brevity, such as "cook for three minutes" means "cook for three minutes over a medium heat".

I bought this book because I liked the concept, but a book three times this size is needed to do the subject justice.

This is a wonderful book, even for those not knowledgeable about Japanese cooking. The photography is inspiring, and made me want to try every recipe! The recipes are clearly written, easy to follow, and the dishes come out as expected. The authors have provided additional useful information at the top of each recipe, including helpful hints, possible substitutions and modifications, and food history and lore.

My husband is Japanese American, and he actually was the one who chose this book. As a testament to the authenticity of the book, my husband's comment after I made a few of the recipes was: "Just like mamma use to make!"

Japanese cooking is traditionally done with a variety of dishes, each on its own small plate. This gives a beautiful visual appeal as well as encourages healthy eating - you go slowly through your options, enjoying them at your leisure, filling up slowly and naturally. Unlike other cultures where they restrict you to courses in a certain order, in Japanese cuisine you take your own pace, eat at your own style.

Japanese Family-Style Recipes offers delicious recipes accompanied by full color, lovely photos. The book is very nicely designed so it lays out flat and gives you full access to the recipe without weights or other devices. My only real complaint about the layout is that they hide all the nutrition information elsewhere, so you have to cross-reference to find it. Also, they only show calories, protein, sodium, and fat - but not carbs or sugar. Those watching their sugar intake (diabetics) would really want that information.

That being said, the cookbook is great. The dishes are delicious. The photos are superb and help you really see what you're making. They help bring the visual beauty to the dish as well as the flavor combinations. No matter what your eating aims, you are sure to find something in here that is delicious and perfect. Want to eat more vegetables? There are many recipes which are quite tasty. Interested in soy / tofu dishes? You're all set!

Highly recommended.

I ordered this book twice. I misplaced the first book and want to make sure I have it at home. I have made most of the recipes in it. The recipes are simple and delicious. The pictures are representative of what the food with look like. A lot of ingredients get used multiple times so you won't get stuck with something exotic that you won't use again.

I have bought other Japanese cookbooks but they tend to be more fussy and exotic. This book is fantastic for cooking leftovers. I always thought that Japanese food was difficult and very precise but not with this book. The stuffed cabbage is terrific and very different from the usual version. The donburis are great for leftover meat or chicken. Also good tofu and miso soup. It is an excellent introduction to Japanese cooking.

As a preface... this is a USA review from my perspective, some of my comments would be "very funny" if I grew up in Japan.
I've had this book for about 7 years. From my first opening of it, I realized this was a perfect match for me. I was born in the USA and am of Japanese heritage. While I did learn a lot from my mom about cooking, she died while I was away at university... I had hoped for an adult cooking relationship with her--she knew cooking was a passion of mine... but unfortunately, I was left with many "uhhh, how do I do this?"
This book helped me begin again. I admit I understand cooking, after all, I went to college to get a degree in Food Science, but knowing the "why" does not answer the knowing "how" or "OK... this really makes NO sense."
This is a very quick book. It might expect you to know some things about Japanese food (e.g., what the finished product is like--it's mouthfeel, doneness, general taste). For me it has been an "OK... you've had this before... and you've seen it prepared... this is what you do..."
I DO use other books for reference because there is a lot I was never taught. The "Joy of Japanese Cooking" and many of the JTB (Japan Tourist Bureau) books help me to understand the differences betweeen the many seaweeds, sesame seeds, greens, etc... that are not in your everyday supermarket (well... maybe if you live in Hawaii..., but I'm in Oregon).
Also, the internet is very useful... If you're using Amazon, then you're on the net... Recently, I got interested in nukamiso (sorta, pickling in fermented rice) A simple web search revealed pages of articles... Perusing a few pages and about a dozen sites allowed me to understand the concept, variations, etc.
Overall, this is one of my favorite "everyday" cookbooks.

This is a great book! It arrived on time and the recipes are oh-so-yummy! Every recipe has a color picture to show how it should be represented, and you don't have to read Japanese to make authentic dishes.