Japanese Food and Cooking: A Timeless Cuisine: The Traditions, Techniques, Ingredients and Recipes [Hardcover]

Emi Kasuko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2001

This is a comprehensive and beautiful guide covering all aspects of Japanese cuisine, from its history and underlying philosophy, to its unique ingredients, methods of preparation, and cooking techniques.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Emi Kazuko is a leading cookery writer and journalist. She has published numerous books and has also contributed articles to magazines such as Conde Naste Traveller and Eyewitness Travel Guide to Japan, as well as contributing to 'Woman's Hour' (Radio 4) and a BBC World Service current affairs programme. Yasuko Fukuoka was born in Tokyo, and established herself there as a successful musician and composer. Since moving to England, she has continued to work as a musician, while also expanding her field of work to include journalism and multimedia creation. Numerous nation-wide concert tours in Japan provided Yasuko with the opportunity to gain much knowledge about regional Japanese food and her love of writing and of food is here combined for the first time.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Anness (September 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754807991
• ISBN-13: 978-0754807995
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #785,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Japanese primer, May 21, 2002

By 

pleomorphic "pleomorphic" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese Food and Cooking: A Timeless Cuisine: The Traditions, Techniques, Ingredients and Recipes (Hardcover)

Absolutely a fabulous book for those who are just starting in Japanese cooking or for those who just love gorgeous pictures. The first section of the book is comprised of a short cultural history to help you get the feel of why Japanese food is how it is-this includes a little section on regional foods and their differences-and goes from there to a short menu ideas section that divides the menus into the four seasons. After that, there is page after page of color photos and descriptive text that introduces you to not only foreign foods, but equipment, utensils, crockery and cutlery, drinking vessels, and much more. The next section is comprised of the popular ingredients used in Japanese cooking-rice/rice products, sauces, pickles, tea, tofu, mushrooms, seaweeds, herbs/spices...this section in it of itself is worth the price of the book. For those of us who cannot read Japanese, the pictures are detailed and beautiful-a boon in the Asian grocery. Lastly, the recipes are well written and tasty covering everything from sushi to soups and noodles to desserts and cakes. Inluded at the end there's also a shopping index for Japanese resources. This book is well rounded and a definate jewel to add to your collection. My only complaint would be that the recipes themselves use the Japanese names for the ingredients without a corresponding English name in parentheses. Although there is a glossary included, it's kind of a pain to keep flipping back and forth. All in all, that's such a minor part of a fab book.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelent book! Beautiful pictures, recipes, and explanations, April 9, 2002

By 

Jean Pierre Candelier (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese Food and Cooking: A Timeless Cuisine: The Traditions, Techniques, Ingredients and Recipes (Hardcover)

I am an American with no prior experience cooking Japanese food but with this book I can now walk into an Asian super market where no one speaks English, and nothing is written in English and still be able to buy everything I need to make these great recipes! Why? Because much to my delight (and the other reviewers dismay) the first half of this book shows and explains tons of typical ingredients. EVERY ingredient has a beautiful picture so I can stroll through an asian supermakret isle and find katsuo-bushi without reading a single label. How many average Americans can do that? If you are familiar with Japanese ingredients then the first half of this book might be useless to you. If you want to learn how to cook Japanese recipes but feel intimidated because you have no idea what some ingredients are then this book is PERFECT for you!
PS katsuo-bushi is dried shaved samon flakes. :)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, Concise, and Well-Organized, October 5, 2006

By 

R. Rodgers "Rick Rodgers" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japanese Food and Cooking: A Timeless Cuisine: The Traditions, Techniques, Ingredients and Recipes (Hardcover)

As a cookbook author, I often use other works for research. I am working with a Japanese chef on his book, and I felt I needed a brush-up on Japanese ingredients. This was mainly because so many new foods have been introduced to America since I first shopped for them in San Francsico when I was learning Japanese food basics in my youth. I flipped through many books, including the ones I had already, and this book blew the others out of the miso soup, hands down. The book does the reader a great service by giving two in-depth, encyclopedic sections on Japanese cooking equipment (including food culture)and ingredients. While these two sections take up half of the book, you won't be flying blind, mixing up udon and soba or the different kinds of miso. The writing is excellent, and the recipes interesting and only mildly challenging. If you are in the market for a primer on Japanese food, look no further.