"Yum!" thought Amy Kaneko when she tasted the Japanese home cooking she'd married into. Even better, turned out it uses easy-to-find ingredients, and she couldn't believe how simple the techniques are for food this delicious. This terrific cookbook showcases 70 of Amy's favorite recipes, includingTonkatsu (crispy pork cutlets in a tangy sauce) and Onigiri (cute little rice balls stuffed with salmon). A glossary describes the more unusual ingredients and a source list makes it a snap to find and use Japanese specialties such as daikon, miso, and wasabi. It's tasty, it's practical, it's a wow with family and friendsso Let's Cook Japanese Food!
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Home-style Japanese cooking is demystified in this refreshing and informative cookbook. After marrying into a Japanese family, the American author was taken under her mother-in-law's wing to learn the ins and outs of Japanese cooking. Here she presents her acquired knowledge in an appealingly designed book with Japanese graphic motifs and color photos. The recipes themselves are a mix of family favorites and restaurant dishes Kaneko learned to recreate at home. Yet readers will see few of the familiar foods available in Japanese restaurants in the U.S. Instead, the book illustrates how to make dense, exotic creations like a sumo wrestler's stew with fish, bacon, chicken and tofu, as well as Yoshuko (fusion) dishes combining Japanese and Western influences, like Beef and Onions in Tomato Gravy over Rice. In the first few pages, Kaneko identifies the basic ingredients and equipment needed. Chapters devoted to Tofu and Eggs; Vegetables, Fish and Shellfish; Meat and Poultry; and Rice Noodles and Dumplings intersperse recipes with boxes that highlight Japanese traditions. Though she includes a labor-intensive Okonomiyaki (a pan-fried dish), Kaneko recognizes the home chef's limits: she readily employs the concept of mottai nai (don't waste) and saves readers time with suggestions for reusing leftovers. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Amy Kaneko spent several years in Tokyo and now lives in San Francisco. Her two children approved the noodle chapter.
Deborah Ory is a New York-based photographer, whose work has been featured in Bon Appétit and Real Simple.
Deborah Ory is a New York-based photographer, whose work has been featured in Bon Appétit and Real Simple.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By C. Clemens
Format:Paperback
i'm not a novice cook, but just like other reviewers i wish to expand my repertoire of japanese dishes. i admit that i was initially seduced by the cover and the art direction, but the recipes i have tried so far have all tasted great and been happily eaten by my family (my kids are very accustomed to eating a wide variety of foods). there is a helpful section at the beginning which explains essential ingredients and implements, although most avid home cooks will have some version of the necessary tools (for example, a mortar & pestle can stand in for a suribachi).
based on my limited experience with more homestyle Japanese restaurants (not sushi joints), the results i have gotten from these recipes have been great. when i would try to reproduce japanese dishes at home, i would often not know what flavorings to add in order to get the right taste. for example, i never knew dashi was what was missing from all my broths! this book has helped take some of the mystery out of the flavors.
somebody mentioned that there are few vegetarian recipes in this book - the author admits in the notes that she increased the meat portions in order to appeal to the western palate - this is not a pure japanese cookbook, it's written for western schlubs like me! i've simply reduced the portions that she calls for and in some recipes eliminated them with normal vegetarian tricks. i'm not a committed vegetarian but like to minimize the animal products i eat.
i own roughly 40 cookbooks, but right now this is the one i take down most often for dinner ideas. if, like me, you want to learn to cook more Japanese dishes but weren't sure where to start, this is a great primer.
based on my limited experience with more homestyle Japanese restaurants (not sushi joints), the results i have gotten from these recipes have been great. when i would try to reproduce japanese dishes at home, i would often not know what flavorings to add in order to get the right taste. for example, i never knew dashi was what was missing from all my broths! this book has helped take some of the mystery out of the flavors.
somebody mentioned that there are few vegetarian recipes in this book - the author admits in the notes that she increased the meat portions in order to appeal to the western palate - this is not a pure japanese cookbook, it's written for western schlubs like me! i've simply reduced the portions that she calls for and in some recipes eliminated them with normal vegetarian tricks. i'm not a committed vegetarian but like to minimize the animal products i eat.
i own roughly 40 cookbooks, but right now this is the one i take down most often for dinner ideas. if, like me, you want to learn to cook more Japanese dishes but weren't sure where to start, this is a great primer.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By dewey eyed
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book after a positive review was written in the Oregonian's Food Day section. I enjoy Japanese food, but haven't had the nerve to try making it at home. Amy Kaneko's descriptive details helped me get over the fear of trying it myself. The meal I chose was simple to prepare, and the ingredients were fairly easy to find. (Note to anyone else about to try this - mirin, or sweet sake, wasn't with the sakes in the wine department, but next to rice vinegars in the Asian food section - it's not a drinking sake.) I was very pleased with the results - a much more complex flavor than the simple preparation would have led me to expect.
The only negatives about this book are that vegetarians will be a little surprised to see how much pork and chicken winds up in the 'vegetable' section of the book, and that there is no dessert section.
The only negatives about this book are that vegetarians will be a little surprised to see how much pork and chicken winds up in the 'vegetable' section of the book, and that there is no dessert section.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By C. Joseph
Format:Paperback
i love this book. she makes recipes super, super easy... but all the food is also realy great. it's simple, so if you're into difficult recipes, this might not be your book... but if you want great food explained in an easy way, this is your book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
yummy and easy
As a mediocre cook I was surprised I could make dishes my whole family enjoyed, with ingredients I already had at home. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Target fanatic
4.0 out of 5 stars
Japanese food is really good!
I found recipes in this book that I have been looking for!! I am glad to have this book and will share more than a few
dishes with my friends and family to enjoy!
dishes with my friends and family to enjoy!
Published 4 months ago by Petrina Branch
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love it !
I love this book very much! It's fun, well-written and contains a lot of recipes from Japanese home cooking I didn't find in other books. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Momographica
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cute book, wish there were more pictures
Purchased this book a few months back and I have to say I really like it. So far I've made a few of the dishes and they have all been quite tasty. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Toni Roberts
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Japanese home fare for casual cooks
I was very impressed with this book, and I have returned back to it for more Japanese cooking than any other cookbook I have. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Brian M. Allison
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you like real Japanese food, this is the book for you
This cookbook is awesome. It is definitely one of the top two in my collection I reach for the most. She teaches you all you need to know to make real Japanese home cooking... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Kerri Landis
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good cuisine starter book.
For one, when I was growing up, my introduction to Japanese food was of a simple variety. My mom's cooking and the nearby Japanese restaurants were relatively local. Read more
Published on February 8, 2011 by Mike Phillips
5.0 out of 5 stars
Modern Japanese Cooking
This book has a lot of western influenced recipes, but still has some of the traditional Japanese ones too! Read more
Published on May 18, 2010 by H. LeBrett
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aweseome book with easy and yummy recipes
This is a great book. I bought this book about a year ago and we use it regularly in our house. There are lots of great recipes in it that are easy and quick so quite do-able for a... Read more
Published on February 8, 2010 by J. Wickman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Japanese home cooking made easy
Easy to cook recipies remind me of meals cooked for me by my Japanese friends in their home. Great pictures. Read more
Published on October 18, 2009 by Eileen Luther
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