Sushi Made Easy [Paperback]

Noel Cottrell (Author), Linda De Villiers (Editor), Ingrid McGregor (Illustrator), Dirk Pieters (Photographer), Kumfoo Wong (Contributor), Michele Gomes (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2001

Preparing sushi is more than mere cooking--it's an art, a creative act of beautifully presenting colors, textures, subtle tastes, and unmatched sensations. Every page here shares that refined philosophy, so it not only shows you how to make a feast for your friends, it is a feast for the eyes. Even the small line drawings accompanying the luscious photography--which show in detail how to create each perfect piece of sushi--seem infused with the elegant feel of Japanese culture. Immerse yourself in the lifestyle as you learn how to wrap, make, and arrange delicacies such as nigiri-sushi out of fish (yellowtail, salmon, tuna, surf clam, flounder, or prawn) and vinegared rice; thick futomaki, hosomaki (omelette), and fish and vegetable rolls; a battleship wrap stuffed with roe; inside-out rolls; a California hand roll with ripe avocado and crab; and soups. With advice on setting an eye-catching table to complete the wonderful atmosphere.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Preparing sushi is intimidating to most Americans, not least because it requires meticulous attention to presentation, as well as an intricate and subtle understanding of textures and tastes. In Sushi Made Easy, Michele Gomes and Noel Cottrell demystify one of the urbanite's favorite foods, outlining the necessary utensils, equipment (yes, readers should get one of those cool bamboo rolling mats) and main ingredients, and explaining how to cook the sticky rice exactly right and how to buy and cut the fish. They guide the reader through the process of preparing nigiri-sushi (fish served over balls of rice), then explain how to make sushi rolls, inside-out rolls (rice outside the seaweed), hand rolls, California hand rolls, rolled sweet omelets and clear soups, concluding with the all-important setting of the table. Fittingly, the book is a beautiful aesthetic experience; sensuous, tactile color photographs appear on almost every page.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. (June 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859744362
• ISBN-13: 978-1859744369
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #429,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Asian > Vietnamese

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pretty good, pretty basic, May 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Sushi Made Easy Book & Kit (Paperback)

If you were looking for a book with specific recipes, this is not the book. Everything in this book is presented very flexibly, with only a mere suggestion list after the basic preparation of things. There are pros and its cons to this because you know the basics and you can be really creative and you know where you can be really creative. The bad thing is, you would like to have more specific recipes for things that you find in the restaurant such as California Roll and Crunchy Roll, which, granted, are western modifications, but still.

The other complaint is that when they talk about making miso soup all the pictures show wakame seaweed in the soup, but no where in that section (or anywhere in the book for that matter) does it say that wakame can also be put in the miso soup. I had to do some real creative investigation just to find out what that green stuff was.

PS. I bought this book because it was cheaper than any other sushi cookbook I found at the store AND it comes with the KIT part.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SUSHI MADE EASY by Kumfoo Wong, September 22, 2008

By 

thepaxdomini "The Book Review" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sushi Made Easy (Paperback)

Sushi Made Easy, by Kumfoo Wong, is an introductory guide to preparing and presenting sushi. The book is targeted to beginners, and at only 80 pages, is completely manageable.

Sushi Made Easy provides an introduction to the more prominent sushi ingredients and kitchen utensils and equipment needed, as well as advice on selecting suitable fish to be used raw. There is a great deal of emphasis here on appearance and presentation. Sushi Made Easy covers nigiri-sushi, sushi rolls, hand rolls, rolled sweet omelet, and soups. The book is fully-illustrated, and features step-by-step instructions for making each recipe.

Sushi Made Easy is an excellent introduction for anyone who wants to make sushi at home. It is also available through Amazon as part of sushi starter kits that include utensils and equipment.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for beginners, November 30, 2006

By 

D. Williams "donkeymeow" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sushi Made Easy Book & Kit (Paperback)

This book does a pretty good job at helping the inexperinced sushi chef, particularly with getting the rice correct. I agree with the other reviewer - it would have been nice to know more about making eel. Another downside is the poor illustrations and limited instructions for actually forming the rolls, but other than that I would recommend it for someone starting out because it comes with the basic tools you need. It is a good kit, especially for the price.