Product Description

If there is one word to describe Japanese cuisine then it has to be "artistic" in its purest sense. No other cuisine is so in harmony with nature, reflecting the rhythm of the seasons. No other accords food such awesome respect. No other prepares it with such an eye to detail - color, texture, flavor, balance - each ingredient's roll perfectly defined in the final dish. In Japan they first feast with their eyes, then comes the aroma, then taste, the palate pleasure.

The secret to preparing Japanese cuisine at home is an understanding of the basic ingredients and of how a meal is composed; the culinary methods used are basically very simple.

We trust that this book will encourage people at home to be adventurous and start preparing and cooking Japanese food in their own kitchens, however, the most important requirement of all is a love of good food prepared and presented with a sense of harmony.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #457235 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

About the Author

Founded in 1977, Whitecap Books has grown to become one of the top ten Canadian-owned book publishing and distribution companies. During the 1970s and early 1980s Whitecap made a name for itself as Canada's foremost producer of full-color gift and coffee table books on Canadian provinces, cities, and natural wonders. The company continues to publish in this area and has launched a 27-book series on Canada and 36 books in the America Series.

Whitecap's list of titles currently consists of more than 300 Canadian-originated titles and more than 1,000 agency listed titles. Whitecap is known for its expertise in the cookbook market. Since 1984, Whitecap has been responsible for some of the most innovative and familiar titles that can be found in kitchens across North America today. In addition to cookery, Whitecap publishes and distributes books on gardening and crafts, photo-scenic, history, arts and entertainment, children's fiction and non-fiction, travel, sports and transportation books.

Customer Reviews

Quality book, hits all the key points
For 3+ years I have endavored to learn the finer
points of eating and making sushi, and to date my
skills have been derived from 3 books (Sushi Made
Easy, Tsuda; Quick & Easy Sushi Cook Book, Tohyama;
The Book of Japanese Cooking, Kazuko), eating at
many sushi restaurants, and trial and error by making
sushi at home weekly to monthly.

I am now convinced that there is no single source for
all the things one would like to know about eating and/or
making sushi, but the book 'The Great Sushi and Sashimi
Cookbook' comes very close.

Written by two sushi chefs trained in Japan, what impresses
me most about the book is the authors ability to cover the
topics of history, etiquette, ingredients, cuts and cutting,
techniques and types of sushi and sashimi in a minimal number
of pages, and yet achieve a depth and breadth of discussion
that I have not seen in other books. Next most impressive
is the quality of the photographs and paper upon which the
book is printed; coffee table book quality.

I would score 'Sushi Made Easy' and 'Quick & Easy Sushi
Cook Book' as 4s, but give this book a 5 for hitting all
the key points.

Not complete...
This is the third book I've gotten in the last few weeks in a quest to learn about cutting and presentation. This is the first book that shows me different slicing techniques, which is what I was searching for.

My husband and I are sashimi/sushi fans. But every time we go for dinner, it costs between $75-$125 depending on what we're drinking. Once or twice a month is fine, but we would get out of hand and dine out 3 times a week. That's just unacceptable, but I refuse to give up sushi...and I will not subject myself to market (even Trader Joes) sushi. So we decided to give this place online a try and buy sushi grade fish in bulk and freeze it and much to my dismay it came REALLY fresh, but not cut the way the restaurant hands it to me. I made it through my first dinner, though I mangled a few pieces and created some chunks of fish that I'd never seen served to me before.

The book, while it shows me different cutting techniques, it doesn't really elaborate on the specific types of fish. But it illustrates these techniques with a salmon and a tuna, so I could deduce from there. The presentation of the different fish gives me something to aspire to. But I do have some complaints about this book.

My major gripe about this book is that there isn't one mention of mirugai in here. I would suspect that this book would at least give a technique or two on how to prep mirugai. But it only mentions it in the glossary. Also no mention of fluke.

Also, I had a dream this book would give a good miso ginger dressing, but alas...it did not. But the Chirizu sauce is wonderful. We'd thought a dish served to us at our local sushi spot was served with a spicy ponzo sauce only to discover, it was this. I would have never known if not for this book.

I do agree with the previous reviewer that the ingredients can be hard to get. I live close to an Asian Food Market, so I'm able to get a lot there. But the fish is hard to come by, and for that I resorted to gambling with an online company but ended up being extremely pleased and have become a regular customer, which has saved us a lot of money.
I also agree that this book isn't for beginners. I think you have to have an appreciation for sushi - not just rolls - to enjoy this book.

Not for Beginners
Takahasi's cookbook is great, tasty, and the food is to die for. If you've the means, that is. The sad thing about this cookbook is that there's alot of tasty stuff, and all the ingredients are hard to come by. Plus, if you've never made sushi before, you're in for a wild ride.
I only wish it came with a bamboo roll mat. My kitchen would be much cleaner that way.