Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #530191 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

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.

Customer Reviews

Japanese primer
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.

Excelent book! Beautiful pictures, recipes, and explanations
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. :)

Japanese primer
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.