Food of Japan - Hardcover

Booth, Shirley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1566563941 ISBN 13: 9781566563949

Publisher: Interlink Pub Group Inc, 2001

Synopsis

In the past North Americans have not been great fans of Japanese food, perhaps feeling it to be too alien in style and ingredients. But at last revolution has taken place: witness the popularity of sushi and its appearance in every supermarket as well as the explosion in the number of noodle bars. Consumers too have rediscovered a liking for fish and now even raw fish. Much has also been written recently about the health benefits of miso and green tea. Japanese food is finally being appreciated.

It is in fact a cuisine rich in foods which are good for you; it has been shown to help prevent disease, and is above all tasty. The style of eating too is conducive to good health: lots of little dishes with small portions, eaten slowly over the course of an evening. It is like Spanish tapas or Greek meze, and just as convivial, especially when accompanied by sake, Japanese rice wine.

Simplicity is one of the surprising and pleasing elements about Japanese cooking. It is similar to Mediterranean cooking which relies on fresh ingredients, simply prepared.

Shirley Booth, who lived in Japan for many years and has taught Japanese cooking to both Japanese and foreigners, gives us a wonderful, engaging history of Japanese food, its styles and traditions-from Imperial cooking to temple cooking and the food of the Yatai or street vendors. She explains every aspect of this great cuisine, the ingredients, the techniques, the essential equipment, the importance of color and presentation. She then goes to share over 200 recipes which she has cooked time and time again. Soups, broths, dumplings, noodle dishes, tempura, sushi, pickles, wonderful tempting classic dishes such as Eggplant with Miso Topping, Broad Beans and Wakame and some simple dishes with a new twist such as Tofu with Peanut and Pumpkin Sauce.

Japanese food is very much the food of today, try some of these recipes and discover a whole new world of sensational flavors and textures.

About this title

About the Author

Shirley Booth originally worked in television making documentaries. She has made three films about Japanese food, most notably Japan: Food for the Spirit for Channel 4 in Great Britain. She lived in Japan for a total of six years, where she studied Zen temple cooking with the abbess of Sanko-In Temple just outside Tokyo and taught Zen vegetarian cooking to both Japanese and foreigners in Japan. She now teaches at The Authentic Ethnic Cookery School in London.

From Booklist

Just a few decades ago it would have been hard to imagine today's ubiquity of Japanese restaurants across the U.S. Almost every American town now sports at least one sushi bar, and even suburban grocery stores feature fresh sushi to take home. Shirley Booth's Food of Japan knowledgeably demystifies the full range of ingredients in the cuisine, as well as explains dishes beyond the accustomed sushi, sashimi, sukiyaki, and teriyaki. Lengthy sections on soy products in general and on tofu in particular attract vegetarian diners. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Interlink Pub Group Inc
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1566563941
• ISBN 13: 9781566563949
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 271