Japanese Home Cooking - Hardcover

Masui, Chihiro; Kaede, Hanae

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1770856064 ISBN 13: 9781770856066

Publisher: Firefly Books, 2015

Synopsis

In Japanese Home Cooking, the techniques and ingredients of Japanese cuisine are explained clearly, thanks in great part to the many step-by-step photos. It omits nothing, from cooking rice to dressing a Japanese table.

The book is the ideal guide for cooks new to Japanese cuisine, as well as those with experience. Features include:

• Japan's approach to food
• Step-by-step photographs for all recipes that require more than the most basic skills
• Final dish presentation
• Technique and important detail, such as slicing fish and vegetables in the traditional Japanese manner
• Dashi stock base, symbol of Japanese cooking
• Notes on the history of Japanese regional cooking and the influence of foreigners
• The Japanese table.

Japanese Home Cooking has six sections with more than 90 recipes plus variations for everyday dishes and for gourmet cuisine for special occasions.

Examples of the recipes are:

• Starters: Cucumber and wakame Sunomono; Prawns with pickled egg and kimi-zu
• Bowls and Soups: Red miso soup with clams asa ri; Clear soup dumpling and crab wakame
• Vegetables and Tofu: Pumpkin in chicken broth soboro; Seaweed hijiki; Sweet daikon with miso
• Fried and Grilled: Teriyaki salmon; Breaded shrimp tonkatsu; Tamago-yaki omelette
• Rice and Noodles: Rice with five favors; Asa-zuke of cabbage, cucumber, carrots and Brussels sprouts; Yakisoba fried noodles
• Sweets: Soy milk creme caramel; Hortensia cake; Ukishima (floating island).

For hard-to-find ingredients, the book includes a resource section and tips on generally available substitutions.

About this title

About the Author:

Born in Japan, Chihiro Masui is the author of more than 20 cookbooks published in Japan and France. Hanae Kaede has worked as a pastry chef in Michelin-starred restaurants. She returned to Japan to obtain a diploma in Japanese cuisine. Annabelle Schachmes is a food journalist for the French daily newspaper France Soir. As a photographer, she has worked for various culinary publications and chefs' books.

Review:

(starred review) Masui and Kaede's cookbook is a work of art. Lavishly illustrated, with more than 300 full color -- many full-page -- photos by Annabelle Schachmes, it is ideal for both beginners and intermediary cooks looking to learn traditional Japanese household cuisine. It is a highly usable reference text, but its beauty also makes it a great coffee table book. The authors include clear, step-by-step preparation instructions for more than 90 recipes, alongside more basic preparation notes on general aspects of Japanese cuisine, a glossary, multiple indexes, and a variety of introductory topics, both historical and practical. Among them a set of notes on Japanese cooking's rarified and highly valued aim of odorless results, as well as on sauces and condiments, and the assimilation of foreign food elements into local cuisine. The cookbook is both functional and artisanal, striking an effective balance between practical and aesthetic values, mirroring its subject matter. Although
it focuses on more traditional, home cooking rather than restaurant fare, the general food groups are the same: cold starters, bowls and soups, vegetables and soy, steamed and simmered dishes, deep-fried and grilled dishes, rice and noodles, and sweets. This cookbook should be considered a necessary acquisition for those looking to better their understanding and preparation of Japanese cuisine and is most highly recommended. (Publishers Weekly 2016-01-18)

Japanese cuisine is often perceived as difficult to make and hard to obtain the ingredients. With this book, the authors want to change that perception. With an organized approach that will take readers from the basics to more involved menus, they provide all the information to make fabulous Japanese meals at home. Starting with an introduction that discusses not just the how-to but also the "why" of this style, they cover an impressive range of topics. Food sources, etiquette table settings, basic cooking rules, and much more are covered. Recipes include cold starters, soups, steamed and grilled dishes, as well as sweets. Each one is beautifully photographed and accompanied by detailed instructions and step-by-step photographs. Basic techniques are covered in a separate chapter that discusses cooking rice and cutting vegetables, fish and shrimp, blanching vegetables, and making dashi, kaeshi and vinegars. More than 90 recipes are included, and with their detailed instructions readers
will soon impress family and friends with this delicious cuisine at home. (Terry Peters North Shore News 2016-06-15)

About this edition

• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1770856064
• ISBN 13: 9781770856066
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 280