Real Japanese Cooking

**CODES Committee Essential Cookbook of 2026** and Booklist's Top Ten Food Books of 2025**

"Maki Itoh has succeeded in creating a treasure trove in her exploration of Japanese recipes and culinary traditions…Perfect for the Japanese food loving home cook." —Elise Bauer, Founder, SimplyRecipes.com

The first comprehensive cookbook to fully cover all aspects of Japanese cuisine—with 600 recipes!

This book is the culmination of a lifetime steeped in two cultures. Born in Tokyo and raised in New York, Makiko Itoh grew up in the heart of her mother's acclaimed Japanese restaurant, a culinary landmark for over twenty years. Now a celebrated bilingual food writer and translator, she brings a rare perspective—uniquely equipped to bridge the gap and share the soul of Japanese cuisine with the world.

Her book provides answers to all the questions that people usually ask about one of the world's greatest cuisines, including:

• Why is Japanese food so unique? This book provides a full overview—from aesthetics to umami
• Essential ingredients like miso, mirin, dashi, sake and kombu—how and why are they used?
• How to prepare and serve a Japanese meal—from cookware to tableware and etiquette
• Which recipes are right for you?—the 600 recipes in this book cover everything from sushi to ramen to donburi rice bowls, nukazuke pickles and Japanese bread!

Itoh's mission is to demystify Japanese cuisine for non-Japanese home cooks. Her book contains 400 beautiful color photos with clearly-presented recipes interspersed with fascinating essays and sidebars explaining all aspects of Japan's unique food culture. A must-read book for every Japanese food lover!

Makiko Itoh was raised and educated in Japan, the UK and the US and has lived in Europe for many decades. Despite living abroad, she has always returned to her native Japanese culinary roots. In 2003 she started writing the JustHungry blog to introduce Japanese homestyle dishes to people with limited access to the authentic ingredients. In 2007 she launched a blog dedicated to bento, which led to the publication of her first book, The Just Bento Cookbook, which has become an international bestseller. She now lives in Switzerland and writes a monthly column on Japanese food for The Japan Times.