A Dictionary of Japanese Food: Ingredients & Culture (English and Japanese Edition)

By Richard Hosking

Book Overview

Nominated for the Glenfiddich Food Book of the Year Award, this timeless volume is the first and only book of its kind on the subject. A Dictionary of Japanese Food helps food lovers around the world... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804820422
• ISBN13: 9780804820424
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Tuttle Pub
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.5" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

A valueable pocket guide to take shopping

This ten-year old dictionary remains unsurpassed as a guide to the ingredients, methods and utensils used in japanese cooking. It is a portable volume with romanized, kana and kanji versions of all the names and so is ideal for a trip to the market where many unfamilar ingredients may be presented to the english--speaking food lover. There are seventeen useful appendices that cover topics like: Chopsticks Katsuoboshi The kitchen and its utensils Kombu The Meal Miso Sake Salt Sansai Soy sauce Sushi Tea The tea ceremony Umami and Flavor Vegetarianism Wasabi Wasabon Sugar In addition, many of the entries have enough detail to be useful to the Western chef who wants to incorporate Japanese ideas into his or her cooking. Hoskins is an admirably concise writer who packs a lot of information into a small amount of graceful prose. Be aware that this is not an encyclopedia. If you use the English-Japanese section to look up `mushroom' for instance, you'll find the translation `kinoko' but not a comprehensive list of Japanese mushrooms or techniques for cooking them. So leave the browsing to other books and keep this one for trips to the market You'll be glad to have it. --Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and the forthcoming novel bang-BANG from Kunati Books. ISBN 9781601640005

Authentic, resourceful, handy and enjoyable

As a Japanese native and a food enthusiast, I first approached this book skeptically. I must say that I am impressed. Another reviewer says that this book does not contain everything, but hey, it covers much more than I expected. I keep it handy when I cook Japanese food for guests, so I can answer questions without guessing all the time. Finding books like this one --straightforward and packed with trustworthy, interesting information -- is a joy.

An absolute gem of a book, comprehensive and enlightening.

It is unique in a field that is not well documented in the English language. The main body is a Japanese-English dictionary of Japanese foodstuffs. Entries go: Japanese name in romaji (Roman alphabet), kana, kanji, (Chinese characters), then the English translation, then any scientific name. Each definition is several lines long, including details of preparation, culinary uses, and cultural, regional and seasonal notes. The book is profusely cross-referenced and illustrated in black and white. There is an Engish-Japanese glossary at the back and seventeen appendices covering key items such as katsuobushi, miso, Buddhist vegetarian cuisine and so on in greater detail.This is not a cookbook, there are no recipes or instructions. Rather, it is a treasure-chest of culinary detail, illuminating a great deal that was previously hidden. The Japanese cuisine is vast and varied, but largely mysterious and unknown outside Japan, because there are very few definitive books written in languages other than Japanese. I am not certain that a comparative book exists even in Japan; it was compiled from Japanese sources but some of these were very old or quite obscure or scholarly. I can recommend it to anyone who knows anything about Japan or Japanese food and wants to make a quantum leap of knowledge and understanding.

An absolute gem of a book, comprehensive and enlightening

It is unique in a field that is not well documented in the English language. The main body is a Japanese-English dictionary of Japanese foodstuffs. Entries go: Japanese name in romaji, kana, kanji, (Chinese character), then the English translation, then any scientific name. Each definition is several lines long, includes details of preparation, culinary uses, and cultural, regional and seasonal notes. The book is profusely cross-referenced and illustrated in black and white. There is an Engish-Japanese glossary at the back and seventeen appendices covering key items such as katsuobushi, miso, Buddhist vegetarian cuisine and so on in greater detail.This is not a cookbook, there are no recipes or instructions. Rather, it is a treasure-chest of culinary detail, illuminating a great deal that was previously hidden. The Japanese cuisine is vast and varied, but largely unknown outside Japan, because there are very few definitive books written in languages other than Japanese. I am not certain that a comparative book even exists in Japan; it was compiled from Japanese sources but some of these were very old or quite obscure. I can recommend it to anyone who knows anything about Japan or Japanese food and wants to make a quantum leap of knowledge and understanding.

Set up Your Own Japanese Kitchen

A Dictionary of Japanese Food: Ingredients and Culture, by Richard Hosking, is the essential guide for creating your own Japanese kitchen and buying food at your closest Japanese center. For those of you who appreciate Japanese culture and foods but are confused navigating the market, this book is a must. Hosking lists, both in english and Kanji, all of the essentil ingredients and spices you need to cook. In addition, his appendices contains excellent information about utensiles, chopsticks, the meal, sake, tea, and wasabi to mention a few. I bought this book in Japan, used it there, and will carry it with me to my market in Denver. Stephen Schell (schell@frii.com)