The Japanese Kitchen: A Book of Essential Ingredients with 200 Authentic Recipes

By Kimiko Barber

Book Overview

The upsurge in popularity of sushi and noodle bars over the past few years has put Japanese food firmly on the world culinary map. Now people want to be able to prepare this exquisite food at home. In this groundbreaking book, Kimiko Barber shows you how. She presents 100 essential ingredients, from the familiar soba noodles and nori, to the more unusual such as umeboshi (pickled plum). Each ingredient has its own entry that covers history, appearance, taste, manufacture, buying, storing, culinary use and health benefits. Completing the book are delicious, elegantly illustrated recipes.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 155285633X
• ISBN13: 9781552856338
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Whitecap Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.0" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

Being newly interested in Japanese cuisine...

I found this book a treasure. The organization is, as the title suggests, around the key ingredients that are essential to Japanese cuisine. The ingredients are grouped in sections such as noodles, vegetables, tofu and related products, fish & shellfish, herbs & spices, etc. Each major ingredient has a page or two with a description, uses, and a recipe or two that highlight that ingredient. These are classic recipes that are basic to Japanese cuisine and serve as a wonderful introduction to the simplicity and beauty of these dishes. The photos are big and brilliant and this book would do as well as a coffee table art book as a kitchen reference. There is also a short section in the beginning that introduces the reader to a brief history of Japan and how the culture has evolved with its cuisine. Taken one recipe at a time, it opens up a whole world that is Japanese cuisine.

a brilliant introduction to Japanese food

The ingredients-led entries in this book make it easy to follow and I was amazed by how simple many of the recipes were. The five that I've made have all worked extremely well and been delicious. The photography is stunning and really brought alive the world that is Japanese cooking. I read about the book in Newsweek and thoroughly agree it's one of the best cookbooks I've found in the US during 2004. Just fab.

Japanese cuisine revealed

Not only do you learn about the various ingredients which are indigenous to the country, and essential to their cuisine but it is a trip thoughout the country, through pictures and text to the wonderful sights and aromas of this mysterious land. Familiar foods are prepared in totally different ways, and new ones are there to explore. With the advent of many ethnic food shops and open markets catering to many different cuisines one is now able to put a Japanese dish on your own table. Good reading without cooking as well.