Japan: The Cookbook

I bought this as a gift and the recipient was very pleased. It's a beautiful hardcover book (bamboo?) with some weight on it; wonderfully crafted. It also has beautiful pictures, and what I believe to be excellent recipes and stories.

This is a beautiful book visually, aside from being inventive, thorough, accurate and sensitive in its written content. I am gratified this writer did not attempt to engage in amateur scholarship of the Japanese language, as some other Western authors have done.The author says to substitute freely, and indeed I think using available ingredients is crucial to her whole culinary philosophy, but many of the ingredients mentioned are not readily available for city people in Japan, let alone the US. But realize the power of local producers--in Japan, for instance, I know restaurant owners who have convinced local people to raise radicchio di Treviso and other Western vegetables.I can really find no fault with this book--save for the recipe for Osaka kitsune soba. Kitsune soba in almost all of Japan is soba with usuage or abura-age tofu. Perversely, in Osaka in particular, I have been told there is no such thing as kitsune soba. "You mean soba with abura-age, eh?" as I've been scolded and taken for a cretin more than once. Presumably real Osaka people call this tanuki soba, but I would not ask for it by that name anywhere else in Japan--tanuki soba in Tokyo has for a topping the crusts of batter that float around tempura, not very appealing to me.

Rarely do I write reviews, but this book deserves all the stars I can give it. I collect cookbooks, and whenever Phaidon releases a new one, I automatically purchase it. Although the books are always beautifully presented, the quality of the recipes can vary, and some of the books have practically no recipe notes at all (squinting at you, VEGAN).Fortunately for me, this cookbook checks all of my boxes. The presentation is gorgeous, with full-color photographs accompany every two or three recipes. Furthermore, there is a LOT of information about ingredients, preparation methods, meal presentation and cooking/serving equipment. You can really learn a lot just by paging through this volume, which is one of the most important qualities I look for in a cookbook.I would also note that this book is bound in such a way that it stays open on a cookbook stand, which is a huge help. It's a sizable tome, but not so thick that it won't fit in my stand. That may not be important to some, but it's nice to be able to use a cookbook without scraping up the bottoms of the pages as you wrestle the thing into your cookbook holder.So, final verdict: BUY IT. ::)

Husband loves this book , just now I’m eating a gyoza he made out of the receipt of this book and they are delicious , this isn’t the only recipe he has try from the book, he’s an empirical chef and was opening a japanese restaurant, this book helped him so much on getting to know a little more from the japanese cuisine.

As described, perfect book.forgotten by time cooking dish. Yes I do recommend, this one is all you need.lowest price only - Amazon have it :)

This book is a plethora of information and recipes. I will say if you’re in the Midwest like me it’s a bit tricky to get some of the ingredients in these recipes. I’m also not a very experienced or great cook so this book was a bit too complicated for me BUT quality and content is fantastic. I really recommend this for serious chefs and for those who have a big love of Japanese cuisine. The recipes are super unique too and not what you would find in other recipe books. It’s also a very pretty and aesthetically pleasing for decor!

This has a lot of good information about the different Japanese cuisines, is well written and gives good instructions as well as some alternative ingredient usage (maybe not enough of this). Well organized with great color photos of some, but not nearly enough, of the dishes. Would recommend to anyone who wants to begin learning about Japanese cooking or anyone who wishes to expand their skills.

This is more than a cookbook. Yes the photos and quality of the materials used to make the book are stunning, but it's also a wonderful example of history + experience = food. I appreciated that recipes from the author herself are included, but information from current week-known chefs are also listed.Whether you cook Japanese cuisine or are just interested in reading about what goes into making Japanese dishes, this is a must-have!