Japanese Books - Page 4

What's What in Japanese Restaurants: A Guide to Ordering, Eating, and Enjoying (Origami Classroom)

Robb Satterwhite

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

As indispensable as any map or guide book 5 out of 5 stars.
22 of 22 people found this review helpful.

If you are going on a trip to Japan, take "What's What in Japanese Restaurants" with you. It is a handy, pocket-sized reference book that will save you many a stomach-ache and hopefully let you discover many a good taste. Not all strange Japanese food is to be feared!

The guide outlines many of the main Japanese foods, a few ways to eat them and some simple restaurant etiquette. The food are named in both English and Japanese, with the Japanese written in Katakana and Hiragana. This is important, as most Japanese menus will not contain an English translation.

The books small size is most convenient, as luggage space can be at a premium. In the end, you will be glad you brought this book along.

Editorial Review:

Okay, you can walk into your favorite sushi bar and order the tuna roll in Japanese; that's a good start. But there's more to life than teriyaki, tempura, and sushi. With descriptions of grilled chicken skewers (yakitori), hearty plates of pork cutlets (tonkatsu), barbecue (robatayaki), and steaming rice bowls topped with grilled eel (unagi donburi), Robb Satterwhite lets you in on a world of Japanese cuisine that's little known east of Tokyo, but well worth learning.

Japanese Foods That Heal: Using Traditional Japanese Ingredients to Promote Health, Longevity, & Well-Being

John Belleme, Jan Belleme, Christina Pirello

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Food is Medicine 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I tend to be highly skeptical about this kind of book, mainly because they usually present some sort of idealized fantasy of a health-conscious and simple Japan where everyone is deeply in tune with the rhythms of nature, whilst I know from many years of experience living in Japan that your average Japanese person is much more likely to sit down to a steaming pile of fried chicken, reconstituted ramen and a few cans of beer rather than ocean-harvested kombu and mountain vegetables gently simmered followed by a sweet cup of amazake. However I was pleasantly surprised when the authors stated up front that "Japanese people don't eat this way", and acknowledged that many of these foods will be more readily available in an American health food store than in a Japanese supermarket.

With that fresh start, I was able to enjoy "Japanese Foods that Heal" for what it is, a brilliant guide to eighteen traditional Japanese ingredients that are powerhouses of health, with medicinal properties that strengthen the human body and provide resources and defenses against all manner of illnesses. Each ingredient is considered in-depth, talking about the traditional harvesting/creation methods, the known medicinal properties of that ingredient, and the traditional healing powers associated with it. The authors are careful to state what is a proven effect of the food and what is only a "potential" effect. Some of the foods, such as miso and green tea, are quite familiar and well-known for their health value. Others, such as soy sauce and the sweetener mirin, were more of a surprise, as I had not thought of them as having any particular value other than as a flavoring agent. Some of the ingredients I had never heard of, such as seitan and mizu ame, which the author admits you would need to either make yourself or find at a specialized store.

While there are recipes for each ingredient included, "Japaneses Foods that Heal" cannot really be considered a cookbook. About five or six simple recipes with no photographs are all you get for each item, and the bulk of the text is educating you about the food itself. While the recipes are easy to make and delicious, I was more intrigued by the concept put forward of using these foods in regular recipes replacing items of little nutritional value, such as refined salt or white sugar, with more nutritious substitutes like mirin or the salty picked-plum umeboshi. Definitely something to give a try.

The only drawback to this book is that the authors reinforce the stereotype that eating healthy means eating expensive. When they talk about soy sauce, they are quick to distinguish between the mass-produced condiment available anywhere, and the healthy, hand-processed variety only made in few places and only available at specialty stores for quite a bit more than you would expect to pay. The cheap stuff, they say, isn't worth your time. The same story is told for almost every food, with a lengthy description of its traditional, healthy processing method followed by a disclaimer saying how the majority is now chemically produced in factories, and you will have to search out and be prepared to pay for the good stuff.

Editorial Review:

A comprehensive and authoritative guide to the healing powers of Japanese foods, this book includes an in-depth look at over seventeen traditional ingredients, including miso, shiitake, toasted sesame oil, tofu, amazake, and seitan. Each food item is given its own chapter, which includes a detailed discussion of the nutritional and medicinal benefits, how to make it or buy it, cooking with it, and recipes featuring it. This book also features a pronunciation guide, which is great for ordering from restaurants or shops, and a guide to composing meals.

Authentic Japanese Cuisine for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide

Sabi Shinojima

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO MAKE TEMPURA BUT BEEN DISMAYED BY THE RESULT?
In this handy full-color guide, you will discover the simple steps that professional chefs use to attain the perfect texture for every dish and bring out the full depth of flavor for each ingredient.
The seventy recipes in this volume are presented in full color, supplemented by full-color photographs of four, five, or more of the steps needed to prepare the dish perfectly. The key step-the professional's touch-for recipes is highlighted for quick reference.
Organized by method of preparation, the recipes include simmered dishes, elegant soups, rice dishes, noodle platters, custard-style egg dishes, seafood dishes, deep-fried and pan-fried dishes, and crisp marinated vegetable dishes.
Fundamental techniques of Japanese cooking, such as making stock, blanching vegetables, steaming rice, handling dried foods, and grilling fish, are included in each section, with illustrations for every step.
With its easy-to-use format and mouthwatering recipes, this book is an essential tool for every kitchen.

Easy Sushi

Emi Kazuko, Peter Cassidy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

It's ok 3 out of 5 stars.
15 of 21 people found this review helpful.

I thought it would be a little easier then it presents it's self to be, You need a ton of supplies before really going anyware with this book, so it adds up. But besides that the receipes are great.

My First Sushi book 4 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

This is the first sushi book I bought after a friend tought my seven year old and friends to make it during a Japan day at school, using canned tuna. He and his friends liked it (to my surprise) and so I decided to look for a cookbook so I could try it at home. I think it is an excellent beginners book. I've had no failures. It is not true that you need a plethora of utensils to get started. All I use is the bamboo rolling mat, I happen to have a rice paddle although I don't always use it. In my opinion, the only essential items are the rolling mat and of course the ingredients, however the book is very flexible with the variety of ingredients, not all typically Japanese. Again, I think this is a very good starter book. I am now looking for a more advanced book with greater variety.

Editorial Review:

Traditional Japanese food is fresh, healthy, low in fat and aesthetically pleasing. Sushi is an art form in Japan, and now with this practical book, you can make your own sushi at home. Step-by-step instructions and photographs show you how to make a vari

The Sake Handbook

John Gauntner

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A must-buy for any sake enthusiast 5 out of 5 stars.
29 of 32 people found this review helpful.

Ah, sake. This rice wine has been around for thousands of years, and is part of many traditions in Japan. As Japanese food styles have become popular across the globe, so has this fine drink, which can be served both warm and cold. To learn more about the history of sake, and to learn how to choose a good brand, this book is invaluable.

To start with, The Sake Handbook goes over each step involved in making sake. Reading through the intricate processes involved helps you understand why there are so many varieties of sake, and why each one has a different flavor. One key step, for example, is the polishing step. The inner part of the rice generally is of higher quality than the outer portion, so the more 'extra' that is polished away, the finer the sake.

Next, Gauntner goes over the various types of sake, and how each is unique. Some of these terms are:

* Junmai-shu is pure rice sake. Only rice, water, and the koji mold are used to produce this top level sake. It ends up tasting heavier and fuller than other types of sake. It uses less than 70% polished rice - this means they have `ground away' the other 30% of impurities.

* Honjozo-shu has a small amount of distilled ethyl alcohol added during the final stages. They then add water later so the alcohol content stays the same. This sake is lighter and dryer than other types. It can be served warm.

* Ginjo-shu uses 60% polished rice. It is also fermented for longer periods of time, giving a complex and delicate flavor.

* Daiginjo-shu is just like Ginjo-shu, but polished to 50% of the original size. It takes even longer to brew and complete. Futsuu-shu - any sake which does not fall into one of the above four categories.

Gauntner describes how sake is tasted, and how an individual can learn to distinguish between various sakes, and figure out the 'type' best suited for his or her palate. To help with this, the entire second half of the book is dedicated to a brand-by-brand evaluation of the best sakes on the market. This is invaluable! No matter if you're in Tokyo or Chicago, you can bring this book in with you to a store or restaurant and compare with ease the various sakes available.

There even is a section towards the back listing the best sake restaurants in Japan. If you're going on a trip to Japan, bring this book along, and know what to order and any special rules about each location.

Editorial Review:

A compact guidebook to Japan's national beverage, The Sake Handbook is the perfect introduction to the history, brewing, and merits of a variety of sake. Gauntner gives readers all the information they need to become sake experts. Now revised with updated sake recommendations and pubs, this book includes a detailed explanation of the sake brewing process and profiles of over fifty Japanese izakaya (sake pubs) in Tokyo. There are also reviews of over one hundred sake brands, sake labels for easy identification and a list of specialty liquor shops throughout Japan, with addresses and phone numbers, where readers can purchase hard-to-find sake brands.

Make Your Own Japanese Clothes: Patterns and Ideas for Modern Wear

John Marshall

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Classical elegance. Loose-fitting comfort. Versatility. Functional design. These are just some of the reasons why traditional Japanese clothes have captured the imagination of modern fashion designers and stylish dressers around the world.
Making Japanese clothes is surprisingly simple. Patterns consist of virtually all straight lines, and the non-body-conforming shapes require no darts, buttonholes, or zippers.
Here, in this creative sourcebook, is all the information you need to sew authentic Japanese clothes or to design your own Japan-inspired fashions:
Step-by-step instructions for making 14 select traditional garments, from the luxurious wedding rove and the classic kimono to the informal hanten jacket and practical field pants
Detailed patterns that can be adjusted to fit any size
An introduction to the basic building blockssleeve shapes, collars, hems, linings, and paddingso creative sewers can design their own fashions
Over 40 sketches with many more suggestions for modern variations on the classic garments
A choice of authentic Japanese techniques or simplified methods that achieve the same look
How to use any width fabric, whether narrow Japanese fabric or standard Western widths
Sources of Japanese fabric and sewing accessories
Care and storage guidelines
Fabric suggestions, ideas for creative wear, historical information, and much more!

Quick & Easy Dim Sum Appetizers and Light Meals (Quick & Easy)

Judy Lew

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Dim Sum and other types of small dishes continue to be one of our hottest culinary trends. These tasty little treats--from dumplings and spring rolls to buns, noodles and mini cakes--allow diners to sample a wide variety of dishes as a snack or a full meal.
Now, Judy Lew, author of the two bestselling books in the Quick & Easy series, shows readers that Dim Sum are not only fun to eat--they're fun and simple to prepare and serve as well. Lew begins with Basic Hints (if the formation of a dumpling seems difficult at first, try to shape it in an easier style, it will taste just as delicious) and Preparations (Basic Bun Dough); then goes on to offer 50 individual recipes, grouped according to type: Buns-Rolls, Black Bean Sauce Variations, Siu Mai Spring Rolls, Seafood, Meat, Rice-Noodles and Confectionary. She also covers essentials like how to make sweet and sour sauce, using a wok, steaming rice, making soup stock and preparing tea. The volume concludes with sections on menu planning, cooking methods, utensils and a glossary.
Dim Sum Appetizers and Light Meals has been designed and packaged in the immediately-recognizable and user-friendly format of the Quick & Easy series. Each recipe is accompanied by a vivid color photograph of the finished dish, as well as photos showing ingredients and each step of the preparation.
With its emphasis on simple, fresh seasonal ingredients, Quick & Easy Dim Sum Appetizers and Light Meals will appeal to cooks at all levels of experience who want to produce delicious meals for casual family dining or festive occasions.

Encyclopedia of Sushi Rolls

Ken Kawasumi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SUSHI ROLLS
Dazzle your friends with over 180 kinds of sushi rolls. The fully illustrated step-by-step instructions in this book will show you how to make everyone's favorite sushi-bar staples, new styles of sushi with Western ingredients, and dazzling decorative creations.
- 27 large rolls (futomaki)
- 26 small rolls (hosomaki)
- 3 floral shapes made from multiple rolls
- 28 hand rolls (temaki)
- 12 inside-out rolls (uramaki, including the popular California Roll)
- 85 decorative rolls (kazarimaki, including flowers, animals, landscapes, and all 26 letters of the alphabet)
This book is written for beginners and old hands alike. Beginners will enjoy the detailed instructions on finding the proper equipment, cooking the rice, choosing the nori, and rolling perfectly every time. Sushi experts can expand their repertoires with the inventive decorative rolls and the surprising flavor combinations. All readers will treasure the beautiful illustrations and the special tips on how to fix common sushi rolling problems. Whether you roll the sushi yourself or have your guests join in the fun, The Encyclopedia of Sushi Rolls is the perfect planner for your next party or picnic.

Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America

Linda Furiya

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Food as the Balm for the Sometimes Unsteady Bridge Between Two Worlds 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

As a Japanese-American raised first in California and then in Texas, I can relate to many of the experiences that author Linda Furiya, a food columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, shares in her childhood memoir of growing up as a Nisei in a small Indiana community, in particular, the complex interdependency evident in her relationship with her Japanese-born mother. In fact, Furiya spends little time writing about her father or her brothers because of the especially symbiotic connection with her mother. Her particular back story as an atypically liberated woman in a male-dominated society lends an intriguing twist on the stereotype one usually associates with the traditional Japanese woman.

Similar to Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate, the book is a series of vignettes organized around selective memories of preparing and eating food reflective of the author's heritage. Whereas Esquivel opened each of her chapters with a recipe, Furiya chooses to close each chapter with one for family favorites such as Chinese Home-Style Tofu and Japanese Pot Stickers. Although the recipes make nice transitional points within her episodic structure, they actually aren't that necessary since she otherwise captures the pervasive dichotomy of having a racial identity utterly different from her surroundings in ways that are both poignant and painful. Some of the episodes felt so familiar to me that it made me wonder just how well Asian-Americans in general have assimilated into the mainstream.

The book's title refers to the Japanese box lunches that her mother would meticulously prepare for her to take to elementary school where her classmates had their regulation sandwiches. Rather than face embarrassing stares and questions, she would hide in the bathroom eating her mother's homemade onigiri. That palpable sense of isolation informs many of the anecdotes Furiya shares here, as they highlight the subtle forms of racism and sexism she experienced firsthand while attempting to make sense of her place between two distinct cultures. Moreover, she makes precisely calibrated observations on the generational conflict that seemed inevitable in serving to alienate her from her heritage only to embrace it later through her love of Japanese food. Despite some heavy-handed passages, the book is a relatively light read that taps into darker themes in a most affecting manner.

Editorial Review:

While growing up in Versailles, an Indiana farm community, Linda Furiya tried to balance the outside world of Midwestern America with the Japanese traditions of her home life. As the only Asian family in a tiny township, Furiya's life revolved around Japanese food and the extraordinary lengths her parents went to in order to gather the ingredients needed to prepare it.
As immigrants, her parents approached the challenges of living in America, and maintaining their Japanese diets, with optimism and gusto. Furiva, meanwhile, was acutely aware of how food set her apart from her peers: She spent her first day of school hiding in the girls' restroom, examining her rice balls and chopsticks, and longing for a Peanut Bullter and Jelly sandwich.
Bento Box in the Heartland is an insightful and reflective coming-of-age tale. Beautifully written, each chapter is accompanied by a family recipe of mouth-watering Japanese comfort food.

Quick & Easy Sushi Cookbook

Heihachiro Tohyama, Yukiko Moriyama

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Very Worthwhile! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book in a bookshop here in Tokyo actually after reading through it, I worked in Japanese resturants both in Australia and Japan for about 4 years and after making a change in my line of work I wanted a reference book on some of the areas that I didn't get time to learn in full. I'd made Sushi professionally but wasn't doing it long enough to rotate through all of the different areas of prep

There are very good step by step picture (glossy photos) instructions for how to cut fish and prepare different types of fish plus there are some great novelty chirashi items for kids too.

The proof in the pudding for me though was the part on Shari (sushi rice), if that more fundumental part isn't good then it calls the quality of the whole book into question. It was certainly not lacking!

In the end, with the sushi rice in this book so good the fact that there are lots of imaginative recipes in here that you might get in a japanese home but never in a resturant on top of the standard stuff really makes this book worth while. All the fundamentals are here, plus a lot of fun stuff so you get to involve yourself to a level that suits you.

Editorial Review:

The ideal first book for learning to make the various styles of traditional and authentic sushi.