The secret to preparing Japanese cuisine at home is an understanding of the basic ingredients and how a meal is composed. The culinary methods used are basically very simple and this book shows you how with step-by-step instructions. With a glossary of sushi terms and a section on sushi etiquette, making or ordering sushi will never be intimidating again.

With clean, fresh flavors and great good looks, sushi has never been so popular. It's delicious as a light meal or as part of a more substantial Japanese dinner and makes perfect party food. The term "sushi" is taken from sumeshi, meaning vingeared rice, a vital part of all sushi dishes. In Easy Sushi Japanese food writer Emi Kazuko shows you how to cook the rice perfectly and how to make simple rolled sushi using classic ingredients such as cucumber, tuna, or salmon. once you've mastered the easy ones you can explore more adventurous variations, using easy-to-find ingredients. Emi's philosophy is that creating sushi should be fun and there is even a section on sushi for children. If you thought making sushi was strictly for the professionals, Easy Sushi will amaze you. With Emi's simple-to-prepare recipes, all captured by leading food photographer Peter Cassidy, you will never eat take-out sushi again! 

Sushi, that so typical Japanese food, has a history going back to prehistoric times. Over the centuries it has been refined into a surprising number of variations, from the simplest everyday fare--such as tuna wrapped in vinegared rice and crisp vitamin-rich nori seaweed--to elegant and imaginative sushi created for festive occasions. The centerpiece of this book is Edomae-zushi, the delicate, natural, fresh variety first made in Tokyo in the early nineteenth century and now popular throughout the world.

The sushi shop, with its scrubbed wooden counter and fillets of raw fish sleeping in refrigerated cases right before the diner's eyes, is a memorable experience in itself but faced with such variety--and the special vocabulary of the sushi world--how and what does one order, how does one truly appreciate it? The answers are all here. The reader of The Book of Sushi will come to understand the basics of what the sushi chef must learn during his long apprenticeship: how fish and other seafoods are carefully selected, the season when certain species are at their best, how the fish and rice and other ingredientssome fresh from the mountains rather than the sea--are prepared in the most tasteful and tasty way. Here, too, are the utensils and techniques, fully illustrated, of sushi making and an assessment of the nutritional value of this marvelous, low-calorie source of vitamins and healthy, uncontaminated protein.

The focus is always on the traditional--the best sushi--and with this beautifully illustrated book as a guide, the reader will know not only how to enjoy the sushi shop with savoir-faire, how, in fact, to become a connoisseur, but how to make and serve this intriguing, delightfully refreshing dish at home. Whether you're a near connoisseur or virtual novice, there's always more to learn about sushi. The Book of Sushi is jammed with tips on how to make these succulent morsels yourself, or order them like a veteran at a sushi bar. Learn to tell at a glance if fish is really fresh. Learn just what the sushi master's training entails. Learn just how good for you this dish really is. There's just one drawback: the more you learn about sushi, the more you'll probably start liking it. You may find sushi getting to be a habit.  

In the past North Americans have not been great fans of Japanese food, perhaps feeling it to be too alien in style and ingredients. But at last revolution has taken place: witness the popularity of sushi and its appearance in every supermarket as well as the explosion in the number of noodle bars. Consumers too have rediscovered a liking for fish and now even raw fish. Much has also been written recently about the health benefits of miso and green tea. Japanese food is finally being appreciated.

It is in fact a cuisine rich in foods which are good for you; it has been shown to help prevent disease, and is above all tasty. The style of eating too is conducive to good health: lots of little dishes with small portions, eaten slowly over the course of an evening. It is like Spanish tapas or Greek meze, and just as convivial, especially when accompanied by sake, Japanese rice wine.

Simplicity is one of the surprising and pleasing elements about Japanese cooking. It is similar to Mediterranean cooking which relies on fresh ingredients, simply prepared.

Shirley Booth, who lived in Japan for many years and has taught Japanese cooking to both Japanese and foreigners, gives us a wonderful, engaging history of Japanese food, its styles and traditions-from Imperial cooking to temple cooking and the food of the Yatai or street vendors. She explains every aspect of this great cuisine, the ingredients, the techniques, the essential equipment, the importance of color and presentation. She then goes to share over 200 recipes which she has cooked time and time again. Soups, broths, dumplings, noodle dishes, tempura, sushi, pickles, wonderful tempting classic dishes such as Eggplant with Miso Topping, Broad Beans and Wakame and some simple dishes with a new twist such as Tofu with Peanut and Pumpkin Sauce.

Japanese food is very much the food of today, try some of these recipes and discover a whole new world of sensational flavors and textures.

The acclaimed book that demystified Japanese cuisine for home cooks returns with a newly designed cover as lovely as the photo presentations within. Over 90 exquisite recipes cover every aspect of modern Japanese meals from elaborate kaiseki dinners--the haute cuisine of Japan--to simply prepared noodle bowls for a casual family supper. The dozens of step-by-step technique illustrations make preparing even the most complicated dishes as easy as ichi, ni, san. Vibrant color photographs take fans of Japanese cookery on a culinary tour of the country, exploring the feasts and festivals, restaurants, sushi bars, street stalls, and even the temples for a taste of this intriguing land. Along the way discover why, as a result of their diet, the Japanese live longer than anyone else in the world. Itadaki masu! Enjoy

In recent years, Japanese food has become a welcome part of the Western eating experience, adding a new and pleasurable dimension both to dining out and cooking at home. Yet while many Westerners have eaten Japanese food and have come to appreciate it for its attractive presentation and light, delicate flavors, relatively few are well acquainted with its origins and development, how it is traditionally served and eaten, and how it has evolved through history to fit into the life and culture of the Japanese people.

In this informative and gracefully written volume, renowned author and critic Donald Richie provides a lively examination of the popular foods of Japan, including not only well-established Western favorites like sushi, tempura, and sukiyaki, but more esoteric fare. Oikefugu, the highly-prized blowfish that can be deadly if not prepared properly, and unagi, the delicate grilled eel that represents one of the pinnacles of Japanese cuisine. The unlikely reasons for the popularity of deep fried pork cutlets (tonkatsu) in a non-meat-eating culture, the special place of noodles in the Japanese food pantheon, the varieties of forms in which rice can be found, from stuffed riceballs (onigiri) to pounded cakes (mochi)--all these and more are revealed in Donald Richie's engaging anecdotal style. Sections on Japanese pickles, sweets, sake, and tea complete this captivating survey of the delights of the Japanese table.

Whether you are contemplating a trip to Japan, a visit to the nearest Japanese restaurant, or a foray into cooking with Japanese ingredients yourself, these fourteen excursions into the world of Japanese food make it possible for you to approach its varied delights with confidence, understanding, and unending pleasure.

Some mornings you wake up, roll out of bed, and you just know it's a cold soba kind of day. Sound familiar? But if you don't happen to live or work near Japanese noodle restaurants, you're kind of out of luck. "The Japanese," writes Emi Kazuko, author of Café Japan, one of the Conran Café series, "cannot survive, even for a few days, without a bowl of noodles.... So it's not surprising to come across a Soba-ya (noodle shop) every ten yards or so on any high street in Japan." Yeah, well, what about the rest of us?

Fortunately, Kazuko strips away the mystery from Cold Soba, much as she does from many other café-style dishes you would find in Japan. And where words might fail, the fine color photography used throughout the Café series beautifully illustrates just the point the author wants to convey.

Small cafes and bistros in Japan specialize in one item, yakitori, say, or tempura. In other words, there's no such thing as a "Japanese" restaurant in Japan. Fortunately for the Western cook, Kazuko has pulled all these disparate specialists into one food court where ease and simplicity are the hallmarks of dining.

You will find familiar soups and appetizers such as Miso Soup with Tofu and Snow Peas, Clear Soup with Mussels and Watercress, Fried Giant Prawns, and Soft-Cooked Octopus. Main Dishes include Seared Yuan Salmon, Ginger Pork, Chicken Teriyaki, Udon with Curry Soup and, of course, Soba. There are many dishes here that define the popular palate in Japan, but remain more obscure in the West. Kazuko's great talent is making familiar what might seem exotic. If you have suffered a fear of cooking Japanese food, this is a great place to start. And the next time the sun rises on a Cold Soba kind of day, you'll know just what to do. --Schuyler Ingle  

James Beard's name has been synonymous with culinary excellence for more than 40 years. This revival of a classic volume of weekly syndicated newspaper columns and recipes written by the "Dean of American Cooking" is organized into chapters on meat, fish, vegetables, herbs, and culinary tools. It offers simple, delectable suggestions for improvisational meals, plus elegant ideas for cocktail parties and other home entertaining from the man hailed for his exceptional teaching ability and vast insight into all things food-related. A delicious source of timeless advice and sage observations, BEARD ON FOOD is a glorious recipe book, as well as the ultimate armchair read for anyone interested in wonderful, honest food. 

Japanese cooking is famous for its natural ingredients, clean simplicity, and delicate flavor-which, of course, makes it perfect for today's health-conscious gourmet. Many Westerners may think that Japanese food is too difficult to prepare, but in fact, it's surprisingly easy - especially with The Book of Japanese Cooking. This new, user-friendly guide makes Japanese cooking accessible to anyone interested in trying new, healthy cuisine. Each recipe is fully illustrated with color photographs and step-by-step instructions. So whether you're in the mood for noodle soup, stir-fry, or sushi, The Book of Japanese Cooking makes it simple, healthy, and exquisitely delicious.