This book helps to learn how to prepare more than 70 authentic Japanese recipes for fish and seafood, meat, rice, tofu, sushi, noodles, soup, vegetables, desserts and drinks. With suggestions for complete meals, a glossary of ingredients and their western alternatives, and lists of suppliers, Harumi demystifies modern Japanese cooking. Illustrated throughout with superb photographs of dishes, preparation steps, tableware and presentation ideas, Harumi's Japanese Cooking gives a popular insight into the way meals are eaten in Japan today.Drawing on traditional elements, the recipes embrace simplicity and elegance, combining authentic Japanese cuisine with contemporary tastes. With more than 100 recipes for fish and seafood, meat, rice, tofu, sushi, noodles, soup, vegetables, desserts and drinks, "Harumi's Japanese Cooking" provides a broad selection of mouthwatering recipes. Helpfully, she also suggests which recipes combine well for meals. A glossary of ingredients and their western alternatives, plus useful lists of suppliers complete the book, making it today's most comprehensive introduction to modern Japanese food.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Shirley Booth, Introduction, Appetisers & Entrees, Soup & Noodles, Rice, Tofu, Seafood, Chicken & Eggs, Beef & Pork, Vegetables, Sushi, Desserts & Drinks, Glossary of ingredients, Suppliers of Japanese ingredients, Index

About the Author

Harumi Kurihara is the best-known cookery writer in Japan, with a public profile similar to that of Delia Smith in the UK. Her cooking and lifestyle books and magazines and media-friendly charisma have brought her phenomenonal success, based on a down-to-earth, unpretentious approach to stylish living and eating. She has made the traditional Japanese values of elegance and simplicity relevant and accessible to millions. Kurihara's powerful popular appeal has seen her sell more than 13 million cookery books and magazines - her glossy quarterly Suteki Recipe (Beautiful Recipes), which features her own recipes, home decoration ideas and lifestyle tips, is always a bestseller. Her Yutori no kukan (A space for comfortable living) chain of shops sells her own Harumi K. brand of simple and stylish household items like tableware, homewear and gardening tools; each has a cafe where customers can sample her recipes. Thirteen Harumi K. concessions have been opened in department stores all over Japan.

Prizes

Winner of Best Cookery Book at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2004 Hardback has sold more than 25,000 copies in UK alone More than 70 recipes for fish and seafood, meat, rice, tofu, sushi, noodles, soup, vegetables, desserts, drinks and bento (lunch boxes).

Reviews

Kurihari is wildly popular in Japan, where she has a cooking magazine, a line of housewares, and several best-selling cookbooks in print. She has sometimes been called Japan's Martha Stewart, but, as evidenced by her first book to be published here, she has a more down-to-earth, straightforward style. True, she does have a large collection of serving dishes and plates, but that is in large part a reflection of the Japanese aesthetic senseAthe emphasis on "variety, seasonality, and presentation" that, Harumi believes, is what makes the cuisine unique. She presents both classic Japanese dishes and more contemporary recipes, often influenced by other cuisines, from Japanese Pepper Steak with Ginger Mashed Potatoes to Tofu with Basil and Gorgonzola Dressing. She also includes a mini-tutorial on sushi, illustrated with step-by-step photographs, and there are color photographs, many full-page, of all the recipes. An unintimidating, informed, and quite engaging introduction to a cuisine few Americans cook at home, this this book is recommended for most collections. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

The publisher calls Kurihara "Japan's Martha Stewart" because of her numerous bestselling cookbooks, her lifestyle magazine and line of kitchenware, but judging by the overall simplicity of these recipes-and that Kurihara is "not interested in decorating [her] food for the sake of it"-that comparison is questionable. The recipes in this volume are divided into basic categories: appetizers, soups and noodles, rice, tofu, seafood, chicken and egg, beef and pork, sushi, vegetables, and desserts and drinks. They range from extremely accessible, such as Beef on Rice and Chicken with Red and Green Peppers, to more intimidating, such as Shrimp and Squid Tempura. But even the more involved entries are doable thanks to Kurihara's encouraging and straightforward (if not always elegant, thanks to an occasionally awkward translation) prose. She covers traditional Japanese favorites like Okonomiyaki Hiroshima fu (Japanese-Style Savory Pancake) and more contemporary takes with international influences, like Tofu with Basil and Gorgonzola Dressing, which she describes as "a rather Italian way to serve up tofu." Throughout, the emphasis on eating mindfully, varying ingredients and keeping portions small (especially for dessert) means that this is a healthful cookbook that doesn't try too hard to be one. Photos. (Apr. 4) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.