The Japanese Kitchen

by Kimiko Barber

Here is a mix of traditional and easy modern-day recipes for creating Japanese food. Kimiko Barber presents 100 essential ingredients used in Japanese cooking. Every ingredient has its own separate entry that covers history, appearance, manufacture, buying, storing, culinary use and health benefits.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Japanese Literature

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Japanese Cooking/History. Excellent source of background information, with some recipes to try. Many of these ingredients may be difficult to find for people without a nearby Japantown, but interesting nonetheless. Because of the cuisine's dependence on rice and rice flours, I also found it useful for gluten-free ideas (will definitely try to hunt down some mochi gome products for making Japanese dessert cakes and sweets). For more bento-friendly recipes, see also The Just Bento Cookbook.

As with most cookbooks, I found it helpful to be able to borrow this from my local library rather than purchasing, so for those of you who are contemplating giving cookbooks as a gift, please check your library first.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the layout of this book, which was by ingredient, with recipes that featured the ingredient. However, most of the pictures showed the finished food or a random aspect of Japanese culture. While this was interesting (it's a nice cookbook to simply read), some photographs of the preparation process would have been helpful.

[Jaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly what I've always wanted from a book on Japanese cuisine - to know how weird ingredients (lotus roots!) look like, how Japanese vegetables and mushrooms are grown, and how algae are picked. Fascinating! Plus recipes feasible even for a person living 8800 kms from Tokyo.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very many recipes, and definitely not many that were interesting to me, but a lot of general knowledge on the history of common Japanese ingredients and cooking methods.

[Dray · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only fault with this book is that I wish it were 2 or 3 times longer. So much taste!

[Arlen Strickland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to read cookbooks more than actually use them for cooking, and I enjoyed reading this one. It goes ingredient by ingredient, giving origins, manufacturing details (if any), describing taste and texture, followed by a recipe or two. I DO dabble quite a bit in Japanese cooking, so I'll definitely consult this one as an excellent reference on traditional Japanese ingredients.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting layout. A mix of history and use of the ingredient along with a couple of recipes for the ingredient.