Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen

by Elizabeth Andoh

In 1975,Gourmet magazine published a series on traditional Japanese food —the first of its kind in a major American food magazine — written by a graduate of the prestigious Yanagihara School of classical cuisine in Tokyo. Today, the author of that groundbreaking series, Elizabeth Andoh, is recognized as the leading English-language authority on the subject. She shares her knowledge and passion for the food culture of Japan in WASHOKU, an authoritative, deeply personal tribute to one of the world's most distinctive culinary traditions. Andoh begins by setting forth the ethos of washoku (traditional Japanese food), exploring its nuanced approach to balancing flavor, applying technique, and considering aesthetics hand-in-hand with nutrition. With detailed descriptions of ingredients complemented by stunning full-color photography, the book's comprehensive chapter on the Japanese pantry is practically a book unto itself. The recipes for soups, rice dishes and noodles, meat and poultry, seafood, and desserts are models of clarity and precision, and the rich cultural context and practical notes that Andoh provides help readers master the rhythm and flow of the washoku kitchen. Much more than just a collection of recipes, WASHOKU is a journey through a cuisine that is rich in history and as handsome as it is healthful. Awards2006 IACP Award WinnerReviews“This extensive volume is clearly intended for the cook serious about Japanese food.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune“. . . scholarly, yet inspirational . . . a foodie might just sit back and read for sheer enjoyment and edification.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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

328 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

Reviews

[Amanda Nuchols · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have several Japanese cookbooks covering everything from hotpots to sushi, but Washoku is excellent because it covers everyday Japanese "home cooking." Andoh covers all of the basics, from what you need in your pantry to how to wash and cook rice properly. She also explains the Japanese philosophy of food, presentation and balanced meals through Buddhism and Shinto with The Five Principles.
The only drawback for some readers in more remote areas of America would be the lack of suggestions for substitute ingredients for some of the more exotic Japanese ingredients. I am lucky, in that there is an excellent Japanese market in Chinatown that regularly has excellent in-season fish, fruits and vegetables, along with the harder to find pickles, fish cakes, etc.
A worthy book for anyone truly interested in both the philosophy and preparation of old-fashioned, healthy, Japanese home-cooking.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cookbook is more practical than it first appears. I was afraid it would be more of a coffee-table book than something I could actually use, but it has useful guides to Japanese ingredients, cooking equipment, and techniques. The recipes sounded a bit exotic, but once I started reading my way through them, I saw that Andoh's guides gave all the information necessary and that the recipes weren't all that arcane after all. The major drawback I see, however, is that Andoh assumes that you can get your hands on authentic Japanese ingredients and doesn't offer many tips on substituting if you can't. This is good if you want to create authentic Japanese dishes, but if you just don't have easy access to iriko or Japanese mountain yams, the recipes may seem forbidding.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only possible problem I might have with this book is that I waited so long to buy it. This is a must-read for anyone contemplating setting up house in Japan, as well as those interested in Japanese home cooking outside of Japan.

The set-up of the book makes it read like a story but also easy to refer to at a later date. Each recipe has added facts about presentation or how it fits into Japanese culture as a whole.

My cooking has improved a great deal since reading this. I have taken cooking lessons in Japan and have a huge collection of Japanese recipe books and magazines, but for sheer breadth of knowledge Washoku outranks them all.

I especially like the special soy sauce recipe and the tips for making noodles. My somen has improved greatly since I read this and started to add water as soon as it boils.

My husband and kids are quite happy with this book, well worth the price!

[Katri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent cook book introduces traditional Japanese "home food". You will need to source Japanese pantry items and vegetables but the same ingredients go for many dishes so you won't have to buy a lot of different items (unless you want to try cooking every single recipe).

A lot of Japanese terms are used in the recipes (by the way the e-book makes jumping between recipes and glossary a lot easier) and there are hardly any photos.

[Georgia Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have bought this book twice, and I am about to buy it again. The first time, I was in my early twenties and just discovering traditional Japanese cuisine--my parents are from Hawaii so even though I grew up in the southern US I was pretty familiar with the basics. HOWEVER. The basics is only gonna get you so far! I loved this book when I first bought it. It kind of blew my mind. I'd been spending so much time (years and years and years and years) wandering around Asian grocery stores, desperate to figure out what the hell all the unfamiliar packages and utensils and strange vegetables were while sticking to my safe purchases of crack seed and snacks, tofu and shredded pork fu, shoyu and nori sprinkles. This book demystified so many important mysteries. I was relieved and delighted to finally have all those answers at my fingertips!
Then I lost this book. I thought I'd never see it again. A lot of the techniques and tips had incorporated themselves into my daily cooking routine (use the water from rinsing rice to water your plants, listen to the rice as it cooks and it'll tell you everything you need to know, gomashio is amazing and goes on everything), but I still missed having the physcial object to consult, with all its beautiful photos and more advanced tips I might have been ready to tackle.
One day I was in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, begging for a job, and instead of leaving with a job I left with a forty-dollar copy of Washoku. I think it was a worthwhile exercise in silver linings. I found that I had indeed advanced in my capabilities since the first time I'd bought the book (it helps that I went to cooking school and was a cook for years in the meantime, but I still had a million things to learn) and I happily moved on to the more advanced recipes (like the marinated miso salmon, yum!)
And then I lost it. Again. And now, just this morning, I was trying to hobble together a clear explanation of how to make proper stovetop rice for a French person (no mean feat, because not only is this process hella complicated the first time you undertake it, but French people are also wont to boil their rice in a bunch of water and then, once the rice is cooked, dump the lot in a colander, oh my stars WHO taught them this horrible blasphemy?) and, not for the first time, I wondered how I could possibly have lost my copy of Washoku twice.
So I'm off to buy it. Again. Because I think it's one of those cookbooks that can take up residence in your soul, like Elizabeth David's Italian Food or the feasts in Redwall that aren't really recipes but set the mind a-burning with all those descriptions of acorn flapjacks and raspberry cordials. There are some books that make you want to crack open the pages and live inside of them, and this is definitely one of them. Rare for a cookbook, but lucky when it happens.

[Juli Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the food in this cookbook sounds delicious, I don't know how useful these recipes really are. Most of the recipes are just different combinations of other recipes in the book, which makes it very odd to navigate. One has to make at least two or three other recipes to even start a meal. Very good encyclopedia of Japanese ingredients, but other than that, not very practical.

[Jessica Lau · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is filled with traditional Japanese dishes and preparing them with both traditional and modern techniques. I like the way the author explains what washoku is and the principles of Japanese cooking. Although this book is a great read for true Japanese cuisine aficionados, the one thing lacking from this read is the pictures. Usually in a cooking book, there would be a picture accompanying the recipe, but this one doesn't provide that, so every time I stumble to a new dish I know nothing of, I have to rely on my imagination based on how the dish is being prepared, which is not very reliable. Bottom line, I just want more pictures, and that's it.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, made with careful thought and testing. Every ingredient is described in depth, and the pictures are inspiring. Much description is given to technique, with ideas for improving even your current American-style recipes. It would help to have an Asian market nearby to be able to use the best ingredients (various dried seaweed, miso, and mushroom types). Recipe chapters cover soups, rice, noodles, vegetables, fish, meat, tofu and eggs. A highly recommended cookbook for a type of cooking that has relatively few cookbooks (although growing).

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great cookbook. I've recently started using a lot of kombu as a flavoring agent, and this book has quite a few kombu based recipes as well as many others. I am grateful the author chose to include so many vegetarian recipes, as Japanese cookbooks can be otherwise. Recommended.

[Trang · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a pretty detailed cookbook. It breaks down the ingredients and has good recipes for each. I’d prefer photos for every recipe tho. I could not finish the book without them. Maybe I’m the type that learns cooking better via Youtube

[Anie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great cookbook. There's an excellent introduction to Japanese ingredients and approach to cooking, and the recipes are good - genuine Japanese recipes, but ones that will generally appeal to a Western cook and work in a Western kitchen.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extensive and impressive! A trove of a great variety of dishes. Wish I owned instead of borrowed from the library. Akin to Memories of Philippine Kitchens.

[Roger Lowther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

This has helped me understand the Japanese foods I've been eating for 15 years now! Makes even me want to try cooking some of them.

[Monica Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many things to learn and to try. Things I wish I would have listened to my mom when she tried to teach me how to cook Japanese dishes.

[Darice Chang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth does an amaaazing job breaking down the components of a Japanese meal in an easy to understand format for beginners. Beautiful imagery and detailed instructions round out this masterpiece.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

so many home recipes - a lot of japanese ingredients. some good tips on kitchen techniques in japanese cooking.
loved the pickle recipes and the different uses of miso - including miso peaches

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful descriptions of Japanese cooking and how to create meals balanced with varying color, texture, cooking techniques, flavors, and senses.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Washoku is not the end-all perfect beginners guide to Japanese cooking that I was promised. (Looks pointedly at all the glowing 5-star reviews.) There are admittedly some great features but Japanese cooking is new to me and I'm finding it to be far from intuitive. I blame my own lack of familiarity – but I did have high hopes that this cookbook would be my guide. Unlike the author I don’t have an awesome Japanese mother-in-law to show me what to do each step of the way, I just have this book and it isn’t as expansive as I’d hoped.

I would give this cookbook a much better rating if I could see and understand what I am trying to make in advance. Specifically - I need more detailed instructions regarding critical preparation steps within each recipe. And there are simply not enough photographs. Cooking is a multi-sense experience and visuals of completed recipes cannot be underestimated. Without photographs I cannot know if what I am making is something close to the written description. I won’t even know if the dish is going to be served cold, roasted, fried or sautéed until I read through the entire recipe and even then it’s not always clear.

Beyond that - I felt that a lot of the dishes seemed repetitive and there was no mention of small-dish meals. I imagine there must be more a more diverse collection of Japanese recipes out there in the world of cookbooks and maybe even one with more instruction. I'll just have to keep looking.

A few notes on the positive:
- Washoku is a beautiful book, it is a hearty hardcover that would last many years of regular use. The pages are clear and crisp, and what images are included are indeed gorgeous.

- I enjoyed the backstory about the author's observations and learning process in the kitchen with her Japanese mother-in-law. Very sweet and personal.

- The first third or so of this book is what I loved most and find worth praising. It is a very informative and detailed guide to individual ingredients, broken into sections by product type. This guide alone is incredibly helpful and I would love to see an expanded version with more images for reference.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this cookbook better than the last one I reviewed from the author, Kansha Cooking. I thought it was better organized and easier to understand. Plus most of the ingredients were pretty accessible and the recipes easier to make as long as you did a few basic recipes, such as the Basic Sea Stock (Dashi). The indexes were in the front of the book as an intro before you came to the main body of recipes. Once again, the design of the book and photographs within were beautiful to look at.

As the author mentions in the introduction, "Washoku, literally the 'harmony of food,' is a way of thinking about what we eat and how it can nourish us. The term describes both a culinary philosophy and the simple, nutritionally balanced food prepared in that spirit." The thing I really enjoyed about this book, aside from the recipes, was the personal insight of the author and how she adapted to Japanese culture and cooking traditions after growing up in America. As with Kansha cooking, there are five principles that Washoku follows, namely: five colors, five tastes, five ways to prepare food, five senses, and five outlooks/rules. While the author does use Japanese terms for a lot of the ingredients, it is a lot easier to understand than in the Kansha cookbook, probably because she has a better introductory section in this book.

[Leifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still using this book almost every week. I want her to write more.

it took me a bit to get into it, mostly because of the overwhelming vocabulary of cooking/food terms, but once I did I realized it is actually pretty simple recipes (which utilize a lot of leftovers, at that!) You could call this "home cooking" which I've never seen another Japanese cookbook touch.

Would love to meet her someday.

[Drmarion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authoritative Book on Japanese Cuisine

This book contains a wealth of information and authentic recipes from an American born woman who has spent most of her life in Japan. What I love about all of Elizabeth Andoh's books is that she teaches you not just how to do something but also why you do it that way. She is a gifted teacher and excellent writer. The recipes in this book has been tried and tested, so they work. Highly recommended!

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is phenomenal. If you have any interest in learning to cook Japanese cuisine, this should be your go-to tome. It covers pantry basics, tools, techniques, and recipes. Andoh is considered to be the preeminent Western expert on Japanese cuisine and is an excellent writer--both of which show in this book. It is extensive and easy to follow.

[Sayaka Nasu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recipes in this cookbook are mostly country/comfort food I grew up eating at my grandmother's in Japan. The book has very nice photos and explains different types of vegetables, etc. I wish there were more photos accompanying the recipes. A third of the book explains the ingredients (which is important) but most people purchasing the book already know these things?

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book! I want to buy a copy and work my way through each recipe. Andoh explains traditional methods for achieving balance in a meal, traditional attitudes about food, etc. She also gives an extensive description of a well stocked Japanese pantry. Beautifully written and photographed. A great resource for the home cook who loves Japanese food.

[Jennifer Maiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite cookbooks. It's sometimes a little tedious to follow her precise directions, but I understand the reasoning and have learned more from this book about Japanese cooking than any other.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really, really good book if you want to learn Japanese home cooking. The food in this book is the food that, up until recently was the food eaten in the majority of Japanese homes. It's honestly Japanese soul-food. Most of my standard recipes are some variation on Elizabeth Andoh's.

[Mariam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recipes are either hit or miss. I was really looking for something focusing on dishes popular in Japan (i.e. takoyaki, okonomiyaki, agedashi), and was dissapointed to not find them in there. That being said, it's a beautiful volume and is good reference for some of the basics.

[Chadwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a real sourcebook for the fundamentals of Japanese cooking.

[Alicia]

This looks hot, I can't wait to become a consummate japanese chef.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This by far my favorite cookbook. the first 90 pages are just about the ingredients. all the recipices are simple, tasty and cheap.