Japanese Home Cooking: Simple Meals, Authentic Flavors

by Sonoko Sakai, Rick Poon (Photographer), Juliette Bellocq (Illustrator)

The essential guide to Japanese home cooking--the ingredients, techniques, and over 100 recipes--for seasoned cooks and beginners who are craving authentic Japanese flavors.

Using high-quality, seasonal ingredients in simple preparations, Sonoko Sakai offers recipes with a gentle voice and a passion for authentic Japanese cooking. Beginning with the pantry, the flavors of this cuisine are explored alongside fundamental recipes, such as dashi and pickles, and traditional techniques, like making noodles and properly cooking rice. Use these building blocks to cook an abundance of everyday recipes with dishes like Grilled Onigiri (rice balls) and Japanese Chicken Curry.

From there, the book expands into an exploration of dishes organized by breakfast; vegetables and grains; meat; fish; noodles, dumplings, and savory pancakes; and sweets and beverages. With classic dishes like Kenchin-jiru (Hearty Vegetable Soup with Sobagaki Buckwheat Dumplings), Temaki Zushi (Sushi Hand Rolls), and Oden (Vegetable, Seafood, and Meat Hot Pot) to more inventive dishes like Mochi Waffles with Tatsuta (Fried Chicken) and Maple Yuzu Kosho, First Garden Soba Salad with Lemon-White Miso Vinaigrette, and Amazake (Fermented Rice Drink) Ice Pops with Pickled Cherry Blossoms this is a rich guide to Japanese home cooking. Featuring stunning photographs by Rick Poon, the book also includes stories of food purveyors in California and Japan. This is a generous and authoritative book that will appeal to home cooks of all levels.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Japan, Nonfiction, Reference, Culinary

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 19, 2019

Reviews

[Chantal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dream comes true with this beautiful book and lovely pictures. Everything is well explained, even the fundamentals and techniques of Japanese eating culture. The details this book gives is overwhelming in a positive way. You want every cooking book to be like this. A very easy read into Japanese cooking. Thank you Netgalley for giving me this book. Worth every 5 points.

This is a ARC from the publisher via Netgalley, which I got for an honest review.

[Jessica Feng · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this cookbook in ebook format because I wanted to learn the science of fundamental Japanese ingredients like miso, seaweed, and noodles, but I didn’t want to actually make them. For this purpose, the cookbook is great at describing the building blocks of these foundational flavors. This is the kind of cookbook that inspires me to look beyond recipes - it’s about technique and sourcing the best ingredients and understanding the history of a cuisine. I was struck by how tradition-laden yet impressionable Japanese food is - there is so much overlap and influence from Chinese, Korean, and Western cuisines.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells me how to cook Japanese food like my mom used to make.

I saw the picture of the non-sashimi chirashi zushi with the super thin pieces of nori on it and it took me back to delicious meals with my family.

I've got a batch of fukujinzuke in the fridge right now based on the recipe in this book.

I also plan to have a sushi hand roll party for 4-6 friends - it looks so fun and feels relatively easy (except for the shashimi rosettes - those look tricky).

The author's side articles on particular people she's met who have informed her cooking philosophy are also great reads.

There are little typos here and there; and some instructions are not always clear. I think a firmer proofreading hand would have been good. For that, I'll dock a star.

But otherwise, highly recommended for people who want to cook and eat Japanese food regularly. The first third of the book is all about how to set up your pantry to support Japanese style home cooking. And let's face it, if you buy all the stuff to make dashi for just one time, you'll have a ton of leftovers. The next third is easy meals/dishes. The final third is more advanced, as well as "ephemera" - breakfast, desserts, drinks.

Highly recommended.

[Liliana López · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Japanese husband is over-the-moon that I have finally found a cookbook that replicates favorites from his childhood, which sucked me in and made me want to try making every dish. (I have made six so far, with ooohs and aaaahs all around.) Sakai-san's stories and explanations are wonderful, the photography gorgeous, and the recipes both masterful and accessible to those beginning to build their Japanese food-making skills. One caveat is that I would describe this as more of an "artisanal" cookbook than "simple"; however, there are shortcuts that can be taken if you are daunted by making every single item and ingredient from scratch. My aunt found it at the library for us; within days I ordered us a copy to stay on our shelves forever.

[Katri · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for quick and simple recipes this is not the book for you. In my opinion the recipes are not hard and most of them are pretty simple but can involve many steps of preparation for example if you want to make your own dashi, curry roux or even noodles. The intro is long and introduces Japanese kitchen well. If you didn't know anything about it, you will know after reading the intro. I do not recommend this for beginners as it might seem overwhelming and complicated.

I really liked this book. The foods introduced are authentic, no westernization or fusion. This is all about traditional Japanese food.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book. Lots of historical context and explanation of ingredients not common in the American kitchen. I’m not sure how much of the food I will attempt at home, but I’m excited to try making traditional dashi as a basis for soups.

[Emily Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Japanese Home Cooking
Author: Sonoko Sakai
Publisher: Roost Books
Published: November 19, 2019

What a beautiful resource on Japanese cuisine. This isn’t simply a cookbook with recipes and pretty pictures, but a reference to the food culture of Japan. The amount of information and context given is both comprehensive and overwhelming. Sakai offers a full course on the fundamentals. With that said, these aren’t recipes that you can quickly whip up on a bustling weekday night, but something to enjoy and savor. Japanese cuisine is very prep-oriented, and I feel like the patience and dedication is an art in itself.
Keep in mind, though, that these recipes are accessible for those who are limited to the western grocery. Sakai keeps this in mind, knowing the audience won’t always have access to the traditional, local ingredients. I definitely recommend this book. It’s rich in culture and context, and anyone who is a fan of Japanese cuisine or culture would thoroughly enjoy this book.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Roost Books and Netgalley for a copy of Japanese Home Cooking by Sonoko Sakai for review. Available November 19/19 this book is perfect for those looking for authentic Japanese flavours at home.

Japanese Home Cooking is very detailed and includes recipes for the broths and sauces and creating all the amazing flavours found in authentic Japanese food. This book is not for a quick weekday dinner. I found the recipes detailed and well described but a little complicated. I love learning about all the different ways other cultures develop flavours and the techniques they use but I wouldn't turn to this book last minute on Friday night. The recipes need a level of detail and specialty ingredients that would require planning and forethought.

Very well done, beautiful sounding recipes for when you are willing to put the time and commitment into learning new techniques and try new flavours!

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is the product of an ego trip. I have no idea who's ego trip, because I have no idea who initiates such projects. A bland cooking book that might have had some sense back in 1960, but today it's strange. I mean Japanese people do not identify with this cooking style. And they are right, after all Japan is quite a large place with a large population. Now, someone living far from Japan might have trouble getting the "right" ingredients. And so on. And what's with the choice of recipes? So much sugar? As I said, it might have worked back in 1960.

[RWaggoner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and writing style. Love her attempt to explain umami. Excellent explanations of ingredients.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Japanese Home Cooking is an elaborate cookbook detailing the concept of Japanese cooking. The author shows you how to incorporate flavors and ingredients to deliver an authentic Japanese meal. And ultimately to expand the reader’s knowledge and experience of Japanese culinary culture.

This book is divided into two sections: Part one introduces the Japanese pantry and everyday okazu (dishes). This part introduces the ingredients unique to Japanese cooking.
Part two, *Okazu*, Sweets, and Beverages” is a collection of more elaborate recipes presents more involved okazu, as well as Japanese sweets, preserved fruits, and beverages including tea and sake.

The book begins with the principles of Japanese cooking, as the author introduces you to the five keys to Japanese cooking: freshness, seasonality, simplicity, beauty and economy.

You will also find the traditional styles of Japanese cuisines such as Kaiseki ryori (multicourse cuisine), sushi, shojin ryorui (vegetarian cuisine), and more. She writes that the “may find the Japanese cooking experience a bit daunting at first” but encourages them by introducing some culinary ideas and menu compositions that the reader should be aware of.

Also noteworthy are the five flavors in Japanese cooking — sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami; the five senses: taste, smell, touch, hearing, and sight.
Five basic colors— white, yellow, red, green (blue), and black (brown, purple)
The five cooking techniques:
-nama (raw), which applies to dishes prepared with or with our the application of heat, such as sashimi
-niru (braised, simmered, or blanched)
-yaku (grilled)
-musu (steamed) and
-ageru (deep-fried or fried)

In the Kitchen equipment and tableware section, she talks about some tools used to prepare Japanese dishes such as knives - she introduces you to a Japanese knife; an all-purpose knife (santokubocho) for cutting meat, seafood, and vegetables, bamboo mat, chopsticks, (Ohashi or Hashi), digital scale, Donabe (a clay pot used for cooking on the stove or tabletop), rice cooker, pressure cooker etc.

In Part One (Japanese Pantry) the author introduces dash, a versatile broth used as a base for many components of Japanese cooking, including soups, sauces, and seasonings.
There’s also Kombu (seaweed): In this section, she shows you how to make a cold brew called kombu kashi. This is a vegan dish that can be used as a base for dishes such as suimono and misoshiru, bonito and kombu dashi
Other ingredients include Niboshi (Dried Sardines), Hoshi Shiitake (Dried Shiitake mushrooms), Soybeans (rich in umami)

A whole chapter is devoted to seaweed—the role of seaweed in Japanese cuisine. The author elaborates further on the nutritional contents of seaweed (it is packed with lots of minerals including potassium, iron, calcium, iodine, and magnesium) not to mention vitamins like A, B1, B2, niacin, and more. She lists some edible seaweeds including dashi, Nori, Wakame, dulse, and kombu. You will also learn how to prepare and store seaweed.

In succeeding chapters, the author lists out more ingredients such as rice, a staple in Japanese meals including the five basic grains which are:
(rice, barley, wheat, millet, and legumes; types of rice (long grain, medium grain, and short grain and how to cook rice).

In the beans and legume section, she shows you how to make soy milk, tofu, anko (sweetened adzuki bean paste).

Part two covers mouthwatering recipes such as homemade granola with lucky beans, mochi waffles with (fried chicken) and maple *yuzu kosho*, kenchin-jiru, hiryozu (tofu fritters), potato salada, and more.

Japanese Home Cooking is peppered with short stories from food purveyors in California and Japan. As the author takes you on a culinary journey, you will participate in a seaweed harvest, take a fish lesson, walk in wheat fields and so on.

She concludes with a list of resources to source for food, Japanese beverages, ceramics, pottery and kitchen equipment.

I came away from this book knowing a great deal about Japanese cooking as well as the ingredients used in Japanese cooking. If you’re craving a nutritionally balanced meal made with fresh ingredients, without having to splurge on an elaborate dinner in some high-end restaurant, this book is for you.

Many thanks to Sonoko Sakai, NetGalley and Roost Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The recipes in this book are fantastic. The curry blocks alone, which I clipped from the New York Times on a flight to Arizona in August, changed my life in the fall and winter. I've been hoarding them like a stockpile of gold in my freezer, smiling on particularly terrible days, because I know that's when I'll use them, and just how good dinner's going to be.

Ms. Sakai's stories make me really grateful to be alive and cooking now, when we live in a hey day of recipe sharing, and finding foreign-sounding ingredients isn't like a quest for the Holy Grail. What a crazy thought, that you'd feel lonely as an immigrant because you couldn't have the comfort food you crave. If I moved somewhere else and couldn't make my grandma and dad's gumbo because the ingredients weren't mainstream, and I couldn't share it because people turned their nose up at its spice or roux-based flavor... how depressing that would be! Thankfully, I can find everything in this book at a grocery store less than 4 miles from where I live. And I have lots of friends who will come over to help me eat the meals that come out of it! (They'd eat the gumbo, too!)

[Jonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful storytelling, in-depth history, accessible recipes. I'm sure it will go down as a classic in Japanese home cooking.

[Emma Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are someone who likes to make everything from scratch, from your broth to your noodles to spice mixes, this is the book for you. If you're like me, you're going to be taking notes on where you can sub in ready-made items (while dodging comments about how handmade is better - I know it is! I just don't have that kind of time usually). Still, there's a lot of in-depth explanations (you won't get to actually meal recipes until past page 100), thoughtful essays, and gorgeous photos.

Rating a 4/5 because even though it's not really for me, it's still a well-done cookbook.

[Michelle Ogden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sakai-san has created a masterpiece, a master class in how to cook Japanese home cuisine. Easy to follow lay out and beautiful pictures are also accompanied with excellent instructions and guest authors who talk about foodstuffs and their importance.

Beginning with a list of pantry items and gadgets and flowing into the Five Elements of Japanese Cooking, this book is like the Do-Re-Mi song in Sound of Music. You must first learn the notes, the flavors and techniques, then you can sing the song or make the recipe.

This is sure to become a sought after item for the cookbook collector but is a must purchase for anyone who loves Japanese cuisine and wants to learn more.

[Jolene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently returned from a trip to Japan and fell in love with the food and people.  I received this book from Netgalley.  It is beautiful.  There are lots of colored photos and great descriptions of the different types of ingredients and equipment used.  I also loved how the book explained the history behind the foods featured.  I learned so much about Japanese culinary arts and culture through this cook book.  A definite must have if you are interested in cooking and learning about Japanese food.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful, and a an excellent overview of Japanese cuisine. Unfortunately, like many books of Japanese cookery, this is not a book you can pluck recipes from out of context, and most recipes are time-consuming, multi-step projects, not weeknight suppers.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Japanese Home Cooking is an extremely thorough and detail oriented book that reads more like an encyclopedia than a recipe book. The key word here is traditional in that the traditions, origins of the meals, background of the ingredients, and the author's own family history are a large chunk of the book. Each recipe is a huge chunk of small text - you'll have everything explained to ensure you understand not only what you are cooking but that item's history and cultural significance.

Of note, this is for the fearless cook who wants to spend time and effort to make a superb meal. I think 'easy' on the cover is a bit of a misnomer - each recipe has a LOT of very specific ingredients, some easier to get than others, and the directions are in paragraph form and fairly thick. But there are many photographs so you'll always have an idea of what you are making. As an example, Soba Salad with Kabocha Squash and Toasted Pepitas has 20 ingredients (many of which you had to prepare from other recipes in the book with many steps) and the steps/intro are 9 chunky paragraphs long. Recipes only have serving size and not dietary restriction information or carb/sugar/etc. breakdowns. But you'll also find callout pages - a good example is for the recipe above which has a one-page callout on how to clean and cut a squash for cooking with 9 step-by-step images.

The back of a book has a list of places to buy specific Japanese cooking items - from cutlery to ingredients - in the USA.

In all, a very thorough, loving, and exhaustive study of Japanese cooking. If you want to take your Japanese meals seriously and have the time to really get to know what you are cooking and why, this is the book for you. It's more than a cookbook - it's a philosophy, cultural, and historical lesson in Japanese home food. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful book explaining how to produce Japanese cooking at home. It is so much more than sushi!

The book is split into two parts, plus an Introduction to the author and includes the principles of Japanese cooking and the kitchen equipment you require, along with table ware. Also included is how to set up the table correctly with the chop sticks and bowls being put in the correct positions, much like setting a formal table with the cutlery in a certain order, but its much more than that. I enjoyed reading about her early life moving between the USA and Japan with her parents, learning from traditional chefs and how she crashed on peoples.couches when travelling to teach others Japanese cookery.

Part one of the book is the Japanese Pantry and covers what are the base dishes to many others, including Dashi, Seaweeds, Rice & other grains, Noodles and bread, Beans & Legumes, Eggs, Pickles & Ferments, Seasonings & condiments and Herbs & Aromatics. At the end of this part is a selection of everyday pantry recipes.

Part two, includes the main recipes which include Breakfasts, Vegetables & grains, Fish, Meat, Dumplings, noodles & savoury pancakes, Sweets and Beverages. Most of these recipes use recipes from part one of the book.

.Whilst it says the recipes are easy, they are quite detailed with many steps to follo; it's certainly a book where you make parts in advance ready to add to the main dish, which is their customary way.

Not all the dishes have photography, though what is included does look delicious. The recipes include both imperial and metric measurements.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

[Kauz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting content? The author’s stories seem engaging. The food sounds appetizing. But the book needs much better editing to make me trust the recipes.
Examples:

Udon instructions say to mix salt with warm water. Nowhere are you told to warm the water. And how warm? The ingredients only list “water.” You were also told to “line the bottom of a large bowl with a damp towel,” but then you add the flour and water into that bowl. Did they mean to use a damp towel *under* the bowl to keep it stable?

For soy milk you are to fill a container with 6 cups of water. Use 2 cups to blend with half the beans. And then “repeat this step with the remaining 2 cups.” I was confused. It isn’t until the next paragraph that you are told to use the “remaining 2 cups” to rinse out the blender. That’s a lot of remainders.

The ingredients for the sake lees marinated fish read “4 ounces sake lees, quartered.” So, separate into 4 1-ounce portions? No. The instructions have you add all the marinade ingredients into a food processor. Was there supposed to be an onion in here at one point or something?

I really wanted to like this cookbook, but it was clearly sent to the publisher far too early. At least the edition of ebook that I have.

[Tiffany :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish the introductory first section of the book was longer! Sonoko Sakai’s reverence for Japanese agricultural and cultural history and the foundational components of Japanese cuisine is clear throughout the book. She delved into explaining how Japanese cuisine approaches cooking, differences in the types of ingredients available, and shares lovely stories of farmers/masters keeping the craft and traditions alive. That approach to a cookbook, to really educate about the philosophy behind a cuisine that is incredibly intentional and subtle, makes so much sense. As for the recipes, there’s a good range of staples and more ambitious ideas (homemade tofu, homemade noodles, homemade curry roux blocks, etc). I’m probably not patient enough to make many of these things, but the craft needs to be documented and maybe one day, I’ll understand the magic that Sakai experiences from making this food.

[Taun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humble in both tenor & ingredients, this is the kind of cookbook one picks up to encounter true flavors of Japanese cooking.

While not all the recipes are simple or quick to prepare, there is a broad enough recipe index for all energy & experience levels. In addition to the tradition of Japanese foods, there’s a fair bit of history, information, and personal memoir woven into the book, which I loved.

The author is also an effective teacher with a calming method that cultivates a deep appreciation both for the nourishment and for the process.

Would highly recommend for anyone ready to explore Japanese cooking.

As usual, the traditional breakfast was my favourite, miso shiro is simply pure comfort. I also recommend having a try at making tofu, which was fun if not a little tricky. I particularly enjoyed the addition of black soybean recipes, which I use frequently.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I'm always looking to expand my cooking horizons and I really enjoyed reading this book. Lots of beautiful pictures and easy, yet detailed instructions are included. I really liked how much information about the ingredients and techniques were integrated with the recipes- the reader gets an opportunity to learn about the history and uses of each.

Anyone interested in learning about Japanese cooking at home will find this beautifully organized and photographed book!

[Sylvia Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is cooking from scratch in a loving and mindful way. I probably would not take the time to nurture the ingredients as demonstrated here but I learned much about the philosophy of Japanese cuisine, very Buddhist. I did pick up quite a few pointers that already serve me well. I also learned about tools that making cooking easier. After reading on Kindle for several months, I decided to purchase the hard cover edition which is beautiful.

Watch the Japanese film, Sweet Bean, to get an idea of the Japanese way of cooking as it is meant to be.

[Olivia Deakin · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the information on ingredients and techniques is great, the recipes could have used further proofreading and testing, some recipes are missing ingredients mentioned in the short blurb in the actual recipes, some instructions aren't that clear so some interpretation is required, and I'm not sure the quantities are right in some recipes. While I appreciate that the author is Japanese and living in America, I was hoping for more authentic Japanese home-cooking recipes rather than some of the fusion-based recipes.

[Maire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely cookbook that reads like great non-fiction. Though the recipes are not new to anyone already familiar with Japanese cuisine, this is still very enjoyable. Every section has an introduction to that aspect of Japanese cuisine, its history, tradition, and significance. She also does a wonderful job at making "traditional" ingredients accessible for this side of the world. There is a lot of love and reverence in this book.

[Kate]

Made the okonomiyaki, which was super tasty and adaptable.

I'd say that the emphasis on making pantry staples wasn't really my deal--I would rather buy condiments at the Japanese supermarket than make them, for example, and I don't really want to make my own noodles--but there are some good recipes here even if that's the case. Nice photography and writing, too. I think I just wanted something a little more casual!

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book--I checked it out from the library, and thumbed through it in the course of an evening. I think I might buy it sometime for the stories of Japanese American food history, plus some interesting stories about California farm/agriculture. The recipes themselves lean to the organic/natural side of things (no Kewpie mayo or palm-oil-filled curry blocks here!), and I'm not sure how many of them I'd actually make, but it's a very aesthetically pleasing book.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful love letter to the simple, soulful foods that bring together family and tradition, seasonality and sustainability. Sonoko Sakai presents the elements of a home-cooked Japanese meal with thoughtfulness and clarity, honoring the deep culinary heritage of Japan and celebrating the provenance of her local ingredients.
Alice Waters

/////

I can't get that excited about it though

salt - sugar - soy sauce - miso - vinegar - rinse and repeat

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. Drool-worthy food and accompanying pictures. It starts at the fundamentals of the kitchen and cuisine and works its was through to an appealing array of recipes. I skimmed a bit on the seafood and meat recipes since I don't eat those but every other section that I looked at was full of food that I would love to eat.