Books
Japanese Kitchen Knives: Essential Techniques
Sales of Japanese kitchen knives are booming in the U.S. But how many people have the skills to use these superbly-crafted tools to full advantage? Now, internationally renowned chef Hiromitsu Nozaki shares his expertise and insights in a book that will help anyone who owns a Japanese knife to maximize its performance.
In Japanese Kitchen Knives, Nozaki teaches the reader how to use usuba, deba and yanagiba, the three main traditional Japanese knives. He explains many essential techniques, such as the importance of understanding the blade angle and point of force, and illustrates these lessons by working with ingredients familiar to western readers, like carrots and rainbow trout. Color photos and Nozaki's commentary further clarify the process, and the pictures are taken from the chef's perspective for easier understanding (most other books take photos from the reverse perspective). Each technique is accompanied by recipes that require its use, and all recipes are very simple, using easy-to-acquire ingredients. Other sections include a look at artisanal Japanese knife-making and information on sharpening, storing and identifying the variety of Japanese knives. Specialty knives are shown on the location, from the unique unagi eel knife in an unagi specialty restaurant to the colossal tuna filleting knife in Tsukiji fish market.
Japanese Cooking a Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji
Since its release twenty-five years ago, Shizuo Tsuji's encyclopedic and authoritative work has been the acknowledged "bible" of Japanese cooking. Unrivalled in its comprehensive explanation of ingredients, tools and techniques, the book guides readers through recipes with clear prose, while technical points are made understandable with deftly executed line drawings. Much more than a collection of recipes, the cookbook is a masterful treatise on Japanese cuisine. In his preface, the author (who was truly a Renaissance man of Japanese and world gastronomy) discusses the essence of Japanese cooking, with its emphasis on simplicity, balance of textures, colours, and flavours, seasonal freshness, and artful presentation. M. F. K. Fisher's introduction to the 1980 edition is a not-to-be-missed work of food writing. A new foreword by Ruth Reichl and an additional preface by Tsuji Culinary Institute president Yoshiki Tsuji provide culinary and historical context for the 25th Anniversary Edition. Eight pages of vibrant new colour photographs illustrate over seventeen finished dishes. After introducing ingredients and utensils, the twenty chapters that make up Part One consist of lessons presenting all the basic Japanese cooking methods and principal types of prepared foods - making soup, slicing sashimi, grilling, simmering, steaming, noodles, sushi, pickles, and so on - with accompanying basic recipes. Part Two features 130 carefully selected recipes that range from everyday fare to intriguing challenges for the adventurous cook. Together with the recipes in Part One, these allow the cook to build a repertoire of dishes ranging from the basic "soup and three" formula to a gala banquet. Still the foremost source book of cooking concepts and recipes from Japan, the 25th Anniversary Edition of Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art invites a new generation of readers to take a journey to the heart of one of the world's great culinary traditions.
Izakaya The Japanese Pub Cook Book
Japanese pubs, called izakaya, are attracting growing attention in Japan and overseas. As a matter of fact, a recent article in The New York Times claimed that the izakaya is starting to shove the sushi bar off its pedestal. While Japan has many guidebooks and cookbooks, this is the first publication in English to delve into every aspect of a unique and vital cornerstone of Japanese food culture.
- Number of pages: 160
- Weight: 848 g
- Dimensions: 257 x 200 mm
- Author: Mark Robinson
NOBU-THE COOKBOOK
With his multinational empire of restaurants, Nobu has become the world's greatest sushi chef. In his first book, he reveals the raw secrets of his exciting, cutting-edge Japanese cuisine. 180 photos. With his multinational and ever-expanding empire of thirteen restaurants, Nobu Matsuhisa has become one of the most talked-about international restaurateurs and arguably the world's greatest sushi chef. In his first, long-awaited book, Nobu: The Cookbook, Matsuhisa reveals the secrets of his exciting, cutting-edge Japanese cuisine.
- Number of pages: 196
- Weight: 1296 g
- Dimensions: 266 x 220 mm
- Author: Nobuyuki Matsuhisa
Kaiseki: The Exquisite Cuisine of Kyoto’s Kikunoi Restaurant
The specialized cuisine served at Kyoto's famed Kikunoi restaurant is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate, and Kaiseki, by owner / chef Yoshihiro Murata, is at once a cookbook and a work of art. This sumptuously illustrated volume features in seasonal format the style of cooking that began as tea ceremony accompaniment and developed into the highest form of Japanese cookery. Kaiseki celebrates the natural ingredients of each season with a spectacular presentation. After a front section explaining the history and components of kaiseki cuisine, Murata introduces his establishment's impressive menu. With candor and insight, he shares his thoughts on ingredients, preparation methods and the philosophy behind his dishes. He explains how the cuisine has changed over the years and continues to do so. His professional and personal accounts are enlightening; ranging, for example, from how some dishes evolve in the search for the proper combination of ingredients to a description of a learning encounter with a zen master. Approximately twenty dishes from each season, chosen by chef Murata, have been lovingly and carefully photographed to convey the experience of being an honoured guest at his restaurant. Also included are the exact recipes direct from the Kikunoi kitchen, and a glossary of kaiseki terms
The Japanese Pottery Handbook
This compact reference explains the basic terms, processes, classifications, tools, materials and techniques of Japanese potters. Everyone interested in pottery and crafts will find this practical guide a valuable addition to both bookshelf and workshop.
Specifications:
- Format: Hardback
- Author: Penny Simpson
- Dimensions:- 178x266x11mm
- Weight:- 236g
- Pages:- 128
Mexico: The Cookbook
Mushrooms Cook Book
Decorative Art of Japanese Food Carving
The Garden Chef
NOMA
Noma is an unprecedented opportunity to learn about Redzepi and Noma’s history and philosophy, the sourcing of ingredients, the experimentation behind the dishes and the cultural significance of dining at Noma.
Specifications:
- Format: Hardback
- Size: 290 x 250 mm
- Pages: 368 pp
- Illustrations: 200 illustrations
- Author: René Redzepi
United Tastes of America
All Day Baking
This compact reference explains the basic terms, processes, classifications, tools, materials and techniques of Japanese potters. Everyone interested in pottery and crafts will find this practical guide a valuable addition to both bookshelf and workshop.
Specifications:
- Format: Hardback
- Author: Michael James
- Dimensions:- 24cm x 19cm
- Weight:- 970g
- Pages:- 224
Just Bento Cook Book
Bento fever has recently swept across the West, fuelled not just by an interest in cute, decorative food, but by the desire for an economical, healthy approach to eating in these times of recession. A leading light in the popularization of bento has been Makiko Itoh, whose blog, Just Bento, has nearly 160,000 subscribers in the U.S. alone, all of whom love her delicious recipes and practical bento-making tips.
Specifications:
- Format: Hardback
- Author: Makiko Itoh
- Pages:- 128