We’re thinking about a trip to Japan and we’d love to read a few books that help us understand different aspects of Japanese cuisine. Leaning more toward books on cuisine than travel books.
There’s an outstanding manga series focused on Japanese cuisine called *Oishinbo*. The premise is about a culinary journalist whose assignment is to research food to create the ultimate menu that celebrates Japanese cuisine. The series is very enthusiastic about the subject and gets super nerdy about the food. The art is very detailed. There are even recipes and background information in the collected editions. There are seven volumes in English. I found them at the library. Highly recommended.
Latter_Wait3155 on
I have three to recommend that we have at home.
One that is fully handdrawn with recipes is called *Japanese Cuisine: An Illustrated Guide* by Laura Kie and Haruna Kishi. Covers the different types of cuisine, regional specialties, chapters focusing on rice, noodles, signature dishes, and cuisine by theme/season. A lovely keepsake as well as a useful cookbook, combining cultural aspects with recipes.
For a full-on cookbook, there are two well-known ones available in English:
*Japanese Homestyle Cooking* by Tokiko Suzuki, featuring step by step cooking instructions with photos, also with a focus on seasonal menus and types of dishes (simmered, broiled, steamed, vinegared…).
*Japanese Cuisine for Everyone* by Yukiko Moriyama. This one is organized more like western cookbooks, with the recipes ordered by ingredient with lots of photos. There’s a handy glossary and sections on cooking techniques, cutting techniques and menus.
Latter_Wait3155 on
One thing to note about Japan is that restaurants specialize in particular preparation (tempura, ramen, curry katsu) rather than have a single restaurant cover all of these types of dishes, like in US or Canada.
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There’s an outstanding manga series focused on Japanese cuisine called *Oishinbo*. The premise is about a culinary journalist whose assignment is to research food to create the ultimate menu that celebrates Japanese cuisine. The series is very enthusiastic about the subject and gets super nerdy about the food. The art is very detailed. There are even recipes and background information in the collected editions. There are seven volumes in English. I found them at the library. Highly recommended.
I have three to recommend that we have at home.
One that is fully handdrawn with recipes is called *Japanese Cuisine: An Illustrated Guide* by Laura Kie and Haruna Kishi. Covers the different types of cuisine, regional specialties, chapters focusing on rice, noodles, signature dishes, and cuisine by theme/season. A lovely keepsake as well as a useful cookbook, combining cultural aspects with recipes.
For a full-on cookbook, there are two well-known ones available in English:
*Japanese Homestyle Cooking* by Tokiko Suzuki, featuring step by step cooking instructions with photos, also with a focus on seasonal menus and types of dishes (simmered, broiled, steamed, vinegared…).
*Japanese Cuisine for Everyone* by Yukiko Moriyama. This one is organized more like western cookbooks, with the recipes ordered by ingredient with lots of photos. There’s a handy glossary and sections on cooking techniques, cutting techniques and menus.
One thing to note about Japan is that restaurants specialize in particular preparation (tempura, ramen, curry katsu) rather than have a single restaurant cover all of these types of dishes, like in US or Canada.