Most Westerners think of Japanese cooking as a difficult art requiring special, hard-to-find ingredients and the mastery of complex and time-consuming techniques. In her thirty years of teaching Japanese cooking to foreign residents in Tokyo, author Keiko Hayashi has proved these assumptions wrong. She has become a master at simplifying difficult traditional Japanese cooking procedures without compromising taste or appearance, and of explaining the use of Japanese ingredients and finding readily available Western substitutes. “Simple and Delicious Japanese Cooking” contains more than one hundred recipes, all of which are easy to follow, kitchen tested, and presented in full color. The recipes are categorized into hors d’oeuvres, soups, seafood, chicken and eggs, meats, vegetables, rice noodles, and desserts. In addition, the author offers four seasonal menus. She also explains traditional Japanese cooking utensils and techniques and provides an exhaustive guide to basic ingredients. “Simple and Delicious Japanese Cooking” is the perfect introduction to one of the world’s great cuisines.
