This book is such a pleasure to read. Although less than 100 pages from cover to cover, it is thorough in its treatment of the subject. From the five page glossary sensibly near the front of the book, to the handy tips on how to eat sushi, The Fine Art of Japanese Cooking has it covered.
The book is beautifully presented with gorgeous photographs and step-by-step instructions for many of the recipes. There is detailed instruction provided on everything from holding chopsticks and cutting vegetables to preparing sushi rice and then using this in dishes like
Nigiri-zushi (
Hand-shaped sushi). The photographs accompany many of the recipes, including the step-by-step recipes, beautifully illustrating the method as well as the resulting dish.
As the title suggests, the dishes are really works of art in and of themselves. I'm not a fan of sashimi myself, however the delicate and careful and beautiful presentation of dishes such as
Iseebi-no-ikezukuri and
Sugata-zukuri have me drooling. And of course there are plenty of delicious dishes that are more to my taste, ranging from
Ebi no-somen (
Noodle coated prawns) to
Sukiyaki and to
Nameko jiru (
Golden mushroom soy soup). There are desserts for the sweet tooth, such as
Zenzai (
Sweet red-bean soup) and sunomono and aemono accompaniments such as
Nuta (
Seaweed) and
Kurage (
Jellyfish), as well as pickles like
Kyabetsu su-zuke (
Cabbage in vinegar pickles) and
Kabu no sokuseki-zuke (
Salted turnip pickles).
Recommended for any cook interested in Japanese cuisine. You may need patience and care to master the techniques presented, but you cannot help but appreciate the artistry.
- kath
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