Home-style Japanese cooking is demystified in this refreshing and informative cookbook. After marrying into a Japanese family, the American author was taken under her mother-in-law's wing to learn the ins and outs of Japanese cooking. Here she presents her acquired knowledge in an appealingly designed book with Japanese graphic motifs and color photos. The recipes themselves are a mix of family favorites and restaurant dishes Kaneko learned to recreate at home. Yet readers will see few of the familiar foods available in Japanese restaurants in the U.S. Instead, the book illustrates how to make Japanese home-style favorites, like Gyoza and Tempura, as well as Yoshuko dishes combining Japanese and Western influences, like Curry Rice, and Omu Rice, an omelet stuffed with tomato-y chicken fried rice. In a helpful glossary, Kaneko identifies the basic ingredients and equipment needed to recreate these recipes in an average Western kitchen. Chapters devoted to Tofu and Eggs; Vegetables, Fish and Shellfish; Meat and Poultry; and Rice Noodles and Dumplings intersperse recipes with boxes that highlight Japanese traditions and recollections on the author’s time living in Tokyo.
