The essential guide to Japanese home cooking--the ingredients, techniques, and over 100 recipes--for seasoned cooks and beginners who are craving authentic Japanese flavors.
SONOKO SAKAI's cooking reflects her rich cultural upbringing. Born in New York and raised by Japanese parents, she lived in many places as a child, including San Francisco, Kamakura, Mexico City, and Tokyo. She is the author of two books, Rice Craft (Chronicle, 2016) and The Poetical Pursuit of Food (Potter, 1986). She has worked as a recipe developer, producer, creative director, cooking teacher, and lecturer. She is also a grain activist. Sonoko currently lives in Los Angeles and Tehachapi, California, with her sculptor husband, Katsuhisa Sakai.
“A beautifully photographed, clearly written introduction to
Japanese cuisine, from a California-based Japanese-American teacher
and recipe developer.”
—Christine Muhlke, The New York Times
“Heartfelt, poetic. . . . Sakai is particularly good at describing
the purity and beauty of Japanese cooking.”
—Tara Duggan, The San Francisco Chronicle
“Informative, beautiful, and full of recipes for everyone from the
novice chef to the seasoned Japanese home cook.”
—Lauren Joseph, Epicurious
“It’s been more than 30 years since Japanese cooking expert Sonoko
Sakai’s first cookbook detailing the cooking of her heritage for
American audiences. Her follow-up, Japanese Home Cooking: Simple
Meals, Authentic Flavors, is worth the wait. Her teachings
demystify the art of making soba noodles, and she transforms often
ordinary-looking onigiri into beautiful rice spheres wrapped in
seaweed and dried flowers. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of
simple dishes like chawanmushi and fresh pickles to try out first
before diving into more ambitious projects.”
—Los Angeles Times
“Sonoko Sakai has long been a champion of Japanese homestyle
cooking, and the LA-based author and cooking teacher has written
the essential book for favorites like soba, ochazuke, and
oden.”
—Eater LA
“This book is a treasure trove for anyone hoping to master a few
everyday Japanese recipes, yes. But where Sakai really excels is in
the digestible lessons on stocking a pantry and understanding the
building blocks of Japanese home cooking; she guides you through
the five basic seasonings and the practice of noodle making, for
example. A teacher and cookbook author, Sakai has approached her
work in food with a holistic approach, dedicating herself to the
preservation of both Japanese culture and cuisine through
cookbooks, classes, and recently, a grain restoration project with
Anson Mills.”
—Epicurious
“A gentle introduction to the flavors and techniques of Japanese
cooking courtesy of Sonoko Sakai, an LA-based teacher and food
author. From pantry staples like dashi to Japanese breakfast, learn
the fundamentals of home cooking the Japanese way.”
—Sunset
“A comprehensive, approachable guide to Japanese cooking at
home.”
—Remodelista
“Expand a home chef’s borders with Sonoko Sakai’s essential guide
to Japanese home cooking.”
—Martha Stewart Living
“California-based author-teacher Sakai (The Poetical Pursuit of
Food, 1986) delivers, quite simply, everything home chefs need to
know to master Japanese home cooking…. The 160 recipes include
explicit directions, ingredient notes, and the necessary how-tos,
along with color photographs: Grilled rice balls, homemade granola
with lucky bean, fish bone soup, spicy duck soba noodles in hot
broth, just to name a few….An exhaustive course that will take up
no small amount of time and patience—and yield welcome
results.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“Home cooks wanting to dive into Japanese cooking will find Sakai
to be a delightful and encouraging guide.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This is a beautiful love letter to the simple, soulful foods that
bring together family and tradition, seasonality and
sustainability. Sonoko Sakai presents the elements of a home-cooked
Japanese meal with thoughtfulness and clarity, honoring the deep
culinary heritage of Japan and celebrating the provenance of her
local ingredients.”
—Alice Waters
“Sonoko Sakai’s passion for the Japanese kitchen is matched only by
her generosity as a teacher, and I am so glad to have this book to
learn from for the rest of my life.”
—Francis Lam, Host, The Splendid Table
“Sonoko Sakai’s generous book walks us through the nuance and
heritage of Japanese cooking in a comprehensive, useful, and
soulful way. Japanese Home Cooking makes it so we can achieve
amazing results with ease—even when making homemade soba noodles.
This book is a must read for any cook looking to tap into the depth
of the Japanese culinary tradition.”
—Travis Lett, author of Gjelina and chef/owner of MTN
“For anyone interested in Japanese home cooking, you could ask for
no better teacher than Sonoko Sakai. Her approach is assured,
thoughtful, and flexible, all at once. Her clear-as-a-bell recipes,
enhanced always with stories from her singularly interesting life,
lead to the most remarkable and delicious results. You need this
book!”
—Rachel Khong, author of Goodbye, Vitamin
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