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Easy Japanese Cookbook by Emi Kazuko |
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Written by Prasanna Probyn
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Duncan Baird Publishers, £16.99 (see offer below)
The verdict on Japanese food is normally along the lines of
“acquired taste”, “bland”, or
“subtle”. If you have tasted wild
mountain vegetables in the Japanese Alps or succulent beef from herds
bred on the meadows of the volcanic Azo region, you will find that
Japanese food is a truly a roller-coaster experience, full of
surprises, delights and disappointments.
When the above book landed on my desk for review, my initial outlay for
basic ingredients was around £60. What makes Japanese cooking
an adventure is that we won’t find much that we
need lurking behind our kitchen cupboards. How often do Mirin, Saki,
Wasabi and Konbu feature in our regular cooking? Creating dishes with
the unfamiliar (and unpronounceable) was an exciting prospect.
At home we embarked on a Japanese week, complete with music from the CD
that came with the book. The step-by-step ring bound book begins with
an introduction to all the ingredients used. This is very useful if you
are looking for close substitutes - for instance,
Shoyu is nothing more exciting than Soya sauce. It also introduces
equipment used in Japanese cooking. Apart from the bamboo sushi mat, I
was able to make do.
The cooking itself turned out to be as easy as the title suggests, but
very time consuming. Making the plum sauce for the pear dessert meant
sieving the cooked plums for ages to get any extract. Most good cooks
know that recipes should not be followed precisely –
instincts and common sense should also be a guide. Where it says to
squeeze grated ginger to extract the juice, you just know that this is
virtually impossible. I added water to get anything meaningful out of
the ginger. Similarly, where recipes called for Miso, I used less than
indicated and cut out the salt -
essential unless you like a lot of salt in your food.
The highlight of my project was when I invited a friend, Simon, over
for dinner. I prepared sushi with salmon and cucumber, Yakitori
(skewered chicken and okra), edamame and the above mentioned pear
dessert. Cooking Japanese rice is a challenge: most of mine stuck to
the bottom of the dish and rolling sushi takes practice
– watch YouTube for visual guidance. The family and
Simon helping themselves to seconds and thirds suggested that it was a
success. Teenagers can be fussy about “foreign”
food but Japanese food has quite a lot of dishes that kids
would love – tempura (deep fried prawns, vegetables or meat)
noodles, and kebab-style meats and veggies. Since my daughter
discovered Wagamama some time ago, I was under pressure to perform to
authentic standards and I must say, I didn’t fail miserably!
The book is simplicity itself, well presented with mouth-watering
pictures and set menus at the end for meals with a lover, friends, or
family. There is also a lunch box menu for those wanting something more
than sandwiches. The music CD adds a lovely touch.
Special Offer
To receive your copy of Easy Japanese by Emi Kazuko at the special
price of £12.99 (including postage and packing) please call
Duncan Baird Publishers on 01962 841417 or send a cheque made payable
to Duncan Baird Publishers to 29 Jewry Street, Winchester, Hampshire
SO23 8RY, quoting Pages4Women special offer. Normal price of
£16.99.
All major credit and debit cards accepted. This offer applies to UK
residents only.
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