The Book Depository Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking by Harumi Kurihara
92 ratings
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Price: £26.99
Brand: The Book Depository
Description: Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking : Hardback : Penguin Putnam Inc : 9781557885203 : 1557885206 : 02 Oct 2007 : Kurihara, Japans most popular cooking expert and award-winning author of Harumis Japanese Cooking, returns with a second collection of 70 new recipes written specifically with the Western palate in mind.
Category: Books
Merchant: The Book Depository
Product ID: 9781557885203
MPN: 1557885206
GTIN: 9781557885203
Author: magdalene42
Rating: 5
Review: I really liked Harumi's first book 'Harumi's Japanese Cooking' (and what cook could resist investigating 'Japan's answer to Delia Smith'?) but was well aware even when cooking and eating those dishes that this wasn't entirely the 'real thing'. As the previous reviewer says, Harumi seemed slightly worried about presenting full-on Japanese to the western audience, or the British audience in particular since what I purchased was the British edition of her book. Well, she's still worried; but less so! I mean, you won't find any 'dancing sushi' or fish cut up live for sashimi here; but on the other hand as a Brit, I can understand that Harumi may have been inhibited as much by her knowledge that over here, on an island that's surrounded by water, we simply can't buy seafood that's fresh enough, as by regard for our inbred squeamishness about killing what we eat. I mean, I was in a certain very well known supermarket the other day, asked for herring at the fish counter; they didn't have any, but the salesman (I hesitate to call him a fishmonger) told me that if I'd been in the day before I could have had it at a great price. Because it was three days old ... duh!!! Mercifully Harumi manages to include here plenty of authentic Japanese home-style recipes which do not require quivering-fresh seafood: miso soups, noodle dishes (no ramen this time!) and hotpots. There's even one more-or-less-raw fish dish which is suitable for the British cook with access only to supermarket mackerel: the lightly-pickled mackerel 'sashimi' is strongly flavoured with vinegar and soy sauce, and thus sufficiently forgiving of less than entirely perfect fish to make a delicious dish even over here. Regarding the previous reviewer's comment on sugar content, well it's true! And what's more, I strongly suspect Harumi has toned down her dishes in this respect for the Western market. For a cuisine that's supposedly so healthy and natural the Japanese use an astonishing amount of both sugar (both as sugar, and in mirin seasoning) and alcohol in their day to day cooking, and if you don't like it, you might be better off investigating a different cookery style. I found this book an enjoyable read, and the recipes are both simple and do-able even in a country without a strong tradition of the use of fresh seasonal ingredients (though thankfully this does seem to be changing at the moment). Harumi's Hints, included with many of the recipes, give highly useful and practical pointers to suitable western substitutions for less available ingredients, while she takes pains to explain any less familiar cooking techniques in detail. Harumi herself comes over as a modest, traditional Japanese housewife who has more or less by accident ended up as a global culinary celebrity. I don't know how accurate this picture is, but it's an attractive one, and the book reads correspondingly attractively. I look forward to hearing more from Harumi and to learning more about this fascinating cuisine. Oh, and by the way - the home-made udon noodles, which involve much stomping (yes, with your feet!) on the plastic-bag-encased dough, is a must try, if only on an 'have to attempt it just once in order to say I've done it' basis!
Author: a_customer
Rating: 4
Review: I was intersted in Japanese cookery for a while but it was difficult to get good advice since moving out of London. Then when I saw a book by "Japan's answer to Delia Smith" I had to get the book. I was very impressed by this her first (in English) book,. I got many use of the book. Since then, she appeared on so many places. On my Japanese neighbour's bookshelf (in Japanese), on airline magazines - being a big success in USA, etc. Here I have her new book,. Not surprisingly for a book by same publisher, this book's look is more or less same as the first one - superve photos and same typeset. It seems that she gained more confidence in her books in English speaking market. Her first book had many pseudo-Japanse dishes or 'fusion' style dishes alongside famous Japanese dishes as if she was nervous to present the whole real thing. This time, the book is full of more authentic type Japanese home cooking as the title suggests. If you are interested Japanese culture and food, you won't be disappointed. The chapters are: Soup, Eggs & Tofu/ Rice & Noodles/ Meat & Poultry/ Fish & Seafood/ Vegetables/ Dessets & Drinks/ Bento/ Menu Planning This book shows more of what Japanese people eat today, than what western people think what Japanese food is like. Highly recommended. (less one star becasue, she likes her food sweeter than I do. I halved the amount of sugar every time.)
