Japanese Home Cooking
By Sonoko Sakai
Photographs by Rick Poon
Japanese Home Cooking Book Trailer from Roost Books on Vimeo.
The art of Japanese cooking lies in the twin appreciation of ingredients and process. Using high-quality, in-season ingredients in simple preparations is the way of Japanese home cooking that Sonoko Sakai promotes in this book of essential recipes. Beginning with the Japanese pantry, the key flavors of Japanese cuisine are explored alongside recipes for the fundamental building blocks of this cuisine, including dashi, pickles, soybeans, rice, and noodles. From there, the basic okazu recipes offer solid everyday recipes that explore these foundational flavors. With a gentle voice and a passion for authentic Japanese cooking, Sonoko then dives into dishes for breakfast; vegetables and grains; meat; fish; noodles, dumplings, and savory pancakes; sweets; preserved fruits; and beverages. Throughout, discover lessons on traditional Japanese techniques, such as working with fish to slice sashimi and make home-style sushi, making quick and fermented pickles, and cutting noodles. With stunning photos by Rick Poon, stories of food purveyors in California and Japan, and over 100 recipes, this is a generous book that will appeal to home cooks of all levels.
"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
"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 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