Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking [A One-Pot Cookbook]

by Naoko Takei Moore, Kyle Connaughton

Overview

A beautiful and lavishly photographed cookbook focused on authentic Japanese clay-pot cooking, showcasing beloved recipes and updates on classics, with background on the origins and history of donabe.

Japanese clay pot (donabe) cooking has been refined over centuries into a versatile and simple method for preparing both dramatic and comforting one-pot meals. In Donabe, Tokyo native and cooking school instructor Naoko Takei Moore and chef Kyle Connaughton offer inspiring Japanese home-style recipes such as Sizzling Tofu and Mushrooms in Miso Sauce and Dashi-Rich Shabu-Shabu, as well as California-inspired dishes including Steam-Fried Black Cod with Crisp Potatoes, Leeks, and Walnut-Nori Pesto or Smoked Duck Breast with Creamy Wasabi–Green Onion Dipping Sauce. All are rich in flavor, simple to prepare, and perfect for a communal dining experience with family and friends. Donabe also features recipes from luminary chefs such as David Kinch, Namae Shinobu, and Cortney Burns and Nick Balla, all of whom use donabe in their own kitchens. Collectible, beautiful, and functional, donabe can easily be an essential part of your cooking repetory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607747000
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	10/27/2015
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	328
File size:	222 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

NAOKO TAKEI MOORE is a Japanese home-cooking expert who teaches cooking classes in Los Angeles, California. Her company, toiro kitchen, sells donabe and Japanese artisan products, with a mission of promoting donabe in the U.S. Visit her blog Happy Donabe Life at naokomoore.com. 

KYLE CONNAUGHTON began his culinary career in L.A. with an apprenticeship at one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in the city and continued training in both pastry and savory at Spago Beverly Hills, The Dining Room at Ritz Carlton, Lucques, Hama Sushi, and A.O.C. This was followed by several years cooking in Japan for the famed chef Michel Bras and in numerous traditional Japanese cuisine restaurants. In 2006, Kyle joined Heston Blumenthal to become the Head Chef of Research and Development for the Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen. He is a contributor to the "Modernist Cuisine" series and a co-developer of the Culinary Science Bachelors Degree program for the Culinary Institute of America. Kyle is currently the owner-chef of Single Thread Farm-Restaurant-Inn, a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant.

Read an Excerpt

Advantages of Donabe Cooking
Many people who use donabe say it makes food taste better. The secret is the material: clay. Donabe takes a much longer time to build heat and cool down than other cookware, such as stainless steel. This characteristic is the key to all the natural flavor donabe can draw out of straightforward ingredients.

Because donabe builds heat slowly, it allows the flavors of a dish to build gradually. Donabe can help make your mushroom soup taste more savory and your rice taste sweeter. When a dish is higher in natural umami flavor, less seasoning and less fat are needed to complete the flavors. We like to say that donabe is a friendly cookware for health-conscious people.

Once the heat has built within the donabe, you can lower the flame and it will maintain a steady and gentle heat distribution. The donabe also works like a cushion for that heat, taking the direct flame from the stove and evenly distributing it across the surface and to the food. During cooking, donabe’s glaze promotes natural far-infrared radiation, which is the same effect that glowing charcoal gives to food.

Donabe ware is known for its remarkable heat retention. It cools down slowly, so it stays warm on the table for a long time. This trait also makes it perfect for cooking with carryover heat. That’s why donabe is ideal for slow-cooking. Donabe is an energy-efficient and eco-friendly cooking vessel because, once heated, it requires little energy to function.

Table of Contents

Contents

Preface  xi
Introduction  1
1: Classic-Style Donabe  51
2: Double-Lid Donabe Rice Cooker  93
3: Donabe for Soup and Stew  139
4: Donabe Steamer  177
5: Tagine-Style Donabe  213
6: Donabe Smoker  247
7: Dashi, Sauces, and Condiments  273
Glossary  288
Kitchen Tools  296
Resources  299
Acknowledgments  300
Index  302

Editorial Reviews

10/05/2015
This evocative book plumbs the depths of this ancient Japanese earthen cookware (which dates back to the eighth century), celebrating the joy of communal dining as well as the vessel itself. With gorgeous full-color photographs, the book takes readers on a journey to the remote mountainous province of Iga, where donabe were created and are still produced today. The recipes range from simple (smoked miso-marinated tofu, braised spicy kabocha) to complex (braised shio-koji beef brisket with sunchokes, radishes, celery, and coffee). All exhibit the clean, balanced flavors that Japanese cuisine is known for, with an emphasis on authentic ingredients, such as yuzu, shiso leaf, and salt-pickled cherry blossoms. Many of the recipes are ambitious in scope, and ingredient lists tend to be long, but headnotes offer a roadmap for completing the dish, and a glossary in the back further illuminates unusual components. Each chapter highlights a different cooking method, showcasing the donabe’s great one-pot versatility and use for braising, steaming, and smoking. The book beautifully explains ichigoichie as “every moment is a once-in-a-lifetime treasure.” Readers who adopt the donabe style of cooking, a thoughtful, earth-to-table approach, may feel the same sentiment about dinner. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Donabe represents so much more than simply cooking food. It’s the creation of an experience that is completely unique, one that brings together the people you love in a moment that not only will satisfy your appetite, but nourishes your soul. This book will feed your spirit for years to come.”
-Morgan Spurlock, Filmmaker, Foodie & Donabe Enthusiast

From the Publisher

10/01/2015
Chef and cooking instructor Moore, along with coauthor chef Connaughton, here demonstrates the versatility of the donabe, a traditional Japanese clay cooking vessel. The donabe can be used as a rice cooker, steamer, tagine, or smoker, or to prepare comforting one-pot meals. The vessel's porous clay contributes to higher heat retention, and the glaze creates an effect similar to charcoal grilling, leading to flavorful food, served in a lovely dish that can be brought to the table for a communal dinner. The authors provide information about the pot's uses and history as well as donabe culture in Japan. Ideas for dinner parties and brunches are included, in addition to a variety of recipes, from classic duck and tofu hot pots to salmon chowder with miso soy-milk broth, steamed yellowtail shabu-shabu, and a smoked calamari salad in black sesame vinegar sauce. Recipes for dashi, sauces, and condiments are included, as well as a glossary, a guide to kitchen tools, and a list of resources. VERDICT Recommended for donabe owners, as well as those interested in this comforting form of washoku, Japanese home cooking.—Melissa Stearns, Franklin Pierce Univ. Lib., Rindge, NH

Library Journal