Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking

by Masaharu Morimoto

Overview

The revered Iron Chef shows how to make flavorful, exciting traditional Japanese meals at home in this beautiful cookbook that is sure to become a classic, featuring a carefully curated selection of fantastic recipes and more than 150 color photos.

Japanese cuisine has an intimidating reputation that has convinced most home cooks that its beloved preparations are best left to the experts. But legendary chef Masaharu Morimoto, owner of the wildly popular Morimoto restaurants, is here to change that. In Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking, he introduces readers to the healthy, flavorful, surprisingly simple dishes favored by Japanese home cooks.

Chef Morimoto reveals the magic of authentic Japanese food—the way that building a pantry of half a dozen easily accessible ingredients allows home cooks access to hundreds of delicious recipes, empowering them to adapt and create their own inventions. From revelatory renditions of classics like miso soup, nabeyaki udon, and chicken teriyaki to little known but unbelievably delicious dishes like fish simmered with sake and soy sauce, Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking brings home cooks closer to the authentic experience of Japanese cuisine than ever before.

And, of course, the famously irreverent chef also offers playful riffs on classics, reimagining tuna-and-rice bowls in the style of Hawaiian poke, substituting dashi-marinated kale for spinach in oshitashi, and upgrading the classic rice seasoning furikake with toasted shrimp shells and potato chips. Whatever the recipe, Chef Morimoto reveals the little details—the right ratios of ingredients in sauces, the proper order for adding seasonings—that make all the difference in creating truly memorable meals that merge simplicity with exquisite flavor and visual impact.

Photography by Evan Sung

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062344397
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/08/2016
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	942,813
File size:	47 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Masaharu Morimoto was raised in Hiroshima and opened his first restaurant in Japan. After moving to the United States, he was executive chef at the highly acclaimed Nobu restaurant in New York City, then opened his namesake restaurant, Morimoto, in Philadelphia, which he later expanded to New York. Morimoto’s restaurants now include Wasabi by Morimoto in Mumbai and New Delhi and Morimoto Sushi Bar in Boca Raton, Florida, as well as others in Napa, Mexico City, Maui, and Waikiki. Morimoto appeared on the Japanese television show Iron Chef and the Food Network’s Iron Chef America. He is the author of Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

The Japanese Meal: Turning the recipes in this hook into dinner 10

Dashi: The Easy, Essential Japanese Stock

Dashi: Dried fish and kelp stock 20

Kombu Dashi: Kelp stock 23

Gohan: Rice

Hakumai: Perfect white rice 33

Onigiri: Rice halls 37

Yaki Onigiri: Grilled rice halls 39

Omuraisu: Omelet with ketchup-fried rice 40

Taldkomi Gohan: Dashi-simmered rice with vegetables 43

Chahan: Japanese-style fried rice 47

Su Meshi: Sushi rice 50

Temaki: Hand rolls 53

Spicy Tuna Temaki

Ume-Shiso Temaki

Vegetable Temaki

California Temaki

Battera: Pressed mackerel sushi 61

Oyako Don: Chicken and egg rice bowl 67

Katsu Don: Pork cutlet and egg rice bowl 69

Suteki Don: Steak rice howls with spicy teriyaki sauce 70

Tekka Don No Poke: Hawaiian poke-style tuna rice bowl 73

Supu: Soups

Miso Shiru: Miso soup with tofu 77

Asari No Miso Shiru: Miso soup with clams 78

Tonjiru: Hearty miso soup with pork and vegetables 81

Tamago Supu: Japanese egg drop soup 85

Dangojiru: Japanese-style chicken and dumpling soup 87

Dobin Mushi: Aromatic "ea pot" soup with mushrooms, fish, and shrimp 89

Yaku: To Grill, Boil, and Sear

A Yakitori Party: Grilled chicken and vegetable skewers 95

Tsukune No Teriyaki: Chicken meatballs with teriyaki sauce 98

Sake Shioyaki: Salt-grilled salmon 100

Sakana No Misoyaki: Grilled miso-marinated fish 102

Nasu No Misoyaki: Eggplant with chicken and miso sauce 104

Tori No Teriyaki: Chicken teriyaki 107

Gyoza: Pork and cabbage dumplings 109

Tamagoyaki: Japanese Omelet 115

Buta No Shogayaki: Pork belly with ginger and onions 118

Musu: To Steam

Sakana No Sakamushi: Fish steamed in kombu with spicy soy sauce 122

Shumai: Japanese-style shrimp dumplings 125

Chzwanmushi: Egg custard with shrimp, chicken, and fish 133

Niru: To Simmer

Saba No Misoni: Mackerel simmered with miso 141

Nitsuke: Fish simmered with sake, soy sauce, and sugar 145

Hambagu: Japanese-style hamburger with tangy sauce 146

Buta No Kakuni: Slow-cooked pork belly with beer-teriyaki glaze 150

Chikuzenni: Chicken simmered with lotus root and bamboo shoot 153

Nikujaga: Japanese-style beef stew 155

Hijiki: Sweet simmered hijiki seaweed 158

Karei Raisu: Japanese-style curry 161

Oden: Japanese-style hotpot 166

Itame Ru: To Stir-Fry

Kinpira: Stir-fried parsnip and carrot 171

Yasai Itame: Stir-fried vegetables 173

Kaisen Yaki Udon: Stir-fried udon noodles with seafood 174

Yakisoba: Stir-fried noodles with pork, cabbage, and ginger 177

Men: Noodles

Kinoko Zaru Soba: Chilled soba noodles with mushrooms 184

Kamo Nanban Soba: Soba noodle soup with duck and spring vegetables 186

Homemade Udon Noodles 189

Zaru Udon: Chilled udon noodles with scallions and ginger 193

Nabeyaki Udon: "Clay pot" udon noodle soup 195

Supagetti No Teriyaki: Chicken teriyaki spaghetti 197

Ageru: To Fry

Yasai Tempura: Vegetable tempura 205

Kaki Age: Shrimp and vegetable fritters 208

Kara Age: Japanese-style fried chicken with scallion sauce 211

Tonkatsu: Japanese-style fried pork cutlet 215

Menchi Katsu: Crispy fried beef patties 218

Kabocha Korokke: Squash croquettes 221

Ae Ru: To Dress

Ingen No Goma Ae: Green beans with sesame dressing 227

Karashi Ae: Brussels sprouts, shrimp, and mushrooms with Japanese mustard dressing 230

Shira Ae: Spinach, carrot, and shiitake with tofu dressing 233

Sumiso Ae: Squid and scallions with miso-vinegar dressing 235

Tsukeru: To Pickle

Tataki Kyuri: Smashed cucumber pickles 240

Shiozuke: Salt pickles 242

Misozuke: Miso pickles 243

Nukazuke: Rice bran pickles 246

Acknowledgments 251

Ingredient Glossary 253

Sources 261

Index 265

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2016
Morimoto, perhaps better known as Iron Chef Morimoto, brings his experience from competing in Kitchen Stadium and overseeing a group of international restaurants to this collection of 68 recipes geared toward family meals. More importantly, he brings an approach that demystifies Japanese cuisine. As he notes in the introduction, many dishes “might take years of training to produce at the highest level, but they require only a little know-how to become tasty, satisfying dinners.” At times, he seems to be carrying a rice chip on his shoulder, accusing his Western friends of underappreciating soup and claiming that the Japanese have undeniable gastronomic superiority over French and Chinese cuisine, but it’s hard to argue that he’s wrong, given the flavorful dishes he creates with relatively simple ingredients. The basic fish and kelp stock called dashi plays a central role in a pork cutlet and egg rice bowl, Japanese-style beef stew, and chilled udon noodles with scallions and ginger. Soups, stir-fry, and noodles each have their own chapter and a section on the underappreciated art of simmering features fish simmered with sake, soy sauce, and sugar, as well as slow-cooked pork belly with beer-teriyaki glaze. The 177 color photos range from utilitarian instruction on flipping a Japanese omelet to an artistic interpretation of rice grains clustered in the hand of the chef. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"This is a beautiful, important and intelligent cookbook. The title is key and revealing. This is a type of art book, for authentic Japanese cooking is surely an art form." — Huffington Post

"This book is a great introduction to both traditional Japanese cuisine, as well as modern interpretations of other dishes." — WeCookBooks.com

From the Publisher