Takashi's Noodles: [A Cookbook]

by Takashi Yagihashi, Harris Salat

Overview

A collection of 75 recipes from James Beard Award-winning chef Takashi Yagihashi for both traditional and inventive hot and cold Japanese noodle dishes.

Combining traditional Japanese influences, French technique, and more than 20 years of cooking in the Midwest, James Beard Award-winning chef Takashi Yagihashi introduces American home cooks to essential Japanese comfort food with his simple yet sophisticated recipes. Emphasizing quick-to-the-table shortcuts, the use of fresh and dried packaged noodles, and kid-friendly dishes, Takashi explains noodle nuances and explores each style's distinct regional identity. An expert guide, Takashi recalls his youth in Japan and takes cooks on a discovery tour of the rich bounty of Japanese noodles, so readily accessible today. Takashi's exuberance for noodles ranging from Aje-Men to Zaru is sure to inspire home cooks to dive into bowl after soothing, refreshing bowl.

"A wonderfully talented chef." —Chef Eric Ripert

"Noodle fans with a stocked pantry will find plenty to slurp about." —Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580089654
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	04/01/2009
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	9.06(w) x 9.72(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

HARRIS SALAT writes about food and culture for Gourmet, the New York Times, Saveur, and other publications. He lives in New York.

TAKASHI YAGIHASHI opened Takashi's in Chicago in 2008, following successful ventures at Ambria, Tribute, and Okada at the Wynn. He was named the James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Midwest and one of America's 10 Best New Chefs by Food & Wine. Takashi is a member of the Macy's Culinary Council as well as the Japanese Culinary Cultural Association of America. He lives with his family in Chicago.

THE AUTHOR SCOOP

Tell me something that other people might not know about you. 
I love to play guitar.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?
To always have a peaceful mind.

What's the oddest food you've ever eaten? 
Dried Sea Cucumber Ovaries (a very expensive and rare delicacy).

What's the meaning of your name? 
Takashi (Dragon) Yagihashi (Willow Bridge).

Favorite cocktail? 
Yuzu Lemonade

What is your favorite sandwich?
Fried Pork with cucumber, lettuce, mayonnaise, tonkatsu sauce.

What's the best way to spend a rainy Saturday morning?
Making noodle soup.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Takashi's Noodles"
by .
Copyright © 2009 Takashi Yagihashi.
Excerpted by permission of Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

Noodle fans with a stocked pantry will find plenty to slurp about.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
Takashi has “given us what’s become a rarity—a cookbook that is equal parts timely, useful, and pretty.”
—Chicago Magazine

From the Publisher

Expertly synthesizing his experience in French, American and Japanese kitchens, James Beard Award-winning chef Yagihashi gives noodle-philiacs 75 inventive, appetizing reasons to drop the take-out and roll up their sleeves. Divided by noodle type (ramen, soba, udon, somen, other Asian noodles and pasta), offerings like sake-steamed chicken with ramen, beef short ribs served with chewy saifun bean threads, and classics like Pad Thai and pho, all showcase the versatility of the simple noodle. International riffs like Soba Gnocchi with Celery Root Foam, Cassoulet of Crab, Kimchi and Harusame and the down-home comfort of Corned Beef with Rice Noodles exemplify Yagihashi's global approach. Instructions for making one's own soba noodles, egg pasta and somen (as well as six dipping sauces) complete the roundup, and sticklers for detail will be pleased that Yagihashi is not one to cut corners. Though it contains recipes for practically every skill level and taste, cooks without access to a well-stocked Asian grocery are likely to wind up frustrated. Noodle fans with a stocked pantry will have plenty to slurp about. 40 color photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

The James Beard Award-winning Yagihashi grew up in Japan and now has several restaurants in Chicago, including Takashi's. His debut cookbook presents 75 recipes for noodle dishes of all sorts, both traditional Japanese and other Asian favorites and more contemporary interpretations such as Soba Gnocchi with Celery Root Foam. For area libraries and others where chefs' books are popular.

—Judith Sutton

Library Journal