Atsuko’s Japanese Kitchen: Home-Cooked Comfort Food Made Simple

Ikeda’s second cookbook (after Sushi Made Simple) expertly takes readers into a world of Japanese home cooking far from the austere precision of the sushi counter, or the late-night rush of the ramen-ya. Aimed at readers new to Japanese cooking, Ikeda explains how to plan meals and properly use chopsticks, as well as listing the five essential ingredients to stock (soy sauce, sweet rice wine, sake, rice vinegar, and miso). “Making omurice brings back memories of my school days,” she says, introducing the first dish she learned to cook, an omelette-wrapped ketchup-flavored fried rice. But she does not shy away from complex fare, such as mackerel simmered with red miso, leeks, and ginger. Ikeda’s experience as a cooking instructor is evident in the morsels of history she sprinkles throughout, such as that chicken katsu was inspired by British curry. And just as she explores the foreign origins of many Japanese dishes, she also brings new flavors into her own kitchen, as in the matcha tiramisu, inspired by her Italian mother-in-law’s cooking. This welcome primer goes a long way toward making Japanese cooking accessible to home cooks curious but perhaps intimidated by the cuisine. [em](July) [/em]