- Unknown Binding: 239 pages
- Publisher: Charles E. Tuttle Co (2000)
- Language English
- ASIN: B0006RKTU8
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Before travelling to Japan earlier this year I carried out some research into the foods which we might be eating. Nothing I read compared with this book, which is both informative and, more crucially, accurate. It gives the Japanese names of food in Roman (which is always phonetically easy to track in Japn) and in Japanese and Chinese scripts, where appropriate. As far as I could tell there were no gaps. So often, sitting in a resturant in some far flung place, with an apparently definitive guide to the foods of that particular country, the first thing I have felt the need to look up is not listed. During several 'kaiseki ryori', where the cuisine is renowned for its rarity and the difficulty of obtaining it, this book did not once let me down. I commend it as the best reference book for those interested in Japanese food that I have come across. As another reviewer states, it is not a recipe book. It is for use if you are likely to be in a position where you are offered food, or need to buy food in a market, and you do not know its identity! It will not let you down.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It is unique in a field that is not well documented in the English language. The main body is a Japanese-English dictionary of Japanese foodstuffs. Entries go: Japanese name in romaji (Roman alphabet), kana, kanji, (Chinese characters), then the English translation, then any scientific name. Each definition is several lines long, including details of preparation, culinary uses, and cultural, regional and seasonal notes. The book is profusely cross-referenced and illustrated in black and white. There is an Engish-Japanese glossary at the back and seventeen appendices covering key items such as katsuobushi, miso, Buddhist vegetarian cuisine and so on in greater detail.
This is not a cookbook, there are no recipes or instructions. Rather, it is a treasure-chest of culinary detail, illuminating a great deal that was previously hidden. The Japanese cuisine is vast and varied, but largely mysterious and unknown outside Japan, because there are very few definitive books written in languages other than Japanese. I am not certain that a comparative book exists even in Japan; it was compiled from Japanese sources but some of these were very old or quite obscure or scholarly. I can recommend it to anyone who knows anything about Japan or Japanese food and wants to make a quantum leap of knowledge and understanding.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A Dictionary of Japanese Food: Ingredients and Culture, by Richard Hosking, is the essential guide for creating your own Japanese kitchen and buying food at your closest Japanese center. For those of you who appreciate Japanese culture and foods but are confused navigating the market, this book is a must. Hosking lists, both in english and Kanji, all of the essentil ingredients and spices you need to cook. In addition, his appendices contains excellent information about utensiles, chopsticks, the meal, sake, tea, and wasabi to mention a few. I bought this book in Japan, used it there, and will carry it with me to my market in Denver.
Stephen Schell (schell@frii.com)
Stephen Schell (schell@frii.com)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Comprehensive and fascinating book with extensive appendices
Whenever I have been eating out in Japan and want to know about specific ingredients this book is yet to let me down. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Francis King
Good but not good enough
I went to Japan with this book and...
it wasn't easy to use. I couldn't find most of the dishes. Read more
it wasn't easy to use. I couldn't find most of the dishes. Read more
Published on 20 April 2009 by Alessandro Valenti
An absolute gem of a book, comprehensive and enlightening
It is unique in a field that is not well documented in the English language. The main body is a Japanese-English dictionary of Japanese foodstuffs. Read more
Published on 20 Mar 1999
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