JapanEasy

Book excerpt: Many people are intimidated at the idea of cooking Japanese food at home. But in JapanEasy, Tim Anderson reveals that many Japanese recipes require no specialist ingredients at all, and can in fact be whipped up with products found at your local supermarket. In fact, there are only seven essential ingredients required for the whole book: soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, dashi, sake, miso and rice. You don't need any special equipment, either. No sushi mat? No problem - use just cling film and a tea towel! JapanEasy is designed to be an introduction to the world of Japanese cooking via some of its most accessible (but authentic) dishes. The recipes here do not ‘cheat’ in any way; there are no inadequate substitutions for obscure ingredients: this is the real deal. Tim starts with some basic sauces and marinades that any will easily 'Japanify' any meal, then moves onto favourites such as gyoza, sushi, yakitori, ramen and tempura, and introduces readers to new dishes they will love. Try your hand at a range of croquettas, sukiyaki and a Japanese 'carbonara' that will change your life. Recipes are clearly explained and rated according to difficulty, making them easy to follow and even easier to get right. If you are looking for fun, simple, relatively quick yet delicious Japanese dishes that you can actually make on a regular basis – the search stops here.