Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen [A Cookbook]

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In 1975,Gourmet magazine published a series on traditional Japanese food —the first of its kind in a major American food magazine — written by a graduate of the prestigious Yanagihara School of classical cuisine in Tokyo. Today, the author of that groundbreaking series, Elizabeth Andoh, is recognized as the leading English-language authority on the subject. She shares her knowledge and passion for the food culture of Japan in WASHOKU, an authoritative, deeply personal tribute to one of the world's most distinctive culinary traditions. Andoh begins by setting forth the ethos of washoku (traditional Japanese food), exploring its nuanced approach to balancing flavor, applying technique, and considering aesthetics hand-in-hand with nutrition. With detailed descriptions of ingredients complemented by stunning full-color photography, the book's comprehensive chapter on the Japanese pantry is practically a book unto itself. The recipes for soups, rice dishes and noodles, meat and poultry, seafood, and desserts are models of clarity and precision, and the rich cultural context and practical notes that Andoh provides help readers master the rhythm and flow of the washoku kitchen. Much more than just a collection of recipes, WASHOKU is a journey through a cuisine that is rich in history and as handsome as it is healthful. Awards2006 IACP Award WinnerReviews“This extensive volume is clearly intended for the cook serious about Japanese food.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune“. . . scholarly, yet inspirational . . . a foodie might just sit back and read for sheer enjoyment and edification.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Amazon.com Review

If the food of a culture has a pulse, in Japan that pulse would be called washoku. It's a set of principles in fives that takes into account color, taste, ways of preparing food, the diner's senses, and the outlook brought to bear on both the cooking and the dining experience. The result? Meals that are balanced, pleasing, invigorating, healing, and satisfying--all in ways that seep deep into the soul. It's the great good luck of the West that Elizabeth Andoh chose a life in Japan and a focus on food. Her expertise has brought forth the award-winning An Ocean of Flavor as well as countless newspaper and magazine pieces.

With Washoku Andoh takes the reader into the heart of the Japanese home kitchen. She explains the guiding philosophy then brings it into practical terms with a section on the essential washoku pantry. Her section on the washoku kitchen begins with cutting and ends with shaping and molding. Recipes are found in chapters on Stocks and Condiments; Soups; Rice; Noodles; Vegetables; Fish, Meat and Poultry; Tofu and Eggs; and Desserts.

You might never prepare an entire Japanese meal from beginning to end (though with this book in hand you certainly could), but there's no reason not to believe you wouldn't begin to include some of these recipes in an expanding foodway. The sauces and condiments are particularly exciting. As is the underlying thinking that goes into how you are cooking and why you are cooking--the washoku of it all. Not a bad lesson to learn from an exemplary teacher. --Schuyler Ingle

From the Publisher

* A full-color cookbook featuring more than 140 recipes for the classics of the Japanese home kitchen, written by the leading English-language authority on the cuisine, Elizabeth Andoh, Gourmet magazine s correspondent in Japan.

* The essentials of the Japanese pantry the array of herbs and spices, the numerous varieties of miso, tofu, and noodles are illustrated in full-color photographs.

* Andohs An Ocean of Flavor won the IACP cookbook award for Seafood, Meat, and Poultry in 1998.

About the Author

ELIZABETH ANDOH is the American authority on Japanese cuisine. She has made Japan her home since 1967 and divides her time between Tokyo and Osaka, directing a culinary program called A Taste of Culture. Her book Washoku won the 2006 IACP Jane Grigson award for distinguished scholarship in food writing and was nominated for a James Beard Award.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Washoku, literally the “harmony of food,” is a way of thinking about what we eat and how it can nourish us. The term describes both a culinary philosophy and the simple, nutritionally balanced food prepared in that spirit.

My first encounter with washoku was nearly forty years ago when I suddenly, and serendipitously, found myself staying with the Andoh family on the Japanese island of Shikoku. My urban American sensibilities were challenged by more than the rural plumbing that first summer. Hunger forced me to be adventurous at table, where my curiosity grew, along with my appetite, for things Japanese.

I was particularly impressed by the rhythm and flow of activity in the Andoh kitchen. This was the cherished, domestic domain of Kiyoko Andoh, the woman who was to become my mother-in-law. From the start, she encouraged me to call her Okaasan (literally “mother,” it is also a term of endearment and respect for women who care for others). Okaasan moved about her daily routine with determination and grace, feeding the Andoh household—children (and their friends), grandchildren (and their friends), workers at the family-owned factory (and some of their family members), and foreign visitors (me) alike. Running such a large, busy home required not only consummate culinary skill, but also an understanding of the value of nutritious, wholesome food and a knack for balancing the budget.

Okaasan’s ability to integrate smoothly such practical considerations as getting meals on the table in several shifts (early risers, after-school lessons, and factory overtime needed to be accommodated) with a deep artistic sensibility (fashioning a flower from a carrot, or reflecting on the texture and shape of tableware) was remarkable. A fine cook for whom the ways of washoku were deeply ingrained and practiced daily, Okaasan never had occasion to doubt the wisdom of this time-honored approach.

Because I had no language skills at first with which to question or challenge, I merely watched the activity around
me and tried to follow suit. I desperately sought to grasp the logic of it all, or at least discern some predictable patterns. Later, as I acquired fluency in Japanese and broadened my experience to include formal culinary training at the Yanagihara School of Classical Japanese Cooking, I fine-tuned my understanding of the principles and practice of washoku. It is those ideas and skills that I am sharing with you in this book.

Washoku: The Five Principles

The calligraphy for wa is used to refer to things indigenous to Japanese culture. In the realm of food, washoku distinguishes Japanese food fromforeign-inspired cuisines, such as yōshoku, or Western-style food.

The philosophy and practice of washoku can best be summarized by a set of five principles that describe how to achieve nutritional balance and aesthetic harmony at mealtime. The first three principles—one each concerning color, flavor palate, and choice of cooking method—deal with the practical considerations of food preparation. The fourth principle defines the sensual nature of food—that is, the need for food to appeal to all the five senses, not just taste and smell. The final principle,which ismore spiritual and philosophic, compels us to appreciate both human endeavor and the natural forces that provide for us.

The five principles of washoku are as follows:

Five colors, or go shiki, suggests that every meal include foods that are red, yellow, green, black, and white. (Often very dark colors, particularly deep purple—eggplant, grapes—and sometimes brown—shiitaké mushrooms—are counted as black.) Vitamins and minerals naturally come into balance with a colorful range of foods.

Five tastes, or go mi, describes what the Japanese call anbai, a harmonious balance of flavors—salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy—that ensures our palates are pleasantly stimulated, but not overwhelmed.

Five ways, or go hō, urges cooks to prepare food by a variety of methods, simmering, broiling, and steaming being some of the most basic. By combining various methods at every meal, it is easy to limit the total amount of sugar, salt, and oil consumed, thereby avoiding excessive calories.

Five senses, or go kan, advises cooks to be mindful not only of taste, but also of sight, sound, smell, and touch (in this case, the texture of food as we eat it).

Five outlooks, or go kanmon, are rules concerned with the partaking of food and have a strong basis in Buddhism. Indeed, many Buddhist temples in Japan that serve vegetarian fare (shōjin ryōri) will have these rules written on their menus. They instruct us, first, to respect the efforts of all those who contributed their toil to cultivating and preparing our food; second, to do good deeds worthy of receiving such nourishment; third, to come to the table without ire; fourth, to eat for spiritual as well as temporal well-being; and fifth, to be serious in our struggle to attain enlightenment.

The five principles are not unique to Japanese foodways. Many Asian cultures share similar beliefs. Indeed, the ideas arrived from China by way of the Korean peninsula about a thousand years ago. In Japan, the five principles intertwined with indigenous Shinto beliefs, such as humanity’s oneness with nature, and evolved into a broadly encompassing, deeply integrated culinary philosophy. A vocabulary emerged to describe various aspects of this distinctive Japanese food culture. Kisetsukan is what the Japanese call their keen appreciation for seasonal cycles and other rhythms of nature. The word shun is used to describe a point in time when a particular food is at its peak of flavor. Shun can last for several weeks or even months—or it can be as fleeting as a few hours or days. The notion of meisanbutsu, or “regional specialties,” holds locally produced foodstuffs in especially high regard. In Japan, where lakes, rivers, and the ocean provide abundant food to complement the harvest of the land, the phrase umi no sachi, yama no sachi (the bounty of the sea, the bounty of the mountains) describes the harmonious union of foods from both land and water sources.

As with other aspects of culture, such as language and dress, foodways settle in and are eventually taken for granted by the society that gave rise to them. Most Japanese today would have a hard time articulating washoku notions, and would not usually discuss among themselves the guidelines for assembling a nutritionally balanced, aesthetically pleasing meal. Yet when choosing items from an à la carte restaurant menu, selecting prepared dishes to take home from a departmentstore food hall, or purchasing packaged food from a convenience store or supermarket, most Japanese will, by instinct, employ the five principles on some level to create culinary harmony.

Despite the pervasiveness of washoku in Japanese food culture, the word itself and the concepts associated with it are relatively unknown outside the country, even among aficionados of Japanese cooking. And although its origins are deeply rooted in Japanese culinary history and habits, washoku can be practiced and enjoyed outside Japan, by Japanese and non-Japanese alike. Selecting ingredients at their peak of seasonal flavor, choosing locally available foods from both the land and the sea, appealing to and engaging all the senses, using a collage of color, employing a variety of food preparations, and assembling an assortment of flavors—a washoku approach to cooking gives the creative and contemplative cook an opportunity to satisfy his or her own aesthetic hunger while providing sustenance and sensory pleasure to others.

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Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen [A Cookbook]

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Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen [A Cookbook]

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Order today to get by 7-14 business days

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Imported From: United States

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Amazon.com Review

From the Publisher

* The essentials of the Japanese pantry the array of herbs and spices, the numerous varieties of miso, tofu, and noodles are illustrated in full-color photographs.

* Andohs An Ocean of Flavor won the IACP cookbook award for Seafood, Meat, and Poultry in 1998.

About the Author

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Books

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Regional & International

Asian

Japanese

United Arab Emirates

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Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen [A Cookbook]

Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen [A Cookbook]

Description:

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From the Publisher

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Details:

Description:

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From the Publisher

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Details:

Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen [A Cookbook]

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Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen [A Cookbook]

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Authenticity Guarantee

Product Disclaimer

Description:

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From the Publisher

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

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