Notes about Recipes in this book

• Crab fried rice (Hani ankake)

  • Gio on November 17, 2015

    Katakuriko = potato starch.

• Iwashi furai

  • RosieB on November 14, 2015

    This was a really tasty easy dish. Served with chicken yakatori for a nice Japanese inspired starter.

• Retro curry

  • Delys77 on August 25, 2014

    Overall the results were very tasty. The components of the curry are very reminiscent of a standard stew, but the addition of the curry scented roux definitely gives it the that familiar East Asian curry flavour. Despite the large amount of seasoning the dish isn't overly pungent, which was quite nice. I would suggest that the amount of liquid is off. I went with a double batch and only used about 8 cups of liquid, and even then I had quite a bit of liquid that required me to use some corn starch to thicken. I would likely simmer uncovered for about half of the cooking time and perhaps make a lager amount of roux. Used a chuck roast for the beef and it worked perfectly.

• Miso ramen

  • Delys77 on January 28, 2015

    This was a tough one to assess because it was good, but it did let us down a bit. I think of Miso Ramen has something that basically hits you in the mouth with flavour, while this was a little tame in that department. The tare was delicious smelling but got a bit lost in the broth and the noodles. I think you should season your actual broth and add a few other elements like Shiitake and Konbu, and maybe make a larger portion and reduce the broth a bit to make it more flavourful. Then I would go withe same Tare recipe and put at least 50% more in the broth. Lastly I would marinate the pork as it calls for no marinating which seems odd to me. I would also skip the ground pork as this didn't work well with the noodles.

• Chuka don

  • Delys77 on June 27, 2014

    This is essentially a Japanese take on what a Chinese Rice Bowl would be. Overall it was good but I wouldn't likely repeat. It comes together easily enough but the dish is a little under seasoned. I would add more soy and more salt and possibly more sake or even Hsiao shing cooking wine. This will sound unappealing but the colour and texture reminded me a bit of take out chop suey.

• Gyudon

  • Delys77 on March 05, 2014

    Pg. 135 The recipe calls for Sukiyaki Beef, but upon doing a little research it seems any relatively tender well marbled cut of beef will do. I bought boneless short ribs, froze till quite firm and sliced across the grain with a sharp knife. This worked quite well. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly save for the pickled ginger condiment, which I would add next time as a bit of acidity would balance this relatively sweet dish. I did find there was too much liquid so I might cut it back by about 1/3 next time. Also, while the dashi adds a very interesting nuance I might decrease the relative proportion of dashi a bit. Lastly, I would suggest full sodium soy sauce as the light soy left this a touch under seasoned. Overall however a very comforting cold weather weeknight supper that came together very easily. Serve with sauteed asian greens and you have a lovely meal.

• Classic tonkatsu

  • Delys77 on April 28, 2020

    I double breaded as he suggests and use the "smacking technique" and it worked very well. I did then in the airfryer however, to save on fat a bit. Overall very good and nice technique. I don't love cabbage with this so skipped it as well.

• Hamburg

  • Delys77 on August 20, 2020

    This was dinner last night for the family. I had a bit more beef and pork so went with about 1.5 times the recipe. It was pretty good overall. The patties are very juicy and well seasoned but not over the top. My 1.5 times the recipe made about 7 patties so a good sized meal. My son loved them, but that is doubtless because anything with ketchup is very popular around here. Sandiegolemons is right, the sauce is very reminiscent of A1 steak sauce, which I don't usually love, but in moderate amounts with the burgers, it was quite good. I used dry vermouth as we were out of sake. Next time I would up worcestershire a touch and perhaps put in a squirt of soy or maggi to see if we can up the savoury and cut the tang a bit. Served with steamed rice and steamed carrots. Not a bad little dinner.

  • Sandiegolemons on January 25, 2018

    This was really good and the kids dug it. I served it with a french style julienned carrots in cream and chives which went great with it. The burger sauce is a bit reminiscent of A-1, which I despise, but this was rather nice. A fun twist on burgers, protein style, to mix it up on a weekday night. I used ground turkey which substituted beautifully.

• Tadashi's lamb curry

  • Delys77 on September 15, 2014

    This recipe has a lot of fusion elements, with white wine, soy sauce, curry powder, and butter all mingling in the pot to yield a lovely result. I would say yet again that the amount of liquid called for is far too much. As with other dishes in this book the author has you add very large amounts of liquid and then simmer covered, which to me doesn't make much sense. There is no thickening agent in this dish other than the onions which melt into the broth, but Tadashi would have you add 2 cups of wine and 4 cups of water and then simmer covered. I ended up going with half the amount of water and I simmered uncovered and the liquid to solid ratio was just right. The author also never tells you when to put the browned lamb back in. I put it in with the liquid and again this worked out very well. Lastly, my curry powder had some bite to it so I would wait to add the togarashi at the end to see if you need it. Overall despite the issues, a very nice flavour profile.

• Shoyu ramen

  • aileent1 on September 10, 2018

    This was good, but not great. The flavor was not as well-rounded as I had hoped for considering the amount of prep work that was needed. I used top-quality ingredients and expected at least as good of a result as I've had in restaurants. I would not make it again.

• Oyakodon

  • thekitchenchronicles on November 04, 2014

    http://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2014/05/01/oyakodon/

  • Cpeterson729 on January 08, 2015

    Pretty good, especially for a quick and easy meal. The pic does not look like the finished product, but that's fine. I would suggest using low sodium soy sauce, adding some cilantro (like in the pic) and cooking the eggs for longer - they will be uncooked without extra time on the stove. Would make again with some variations, will probably buy the book now to try some more recipes that are not my go to meals!

• "Napolitan" spaghetti

  • Rinshin on April 24, 2014

    This was ok. I have several favorite ones from Japanese language cookbooks and television but I am always looking for better ones that may come my way. I wanted to give this a try because of unusual addition of paprika and milk not found in Japanese versions, but did not like the addition of paprika - gave this funny taste and using milk was also strange for this type of Japanese spaghetti Napolitan recipe. Maybe this is an americanized version of japanized Italian pasta :)

• Yoshoku steak

  • Rinshin on April 24, 2014

    Used one rib eye for 2 people (2/3 for my husband, and 1/3 for me). I marinated the meat in shio-koji ( http://kojiya.jp/shiokoji/index.html) I keep on hand overnight and that made meat very tender and flavorful. Shio-koji was wiped off clean before pan-grilling. The savory sweet sauce was wonderful on beef steak. Really brought out the meaty taste you associate with good tasting beef. This sauce is a definite keeper. I sliced the beef into thin slices for each plate before serving.

• Mabo don

  • Jojobuch on October 22, 2017

    Very satisfying, and easy to make as long as you have the right ingredients - that said, I substituted Gochujang for the Japanese Chili paste, and Chinese rice wine for sake, with excellent results.

  • Skamper on August 25, 2018

    This has become a favorite in our house. I use chicken stock in place of torigara, and only 1 tsp of tobanjian as that is the right spice level for us. I've also reduced the sugar to 1/2 tsp, or used 1 tsp of granulated Splenda instead, and it comes out delicious.

• Soy sauce marinade

  • laurenlangston on January 31, 2017

    I put spatchcocked Cornish game hens in this for 24 hours and then grilled them for dinner. One of the easiest, best chicken dishes I've ever made.

• Kamo nanban soba

  • IsaSim on February 03, 2014

    This was delicious! Will reduce soba serving size next time, and one duck breast (12 ounces) was enough for three.

• Potato salada

  • Skamper on August 17, 2018

    Delicious recipe. I would say kewpie mayonnaise is a must, but I've never made it with regular mayo. Edited to add that I've also recently made this with sweet potato and it is also delicious!

• Tomato salada

  • Skamper on March 30, 2020

    Easy and delicious when tomatoes are at their best. I use a scant half cup of onions.

• Tatsuta-age

  • Skamper on August 03, 2020

    Second time I've made this and it is a winner. The lemon is a must!

• Nagoya tebasaki

  • Skamper on March 30, 2020

    I've made this many times and we love it. However, I have to say that it doesn't take like nagoya tebasaki that I've had at restaurants. I use the Alton Brown method of steaming then baking the wings, then coating in the sauce. I use 1 T of granulated splenda rather than the 2 T of sugar.

• Serious Eats

  Short essays on each dish begin each chapter that are just as enlightening as the recipes themselves. Ono and Salat clearly have a knack for writing engaging cookbooks.

  Full review

• Fine Cooking

  The book is a fascinating, mouthwatering read, richly illustrated with evocative photos. ...trace the history of various cooking styles and tease out the foreign influences on beloved classics...

  Full review