Notes about Recipes in this book

• Japanese-style fried rice (Chahan)

  • Yildiz100 on August 19, 2018

    I agree that this very good. Also, this is simple to throw together. For some reason when first reading the recipe it sounded much more involved than it is. Followed the recipe pretty closely, but I did not salt the rice separately from the sauce because my chicken stock was pretty salty. Add salt to taste after.

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    The ankake sauce for fried rice is fantastic and exactly how I like it. The fried rice is Japanese style and Chef Morimoto purposely made it without much flavoring since the ankake sauce is poured over before serving and that has plenty of flavoring. The only quip I have is the photo of Chef Morimoto tossing the fried rice. It has carrots and what appears to be green peas - I made more diced and steamed carrots and pulled out peas to add to the fried rice. I think he should have included in the ingredient list although the first page clearly shows without carrots in the finished fried rice with the sauce. I love this style of Japanese fried rice with the sauce. Another winner from the book. Recipe at https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/japanese-style-fried-rice-chahan

• Sushi rice (Su meshi)

  • Rinshin on February 19, 2019

    Perfect quantity of vinegar seasoning and instructions.

• Ume-shiso temaki

  • Rinshin on February 19, 2019

    One of my favorites. Also added Japanese style omlette slices.

• California temaki

  • Rinshin on February 19, 2019

    Made this with sushi grade akami maguro and salmon along with crab sticks. Julienned carrots, cucumber, avocado, and daikon sprouts per recipe. Easy way to eat sushi and good instructions

• Chicken and egg rice bowl (Oyako don)

  • twoyolks on January 02, 2020

    This is really simply but really good.

  • TrishaCP on March 11, 2023

    This is great comfort eating. Will definitely repeat this one.

• Steak rice bowls with spicy teriyaki sauce (Suteki don)

  • TrishaCP on December 07, 2020

    I loved this recipe. We used flank steak and my husband side-eyed me when I told him the steak didn’t need a marinade and that the sauce would be added later. But it was perfect as is- including the level of spice. We served this with the suggested stir-fried vegetable recipe.

  • twoyolks on May 23, 2020

    This was amazing. The sauce is great with the steak and with the rice. It was a little on the spicy side so I'd consider decreasing the amount of tobanjan in the future.

• Hawaiian poke-style tuna rice bowl (Tekka don no poke)

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    Excellent results using cheaper yellowfin tuna aka ahi normally used for poke in Hawaii and in the US instead of more expensive bluefin tuna normally used for sushi in Japan. I buy ahi at Costco and normally cut them into 3-4 dinner serving sizes and freeze. Ahi takes freezing really well without affecting the taste or texture. Like most Japanese chefs, Morimoto uses tobanjan (Chinese chile bean sauce) instead of sriracha (too sweet) or kochijan (a little too much hot miso like flavor) often used in the US based restaurants with their poke, mixed up sushi and the like. The mixture used to marinate the fish is perfectly balanced and really works well on top of hot white rice as donburi. Shiso or perilla leaves is a must but if not available, I would use slivered basil as an alternative. Excellent taste. Recipe here https://wearenotmartha.com/cooking-from-morimotos-mastering-the-art-of-japanese-home-cooking-poke-style-tuna-rice-bowls/

  • MmeFleiss on May 13, 2017

    Really lovely take on poke. I would make this again for sure.

  • jenburkholder on May 12, 2022

    This had a mixed reception from us, some liked it more than others. Not sure the shiso convinced us (it isn’t our favorite herb). Might like just scallions better. Still decent, but won’t make again.

• Japanese egg drop soup (Tamago supu)

  • Skamper on October 28, 2018

    This was easy and tasty. (Ok, so I cheated and used instant dashi, which made it even easier.)

• Grilled chicken and vegetable skewers (A yakitori party)

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    Very good flavor and instructions for making yakitori. However it works better outside when grilling because of all the smoke and ease of cleaning up. I did this inside using Japanese style portable grilling stove and found the chicken pieces sticking too much and was a little hard to control the char. I think next time I will grill the skewers under the broiler instead turning once or twice for much easier preparation when doing this indoors. This recipe made terrific tasting and fun pieces overall and reminded me of some of the izayakas in Japan. Photo uploaded

• Salt-grilled salmon (Sake shioyaki)

  • sarahcooks on March 03, 2017

    Seriously the best and easiest way to cook salmon ever! I made it just as he said, including dipping it in sake. The skin was deliciously crispy and even my kids ate it and loved it! Amazing!

  • sarahcooks on May 17, 2018

    I've made this many more times since my first note, and I have a few more suggestions. After the first time I had trouble getting the skin crispy again. Sometimes it would be and sometimes it wouldn't. So what I do now that works every time is to heat up a cast iron skillet on the stove first, then when it is nice and hot I put the salmon in skin side down and stick it under the broiler. After a couple minutes if I want to make extra sure, I move it slightly to make sure it isn't sticking. It's one of my kids' favorite meals and they eat it skin and all and if there are leftovers they will eat it in their lunch boxes the next day!

• Grilled miso-marinated fish (Sakana no misoyaki)

  • twoyolks on June 28, 2018

    I ended up making this with skinless cod. The marinade adding some flavor to the fish but it was a bit more towards sweet than just savory.

• Eggplant with chicken and miso sauce (Nasu no misoyaki)

  • TrishaCP on September 01, 2022

    I really enjoyed the flavor of this dish. For my personal preference, I would use a lot less sugar next time in the miso sauce, though it was balanced when you ate it together with the eggplant. I grilled the eggplant until it was brown, rather than frying.

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    Wonderful tasting eggplant misoyaki. I made the mistake in thinking the recipe called for Japanese eggplant and only had those when I started the prep. Instead, this recipe uses American style large eggplants, but I continued with the smaller Japanese eggplants. Good info about eggplants releasing back the oil into the skillet when they are ready to be removed. Delicious tasting sauce that mellows with the addition of cooked eggplant pieces. Great with hot white rice.

• Chicken teriyaki (Tori no teriyaki)

  • MmeFleiss on May 13, 2017

    A good but not exceptional take on chicken teriyaki.

  • DFarnham on December 29, 2021

    We loved this. Simple and light teriyaki--not gooey and overly sweet. Definite repeat.

  • TrishaCP on December 20, 2020

    Very easy to pull together if the teriyaki sauce is already made.

• Teriyaki sauce (Tare no teriyaki)

  • TrishaCP on December 20, 2020

    I made the recipe as is and didn’t think it was too sweet (but will definitely try using less next time). This recipe makes enough sauce for both the chicken teriyaki recipe as well as the steak rice bowl.

  • Yildiz100 on December 16, 2017

    Very nice. Note that the amount of sugar needed depends on the mirin. I had some cheap mirin seasoning to use up. It had 50% more sugar per 100 ml than another nicer mirin I had on hand, so I decided this was going to be really sweet, even without a lot of extra sugar. Therfore, I just added sugar to taste. I ended up using 3 tbs sugar instead of 1/2 cup. Will use more sugar with nicer mirin

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    This is a great tasting teriyaki sauce in which I have not seen onion used in making teriyaki sauce much. He uses this recipe for making yakitori which is grilled chicken skewers and I used this recipe to make that as well. For yakitori though, I would perhaps prefer more robust ie more stronger soy sauce flavor. But, this sauce made perfectly good tasting yakitori. I was afraid that it may be too sweet because Chef Morimoto uses 1:1:1:1 ratio of soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar. I normally use much less sugar but it worked out ok.

  • DFarnham on December 29, 2021

    New favorite recipe! Not overly sweet or gooey. Really enjoyed.

• Japanese omelet (Tamagoyaki)

  • Rinshin on March 09, 2017

    Very good tasting tomagoyaki. Out of practice, but no problem as long as I have a bamboo mat to lightly shape into a roll. His method of putting egg mixture through a strainer and keeping out 1 T white left on the strainer makes this tamagoyaki richer tasting. Recipe at https://people.com/food/iron-chef-morimoto-japanese-omelet-recipe/

• Pork belly with ginger and onions (Buta no shogayaki)

  • abrownb1 on March 03, 2022

    Delicious! Takes no time at all to throw together and tastes like you slaved all day. I ended up marinating for closer to 2 hours to no ill effect.

  • twoyolks on December 24, 2022

    Really quick and tasty. I did get some bitter notes from what I'm assuming is the marinade burning a bit.

• Fish steamed in kombu with spicy soy sauce (Sakana no sakamushi)

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    Healthy and outstanding. Big hit of glutamate from kombu and iosinate from fish (I used wild caught salmon but this recipe will work on most fish) to round out the complete umami flavor profile. Again, Chef Morimoto uses tobanjan or chile bean sauce for added spicy taste in the sauce. It's a very simple recipe to make and one of my favorite fish recipes are normally foil baked with different mushrooms, green onion, spinach and miso or other sauces drizzled. This recipe is similar in that it is wrapped in kombu and steamed. This recipe should work with thinly sliced boneless chicken thigh or breast sliced in diagonal as well.

• Japanese-style shrimp dumplings (Shumai)

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    The taste is very good, but because the texture is not pasty like most shumais/shiumais, the final product was somewhat a bit loose for my taste. But, it is certainly much better than many I've made in the past that was so thick and hard that you can literally bounce one off a wall. I think where this one can be improved is using ground pork instead of chopped bacon because ground pork can bind all the other ingredients esp the shrimp pieces and I plan to do that next time since I did like the taste of shrimp pieces instead of shrimp paste. You can make this ahead of time, covered really well, refrigerate overnight and steam next day. Photo uploaded. Recipe at https://www.saveur.com/pork-and-shrimp-shumai-dumplings-recipe/

• Shumai sauce

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    Shumai sauce, page 131. What a nifty idea. Why I never thought of doing this I don't know. Normally shumais are eaten with just soy sauce and a smidgen of Japanese or Chinese mustard on the side. Chef Morimoto combines soy sauce, Japanese hot mustard, rice vinegar and Asian chili oil. Very good tasting.

• Fish simmered with sake, soy sauce, and sugar (Nitsuke)

  • Rinshin on March 09, 2018

    Easy to understand and follow nitsuke recipe with excellent results. I used Pacific rockfish/rock cod I purchased at Costco. Any white fresh fish will work here as long as it's not oily fish. Added bias sliced snap peas for about 2 min cooking as well for color and some texture. Tofu works in this recipe because it absorbs the delicious sauce from fish. Photo added.

  • TrishaCP on March 25, 2023

    We really enjoyed this recipe, which I made with black cod.

• Japanese-style hamburger with tangy sauce (Hambagu)

  • MmeFleiss on May 13, 2017

    we loved the sauce a lot; a nice change from the usual Japanese hamburger sauce.

• Japanese-style beef stew (Nikujaga)

  • twoyolks on February 17, 2021

    I liked this but it didn't quite have the flavor to be great.

• Sweet simmered hijiki seaweed (Hijiki)

  • abrownb1 on March 22, 2022

    Super easy and tasty. This is meant to be eaten with rice so is a bit saltier and sweeter - adjust if needed based on personal taste.

• Japanese-style curry (Karei raisu)

  • jdjd99 on February 21, 2020

    This was really tasty. The kids loved it. Not many ingredients, so it’s fairly simple to make. I cooked it for about 15 minutes less than indicated in the recipe, I was worried the potatoes and carrots would get a bit mushy.

  • wodtke on November 05, 2017

    This was ok, but not great. It is similar to the recipe on the curry box, but uses more meat and more liquid, neither of which I think was an improvement. Suggest stick with the box recipe. Still, Japanese Vermont Curry!

• Stir-fried vegetables (Yasai itame)

  • MmeFleiss on April 09, 2019

    A great way to use up random vegetables from the fridge. I only had about half of the veggies called for and it worked out fine. The sauce is addictive.

  • Skamper on October 31, 2018

    Delicious flavor. I left out the bok choy and snap peas and added more asparagus and cabbage, which I had on hand. Would be good with any type of vegetables.

  • twoyolks on May 23, 2020

    Great, simple stir-fried vegetables with enough of a sauce to make them interesting. I used bok choy, broccolini, carrots, and baby Swiss chard and it worked great.

  • TrishaCP on December 07, 2020

    A perfect vegetable stir fry recipe. I only had carrots, broccoli, and spring onions and it was delicious.

• Homemade udon noodles

  • Rinshin on December 20, 2019

    I am used to making udon few times a year to freeze in portions. Made this version this time getting ready for New Years Eve Toshikoshi ie year passing soba for long life. For New Years, we prefer udon instead of soba. His instructions are precise and makes great textured udon. I cut sheet into different widths to go with different recipes and freeze in portions. For tonight's version, noodles were cut wider and served as chilled udon with ginger, nori, green onion, and homemade mentsuyu dipping sauce. Photo added.

• "Clay pot" udon noodle soup (Nabeyaki udon)

  • twoyolks on January 31, 2018

    The broth for the soup is really simple but really flavorful. The noodles were nice but this included way more noodles than we could eat. I didn't particularly enjoy the spinach. I used more chicken in place of the fish cakes (as I didn't have any). I also omitted the shrimp tempura which, while it sounded good, seemed like a lot of work for little payoff. My four-year-old daughter kept asking when we could have it again. The shichimi togarashi really put the whole soup over the top.

• Tempura sauce

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    Perfectly fine tasting tempura sauce using 4:1:1 ratio of dashi stock, mirin, and Japanese soy saue.

• Shrimp and vegetable fritters (Kaki age)

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    I've made every version of kakiage available in different Japanese recipes in my life, but I consider this one of the best tasting ones so far. I think it is the inclusion of gobo root (burdock root) and regular sliced onion along with shrimp. I did add julienned carrot and sliced green onion as well. The proportion is perfect even with the addition of carrot and green onion pieces and made for very crisp tempura or fritter pieces. I used these fritters as topping for year passing udon (instead of soba ie toshikoshi soba) soups normally eaten on New Year's Eve in Japan. Not sure how Chef Morimoto makes his pieces perfectly round shaped, but mine was more typical free forming shape using 1/2 C measurement. Photo added. Recipe here https://www.copymethat.com/r/jeXcTKv/kaki-age-shrimp-and-vegetable-fritters-b/

• Tonkatsu sauce

  • twoyolks on January 30, 2021

    Nice dipping sauce if a bit Worcestershire forward.

• Squash croquettes (Kabocha korokke)

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    Excellent results. I liked the steaming of both kabocha and potato for only limited amount of time to reduce too much moisture and preventing from getting too soft. I've made kabocha korokke many times but never steamed the kabocha and this is the way to do it. I did add small amount of ground pork and diced onion saute to the mixture to up the taste. Photo uploaded.

  • Rinshin on February 27, 2018

    Made this again this time using about 3/4 C leftover pork carnitas along with slightly caramelized onion to the mixture. This is such a fool-proof kabocha korokke which you can add variety of items to your taste. Really delicious.

• Green beans with sesame dressing (Ingen no goma ae)

  • Rinshin on December 05, 2017

    Perfect timing and excellent recipe. Recipe at https://www.allroadsleadtothe.kitchen/2016/11/sesame-dressed-green-beans-ingen-no-gomaae.html

  • abrownb1 on May 24, 2022

    Used with 12 oz of sugar snap peas and reduced sugar to compensate for the natural sweetness of the peas. Could comfortably dress 16 oz. My favorite goma-ae rendition so far (many are too sweet!)

  • chawkins on August 23, 2022

    So good, the dressing was absolutely delicious.

  • Yildiz100 on July 21, 2017

    Cooked these from a blog but thought the book deserved a note too for those who have the book. Here it is: These are absolutely delicious. It makes enough sauce to dress the beans very generously. I ground the sesame seeds with a mortar and pestle and it only took a few minutes and was easy to do.

• Spinach, carrot, and shiitake with tofu dressing (Shira ae)

  • Rinshin on February 27, 2018

    Healthy bite size accompaniment to traditional Japanese food items. Great in bento box since it is served at room temperature. Did not have firm or medium tofu and had to use silken, but it tasted fine although appearance-wise, it looked more like thick dressing. I would cut spinach into bite size pieces after cooking for ease of eating.

• Eat the Love

  The recipes are approachable, with ingredients that are fairly easy to find in grocery stores. I can’t wait to start making Japanese food at home with this book.

  Full review

• All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

  Review plus sample recipe from the book.

  Full review