The Art and Craft of Japanese Cooking - by Nancy Singleton Hachisu (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"Nancy has dedicated her life to finding and revealing the local flavors and ingredients that have been cornerstones of Japanese cooking for centuries." --Alice Waters

In this striking, highly personal volume, acclaimed cookbook author Nancy Singleton Hachisu introduces readers to the regional chefs and artisans at the heart of Japan's food culture. Bringing to bear more than three decades of life in the Japanese countryside and over a decade as a food writer and champion of artisanal Japanese food traditions, she offers unique recipes, spectacular photographs and insightful essays about chefs and producers across Japan.

The 140 recipes--created by seven remarkable Japanese chefs--use local, seasonal ingredients to deliver intense, sophisticated flavors in an approachable way. Each of these Franco-Japanese, Italianate-Japanese and classic, yet modern Japanese dishes have been meticulously tested in the author's home kitchen. Readers will find here:

• Essays on regional producers of artisanal food items ranging from sea greens and umeboshi to potato flour, air-dried fish, miso, soy sauce and Japanese malt whisky
• Refreshing starters such as Squid and Yugao Gourd Salad with Shiso Vinaigrette, and Smoked Pacific Saury with Pickled Myoga and Chrysanthemum
• Savory mains such as Salt-Grilled Butterfish with Smashed Tofu, and Grilled Pigeon, Clam, Taro, Leeks & Dried Treviso
• Japanese influenced Franco and Italianate dishes such as Snapper with Yuzu Beurre Blanc and Abalone with Sweet Potato and Abalone Liver Risotto
• And many more plant- and seafood-focused dishes

Hachisu's passion for food traditions is shared by the chefs and artisans--making this book an inspiration for anyone who appreciates food on a deeply personal level. Yet it is also a cookbook to be splashed on, marked up, and used to reproduce the very best that Japanese cuisine has to offer in their own kitchens.

Review Quotes

Praise for Japan: The Cookbook:
"I love all of Nancy Singleton Hachisu's books...The recipes are (as always) clear and each one that I've made has come out as described...I especially appreciate that Nancy is so in tune with the quality of her ingredients and takes pains to describe them accurately. This alone makes me trust the recipes and Nancy's broad knowledge of Japanese food." --Deborah Madison

"[A] new window into Japanese cuisine. Familiar cooking techniques are applied in ways I've never seen..." --Jonathan Kauffman, author, Hippie Food: How Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat

"A book that could only be written by Nancy with her insight and relationships cultivated over many years. We are lucky to have this amazing resource of a culture rich with food history." --Rodney Dunn

"Beautiful and wise and fascinating--both the recipes and the tales of Japanese artisans are absolutely inspiring." --Diana Henry

"Hachisu has long been a reliable source on all things Japanese cuisine..." --Tasting Table

"Nancy is an amazing documenter of beautiful dishes from chefs that are not in the global spotlight. This book will tell a story for years about what the real food scene in Japan looked like." --Jerimiah Stone

"Nancy Singleton Hachisu has firmly defined herself as the leading voice in bringing the beautifully nuanced, deeply soulful tapestry of Japanese food culture to readers in the west. Anyone interested in the ever-vanishing community of traditional, micro-regional artisan producers of Japan will find this a compelling read." --Travis Lett

"These are recipes intimately tied to place and season and provenance, thoughtfully crafted by chefs who live and breathe the sustainable ethos of Slow Food." --Alice Waters

About the Author

Nancy Singleton Hachisu is a native Californian married to a Japanese farmer who has lived in semi-rural Saitama Prefecture since 1988. She is a James Beard Award-winning author of five books including Japan: The Cookbook and Japan: The Vegetarian Cookbook. Hachisu has written for Saveur, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, National Geographic Food and BBC Travel, and she participated in the "Salt" episode of the Netflix series Salt Fat Acid Heat.

Alice Waters is a chef, author, food activist, and the founder and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California.