Real Japanese Cooking

“This excellent compendium from Itoh (The Just Bento Cookbook) offers an encyclopedic introduction to “the complete range of modern Japanese home cooking.” […] Alongside the more than 500 recipes, Itoh immerses readers in Japanese food culture, with fascinating sidebars on the science of umami and the history of cheesecake. The result is a one-stop resource that Japanese food enthusiasts will turn to time and again.” —Publishers Weekly Starred Review“Blogger and cookbook author Itoh calls her latest “the only Japanese cookbook you will ever need” […] With love and care [she] goes over each ingredient: its uses, how it came to Japan, how it’s cooked, and if it’s used in celebrations…A perfect introductory book for anyone looking to learn Japanese cooking.” —Booklist Starred Review“Maki Itoh has succeeded in creating a treasure trove in her exploration of Japanese recipes and culinary traditions…From onsen eggs to ramen, from okonomiyaki to sukiyaki, this book has it all! Perfect for the Japanese food loving home cook.” —Elise Bauer, Founder, SimplyRecipes.com

Makiko Itoh was raised and educated in Japan, the UK and the US and has lived in Europe for many decades. Despite living abroad, she has always returned to her native Japanese culinary roots. In 2003 she started writing the JustHungry blog to introduce Japanese homestyle dishes to people with limited access to the authentic ingredients. In 2007 she launched a blog dedicated to bento, which led to the publication of her first book, The Just Bento Cookbook, which has become an international bestseller. She now lives in Switzerland and writes a monthly column on Japanese food for The Japan Times.