Book Review: A Little Taste of Japan

I made the big mistake of reading this book while in the bus on the way to work. By the time I sat in my office, my stomach was already rumbling. I had to eat my afternoon snack just to make it through the morning.

A Little Taste of Japan is a clever book, because wedged between recipes are stories about how their food has evolved. Japanese cuisine is, for example, influenced by the seasons and food becomes thematic as the year goes through its paces. A bit of history on such delights as soba and sushi is also shared.  Interesting stuff.

I am a big fan of Japanese food, and this book has certainly been a good read. I also realized that for me to cook such dishes at home, I need to get the basic ingredients right.

Another important (and very doable) thing I learned is that sushi rice needs to be prepared a certain way. Plain rice from the cooker needs to be flavoured first before being used. That was an interesting bit, something that I would like to do over the weekend.

If you love Japanese food, have a go at this book. I think a more recent edition is now available as well.

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Memories of Philippine Kitchens

Whenever I visit the Cooking section of the Wellington City Library, I would wish that I will see something about Filipino cooking. One of my more recent visits awarded me with this book: Memories of Philippine Kitchens by Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan. The authors had a restaurant in New York called Cendrillon (which is currently experiencing a metamorphosis of sorts) which served various Filipino favourites. In 2003 the couple made a trip back to the Philippines for a project close to their hearts: a cookbook which featured specialties from various regions of the Philippines.