Step-By-Step, Japanese Cooking

This comprehensive guide takes the mystique out of cooking and serving Japanese cuisine. It encompasses a range of techniques from filleting fish and chicken, grilling, steaming and deep frying to preparing dried foods and serving tea and sake. The intricate art of fruit and vegetable carving is also explored, since Japanese foods are prepared for visual as well as palatal enjoyment. The authors, both professional chefs, offer more than 100 recipes, each accompanied and clarified by superbly detailed color photos and thorough instructions. Basic Japanese ingredients and seasonings that have no Western counterparts are clearly defined. Informative chapters on the history and cultural significance of food in Japan and on kitchen equipment are also included in this useful reference for serious cooks. (April)