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Japanese Cooking?

PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:00 pm
by Wave
Ok, so I just moved out of my parents place and into a new apartment. This of course means that I have to stat cooking my on food. I always really liked Asian food, so can any one tell me of a good Japanese cook book? It would be greatly appreciated!

wave.

PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 8:53 pm
by Esoteric
Hmmm, well I like Asian food a lot too, but Japanese food is very different from Chinese or Thai. Japanese specializes in sushi, tempura, and some soup and noodle dishes. You will mostly find these things in a traditional japanese cookbook like Japanese Cooking by Emi Kazuko. it's an interesting book because there first several pages teach you about various ingredients. The recipes can be a little labor intensive however.

But actually, i prefer Chinese food...stir fry, sweet&sour, wontons, eggrolls, all that good stuff. Honestly, I recommend you get a good 'stir fry' book instead. Stir fry stuff is super easy and quick to fix for yourself once you get used to the basics. I can't recommend a book for it off hand, but I would suggest you visit a bookstore or two and browse the cookbooks. Find one that has recipes in it which sound good to you. You'll probably pick up a few different books and practice a bit before you get to where you can virtually make up your dishes with whatever ingredients you have on hand.

PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 5:10 pm
by Wave
Cool! Thanks for the advice!

Wave.

PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:37 pm
by Debitt
:3 Another nice site to try that has a lot of the quick basics: http://www.bento.com/tf-recp.html

PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 9:39 pm
by Ashley
My parents bought me an AWESOME Japanese cookbook called Japanese Homestyle Cooking by Tokiko Suzuki for Christmas. It has a whole section on the tools/foods, then has dishes organized by type and by season, with big pictures too.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 9:47 am
by AsianBlossom
I found one at Borders for $10. It's Japanese Homestyle Dishes by Susie Donald. Hope it helps. ;)

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:10 pm
by Wave
Cool! Thanks KoDa Ashley AsBl I'll check though bolth out.

wave.

PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 1:26 pm
by ShiroiHikari
The problem with Japanese cooking is that the ingredients are so expensive...@_@ I spent about 30 dollars getting all the stuff to make miso soup! I mean, I can make a lot of miso soup with all that stuff, but...

PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 4:59 am
by Mave
Speaking from experience of living away from home, I wouldn't recommend cooking Japanese food on a regular basis. It's very time-consuming as it focuses on delicacies and presentation. I rarely make my own sushi and I typically opt to go out to a Japanese restaurant so I can enjoy the eating and not endure the preparing. XD

Why not try simple Chinese stir-frys? You can eventually graduate to more complex Asian dishes such as curries/appetizers and you can even experiment with ingredients with your stir-fry (something you can't really do with Japanese). If you're pressured for time like me, I'll go for ready-made curries or sauces for cooking. South East Asia has a great variety of options to choose from. I still do this today....yum! :)

I would imagine making your own Japanese food to be expensive if you're making raw sashimi or something but.....miso soup? I don't know, my miso soup was quite easy and cheap. All I had to do was grab some miso soup paste, some seaweed and tofu.

Where do you shop? At your local Asian supermarket? I think the prices would be more reasonable there.

PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 5:30 am
by bigsleepj
I've never had any Japanese "cooking" or sushi in my life. I should get around to trying it someday. :)

PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:18 am
by Shaera_Phina
Riceballs are easy to make and the ingredients are cheaper. They also fill you up fast only 2 or 3 in enough for a meal.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 10:02 am
by Miso_Chan
Shaera_Phina should know, she eats them all the time.

I like pocky, i'm going to the store to stock up on some tomorrow