I hope this book will make you feel entirely at home with a cuisine that may seem formidable to you before you start, but is in reality as relaxed as it is exciting. Elizabeth Andoh, 1980

{HISTORY}

The beginnings of a culinary career are always packed with curious stories.

In Elizabeth Andoh's case, in the mid-1960s, a long journey to visit friends of friends on a small Japanese island led to a steaming bowl of noodle soup at destination's end. So good was this soup, so flavorful, so warm and invigorating to the spirit of a weary traveler that it sparked an immediate interest in learning Japanese cooking. 

Laying the foundation of what would eventually become a forty-five-year cooking and teaching career, the enjoyment of that first soup led Elizabeth to her Japanese husband, led her to courses at the Yanagihara School of Classical Japanese Cooking in Tokyo, and led her to writing her first cookbook for other Americans who shared an interest in learning traditional Japanese cooking.  

Published in 1980, At Home with Japanese Cooking lays out all the guiding principles of preparing traditional Japanese food -  a beautiful, elegant art, ironically, often prepared in the smallest, most chaotic kitchens.

Since Elizabeth geared this book towards American sensibilities and was very aware that most U.S. home cooks were intimidated by the idea of preparing a Japanese meal of their own making, she expertly details, in the simplest and most relateable way all you need to know about the equipment involved, the ingredients, the marketing, the prep work and the presentation.

How to hold a knife in order to julienne vegetables, how to dry roast seeds and nuts in a skillet, how to skewer a whole fish... those are some of the basics readers will learn here along with the helpful kitchen tools needed, the ancillary accessories (chopstcks, japanese style aprons, serving trays, kitchen curtains, etc), and a list of suggessted menus to get started.

Then comes over 130 recipes ranging from soup to dessert and everything in between. Step-by-step instructions, often accompanied by step-by-step illustrations and helpful presentation notes, set readers up for complete success from the prep stage all the way through to the finished dish. A glossary in back, as well as a descriptive guide to Japanese food terms, offers helpful insight regarding traditional Japanese ingredients not commonly well-known in American markets.  

Interesting recipes include Egg Drop Soup, Rice Ovals Topped with Salmon, Sushi Stuffed Pillows, Cold Chinse-Style Noodle Salad, Glazed Beef Rolls, Seaport-Style Grilled Oysters, Gingery fried Chicken, Walnut Paste, Summer Rice Bran Pickles, Chestnuts in Yam Paste, Three-Colored Taffy Balls, Kumquats in Syrup, Eggplant Salad with Tart Sesame Dressing, Sweet Simmered Oriental Vegetables, Pork and Noodles in a Soy-Flavored Broth, and Batter Fried Shrimp and Vegetables on Rice.

Part of Judith Jones' canon of talented cooks and their books, Elizabeth Andoh's At Home with Japanese Cooking became a well-respected and much-loved classic in the kitchen. Elizabeth became a trusted authority on Japanese cooking, published five more cookbooks following this one, and still teaches cooking classes in Tokyo today.

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1980 First Edition
• Includes original dust jacket
• 254 pages
• Decorated covered boards
• Illustrated throughout by Michiko Fujiwara

{CONDITION}

In beautiful vintage condition, this book is clean and bright throughout. It contains no cooking spots, stains or notations. The dust jacket is in lovely shape with just one small tear measuring 1/2" inch in length at the top edge on the front. The spine is tight, and all pages are intact. 

{SIZE}

Measures 9.5" inches (length)m x 8.5" inches (width) x 1" inch (thickness) and weighs 1.11 lbs