Japanese Food Made Easy by Aya Nishimura
Japanese Food Made Easy by Aya Nishimura
The go-to cookbook for making Japanese food at home
I always thought Japanese food would be difficult to make at home. I couldn’t imagine the infinite processes it might take to make a perfect ramen. So I’m surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed cooking from Japanese Food Made Easy by Aya Nishimura.
Nishimura explores recipes that many Japanese households make at home for themselves. It’s no surprise then that most of them are incredibly easy to make.
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And since discovering this cookbook I’ve made some of the recipes so many times they’ve become household staples. And I can now say there’s nothing more satisfying than whipping together a delicious and healthy miso soup in just a few minutes and with less ingredients than you’d count on one hand.
What are the recipes like in Japanese Food Made Easy by Aya Nishimura
Japanese Food Made Easy starts with a section explaining key ingredients. It really helps to know what’s what, especially when you’re not used to using certain things. I particularly like the page on miso, which has done wonders in making it seem more accessible.
The cookbook then splits into different sections, including izakaya and bar food, side dishes, one bowl dishes, and main meals. Each recipe is laid out in a way that’s easy to read, with a short section on ingredients and low-faff instructions.
Best of all, every single recipe has its own picture to show you what you’re going for. They’re beautifully taken and give you even more reason to try the recipe. There are also some great one-pagers that go through six quick meals you can make with key ingredients, like miso and tofu.
And the ingredients are easier to find than you might think. Bigger grocery stores will have most of what you need, and specialist Japanese shops have the rest. If you can’t get to a specialist store, an online shop like sous-chef will also stock what you need, from red and white miso paste to Katsuobushi. All in all, it’s a very usable cookbook.
Chicken yakitori
Here’s an example of something I absolutely wouldn’t have thought to make at home. After all, chicken yakitori is what I order at fancy Japanese restaurants, not to be pilfered with in my own kitchen.
How wrong I am. Nishimura takes just a few sentences to show you how to make yakitori at home, and its easy peasy. Chicken thighs chopped, skewered and grilled. And the result? Pure deliciousness. And that’s the brilliance of Japanese Food Made Easy.
Miso soup with grilled eggplant and sesame
This is one of the most useful recipes I’ve come across in a while. Miso soup takes just a few minutes to prepare, and just a few more to cook. It’s transformed what I see as fast food, and made weekday lunches much more fun.
What’s more, the additions of grilled aubergine and tahini paste go to show how flexible this recipe is. Incidentally, those two ingredients in a miso-based soup are amazing.
Teriyaki chicken on rice
Can you say yum? This is one corker of a recipe. Firstly, it tells you exactly how to make Japanese rice perfectly. And I mean perfectly. Swoon.
Then you pan-fry chicken thighs and let them get golden in teriyaki sauce. Then it’s a sprinkling of nori on the rice, and the cooked thighs follow. And it’s so good. So. Good. Who knew the stuff I’ve been eating in Japanese restaurants this whole time is this easy to make?! I don’t think I’ll be cooking anything else for a while.
Kamatama udon
Nishimura says this is the Japanese version of a carbonara, and it’s very easy to make. I also find udon noodles are lighter than pasta, so this is still quite a fresh meal. It’s become another delicious lunchtime staple, and I’d highly recommend having it with the katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), which add the most gorgeous umami saltiness.
Smoked mackerel and ginger Japanese pilaf
Nishimura uses smoked mackerel as an easier-to-find substitute for himono, a traditional dried fish used in Japan. She also shows you what else you can put into rice, rather than just steaming it. The resulting one-pot dish is very satisfying, and the ginger matchsticks, whose quantity seemed excessive to begin with, melt into the rice and add a surprisingly delicate flavour. It’s lovely stuff.
Overall thoughts on Japanese Food Made Easy by Aya Nishimura
Japanese Food Made Easy by Aya Nishimura is a must-have cookbook if you’re starting out in Japanese cooking. It’s made me think twice about going out to eat Japanese food, now I know how easy it is to make at home. I’ve got lots of love for this book and will be making many more things. Thanks Aya!
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Have you tried Japanese Food Made Easy by Aya Nishimura? Do you have any favourite recipes? Let us know :)
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A Japanese lunch at TOKii, London
