Japanese Food Made Easy By Aya Nishimura

There’s a real disconnect between how complex many Brits perceive Japanese cooking to be, and how difficult it actually is. In reality, the majority of every day Japanese food is straightforward to make, especially if you have a clear, easy-to-follow recipe. That’s where Aya Nishimura’s Japanese Food Made Easy comes in, a cookbook to help you discover how simple and delicious Japanese food can be.

Japanese Food Made Easy By Aya Nishimura

Nishimura, who was born in Japan but now lives in London, is a fully qualified chef, food and prop stylist, recipe writer and home economist. She has worked for many of London’s top restaurants and catering companies as well as UK food media and newspapers. This is her first book, and showcases popular Japanese recipes such as ramen, gyoza, teriyaki and tonkatsu, as well as a wide range of Japanese dishes eaten at home. These include treats such as homemade atsuage (fried tofu) served with warm gingery cherry tomatoes, braised daikon with pork miso, green beans with sesame dressing, chawanmushi (savoury egg custard), cold udon noodles with sesame miso sauce, onigiri (rice balls), hotpot, sweet soy-simmered pork belly and egg, and sweet tofu with hojicha (roasted tea) syrup,

None of the techniques involved are difficult, and most ingredients can be found in major supermarkets, especially those with a decent “world foods” aisle. There are also a range of online suppliers that deliver nationwide, including my personal recommendations of Sous Chef and Japan Centre.

The Introduction includes a wonderful foodmap of Japan (which I’d love to frame and hang on my wall) listing 12 key places across the whole of Japan, and the food(s) for which they are most famous. Following this is a really helpful glossary of key ingredients used in Japanese cooking, categorised into fresh ingredients, liquid ingredients, pantry items and miso.

The recipes themselves are organised into chapters for Bar Food, Side Dishes, One Bowl, Main Meals, Condiments, Desserts & Drinks. The index is detailed enough to identify recipes by main ingredients; be aware that the book is produced by an Australian publisher, and aubergine is listed under eggplant – there may be other such examples. There’s also a double page menu planner that provides groupings of recipes that would make a great Japanese breakfast, casual evening drinks snacks, a do-it-yourself sushi party, a vegetarian spread, and a weekend family dinner.

Teriyaki Tofu from Japanese Food Made Easy by Aya Nishimura

As usual when reading a new cookery book, I attached a slew of sticky tabs to mark recipes I want to make – and in this book there are so many that tempt me – including nasu dengaku (miso aubergine), kaarage (japanese fried chicken), tuna tataki, okonomiyaki, yakitori chicken, ochazuke (salmon with tea broth), braised daikon with pork miso, grilled aubergine with ginger, green beans with sesame dressing, sake-steamed clams, kistune udon (udon noodles in hot broth with fried tofu), smoked mackerel and ginger japanese pilaf, nanbanzuke (marinated salmon), yuzu-marinated salmon, tempura, tea-braised pork, kushikatsu (crispy pork skewers), sweet soy-simmered pork belly and egg, shichimi toarashi (seven spice mix), yuzu kosho (salted lime and chilli paste), furikake (dry seasoning mix), sweet tofu with hojicha (roasted tea) syrup, and shiratama mochi balls with brown sugar and ginger syrup

Most recipes have photographs of the finished dishes, some with extra step-by-step images to show the method more clearly. A few have wonderfully quirky line-drawn illustrations, like the rolled omelette and the basic dashi stock recipes. I also love the three ‘6 Ways With’ entries dotted through the book – these include 6 ways with tofu, with eggs, an with miso; each one gives 6 simple recipes featuring the key ingredient on a single page, with some fun illustrations of the ingredient on the facing page.

Sesame Miso Dressing on Soba Noodles from Japanese Food Made Easy by Aya Nishimura

Photography by Lisa Linder is bright and attractive, having been styled by Nishimura herself. I love the use of light and beautiful crockery, with simple backgrounds and minimal extra props; the images give a real sense of being achievable for home cooks.

Thus far, we’ve made the quick soy-pickled cucumber and ginger recipe, the teriyaki tofu steaks, and adapted the sesame miso dipping sauce for cold udon noodles (and served it with hot soba noodles instead). The recipes are incredibly straightforward and simple to follow, and the results are excellent. The pickled cucumbers were a revelation – how so few ingredients combined so simply can taste so amazing is a magical mystery! I also adored the teriyaki tofu steaks and the same teriyaki marinade recipe can be used on chicken, salmon, or in a vegetable stir-fry – it’s very versatile.

Quick Soy-Pickled Cucumber and Ginger Japanese Food Made Easy by Aya Nishimura

What I particularly like about the book is how many diverse dishes you can make with a relatively small larder of Japanese ingredients such as miso paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sake, sesame seeds and yuzu juice. Combine these with meat and fish, fruit and vegetables, and other fresh produce such as ginger, mushrooms and tofu, and you can enjoy a wide range of really delicious and easy-to-make Japanese food.

Recipes from Japanese Food Made Easy

We have permission from Murdoch Books to share a couple of recipes with you from the book:

Homemade Atsuage (Fried Tofu) with Cherry Tomatoes Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
Book photoography by Lisa Linder

If you decide to buy this book after reading our content, please consider clicking through our affiliate link, located within the post and in the footnote at the end.

Kavey Eats was provided with a review copy of Aya Nishimura’s Japanese Food Made Easy from publisher Murdoch Books. Photography by Lisa Linder. This book is currently available (at time of review) on Amazon UK for £11.98 (RRP: £14.99). 

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14 Comments to "Japanese Food Made Easy By Aya Nishimura"

  1. NickyB

    I bought this book recently and haven’t cooked enough from it. You’ve reminded me to pick some dishes for next week 😘

    Reply
  2. Emma

    Couldn’t agree more – my experience of Japanese food is that it’s simple to an art! I also really appreciate a cookbook with extra photos for individual steps. Always good to know that you’re doing the right thing before it’s too late! Sounds like I need this on my bookshelf.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    There are definitely things that are hard to master, but they are usually the domain of specialist chefs rather than home cooks, I think.

    Reply
  3. Jenna Emmons

    When I returned from being an exchange student in Japan people asked if I had eaten a lot of sushi. They were surprised when I said that sushi was more of a special treat and not typically prepared at home. The food I ate with my host family looks more like what is represented in this cookbook.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Yes I’ve tried to tell friends that sushi isn’t a mainstay of the diet and that not liking raw fish really isn’t a barrier to visiting Japan!

    Reply
  4. Sandy N Vyjay

    The book seems to really simplify what may seem to be the complex world of Japanese cuisine.Generally we associate Japanese cuisine with Sushi or Ramen, but I can see the wide range in the cuisine, as well as its geographical distribution across Japan. The book looks promising.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Yes it’s so much more than ramen and sushi, and there’s much that’s straightforward to make!

    Reply
  5. Jackie

    If it’s straightforward and simple, this cookbook is for me! I find it amazing that by combining a limited set of key ingredients, one can create such a rich palette of options. I would love to try my hand at some of these dishes… Your review and personal experience gives me confidence that I can achieve success. It would be so nice to have a handful of delicious Japanese dishes that are easy to make in my dinner rotations. I am craving something new in the kitchen, and “Japanese Made Easy” now tops my list!

    Reply
  6. Tiffany

    I love to cook and find fun new things inside cook books. The easier and tastier a recipe is the more winning it is in my book. These that you feature here sound delicious. I’d be willing to try some of the Japanese Made Easy recipes that you have highlighted here since you gave such a great in depth review of your experience and how you felt about them.

    Reply
  7. Sage Scott

    I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I don’t know much about Japanese cuisine beyond sushi and ramen (which somehow I thought was from a different part of Asia). I do wish I liked tofu more, because I’m busy researching ways to use up all of the tomatoes coming out of my garden right now and the fried tofu with cherry tomatoes would be a good recipe to try!

    Reply

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