[.ca] Dictionary Of Japanese Food (ISBN 0804820422)

Super Tool for Japanese Food Lovers:
For those people who love Japanese cuisine but don't know much about the Japanese language, this pocket size dictionary is a wonderful tool. It focuses on most terms and words used in Japanese cuisine including drinks, entrees, ingredients, food terms, even some cooking and food container names. The dictionary allows readers easy to look up information. It is arranged in three sections: Japanese-English, English-Japanese, and Appendices with some interesting topics in Japanese cuisine. Each entry in the Japanese-English section provides the Japanese term in Roman script, Japanese character, as well as Kanji, along with the English definition details and possibly some additional culture notes. Truly, this dictionary is a MUST! (Reviewed by Otto Yuen, 19-Jan-2006)

An absolute gem of a book, comprehensive and enlightening.:
It is unique in a field that is not well documented in the English language. The main body is a Japanese-English dictionary of Japanese foodstuffs. Entries go: Japanese name in romaji (Roman alphabet), kana, kanji, (Chinese characters), then the English translation, then any scientific name. Each definition is several lines long, including details of preparation, culinary uses, and cultural, regional and seasonal notes. The book is profusely cross-referenced and illustrated in black and white. There is an Engish-Japanese glossary at the back and seventeen appendices covering key items such as katsuobushi, miso, Buddhist vegetarian cuisine and so on in greater detail. This is not a cookbook, there are no recipes or instructions. Rather, it is a treasure-chest of culinary detail, illuminating a great deal that was previously hidden. The Japanese cuisine is vast and varied, but largely mysterious and unknown outside Japan, because there are very few definitive books written in languages other than Japanese. I am not certain that a comparative book exists even in Japan; it was compiled from Japanese sources but some of these were very old or quite obscure or scholarly. I can recommend it to anyone who knows anything about Japan or Japanese food and wants to make a quantum leap of knowledge and understanding.

An absolute gem of a book, comprehensive and enlightening:
It is unique in a field that is not well documented in the English language. The main body is a Japanese-English dictionary of Japanese foodstuffs. Entries go: Japanese name in romaji, kana, kanji, (Chinese character), then the English translation, then any scientific name. Each definition is several lines long, includes details of preparation, culinary uses, and cultural, regional and seasonal notes. The book is profusely cross-referenced and illustrated in black and white. There is an Engish-Japanese glossary at the back and seventeen appendices covering key items such as katsuobushi, miso, Buddhist vegetarian cuisine and so on in greater detail. This is not a cookbook, there are no recipes or instructions. Rather, it is a treasure-chest of culinary detail, illuminating a great deal that was previously hidden. The Japanese cuisine is vast and varied, but largely unknown outside Japan, because there are very few definitive books written in languages other than Japanese. I am not certain that a comparative book even exists in Japan; it was compiled from Japanese sources but some of these were very old or quite obscure. I can recommend it to anyone who knows anything about Japan or Japanese food and wants to make a quantum leap of knowledge and understanding.

Set up Your Own Japanese Kitchen:
A Dictionary of Japanese Food: Ingredients and Culture, by Richard Hosking, is the essential guide for creating your own Japanese kitchen and buying food at your closest Japanese center. For those of you who appreciate Japanese culture and foods but are confused navigating the market, this book is a must. Hosking lists, both in english and Kanji, all of the essentil ingredients and spices you need to cook. In addition, his appendices contains excellent information about utensiles, chopsticks, the meal, sake, tea, and wasabi to mention a few. I bought this book in Japan, used it there, and will carry it with me to my market in Denver. Stephen Schell (schell@frii.com)

Not totally comprehensive, but still excellent:
If you have an interest in Japanese cooking, this book is a must. The dictionary does not contain every ingredient, utensil and dish that may be found in Japanese cuisine, but it makes a valiant attempt to do so. Entries are listed with a romanized pronunciation as well as the Japanese characters, sometimes with several variations of how to write the same term. In addition the excellent appendices explain in detail how such staples of the Japanese kitchen, such as shoyu and katsuobushi, are made and used. An invaluable reference for anyone who does not read Japanese at native-level fluency.