Japanese Cooking/History. Excellent source of background information, with some recipes to try. Many of these ingredients may be difficult to find for people without a nearby Japantown, but interesting nonetheless. Because of the cuisine's dependence on rice and rice flours, I also found it useful for gluten-free ideas (will definitely try to hunt down some mochi gome products for making Japanese dessert cakes and sweets). For more bento-friendly recipes, see also The Just Bento Cookbook.

As with most cookbooks, I found it helpful to be able to borrow this from my local library rather than purchasing, so for those of you who are contemplating giving cookbooks as a gift, please check your library first. ( )

For those that are trying to get into Japanese cooking, or for those that already are and want some really good information and recipes, this book is indispensable. Kimiko Barber has an easy writing style, a great amount of knowledge, and a magical way of making Eastern food accessible and tasty for the Western palate.

By approaching Japanese food in its core categories, one can easily see how to assemble dishes straight out of the book or with one's own imagination. The recipes are broken into their component parts, making it easy to borrow from multiple recipes to create something new. In addition, the various food sections help demystify the items that I see in the local Asian grocery store, and this book has introduced me to several that I never would have even noticed.

Thanks to this book, vegetable packed noodle bowls with broth made from two cheap ingredients and little rice dumplings in fruit have become staples in my home... and I have only just scratched the surface of the knowledge.