Cookbook Profile: Breakaway Japanese Kitchen

The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen

by Eric Gower

Breakaway Japanese Kitchen

"Here at last is the best of East and West. Eric Gower has combined the unique and subtle taste of Japan with the lusty cuisine of the West. The recipes are full of inspirational and simple ideas that are perfect for today's cook." —Ken Hom

The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen, by Eric Gower, is his modernist/contemporary interpretation of Japanese food. The dishes in the book are the result of a passion for good home-cooked food and experimentation that went on for about 15 years in several almost comically under-equipped kitchens in Japan (though those houses, it must be said, had plenty of other virtues). If Eric could make these dishes under those conditions, there is no doubt that you can, too, no matter what skill level you currently have.

Eric likes "big" flavors that showcase the freshness of locally grown ingredients. Judicious use of citrus zests and juices, fresh herbs of every kind, both hearty and subtle vinegars, ginger, shallots, and plenty of good salt and good, coarsely ground black pepper allow a home chef to coax the maximum flavor and brightness from organic meats, fish, and produce. This approach has the added though largely unintentional benefit of creating wonderful food without excessive calories, as the use of butter and cream is essentially shunned.

Eric prefers a minimalist presentation, ideally on handmade Japanese pottery that is a pleasure to hold, use, and wash. He takes a playful, free, and joyous approach to making food, and rarely makes the same dish in the same way each time he prepares it. The emphasis is on maximal creativity and learning for yourself, over time, what turns you on about food and how it is prepared.

And because Eric likes to drink wine with his meals, most of these dishes were created to go well with wine. He includes plenty of specific varietal suggestions in the recipes, in the hope that other wine lovers will be inspired to incorporate a whole new repertoire of dishes to serve with their favorite wines.

All photographs were taken by Fumihiko Watanabe, one of Japan's premiere food photographers. His best-known work in English is Nobu: The Cookbook, which was nominated for the 2002 James Beard award for best food photography.

Buy the Book!

The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen
by Eric Gower
Kodansha International
Hardcover, 112 pages
$27.95
ISBN: 4770029497
Information provided by the publisher.