An Iron Chef's Cookbook
Customer Rating: 
I don't know about other readers, but I enjoy watching "The Iron Chef." Whether it's Bobby Flay or Cat Cora or Mario Batali or Morimoto or. . . . It's just fun to watch the challenger and the Iron Chef take some specified food and try to build a meal around it. And this represents Morimoto's art and craft.
On the inside dust jacket, a key phrase reads: "Masaharu Morimoto's cooking has distinctive Japanese roots, yet it's actually, as the Chef calls it, 'global cooking for the 21st century.'" I suppose one could, then, refer to this as a kind of fusion cooking. Whatever one calls it, the recipes included here are intriguing. I look forward to trying a number of these.
One interesting passage, at the outset of the volume (Page 7): "After dinner at one of Morimoto's restaurants, diners often say to him, 'We love what we've eaten, but it was not Japanese food.' His response, 'Why isn't it Japanese, and why must it be?'"
Perhaps sensibly, the recipes begin under the heading "Sashimi and Sushi." Then, a section on "Rice, Noodles, Breads, and Soups." One recipe that struck my fancy was "Morimoto Chicken Noodle Soup." It includes some standard elements, but also some things one might not ordinarily experience in chicken noodle soup, such as sake, Sichuan peppercorns, Shanton broth, white soy sauce, ginger, and so on. It looks like it takes a fair amount of preparation, but, boy, does it look tasty!
Under "Fish and Shellfish," there is an interesting Braised Black Cod recipe. Cod fillets, cooked with sake, ginger, soy sauce, mirin, tamari, and sugar. One also creates a vegetable ragout, with carrots, bamboo shoots, burdock root (!!), shiitake mushrooms and so on. The photo accompanying this gets my taste buds going!
No need to go on and on, but one more example. . . . Asparagus salad looks most tasty! Green and white asparagus spears, prepared along with tomatoes, shiso leaves, olive oil, black pepper and juice of one sudachi or key lime.
So, this looks like a lot of fun. It also looks like it's going to take a fair amount of preparation for many dishes (on lazy days, that would deter me; on more creative days, that would spur me on!). So, if you are interested in Japanese cooking that is not necessarily Japanese cooking, this could be a nice find.
I felt like the foodie version of Being John Malkovich
Customer Rating: Cooking. For me this is an orgasmic book of unmeasured proportions.
I have loved Iron Chef. I have loved Japanese cooking and finally the two have merged and come full circle. On viewing the book it's self - wow. A nice presentation. A heavy slightly over sized cookbook. The editing of this book is very well done. Nice graceful modern designs. Page after page of glossy step by step images and techniques, and notations on traditional Asian ingredients and how that translates to using and accessing them (or a finding suitable substitutions) in the US . If I ever wanted to publish a cookbook, it would be in this style.
This book showcases why Chef Morimoto is at the axis of a foodie empire, in this creative and intuitive take on Japanese cuisine. When I read this cookbook, I felt like the foodie version of Being John Malkovich , as this book allows you to peer inside the thoughts and actions of this culinary genius.
In relation to skill level, I would recommend this book to people who have at least an intermediate knowledge of culinary techniques. The beginning home cook might not know how to utilize or apply the techniques Chef Morimoto has outlined in this book.
It would be wise to do some further research on Japanese Culinary techniques also, as this book can only highlight certain facets of the cuisine itself and not act as a reference manual or course book on Japanese Cuisine as a whole.
If you have ever had an inkling of adoration for Asian style cuisine, or are awestruck at the complexities of the full spectrum of Professional Japanese Culinary , as I am, you would enjoy this book.
Highlights of this book include:
* An in depth look at how the Japanese chef works his knife magic to create beautiful Sashimi w and Sushi w works of art out of various ingredients - parts of fish, Octopus , and Various Vegetables .
* Recipes that are full of depth and charisma.
* Master recipes of various sauces and marinades.
* Text about the origins and importance of ingredients utilized in Japanese cuisine.
* Beautiful photography displaying the frame by frame procedures for each culinary technique, and the eloquent plate presentation for each recipe.
* A glossary of Japanese terms , as well as a source guide for obtaining specialty ingredients.
Overall this book is a wonderful culinary journey that enables the reader to cultivate a better understanding of chef Morimoto, Japanese cuisine and the culinary revelations that Morimoto has contributed to todays culinary field. I loved this book!
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