Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by nerdshark
The Gaijin Cookbook: Japanese Recipes from a Chef, Father, Eater, and Lifelong Outsider by Ivan Orkin, Chris Ying
5.0
This is currently my favorite cookbook. I decided to check it out because I watched this video of Orkin making Japanese curry the way he would at home. While he discusses using homemade and high-quality ingredients throughout the video, I found it super refreshing that he'd also recommend and encourages perfectly valid shortcuts, like using premade curry bricks, or some bouillon and veggies in place of homemade stock. When informed that the kitchen he's in doesn't have a microwave, his response is "Oh my fucking god! Seriously? That's my huge hack!". He follows up with a diatribe, which I adored, about how using microwaves and shortcuts doesn't make your homemade any less real. He quickly leaves the set with his carrots in order to find a microwave.
That same unpretentious approach to home cooking permeates this book, both in the recipes and in Orkin's voice. The dishes are ordered both by the type of the dish (like "things you eat over rice", "broths/soups/stews", etc.) and thematic categories: "It’s structured around the facets of Japanese life that I’ve come to identify with most strongly". The recipes are almost all based on what he cooks at home, with a few from his restaurants. The instructions are written simply and clearly, with no unnecessary distractions. Elsewhere, his love of Japanese culture and its food are clearly evident. I've got to be honest, I never thought a cookbook would draw me in like this one has.
That same unpretentious approach to home cooking permeates this book, both in the recipes and in Orkin's voice. The dishes are ordered both by the type of the dish (like "things you eat over rice", "broths/soups/stews", etc.) and thematic categories: "It’s structured around the facets of Japanese life that I’ve come to identify with most strongly". The recipes are almost all based on what he cooks at home, with a few from his restaurants. The instructions are written simply and clearly, with no unnecessary distractions. Elsewhere, his love of Japanese culture and its food are clearly evident. I've got to be honest, I never thought a cookbook would draw me in like this one has.