A Dictionary of Japanese Food Ingredients & Culture (Paperback)

From the Publisher: The book consists of a Japanese-English section, an English-Japanese section, and seventeen appendices. Each entry in the Japanese-English section includes the Japanese term in Roman script; the term in kana or kanji or both; a Latin name where appropriate; an English definition; and, for most entries, a short annotation. The English-Japanese section defines important English food terms in Japanese and annotates those needing explanation. The appendices focus on important elements of Japanese cuisine, from the making of miso and sake to vegetarianism and the tea ceremony. One hundred line drawings depict everything from the delicate mitsuba leaf to the dreadful okoze fish. At last, what every Westerner in a Japanese restaurant or market needs: the first truly comprehensive dictionary of Japanese food and ingredients. Standard dictionaries can often mislead us--with akebia for akebi, sea cucumber for namako, plum for ume. Hosking's dictionary includes not only dishes and ingredients, everything from the delicate mitsuba leaf to the dreadful okoze fish: colorful appendices disclose such aspects of Japanese culture as the making of miso to the tea ceremony and the influence of vegetarianism. With Japanese-English and English-Japanese sections, A Dictionary of Japanese Food explains the nuances and eliminates the mysteries of Japanese food.