KDL Recommends > Staff Picks > November 2011

KDL Recommends

OISHINBO: JAPANESE CUISINE

OISHINBO: JAPANESE CUISINE

ISBN: 1421521393

Title: OISHINBO: JAPANESE CUISINE

Author: Tetsu Kariya

KDL Description:

I strongly recommend this series to anybody who loves Japanese food! Even I (I’m Japanese) learned a lot of things about Japanese food (and make you want to eat them too!) As part of the celebrations for its 100th anniversary, the publishers of the Tozai News have decided to commission the creation of the ‘Ultimate Menu,” a model meal embodying the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. This all-important task has been entrusted to journalist Shiro Yamaoka, an inveterate cynic who possesses no initiative, but does have an incredibly refined palate and an encyclopedic knowledge of food. Each volume of Oishinbo follows Yamaoka and his colleagues through another adventure on their quest for the Ultimate Menu. Now, the best stories from the hundred-plus volume series have been selected and compiled into A la Carte editions, arranged by subject.
-Yuko at the Service Center

Amazon Description:

Follow journalist Yamaoka Shiro on a rich cullinary adventure as he hunts for the “ultimate menu”.

To commemorate its 100th anniversary the heads of newspaper Tozai Shimbun come up with a plan to publish the “Ultimate Menu”. The assignment is given to journalist Yamaoka Shiro, the protagonist of the series. With the help of a female coworker, Kurita Yuko, Yamaoka starts off on what can only be termed an epic saga to find the dishes hat will go into the “Ultimate Menu”.The subject of volume 1 is Nishon ryori, or Japanese cuisine, featuring stories on subjects like how to prepare a proper dashi (broth that is one of the building blocks of Japanese cooking), or matcha (the powdered green tea used in the tea ceremony), or red snapper sashimi. The subjects of the later volumes are: 2) sake, 3) fish, 4) vegetables, 5) rice dishes, 6) udon, and 7) izakaya or “pub” food.

To commemorate its 100th anniversary the heads of newspaper Tozai Shimbun come up with a plan to publish the “Ultimate Menu”. The assignment is given to journalist Yamaoka Shiro, the protagonist of the series. With the help of a female coworker, Kurita Yuko, Yamaoka starts off on what can only be termed an epic saga to find the dishes hat will go into the “Ultimate Menu”.