In the first comprehensive introduction to Japanese cooking for the U.S. market in two decades, Hiroko Shimbo gently and authoritatively demystifies for Western cooks this elegant and tasty cuisine.

In Part One, Shimbo offers up an extended cooking-school lesson in Japanese ingredients, cooking methods and implements, with ample advice on easy-to-find substitute ingredients and shortcut techniques. This first part also has all the basic recipes for sauces, stocks, dressings and relishes, plus time-tested secrets of rice and noodle cookery, all of which give readers the skills to improvise and create their own Japanese meals.

In Part Two, shimbo serves up a stunning feast of Japanese dishes, from updated classics of the traditional repertoire to her own delectable creations. Here are scrumptious appetizers like miso soups, hearty yet refined chicken, duck and meat entrees, delicious fish and shellfish preparation and lots of Japan's famous sushi, rice-bowl and noodle-bowl dishes. A chapter on the fine art of Japanese desserts rounds out the banquet.