Washoku - Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen By Elizabeth Andoh The Japanese concept of washoku (harmony of food) can be difficult for an outsider to grasp: it's an inherent understanding of how dishes go together, not just in flavour but also aesthetically and nutritiously. Taste is important, of course, but so are colour, shape, texture, method of cooking and time of year. Elizabeth Andoh moved from the United States to Japan to study and became so knowledgeable in both the language and the cuisine that she was able to attend the prestigious Yanagihara School of Classical Japanese Cuisine. Considered one of the top English-language authorities on Japanese cuisine, she has written other books and runs a culinary school (A Taste of Culture). The focus of Washoku is Japanese home cooking: food a housewife would make for her family. An entire meal of these dishes would take a lot more time than most of us are prepared to spend after a hard day's work but, if chosen wisely, some of the recipes can be incorporated into everyday meals. Recipes include 'smashed' burdock with white sesame seeds, green tea ice cream, miso soup with mushrooms, watermelon radish with two salts, chilled udon noodle salad and pork and wakame dumplings.
