World Cuisine Japan
by Luiz Hara
Category: Cooking

At its simplest, Nikkei cuisine is the cooking of the Japanese diaspora. Japanese immigrants have found themselves in a variety of cultures and contexts, but have often maintained a loyalty to their native cuisine. This has required local adaptation over the last 100 years: the so-called Nikkei community has embraced a new country’s ingredients and assimilated these into their cooking using Japanese techniques. Nikkei cooking is found wherever in the world Japanese immigrants and their descendants are. But, for historical reasons, two countries have had substantially more Japanese immigrants than the rest of the world – Brazil and Peru. Nikkei cooking has gained popularity in Europe and the USA due to the influence of chefs Nobu Matsuhisa and Toshiro Konishi; the last two decades have seen the emergence of a number of outstanding, creative Nikkei chefs and restaurants all over the world – including Pakta in Barcelona by Albert Adria. This stunningly photographed cookbook includes 100 Nikkei recipes, including 10 contributed recipes from top Nikkei chefs from around the world such as celebrated chefs Toshiro Konishi and Mitsuharu Tsumura ('Micha') from Peru, Tsuyoshi Murakami from Brazil, Jorge Munoz & Kioko Li of Pakta in Barcelona and Jordan Sclare & Michael Paul of Chotto Matte in London. Nikkei Cuisine is a ground-breaking cookery book and a must-have for anyone with an interest in Japanese or South American cooking, as well as for those keen to discover cutting-edge cookery and flavours. The recipes range from the simpler Nikkei family favourites (the dishes eaten at home) to the more elaborate and elegant Nikkei dishes served in restaurants around the world.