Donabe : Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking

A Donabe is a Japanese clay pot used in cooking. It is extremely versatile, being used as a rice cooker, a steaming vessel, a smoker, and a slow-cooker similar to a modern day Crock pot. They have been used for hundreds of years in Japanese homes and restaurants. Not surprisingly, there are not many English language books that discuss the donabe or it's usage. Becoming an instant authority on the subject, is Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking by Naoko Takei Moore and Kyle Connaughton.

With luxurious photography and precision writing, Donabe presents a beautiful text that is rich with information. A discussion of the six styles of donabe pots and six types of recipes that accompany them is entertaining and educational. I appreciate reading about the history of the pots. The recipe selections are excellent as well, offering cuisine that is simple, rich, and promises to be delicious. A real donabe is not required for the dishes, you can get by with other vessels, however the finished product may lack the beauty and sophistication that the clay pot brings to the table.

My attempt of the recipe for Chicken Hot Pot turned out fabulously. It was an exquisite take on chicken soup, deep with soul-warming flavors. Some preparations require ingredients that may not be easily sourced at the local supermarket, even in the ubiquitous "Asian food section." Also, you can adapt other recipes to the donabe, do not be limited by the traditional Japanese recipes. I used it to slow cook pork ribs in a delicious BBQ sauce.

Donabe is a wonderful book, full of delicious cuisine and dramatic photography. This is certain to be a resource for me for a long time. Luckily, my wife perused my copy, and thought it a wonderful idea to give us a new donabe for our anniversary gift to ourselves. I can't wait to employ it in a number of dishes.

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review.

Book review - This is Camino by Russell Moore & Allison Hopelain

I set out upon the new cookbook This is Camino with eager anticipation and excitement. After all the award-winning restaurant critic Jonathan Gold had proclaimed that chef Russell Moore is "the ninja of California live-fire cooking." The cover depicting the chef prepping his mise en place in front of a vast cook top, a roaring fire the centerpiece. I was instantly intrigued.

Camino is a restaurant in Oakland, California. It specializes in elegant, Northern Californian style food, heavy on locally and responsibly sourced produce and meats. There are also some recipes that transcend the Bay-area-centric fare, with Old World favorites such as the home cured Sauerkraut, and the Roast Duck Consomme. The authors provide plenty of insight into the development and execution of the restaurant's recipes. I will definitely be trying the Herb Jam recipe, and I was pleased that the majority of the recipes are not out of reach for the home cook. Sure there is some snobbishness, and a bit of hipster-dogma amongst the pages, but it does not take away from the text. I did find a few things on the pretentious side, such as the author describing his love of preserved lemons, even adding them to dishes wherein you cannot taste them. Adding an ingredient should have always have a purpose, I believe. Also in description of the Grilled Chicken Ballotine, the author says that they "needed to make our chicken main-course a little fancier, so that we could charge enough for the pricey Riverdog chickens." 

There is an excellent part in the middle of the book that describes in glorious detail what it is like to work and run the restaurant for one day. It gives the reader an idea of the large number of moving parts a restaurant has, and how one innocent mistake can cause a complete shift's worth of stress. There are recipes for starters and main dishes, as well as a small section on dessert and cocktails. The latter seemed to be an afterthought though, and that is fine with me. If I wanted a book on mixology, I would get one. The book notes that the recipe for Doughnuts was taken from another book entirely, albeit with several small changes. It made me wonder if they were just reaching to fill pages. There are about 75 recipes total in the book, which is not a lot. However it is enough to give you an idea of the chef's focus on hyper-fresh, local ingredients. I did enjoy the discussions on using everything you possibly can from your ingredients with ideas for utilizing the "waste."

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I am certainly going to attempt a few of the recipes. Visiting this restaurant in the near future is on my list as well, as it is only about a 90 minute drive for me. Bottom line, if you are at all interested in Bay-area cuisine with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients prepared with an open fire, as well as some time-tested favorites with a California flare, this book will prove satisfying. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review.

Lucky Peach presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes

Chinese food, or rather American "Chinese" food has a certain mystique surrounding it's preparation and ingredients. The same can be said for really any type of Asian food, from Japanese to Thai or Vietnamese. This often equates to home cooks leaving it for the "professionals" at the ubiquitous strip-mall food joints, mall food courts, and street food vendors. What if I told you that armed with one book, and only one book, you could unlock the secrets behind the preparations of your favorite dishes, and do it from the comfort of your home? Oh and that the recipes easy to prepare. Sounds too good to be true, I know. Many have tried, few have prevailed, that is for sure. You could spend a lifetime studying volumes of information in search of that perfect Kung Pao chicken recipe. But thanks to the guys behind my favorite food magazine, Lucky Peach, we now have an accelerated course in Asian food 101 with their new publication "Lucky Peach presents 101 Easy Asian recipes."

I love the style of writing in this book. It is both informative and interesting to read, along with a hilarious sense of humor. For example, the back cover shows a finished dish with a text bubble exclaiming "100% inauthentic! The recipes are succinct, the steps pared down to the essentials. The book eschews deep-frying and sub-recipes. They spell out exactly what you will need as far as equipment (wok, rice cooker, maybe a mortar and pestle if you are fancy). Where the book really shines is within the descriptions of pantry items, and they include pictures to help when you are shopping at the mega mart and don't know your miso from your tamari. The pantry items are separated into three levels, from beginner to expert. Certain to impress your friends and family. 

The photography is excellent too, capturing the simplicity and deliciousness of each recipe effectively, and making you hungry all the while. Try the pesto ramen for a delicious and easy weeknight meal, or simmer a pot of hot and sour soup on a cold, rainy day. From breakfast to dessert, this book covers all of your favorites. So kick down for a $20 wok next time you are near a Chinatown (I bought mine in San Francisco - hand hammered, carbon steel that only gets better with use) or Amazon that bad boy and get to work. Let this book be your guide in to the wonderful world of Asian cuisine. 

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.