Packing a heavy punch and offering a fresh new look at Japanese food, Kurobuta prides itself on reworking the 'Iazakaya', Japanese pub style of relaxed eating and drinking. Kurobuta serves 'insanely delicious delicacies' (Jay Rayner, The Observer). Food that is both Incredibly inventive yet comfortingly familiar – signature dishes include Barbequed Pork Belly, with a Spicy Peanut Soy Sauce, Tea Smoked Lamb, and Kombu, Roasted Chilean seabass – food full of flavour, achievable to create at home and guaranteed to wow friends, family and hungry gatecrashers. Chapters with titles such as Snack, Junk Food Japan, Significant Others, Something Crunchy and On the Side give an idea of the gastronomic fun that is to be found within. Featuring approximately 100 recipes brilliantly showcasing Scott's wild and inventive style, Junk Food Japan will present Japanese classics with twists and turns, even in the Sushi and Sashimi sections, alongside a selection of new, stunning Scott-conceived dishes, including Tuna Sashimi Pizza and Wagyu beef sliders. Superb photography from legendary photographer David Loftus will feature throughout.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Japanese Larder is a stunning cookery book that demystifies Japanese ingredients and cooking by introducing key ingredients and techniques that are easy to acquire. Most of us have heard of ingredients such as miso, mirin, tofu and matcha, but how many of us feel confident using these ingredients in our everyday cooking? Or beyond the one or two recipes for which we bought the ingredients in the first place? In this beautifully illustrated cookbook, Luiz Hara introduces the ingredients in authentic Japanese recipes and shows you how they can transform all types of non-Japanese dish. With over 100 delicious and easy-to-make everyday recipes, you can discover how to use leftover miso, noodles or soy sauce to elevate any dish into a mouth-watering meal. From the author of Nikkei Cuisine, The Japanese Larder is an inspirational cookbook that celebrates the diversity and versatility of Japanese ingredients – from tofu and persimmon to green teas and dashi broth. Grab that packet of miso paste from your fridge, buy some ponzu or yuzu from the ethnic section of your local supermarket, and discover a new world of taste and flavour thanks to Luiz’s delicious recipes.

Shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award Longlisted for the Believer Book Award Longlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation A Los Angeles Times Bestseller The English-language debut of an exciting young voice in international fiction, selling 660,000 copies in Japan alone, Convenience Store Woman is a bewitching portrayal of contemporary Japan through the eyes of a single woman who fits into the rigidity of its work culture only too well. The English-language debut of one of Japan’s most talented contemporary writers, selling over 650,000 copies there, Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,” she finds peace and purpose in her life. In the store, unlike anywhere else, she understands the rules of social interaction—many are laid out line by line in the store’s manual—and she does her best to copy the dress, mannerisms, and speech of her colleagues, playing the part of a “normal” person excellently, more or less. Managers come and go, but Keiko stays at the store for eighteen years. It’s almost hard to tell where the store ends and she begins. Keiko is very happy, but the people close to her, from her family to her coworkers, increasingly pressure her to find a husband, and to start a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action… A brilliant depiction of an unusual psyche and a world hidden from view, Convenience Store Woman is an ironic and sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures to conform, as well as a charming and completely fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.

Bento fever has recently swept across the West, fuelled not just by an interest in cute, decorative food, but by the desire for an economical, healthy approach to eating in these times of recession. A leading light in the popularization of bento has been Makiko Itoh, whose blog, Just Bento, boasts hundreds of thousands of subscribers, all of whom love her delicious recipes and practical bento-making tips. Now, for the first time, Itoh's expertise has been packaged in book form. The Just Bento Cookbook contains twenty-five attractive bento menus and more than 150 recipes, all of which have been specially created for this book and are divided into two main sections, Japanese and Not-so-Japanese. The Japanese section includes classic bento menus such as Salted Salmon Bento and Chicken Karaage Bento, while the Not-so-Japanese section shows how Western food can be adapted to the bento concept, with delicious menus such as Summer Vegetable Gratin Bento and Everyone Loves a Pie Bento. In addition to the recipes, Itoh includes sections on bento-making equipment, bento staples to make and stock, basic cooking techniques, and a glossary. A planning-chart section is included, showing readers how they might organize their weekly bento making. In a market full of bento books that emphasize the cute and the decorative, this book stands out for its emphasis on the health and economic benefits of the bento, and for the very practical guidelines on how to ensure that a daily bento lunch is something that can easily be incorporated into anyone's lifestyle. This is the perfect book for the bento beginner, but will also provide a wealth of new bento recipe ideas and tips for Just Bento aficionados.

A comprehensive, easy-to-use guide to the foods that curb memory loss and improve cognitive longevity, this book will forever change how you think about diet and aging. Even though people around the world are living longer than ever, but record numbers of us are experiencing cognitive decline and other brain disorders later in life. But there is good news: We now have the knowledge to extend both lifespan and mindspan, helping to ensure that our minds and bodies stay in peak form at any age. Studying the diets of the populations that live longest with low levels of dementia, as well as the ways that certain food additives and ingredients interact with our genes, Dr. Preston Estep shatters myths about which foods are (and are not) beneficial to our brains, with simple changes you can make today to slow cognitive decline. Startling in its revelations about healthy eating for those over the age of fortyThe Mindspan Diet challenges us to rethink our approach to many common staples, including: • Iron: While iron-fortified foods sound healthy, high iron intake can be toxic, especially for people over forty, and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. • Whole grains: Processed grains such as white rice, pasta, and flour are actually staples in the diets of cultures with the best cognitive health. • Protein: Though it’s considered by some to be a miracle macronutrient, high levels of protein are actually hard on the kidneys, and may promote cancer and accelerate the progression of dementia. Complete with food recommendations, shopping lists, advice on reading nutrition labels, and more than seventy delicious recipes, The Mindspan Diet shows that you can enjoy the richest flavors life has to offer and remain lean, healthy, and cognitively intact for a very long life. Praise for The Mindspan Diet “Eye-opening . . . fascinating, important . . . Estep includes plenty of practical info on improving one’s mindspan and puts some refined grains back on the table.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Presenting a sensible regimen that people can follow easily, this recommended diet book [has] useful information about aging.”—Library Journal

For three hundred years, a stolen relic passes from one fortune-seeker to the next, indelibly altering the lives of those who possess it. In modern-day Tokyo, Robin Swann’s life has sputtered to a stop. She’s stuck in a dead-end job testing antiquities for an auction house, but her true love is poetry, not pottery. Her stalled dissertation sits on her laptop, unopened in months, and she has no one to confide in but her goldfish. On the other side of town, Nori Okuda sells rice bowls and tea cups to Tokyo restaurants, as her family has done for generations. But with her grandmother in the hospital, the family business is foundering. Nori knows if her luck doesn’t change soon, she’ll lose what little she has left. With nothing in common, Nori and Robin suddenly find their futures inextricably linked to an ancient, elusive tea bowl. Glimpses of the past set the stage as they hunt for the lost masterpiece, uncovering long-buried secrets in their wake. As they get closer to the truth—and the tea bowl—the women must choose between seizing their dreams or righting the terrible wrong that has poisoned its legacy for centuries.