Opinions of Saturn

Most of the recipes in this book are exactly as advertised: simple and easy, with a contemporary twist. Most of the time, they're very tasty to boot! The chicken and pork recipes are especially great for a casual dinner with friends or family. The photographs of the food are gorgeous, and the recipes themselves quite relatively easy to read.

However, the few recipes that miss the mark miss it hard. For example, the white chocolate cake turns into a hard, lumpy mess regardless of the chef's every effort. These faults might be the result of a simple mistranslation, so it's possible that the original Japanese text is more competent in its material.

It's not a very traditional book on Japanese cuisine, but it's very accessible to Western novices. For anyone looking for more advanced fare, this book probably isn't for you. Even so, it's one of my favorite cookbooks of all time, and I heartily recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in Asian cuisine.