# How to learn japanese cuisine



## menno (Oct 9, 2014)

Right now I am in culinairy school. I am really into japanese cuisine. But There we don't learn that type of cooking. In 1 or 2 years i'm done. What's the best wy to learn real authentic japanese cuisine for me?
Thank you


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## Talim (Oct 9, 2014)

Go to Japan?


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## dream816 (Oct 9, 2014)

Talim said:


> Go to Japan?



lus1: Most of Japanese cuisine outside Japan is bastardized beyond recognition.


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## ecchef (Oct 10, 2014)

Marry a Nihonjin. Worked for me.


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## dream816 (Oct 10, 2014)

ecchef said:


> Marry a Nihonjin. Worked for me.



LOL ... that will definitely work!


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## Vesteroid (Oct 10, 2014)

I am simply a home chef,so all you pros don't shoot me if this is silly.

I Purchased and have been studying the book...japanese cooking, a simple art by Shizuo Tsuji.


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## panda (Oct 10, 2014)

Add soy sauce


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## ecchef (Oct 10, 2014)

panda said:


> Add soy sauce



Oy gevalt.

From my perspective, it's the quality and authenticity of ingredients that will determine your success. Japanese home cooking doesn't require the skills off a kaiseki chef. Many recipes share the same basic ingredients; it's the ratios that vary. Nothing wrong at all with using a book as a guide. Tsuji's is perfectly fine. You're just not going to have any first hand reference to gauge your progress.


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## dream816 (Oct 11, 2014)

http://sushischool.jp/diploma.html


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## JBroida (Oct 11, 2014)

honestly, i feel that learning the language is really an important part of understanding cuisine and culture... but that might just be me. There are quite a few words that have no real english equivalent, and some are important to understand within the world of food


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## Clarence (Oct 15, 2014)

Cooking with Dog on Youtube is one of the best.

https://www.youtube.com/user/cookingwithdog

I have some books at home too and an excellent bilingual book I can recommend is this by Kawakami Fumiyo. Plenty of in-depth tips on technique.
http://www.yesasia.com/global/japan...-season-recipes/1030289395-0-0-0-en/info.html


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## Korin_Mari (Oct 15, 2014)

Are you looking for home cooking or traditional cooking?


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## menno (Oct 17, 2014)

I want to learn real authentic kaiseki cuisine. I just orderd japanese cooking a simple art. I heard it's a great book. Is that true? Ik now the cooking with dog video's. They are also quite helpful But I am more interested in authentic kaiseki cuisine


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## ecchef (Oct 17, 2014)

Kaiseki, eh? Yeah...that doesn't come from a book or Youtube.


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## brainsausage (Oct 17, 2014)

Just quit school and spend a year trying to convince a kaiseki pro to allow you to wash his kitchen floors. Then spend the next ten years paying attention.


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## JBroida (Oct 17, 2014)

ecchef said:


> Kaiseki, eh? Yeah...that doesn't come from a book or Youtube.



It's just as much about understanding language, culture, and regionality, as it is cooking


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## JDA_NC (Oct 17, 2014)

JBroida said:


> It's just as much about understanding language, culture, and regionality, as it is cooking



Was there anything (besides marrying a Japanese woman & spending time in Japan) that helped with that? Curious to how some of your interest & passion developed. 

Digging all the pictures you've been posting from Japan BTW! Hope you and the family are having a great time. Must be awesome to show your son some of his heritage for the first time. Very cool.


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## JBroida (Oct 18, 2014)

JDA_NC said:


> Was there anything (besides marrying a Japanese woman & spending time in Japan) that helped with that? Curious to how some of your interest & passion developed.
> 
> Digging all the pictures you've been posting from Japan BTW! Hope you and the family are having a great time. Must be awesome to show your son some of his heritage for the first time. Very cool.



From a young age, i always loved food. What i used to think was japanese food was a big part of that. From food, i became interested in the culture and history. When getting ready to go to college, i knew i was going to major in asian studies (with a focus in Japan). I did exactly that, and during that time, researched and wrote extensively on Japanese food, including a thesis on sukiyaki and shabu shabu from meiji to present day. I also did a lot of research and writing on kaiseki ryori. Thanks to my language ability, experience cooking professionally, and Sara's family's connections, i was able to spend time working at a restaurant in Japan. It was not easy though, and not something that i think could easily be done without so many different things coming together in the right way. Since that time, and even after stopping cooking professionally, i have continued to stay on top of whats going on in Japanese cuisine. We have chef friends in Japan and the US that we spend a lot of time talking and eating with, and I continue to learn while here in Japan every year.


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## dough (Oct 18, 2014)

meno just curious what you know about kaiseki?
i ask because your thread title doesn't reflect your interest imo. also not to seem rude but you should start with your title and learn flavors/techniques or homestyle and street food. to steal from a chef way better then me... he would say it sounds like your working on your learners permit but instead you are pretending you can drive race cars. 
anywho goodluck with this journey if you keep your head down you will get more then what you want. also to learn kaiseki outside of working for a chef at a kaiseki restaurant is a long shot at best.


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## menno (Oct 18, 2014)

thank you for all the helpful replys. I can say I am not a complete newbie in japanese homecooking. I really think these tips are very helpful.
thanks
( my english isn't very good, I'm dutch)


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