Makiko Itoh was raised and educated in Japan, the UK and the US and has lived in Europe for many decades. Despite living abroad, she has always returned to her native Japanese culinary roots. In 2003 she started writing the JustHungry blog to introduce Japanese homestyle dishes to people with limited access to the authentic ingredients. In 2007 she launched a blog dedicated to bento, which led to the publication of her first book, The Just Bento Cookbook, which has become an international bestseller. She now lives in Switzerland and writes a monthly column on Japanese food for The Japan Times.

The first comprehensive cookbook to fully cover all aspects of Japanese cuisine--with 600 recipes!

This book has been a lifetime in the making. Bicultural author Makiko Itoh was born in Tokyo and grew up in New York, where her mother ran the leading Japanese restaurant for two decades. She has since developed a career as a successful bilingual food writer and translator, uniquely positioned to explain the cuisine to non-Japanese.

Her book answers all the questions foreigners typically have about one of the world's greatest cuisines, including:

• Why is Japanese food so unique? A full overview--from umami to seasonality to aesthetics
• Essential ingredients like miso, mirin, dashi, sake and soy--how and why they are used
• How to design a Japanese meal--from tableware to equipment to etiquette
• Which recipes are right for you? The 600 recipes in this book cover everything from bento boxes to nimono simmered dishes to izakaya, sushi and hotpots. But which ones should you try?

Itoh's mission is to demystify Japanese cuisine for non-Japanese. Her book contains 400 beautiful color photos with clearly-presented recipes interspersed with fascinating essays and sidebars explaining all aspects of Japan's unique food culture. A must-read book for every Japanese food lover!