The Gaijin Cookbook: Japanese Recipes from a Chef, Father, Eater, and Lifelong Outsider

I have long been a fan of Japanese cooking and Ivan Orkin as a chef. I bought this book after making everything from his Ivan Ramen cookbook with high hopes, in which were met and exceeded my expectations. The book includes so many mouth watering recipes that you could spend months running through them and not putting a dent. The book encourages you to run wild with the recipes and add ingredients that you would prefer, with a complete sense of ambiguity. The book includes little background for each dish that reads like small talk in a restaurant with a close friend, and aside from the recipes it was truly enjoyable to read. My favorite part of this cookbook is that it includes recipes that some find too common to include like Yoshoku meals that are usually written as “add curry roux block and simmer”. The hayashi raisu recipe made me literally jump up in excitement to go grocery shopping as it’s been a dish close to my heart that I’ve only made with the roux block, and I have yet to find another cookbook to include it. If you enjoy reading little stories and insights about Japanese food, this book is for you. If you want no nonsense and delicious recipes with common ingredients that won’t break the bank, and that are fun to make over and over again, this book is also for you.

Being a Gaijin living in Okinawa I have fallen completely in love with the food! This book breaks down the recipes caveman style and amazes me how simple and on point it is. I highly recommend it. PS- anyone who loves potato salad and experimenting should mix the Japanese version WITH southern US version! I did and I promise I could win any contest! The Japanese version is also AMAZING on its own.

I love this book. The author is creative, helpful, and funny. I have visited Japan twice and I wanted to bring some of their delicious and surprisingly simple cuisine home to the US. The instructions are clear. The emphasis is on creating good food with good ingredients. It’s a reminder to be mindful, and take time to enjoy each bite. I can’t wait to go back to Japan!

The best things about Gaijin Cookbook are the ideas to incorporate Japanese cookery in an otherwise Western style of cooking - things like Temaki Party, Oden Party and Family Style Chirashi are wonderfully described and paint a vision where these types of events can become a fun and regular part of life. They also make it easy to entertain in a Japanese style. In addition, Ivan’s story is very fun to read, and the whole book is just very enjoyable. Ivan also has some very good recipes in here - I’ve tried these so far Ajitama - good, but too salty Onsen Tamago - good Ojiya - Fantastic! - my favorite recipe from the book Japanese Sandwiches - good but a little too oily Chanpuru - good, but too salty The recipes are where I feel that Ivan lets me down somewhat - the seasonings are not very balanced and tend towards the overly salty. I’ve learned over many years of Japanese cooking that a good rule of thumb is that a recipe should not have more than 1 Tbsp of either soy sauce or miso per person per dish. So for example, a dish that serves 4 should have 4 Tbsp soy sauce or miso or less - otherwise, it’s just far too salty. Many great recipes from other sources actually use 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce or less per serving. Ivan’s dishes routinely have far in excess of that. I’m afraid that any neophyte to Japanese cookery who follows the recipes without modification will find them too salty. Examples: Ajitama : 16 Tbsp soy : 5 servings. Shogayaki: 8 Tbsp soy : 4 servings. Yaki Udon: 8 Tbsp soy : 4 servings, and so on. So my advice is: get the book - it’s really good and lots of fun, but watch the salt levels and be prepared to modify as needed.

I loved that there were great pictures of the meals as well as pictures of the author with his Japanese wife and kids. The recipes are simple enough to follow and accessible to the regular person (regular as in, not a chef) in America.

I was immediately attracted by the title of the book, because I knew the authors "get it." Most Americans don't know what a Gaijin is, and my Japanese friends don't like me using the term, but they get a kick when I call myself one. The title signaled to me that the authors have a deep affection for the country, or they wouldn't use the slang. I ordered the book prelaunch, and my first reaction is WOW in terms of the beautiful design and photography – a wonderful surprise. Also, the book sits open perfectly on a countertop. I love the narrative passages peppered throughout that are warm, heartfelt, fun, and irreverent. I love (finally) getting English translations of the Japanese specialties I often see on menus. As for the recipes themselves, I can hardly wait to get started. Dying to finally do Onsen eggs without a sous-vide. Can't wait to try my hand at the Okonomiyaki I loved in Osaka and Hiroshima, and the authors mention both cities. I finally know what are Oyakodon (chicken and egg bowl) and Gyudon (beef and onion rice bowl). I am excited to dive in. I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone looking for an accessible, thoughtful, fun entryway to cooking Japanese at home, without an intimidation factor. That doesn't mean the recipes are necessarily easy. But the exploration looks like great fun while learning! The authors share what they love about the cuisine, and the country, and it is infectious.

My husband, whom I would call a "picky foodie," traveled many years in Japan and loves the food. I bought this cookbook for him, and tonight we made the Sautéed Livers with Garlic Chives. Outstanding!!! Now we can't wait to try the other recipes. If you're a liver-lover, try this recipe. Quick! Now where did I put my grocery shopping list?

I'm Japanese American and know how to cook most Japanese foods. However, I never had a guidebook for this and it was word of mouth recipes that I had to figure out on my own. No more! The recipes in this book brought me back to everything I ever ate growing up in a Japanese household but better yet, nailed the recipes so that the taste is spot on. I love that this covers the majority of popular Japanese home cooked foods. There's plenty of intricate Japanese cooking but the homestyle recipes are what I value the most and Ivan's recipes really do taste like a slice of Japan. Surprised myself that this is one of my favorite cookbooks and one that I still refer to quite a bit, even as a Nihonjin.

well written and a good read I bought this after borrowing a copy from the library!

Loved the book. Such fun and interesting recipes

First saw this book in the library and after taking it home to try a few recipes had to buy one of my own. Have used it so many times already. Easy to follow recipes and explanation of ingredients I was not familiar with. Well worth the purchase.

Ever been to Japan and miss the food every day ? Buy this book and make the food you will be very very happy.

Excellent book, tasty recipes, an interesting perspective on Japanese cuisine.