Simple Japanese by Emi Sato

Japanese cheesecake, the cotton soufflé kind

Why it feels hard

Japanese food was made to look difficult, so you'd keep ordering it.

The takeout

Teriyaki, ramen and fried rice are soy, sugar, rice and a hot pan, sold back to you at ten times the price.

The bottle

Store-bought sauces full of syrup and starch, when three pantry staples make a better one in a minute.

The myth

You were told you need special tools and rare ingredients. A pan, a pot and a few old tricks are enough.

If your rice turned mushy or your chicken came out dry, it was not you. Nobody showed you the simple way.

A small Japanese family kitchen with rice and fresh vegetables

Why this book exists

My mother never wasted anything. So I wrote it down.

In her small kitchen in Shizuoka nothing went to waste. Vegetables went into the freezer the right way, yesterday's rice became tomorrow's breakfast, and a family of five ate well on very little.

I have cooked her way my whole life, for my own family and anyone who stayed for dinner. What I learned is simple: the old way is almost always the easier way.

This book is every dish I cook, each with the one small decision that makes it work. Learn the tricks and the recipes become yours.

Emi

One trick in every recipe

What you were told, and what actually works.

Six of the 120 tricks inside. Swipe →

What you were toldWhat Emi does insteadRecipe

Flipping the fried eggAdd a splash of water and cover the pan so steam cooks the top soft and fluffy.Fluffy fried egg, the steam trick

Serving rice right after cookingLet the pot rest 10 minutes off heat with the lid on so moisture spreads evenly through every grain.Perfect stovetop rice

Boiling the chicken breastLet the chicken finish cooking off the heat in its own warm liquid so it stays tender and juicy.Sakamushi, sake-steamed chicken breast

Pounding beef to tenderize itGive the meat a short baking soda bath to raise surface pH, then rinse well so it stays loose and tender.Baking soda beef, tender every time

Cooking mushrooms freshFreeze mushrooms first to break the cell walls so they release more juice and soak up flavor faster.Frozen mushrooms, deeper flavor

Boiling miso soup after adding misoKeep it just below a simmer and stir the miso in off the heat so the aroma stays soft.Miso soup, the proper way

Built to cook from

Open any page and start cooking.

Every recipe is two pages: the finished dish first, then the whole recipe on one page. No flipping with floury hands.

The dish, first

You see exactly what you're making before you start.

Every ingredient pictured

No guessing what mirin or miso looks like on the shelf.

Short, numbered steps

With the cues to watch for: the sizzle, the color, the smell.

Emi's trick

The one decision that makes the dish, and why it works.

If it goes wrong

What you're seeing, why it happened and how to save dinner.

Leftovers

What tomorrow's lunch becomes. Nothing wasted.

120recipes in 10 chapters

259pages

122ingredients, each pictured

359"if it goes wrong" fixes

What you'll cook

From a quick breakfast egg to Sunday family dinner.

1
Eggs, the Japanese way
Ajitama, Fluffy fried egg, Tamagoyaki, Onsen tamago
12 recipes
2
Rice that never turns mushy
Perfect stovetop rice, Onigiri, Chahan, Takikomi gohan
12 recipes
3
Chicken and meat, always tender
Sakamushi, Karaage, Chicken teriyaki, Tonkatsu
12 recipes
4
Fish and shrimp
Miso-glazed salmon, Teriyaki salmon, Saba shioyaki, Simmered cod
12 recipes
5
Vegetables, never boiled to death
Stir-fried cabbage with miso, Spinach ohitashi, Green beans goma-ae, Kinpira
12 recipes
6
Noodles and soups
Miso soup, Upgraded instant ramen, Quick shoyu ramen at home, Kake udon in broth
12 recipes
7
Air fryer, the Japanese way
Air fryer karaage, Whole baked apples in the air fryer, Air fryer gyoza, Air fryer miso salmon
12 recipes
8
Freezer and pantry tricks
Freezing vegetables the Japanese way, Frozen mushrooms, Frozen tofu, Freezing ginger and garlic
12 recipes
9
Sweets and café treats
Fluffy soufflé pancakes, Japanese cheesecake, Dorayaki, Mushipan
12 recipes
10
Family meals on a budget
Japanese curry, Okonomiyaki, Gyoza, Tofu steak with soy butter
12 recipes

Look inside

Real pages from the book.

This is exactly what you download. Swipe →

This book is for you if...

You've paid for takeout teriyaki and thought, "I could make this."
Your rice turns mushy or your chicken comes out dry.
You want dinners that are cheap, real and on the table in about 30 minutes.
You like knowing why something works, so it works every time.
You cook for people you love and want them to ask for seconds.

It's probably not for you if...

You want restaurant sushi and knife skills.
You never plan to turn on the stove.

Simple Japanese

Everything you need to cook it tonight.

The 259-page cookbook, instant PDF download
120 recipes in 10 chapters, each with Emi's trick
122 ingredients pictured, so shopping is easy
359 fixes for when something goes wrong, indexed
Emi's pantry: the 12 things worth keeping at home
Cups and grams, °F and °C, on every recipe
Lifetime access: every future update, free

$19

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7DAYS

Cook from it for 7 days. If it doesn't change how you cook, reply to your download email and you get every cent back. No questions.

Questions

Before you cook.

What exactly do I get?

A 259-page PDF you download straight after checkout. It opens on any phone, tablet or computer and prints well if you like paper in the kitchen.

Is this a printed book?

No, it's a digital book (PDF), so there's no shipping and no waiting. You can print any recipe, or the whole book, at home.

I'm not a confident cook. Is this for me?

Yes. Every recipe fits on one page, with short steps and the cues to watch for. Start with Eggs, the Japanese way: most of those take about ten minutes.

Can I find the ingredients?

Almost everything is in an ordinary supermarket. Every ingredient is pictured, and where a Japanese ingredient is hard to find, the recipe suggests what to use instead.

Cups or grams?

Both, on every recipe. Oven temperatures are given in °F and °C.

What about food safety?

Every meat, poultry and fish recipe gives the safe internal temperature, and the few classics with lightly cooked egg tell you when to use pasteurized eggs.

What if I don't like it?

Reply to your download email within 7 days and you get a full refund, no questions asked. See the refund policy.

Japanese home cooking is simple.
Nobody showed you the old tricks.

Japanese food was made to look difficult, so you'd keep ordering it.

The takeout

The bottle

The myth

My mother never wasted anything. So I wrote it down.

What you were told, and what actually works.

Open any page and start cooking.

The dish, first

Every ingredient pictured

Short, numbered steps

Emi's trick

If it goes wrong

Leftovers

From a quick breakfast egg to Sunday family dinner.

Eggs, the Japanese way

Rice that never turns mushy

Chicken and meat, always tender

Fish and shrimp

Vegetables, never boiled to death

Noodles and soups

Air fryer, the Japanese way

Freezer and pantry tricks

Sweets and café treats

Family meals on a budget

Real pages from the book.

This book is for you if...

It's probably not for you if...

Everything you need to cook it tonight.

Before you cook.

Tonight could be the first rice bowl you're proud of.