I constantly use these books to find inspiration and recipes for my Japanese Faves series on my Chef's Apprentice YouTube cooking channel
This has been one of my go-to books for years. It has a good combination of home-style and restaurant-level dishes
The Japanese Kitchen: 250 Traditional Recipes
Grilled food ("yaki") is an important part of Japanese cooking. This book shows how to do it with home-style equipment.
The Japanese Grill: Classic Yakitori to Steak
There are many areas and nooks and crannies in Japanese cuisine. This is the most thorough collection of Japanese cooking knowledge and tips I have even seen in one place. It covers virtually everything.
Real Japanese Cooking: Traditions & Techniques
An essential reference on what Japanese food words mean (with two different covers). I use it constantly.
A Dictionary of Japanese Food: Ingredients & Culture
“Yaki” means “grilled” in Japanese. This authoritative and comprehensive book from the Japanese Culinary Academy makes a deep dive into grilling techniques.
Yakiba Grilling Techniques: Shio-yaki, Furishio
This book explains every aspect of this great cuisine, the ingredients, the techniques, the essential equipment, the importance of color and presentation. I love the glossary and sections on technique.
Food of Japan
This book brings you the experience of dining at one Tokyo's most innovative and exciting restaurants: Shunju.
Shunju: New Japanese Cuisine
This is an authoritative but personal exploration of washoku, which is traditional Japanese food.
Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen
Morimoto, in my opinion, is one of the top 5 chef's in the world today. This is his book about Japanese home cooking.
Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto on Japanese Home Cooking
Morimoto is, in my opinion, one of the top 5 chefs in the world. This Iron Chef is extremely creative, often merging Japanese and Western cooking styles. This book and its great photos share some of his inventiveness.
Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking
This is a serious book for serious Japanese cooks.
Japan: The Cookbook
This book is organized as a beautiful visual glossary of ingredients, with recipes.
The Japanese Kitchen: Essential Ingredients & 200 Recipes
The name says it all. This is THE cookbook for ramenheads.
Ramen Obsession: Ultimate Guide to Japanese Ramen
Hotpots are a huge part of Japanese cuisine. “Donabe” means both hotpot and the special clay pot used to cook hotpots. This book is a deep dive into both.
Donabe: Classic & Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking
“Izakaya” means Japanese pub. In Japan, where there's drinking, there's usually eating. This is a great collection of Japanese pub nibbles and small dishes.
