The Japanese Pantry

Essential Japanese pantry dishes from Emiko Davies, author of Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking.

The Japanese Pantry is a follow up to Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking, Emiko’s tribute to her mother’s family and her soul food — Japanese home cooking.

In The Japanese Pantry, Emiko explores the pantry items essential to Japanese home cooking. Simple, easy-to-find ingredients that can be combined with fresh produce and a few other basics like tofu, rice and noodles to create delicious and authentic Japanese food no matter where you are.

Each chapter explores one of these essential ingredients – soy sauce, miso, rice vinegar, seaweed, sake, sesame and tea – including information about the history and production of these in Japan, as well as Emiko’s thoughtful and approachable recipes.

In helping readers get to know these pantry essentials, Emiko hopes to give home cooks the confidence to make authentic Japanese dishes that are inherently simple and full of flavour.

About the Author

Emiko Davies is an Australian-Japanese food writer and award winning cookbook author based in Tuscany for the past twenty years. The Japanese Pantry will be Emiko's seventh book. Her previous books include Gohan (Special Commendation Andre Simon Award 2024, Cookery Book of the Year Fortnum & Mason Award), Florentine (best Italian cuisine book at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards; Best Design Book at ABDA awards), Acquacotta (shortlisted Best Cookery Book, Fortnum & Mason awards 2018), Tortellini at Midnight, Torta della Nonna, Cinnamon & Salt (shortlisted Best International Cookbook, The Guild of Food Writers Award 2023, long listed, Andre Simon Award 2023). Emiko is a columnist for Corriere della Sera and Scribehound Food and runs a cooking school and natural wine bar in Tuscany with her sommelier husband, where she shares her passion for seasonal, simple home cooking.