Of all the culinary changes that have taken hold in the UK in the past 20 years, the adoption of Japanese food has been the most unexpected. Perhaps the trend started in 1992 with Alan Yau’s Wagamama, where British diners were introduced to slurping noodles from a bowl. Or was it in 1994, when Moshi Moshi established sushi conveyor belts? Maybe it was in about 2000, when supermarkets began selling prepacked sushi as the new sandwich.
But while all of these played a part in transforming sushi and noodles from niche to known, few in the UK have eaten anything other than popular adaptations of one or two Japanese dishes. There is little awareness of the rich traditions and specialised techniques of Japanese cuisine. For this, the ultimate source is a 500-page hardback book, Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, by Shizuo Tsuji.
Published in 1980 in the US, the book laid bare “the secrets of the simple yet complex art of Japanese cooking” for “the first time”. Nearly 40 years after publication, it is still widely regarded as the definitive guide for western readers.