Every country has its traditional cuisine, and those who love Japanese cuisine may want to pick up Sonoko Sakai’s Cookbook, Wafu Cooking: Everyday Recipes with Japanese Style: A Cookbook, where she teaches how to cook real Japanese dishes at home. It is a beautiful cookbook and includes beautiful, professional photographs of some of the dishes, as well as colorful illustrations that make the book seem more fun.

There are recipes for basic Japanese sauces which most cooks will find helpful, as well as many Japanese dishes. The recipes are written in the traditional manner, so they are easy to follow. However, many of the dishes are very involved and have very long lists of ingredients which can put off any cook who is in a hurry. There are also many recipes that call for Japanese ingredients that aren’t available at mainstream grocery stores, so readers will need to make a special trip to an Asian grocery store to obtain what is needed. Although many cookbooks include recipes for homemade pasta, Sakai includes both homemade ramen noodles as well as soba noodles. Those of us who love to make homemade pasta at home will be making these noodles often.

All told, this is one cookbook that is for someone who likes to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and is okay with lots of ingredients. It is an excellent cookbook – well written with appealing recipes for authentic Japanese food lovers.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I cannot wait to cook every single recipe in this cookbook! It's fun, easy to follow, and brimming with delicousness. The photos are beautiful and it's well organized.

Wafu Cooking focuses on Japanese style recipes with some fusions with other cuisines.

The Sections are
wafu flavors (dashi, fermented condiments)
all days breakfast
soups
plants and vegetables (salada, vegetables and beans, pickles)
curries and stews
seafood
meat
noodles and dumplings
sweets and baked goods

Each recipe has servings, recipe blurb, ingredients, and directions. The pictures are beautiful and the recipes are thorough. There are SOOO many good recipes that I am excited to try. The cookbook does a really good job at ingredients overlapping into many recipes, so you aren't buying a new item only to use once.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is very little NOT to like in this cookbook. It does a great job giving enough detail about each recipe to be interesting and helpful. I also particularly love sauces and condiments and almost 15% of the book is based around those things. Also a whole chapter on all day breakfast- count me in. The Dashi Cheese Grits with Miso-Honey Butter were perfect. I utilized the shrimp and bacon topping, but would eat it by itself too. It's fall in the US as I'm writing this and so we made the Kabocha Squash Soup with Miso, Creme Fraiche, and curried pepitas which was a knockout. I'm looking forward to making the water kimchi in summer melon brine when it's that time of year again. A very enjoyable and informative cookbook. Thank you to the author and publisher for an early review copy.

**Review: *Wafu Cooking* by Sonoko Sakai**

Take everything you think you know about Japanese food and give it a delicious twist—*Wafu Cooking* by Sonoko Sakai is all about blending Japanese flavors with global inspiration. With 120+ recipes, this book proves that “fusion” isn’t just a trend—it’s a celebration of cultures coming together.

From comforting Dashi Cheese Grits with Honey Miso Butter to the unexpected Miso Apple Pie, Sonoko reimagines traditional Japanese ingredients like dashi, miso, and soy sauce in ways that make your taste buds do a happy dance. Think Caesar Salad with a wafu upgrade (aonori croutons and bonito flakes) or Shio Koji Marinated Roast Chicken that’s perfect for dinner any night of the week.

Sonoko’s recipes feel like a reflection of her life—a mix of Japan, Los Angeles, New York, and even Mexico—all tied together with her passion for bold, creative cooking. Whether you’re a die-hard Japanese food fan or just looking to shake up your meals, this book is an inspiring guide to cooking without borders.

*Wafu Cooking* isn’t just a cookbook; it’s a delicious reminder of how interconnected the world of food really is. 🌏🍴

A great Japanese cookbook with some really fun and delicious Japanese-Western cooking mashups! There is recipe for Dashi cheese grits with miso-butter sauce, which is the most heavenly dish. I will be buying everyone in my life a copy of this book for Christmas!