Description
Book SynopsisTabemasho! Let's Eat! is a tasty look at how Japanese food has evolved in America from an exotic and mysterious--even "gross"--cuisine to the peak of culinary popularity, with sushi sold in supermarkets across the country and ramen available in hipster restaurants everywhere. The author was born in Japan and raised in the U.S. and has eaten his way through this amazing food revolution.
Trade Review"Full of history, food facts, anecdotes, and businesses he recommends throughout multiple Japantowns in the country, even a well-informed foodie will learn something new about Japanese and Japanese American food, and be surprised by what they didn't know."
—Akiko Minaga, Nichi Bei News
"With the mainstream popularity of ramen, sushi, teriyaki, and other Japanese food staples, it’s hard to imagine that Japanese cuisine has not always been as well-embraced in the U.S. In Tabemasho! Let’s Eat!, Gil Asakawa serves up an engaging look at how Japanese food evolved and blended with the American palate."
—Maileen Hamto, Seattle Book Review
"[Gil Asakawa] brings his entire life-experience to bear on everything from the hidden meaning of “Sukiyaki” (the first Japanese song to go to number one in America), the reason Calpis was renamed Calpico and the Japanese obsession with the Kit-Kat."
—Jonathan Clements, All The Anime
"Tabemasho: Let's Eat! is Asakawa’s informative and chatty exploration-cum memoir of the sundry Japanese foods he grew up with, mixed with his memories of first encounters with those victuals and his historical research on how many of those foods originated, with some actually reaching these shores to become as American as pizza pie."
—George Toshio Johnston, The Pacific Citizen
PRAISE FOR BEING JAPANESE AMERICAN
"Being Japanese American is a superb guide to avoiding breaches of tact around Japanese friends, family, or visitors, regardless of one's own ethnic heritage or background, and is also chock-full of helpful ways to embrace, preserve, and treasure one's cultural identity."
—Midwest Book Review
"Offers a great opportunity for JAs to process their feelings and experiences in relationship to other JAs who, through their stories and photos, share empathy and understanding."
—Asian Reporter
"Teens who want to know a little more about contemporary Japanese American culture beyond all the history books about the World War II internment experience will find great information here..."
—Voice of Youth Advocates, April 2005 Issue
"A must-read book that will delight you with its humor and amuse you with its insights; for non-Asian, a must-read book if you’re curious about what makes Japanese Americans tick."
—John Tateishi, National Executive Director, Japanese American Citizens League
"Part history, part photo album, part cultural document, part memoir, part language lesson, even part cookbook, Being Japanese American is an entertaining primer on many aspects of the Japanese American experience."
—BookDragon
"A lighthearted view into the unique lingo, idiosyncrasies and nuances of Japanese American life."
—DiscoverNikkei.org
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Get Hungry!
Chapter 1: Appetizers: The Ingredients That Make Up the Bento Box
Chapter 2: First Course: The "Big Three" Japanese Foods to Americans -- Teriyaki, Sukiyaki and Tempura
Chapter 3: Entrees: Over a Century of Japanese Restaurants
Chapter 4: Japanese American adaptations including incarceration
Chapter 5: Rolling on: If you knew sushi like I knew sushi…
Chapter 6: Oodles of noodles: Udon, Soba and of course, Ramen, the “it” food
Chapter 7: Bowl me over: Anything on a bowl of rice is delicious
Chapter 8: Sweet dreams: Desserts from manju to mochi ice cream with a side trip to Hawaii
Chapter 9: Nomimono: Soft drinks, hard drinks and tea, lots of tea
Chapter 10: The real deal, Next on the menu, Fame and foodies
Glossary
Online Resources
Book List
