YO Sushi: The Japanese Cookbook

Sushi is, of course, not the most straightforward of food to prepare at home (in contrast to the speedy nature with which we are served it in YO! Sushi restaurants), but Barber, in straightforward, well-illustrated instructions gives us the most comprehensible of directions. From slicing fish for sashimi and sushi to making hand rolls (the latter, of course, being one of the key ingredients in sushi cuisine), up to preparing such exotic dishes as Okononiyaki (a savoury Japanese pancake) and the delicious fried dumplings filled with minced vegetables called Gyoza: it's all here, laid out in the most straightforward fashion. There are, of course, those tempting deserts which slide by us on the conveyor belts that are so intrinsic a part of the YO! Sushi restaurants, and there will be quite a few people -- inspired by visits to the restaurants -- who will be checking to see if this still exotic cuisine is within their own culinary range. --Barry Forshaw