Today there is a new generation of gourmets who have a deep appreciation of fine foods, and who take pride and pleasure in their preparation. Also the informal meal is espe-cially suited for today’s life style. This book will guide you through simple techniques for preparing the basic ingredients contained in easy-to- follow recipes. This book’s em-phasis has been placed upon the preparation of dishes used in Japanese snacks and simple meals.
As you gain proficiency and personal confidence in simple meal cooking, you may like to go on to Japanese cuisine. I have written another cookbook, JAPANESE CUISINE FOR EVERYONE, in which I offer recipes from Japan including the use of TOFU (soy bean cake), MISO (soy bean paste), and SUSHI. You may adapt various recipes to your own personal taste and experiment with different ingredients to achieve the desired result. I encourage you to go beyond the recipes in this book, by substituting ingredients. Most of the contained recipes serve one to two persons. These amounts allow flexibility, and can be doubled successfully. Some of the necessary ingredients, however, may be unfamiliar to you. They are listed on page 97, and are available at most Oriental food markets.

It is my pleasure to share these recipes with you and most importantly have fun and enjoy cooking.

Two of the amazingly good tasting and visually beautiful sushi dishes you can easily make right in your kitchen from products you can buy at your supermarket or at a Chinese grocery.
STIR-FRIED THICK NOODLES Page 88	DEEP FRIED BEEF WIH CHEESE Page 77