Oh we are excited about cooking with this cookbook! Reading through it is like having a Japanese friend in your kitchen showing you how to make great Japanese food.  

Make It Japanese reflects Rie McClenny journey from her birthplace of Japan to the United States and how she learned to cook heartfelt recipes from scratch, often using only ingredients from her local supermarket. Throughout her culinary career, from home cook to star of BuzzFeed Tasty’s “Make It Fancy” video series, she has drawn inspiration from the nourishing food her mother cooked throughout her childhood and her extensive knowledge of Japanese cuisine and ingredients that she brought to life in an American kitchen.

We think in her first cookbook,  Rie is so smart in sharing just how approachable Japanese home cooking can be, no matter where you are.  She presents a collection of comforting, homestyle recipes that use just a handful of easy-to-find Japanese ingredients, such as soy sauce, mirin, and sake, and simple, essential cooking techniques, like making rice bowls (donburi), frying the perfect home-style tempura, and gently simmering vegetables and proteins to delicious effect.

The delicious, approachable recipes are accompanied by great, inspiring photography for the food and the tablescapes.  

• Traditional dishes with a twist: Loaded Vegetable Miso Soup with kale and sweet potatoes, Roasted Cauliflower Goma-ae coated in toasted sesame dressing, umami-packed Easy Soy Sauce Ramen, and Mini Okonomiyaki pancakes
• Can’t-miss classics: delectable pork Tonkatsu, ginger-spiked Chicken-Tofu Tsukune, and Oyako Don, rice bowls topped with tender chicken thighs and egg
• Interactive, hands-on recipes for festive gatherings: Chicken Hot Pot with Ponzu perfect for a winter’s night, can’t stop Gyoza with Crispy Wings, and make-your-own hand rolls for a Temaki Party
• And of course, dessert: the iconic Simple Strawberry Shortcake, irresistible Matcha Snacking Cake, and delightful Citrus Mochi DoughnutsNew Cookbook by Author Rie McClenny, with Sanaë Lemoine

Our own personal favorites so far are the Salmon Bowl and the Potato Salad.  Yum, yum, yum!

And don't miss reading her epilogue as she talks about how she partnered with her mom on this, will make you want to call yours or someone close to you.