The Japanese Pantry is more than a cookbook: it’s a love letter to tradition, simplicity and the joy of cooking with intention.
J. Kenji Lopez-AltA beautiful, brilliantly written, friend of a book that makes Japanese home cooking utterly approachable, as well as so very appealing. A book I didn’t know I needed and will now no longer be without.
Mark DiaconoPeek behind the noren curtain with Emiko as she casts light on both the Japanese kitchen staples you already adore, along with many more to learn about and love.
– Simon Daly, Food Columnist for The Japan Times.
The Japanese Pantry: From Sake to Soy: Essential Ingredients for Japanese Home Cooking, my seventh cookbook, will be out this late October 2025 in the US, UK and Australia. This is a book that I hope will inspire people to make the most of these powerful pantry ingredients and feel confident in recreating Japanese flavours at home that are inherently simple and full of flavour.
After writing Gohan, one of the things I was asked most often about was the ingredients — what to buy, how to look for them, where to get them, possible substitutions, and whether you need many special ingredients to cook Japanese food. The answer is — you don’t actually need much!
I grew up watching my Japanese mother make her favourite home cooking abroad with just a few essential ingredients. Together with seasonal produce and some other basics such as tofu, rice and noodles, you can easily prepare a truly delicious Japanese meal — and it’s quick. This is the food I make most when I’m tired, have unexpected guests or just need something on the table immediately!
I have chosen 7 ingredients that make up 7 chapters that I consider essential in my Japanese pantry: soy sauce, miso, rice vinegar, seaweed, sake, sesame and tea.
In each chapter I have given context to the process, history and culture behind the making of those ingredients (I traveled to Japan last year to visit producers of each of these ingredients!), sprinkled with essays that highlight important stories about Japanese cuisine.
My vision is for home cooks to see Japanese home cooking as approachable and as accessible as they do Italian food — something easy to whip up, family friendly, economical, nourishing and comforting. When you start with great produce, in the peak of its season, you really don’t need to do much to it to create a great meal — this is the philosophy behind both Italian and Japanese cuisines and it is also the way that I love to approach cooking.
UK/EU: 30 Oct 2025 | GBP £30 | Amazon, Bookshop.org UK
AUS/NZ: 04 Nov 2025 | AUD $55| Amazon, Booktopia, Readings, YourBookstore
US/CAN: 28 Oct 2025 | USD $40, CAN $55 | Amazon, Bookshop.org US, Rizzoli
(Please consider also ordering it from your nearest local independent bookshop!)
