The 3 Best Asian Cookbooks I Can’t Live Without

With the 3 best Asian Cookbooks, you can start cooking your favorite dishes today. Explore the cuisines of Japan, China, Korea, and more. 

In the food world, Asian cuisine has built a reputation like no other. Asia has contributed its fair share to the culinary world by being renowned for both rich and refined flavors, diverse techniques, and unique dishes.

Unfortunately, for many Westerners, the cuisines of Asian countries are still enigmas. But that can change with the help of these cookbooks, complete with comprehensive recipes and beautiful illustrations and photography. Keep reading to find our list of the 3 best Asian cookbooks

While I know that “Asian” encompasses a large variety of cultures, we have not included a cookbook based on every cuisine. I simply chose the cookbooks I enjoy reading the most and learn a lot from.

With no further ado, let’s get to the 3 Best Asian Cookbooks I Can’t Live Without.

The 3 Best Asian Cookbooks

1. Washoku: Recipes From The Japanese Home Kitchen

Next on our list of the 3 best Asian Cookbooks Japanese is Washoku by Elizabeth Andoh. This masterpiece delves into the mysteries of Japanese cuisine and explains them in detail.

Elizabeth Andoh herself is an expert on Washoku (Classical Japanese Cuisine). In addition to teaching the ways of traditional Japanese cuisine, she enlightens her audience on Japanese history, culture, and folklore. 

Through her wonderful writing, she explains everything from ingredients to techniques, to recipes. The recipes range from comforting beginner to more sophisticated and advanced recipes. 

Whereas dishes such as sushi, onigiri, and ramen have been made familiar by Japanese pop culture, several dishes are still unknown to many. Fortunately, Andoh teaches both popular and obscure dishes through concise recipes and beautiful photography, one of this book’s most impressive features.

Key Features:

• Clear Recipes
• Meticulous Detail
• Top of the Line Photography 
• Cultural Knowledge.

2. Cook Korean: A Comic Book With Recipes

Cook Korean by Robin Ha has earned its spot on this list of the 3 best Asian cookbooks. Robin Ha herself is a Korean-American who grew up in the New York area and learned to cook with her mother. 

Her primary occupation, however, is as a cartoonist, which explains the delightful art throughout the book. Her ability to weave together everyday Korean home cooking and the story of her life in engaging cartoon form is uncanny.

Ha’s book is different from the rest of this list in every special way. While some cookbooks boast vivid photography, Cook Korean is a hybrid between a cookbook and a graphic novel. 

Cook Korean is the perfect, unique introduction to Korean cuisine through an artistic and engaging style.

Each recipe is beginner-friendly and features original art by Robin Ha herself, giving the book a light and friendly feel, while still providing delicious recipes. 

These recipes are the perfect entrance to Korean Cuisine, including the likes of galbi (grilled short ribs) kimchi, and bulgogi.

Key Features: 

• The perfect introduction to Korean home cooking
• Unique illustrations
• Easy-to-follow recipes
• Great entrance-level book

3. The Anime Chef Cookbook

The Anime Chef Cookbook is the bridge between your favorite shows and the real world. Written by Nadine Estero, it provides recipes for 75 dishes featured in anime from Haikyu to Demon Slayer.

Nadine Estero is a food-loving and anime-obsessed author, popular on Instagram. She has hundreds of thousands of followers and post often posts photos of her latest anime food creations

For those who relish a good time binge-watching anime or reading manga, this book is made for you. But whether you watch anime or not, the recipes and art in this book are superb.

Many (but not all) of the recipes are rooted in Japanese cuisine. Other’s, are based on the setting of the anime they were taken from, or simply what we know about the dish from the show.

Some popular recipes you may recognize include After-Practice Nikuman (Haikyu), Mocha Poke Puffs (Pokemon), and Souffle Omelette (Food Wars!: Shokugei no Sama)

• Easy-to-follow recipes
• Superb Art
• Modern fusion + traditional recipes

That concludes our list of the 3 Best Asian Cookbooks. We hope you found this article helpful, and explore more of our posts at QB Cooks.