How often have we bought an exotic foreign ingredient for a special recipe only to struggle to think what to do with it beyond cooking that dish and for it to be sitting in our fridges until it is past its use by date? I think we can all relate to this. Japanese ingredients all too commonly baffle home cooks – we often don't know how to use them except in the recipe at hand.

For example, miso paste is the key ingredient in the ubiquitous miso soup, but there is so much more to it than that. Miso can be used in many different ways to create anything from marinated grilled cod to barbecued caramelized pork ribs, and even miso ice cream.

Over recent decades, home cooks the world over have come to love many delicious and previously unfamiliar foods. Take the humble garlic - unused and unloved in most English speaking countries until Elizabeth David and Julia Child opened the eyes and taste buds of their readers in the 1950s. And outside of Italy, whoever cooked with radicchio, pancetta or even balsamic vinegar 30 years ago? It was only through the work of visionary chefs that these ingredients are in our kitchens today.

With the same passion, enthusiasm and love of flavour in mind, Luiz Hara firmly believes that great ingredients should not be limited by geographic boundaries. The Japanese Larder was written as a celebration of key Japanese ingredients and the richness and depth of flavour they can bring to readers anywhere in the world. In each chapter of this stunning cookbook, a set of core Japanese ingredients is explained and their uses illustrated in both classical Japanese and newly created recipes for kitchens outside Japan.

Beyond some essential Japanese ingredients, recipes in The Japanese Larder are based on produce that is readily available in any major supermarket, encouraging cooks to try something new yet accessible. Readers can use these recipes to create an entire meal, or use one of these dishes alongside some of their own favourites.

Recipe examples include: Roast Soy and Butter Chicken, Grilled Lamb Cutlets in Spicy Green Miso, Seared Tuna with Sesame-Ponzu Dressing, and Matcha and Clotted Cream Rice Pudding.

Luiz Hara is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, food and travel writer, who lives in London. He specializes in Japanese and Nikkei cuisines as a writer, public speaker, supper club host and cookery teacher.

Luiz's work has been featured in a number of British media including The Independent, The Evening Standard and The Guardian, as well as having written for Time Out London, BBC Good Food Channel and The Telegraph. Luiz is the author and founder of The London Foodie blog, founded in 2009 and regularly listed as one of the top 10 UK food blogs.

Luiz is the UK authority on Nikkei cuisine, a hybrid of Japanese cooking created by Japanese migrants to South America. His first cookbook, 'Nikkei Cuisine: Japanese Food the South American Way', was published in 2015 in all English-speaking countries by Jacqui Small, and was subsequently translated into five languages and published in eight foreign editions to date.

Connect with Luiz and discover more of his work at http://www.luizhara.com  or via his social media channels on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as @TheLondonFoodie.

ENDS

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Liz Somers, Publicity Manager E. liz.somers@quarto.com T. 020 7284 9355