Rice, Miso Soup, Pickles: A Simple Japanese Menu for Life

’Rice, miso soup, pickles is not just a recommended Japanese menu. It’s a system, a philosophy, and an aesthetic.’
Yoshiharu Doi, Japan’s best-known chef

Rice, Miso Soup, Pickles: the Japanese secret to a long and happy life is for lovers of all things Japanese and reveals much about the country and its people.

Not a cookbook, but a unique insight into Japanese cuisine and culture by one of its most revered chefs, Rice, Miso Soup, Pickles has sold almost half a million copies in Japan and is now for the first time translated into English.

Traditional Japanese food is a way of eating that embodies seasonality and simplicity; encourages health and longevity; and delights in the meditative peace to be found in preparing the same meal time and again . . . a simple bowl of rice, miso soup containing seasonal vegetables, and salty pickles. Yoshi Doi, Japan’s best-known chef, urges readers to adopt this traditional Japanese diet to make life and cooking easier - creating a routine, a modest way of eating that is in sympathy with the body, that nurtures and soothes the mind and which makes home a place of reassurance and comfort.

Yoshiharu Doi was born in Osaka in 1957. After graduating from the Faculty of Education Ashiya University, at the age of 20 he travelled to Switzerland to train as a chef. On returning to Japan, he worked in Osaka. His work promoting home cooking has included appearing for 34 years on the TV Asahi programme Okazu no kukkingu. He has also worked to promote Japanese cuisine abroad. In 2022, he was selected for a Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the cultural field.