Peko Peko: A Cookbook to Support Japan’s Recovery

The Fed-Ex fellow dropped off a highly anticipated package last week – my Peko Peko cookbook, hot off the presses.

Wait, Peko-what?

Peko Peko: Family Friendly Japanese Recipes is a collection of nearly 60 Japanese and Japanese-inspired recipes published by Blurb, 100% of the profits of which will be donated to charity relief in Japan. I was fortunate to be one of the food bloggers who contributed a recipe to the cookbook.

I hesitated a minute before opening the box. What if I didn’t like it? What if it was just okay? I continued, and a few seconds later, as the wrappings slid to the floor, I held in my hands the work of three talented curators and fifty bloggers.

It usually takes me about five second to assess if I’m going to like a cookbook or not. I can’t put my finger on exactly how all the right elements have to fall into line, but usually after a quick flip from cover to cover I’m either sold or – meh.

It was love at first sight for Peko Peko and me.

A cookbook that can easily rival any other out there, Peko Peko offers 120 full-color pages packed with gorgeous photography and 59 Japanese-inspired recipes contributed by 56 of today’s best and brightest food writers, bloggers and photographers.

Peko Peko also includes an indispensable guide to over 50 Japanese ingredients, including suitable substitutions for the North American home cook.  If you’ve never cooked Japanese food, don’t worry, the detailed pantry section in the book that will give you the information you need to use those new ingredients with confidence.

My recipe in Peko Peko is for Roasted Shiitake Parmesan Pops, an addictive little appetizer with just five ingredients – all of them found in major grocery stores.

Photo by No Recipes

Perhaps my favorite part of the cookbook is an essay on bringing Japanese food and other global cuisines to the family table.

“Serving global cuisines at the family table is more than just fun; it’s also an opportunity to expand your children’s palates and their understanding of the larger world.” ~ Peko Peko

Sounds like another opportunity to build our family food culture to me. I can’t wait to get cooking.

Peko Peko is available the self-publishing service, Blurb, where all of the proceeds will go to the GlobalGiving Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Nobody involved in making the book will profit from Peko Peko, including Blurb. As a Peko Peko sponsor, the good folks at Blurb have agreed to waive their usual cut of book sales.

More information

 

Who curated the project from A-Z? That would be Stacie, Rachel and Marc.

Also, if you’d like to support this project beyond your purchase, learn more about how to make a donation.

Find Peko Peko on Facebook.

Follow Peko Peko on Twitter.

You won’t be seeing any recipes published on blogs from this cookbook, nor many giveaways for Peko Peko, as we want to encourage people to buy the book and support the charity. So head on over and order a copy or five!

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21 Comments

  1. Wow your Roasted Shiitake Parmesan Pops are really mouthwatering! Hope you can share the recipe! Anyway I also love to own a Peko Peko cookbook! 🙂

  2. I love that this book makes Japanese cooking accessible to those of us that might be intimidated by it. Hope it raises tons of $$$$. It is truly amazing!

  3. What a great idea. Sounds like a great cookbook, especially with the substitutions section. Is it available as an e-book (we live overseas)?

  4. Aimee – wow! What a great project and cookbook. Just purchased mine. We’ve been studying Japanese together as a family for 2 years, hoping to travel there one day. Japanese food is certainly one of our incentives. This summer, with my kids taking on more cooking projects, I can’t wait to put this to use!

  5. I’m so glad to have been a contributor along with you! It’s such a wonderful project and I agree, just a beautiful cookbook. 🙂

  6. Aimee, I cannot tell you how happy this post makes me. I’m *honored* to have your seal of approval. It means a lot. Everyone worked so hard on this–all without pay, putting egos and miscommunications aside, with joy and generosity–and I’m proud that it shows. Thank you for being a part of it. (And, phew! lol! 🙂 xox

  7. I love Thai food, and Japanese..I love the flavors and the freshness,Looking forward to this cookbook and it’s all for a great cause. A similar one was published to support the people of Haiti and it’s a great collection of recipes from very generous and talented food bloggers.

  8. Lovely, lovely! We love cooking from Asian cuisines, but I have a big “Asian” cookbook, that I NEVER use because it’s just too intimidating. Peko Peko sounds like just what we need to add to our shelf (and counter top)!

  9. What a fantastic cause and looks and sounds like an amazing cookbook. I don’t know if I’ve ever cooked anything Japanese other than making sushi. The North American substitutions would also be most welcomed as I have a hard time navigating my Asian market 🙂

  10. I think that this is a really good idea. Besides the fact that it is indeed interesting especially to those who are fond of cooking, the idea of donating the fund to the japan victims means more to me. I hope that a lot of people could support this project because this will indeed be a good help in reaching out to japan earthquake victims.