Book excerpt: With her first U.S. cookbook, internationally celebrated chef and TV personality Rika Yukimasa offers simplified, often healthier versions of popular Japanese dishes and also introduces less-well-known ones. Everyone loves Japanese cuisine--sushi is one of the most popular international foods, and ramen shops are super trendy. What most of us don't know is how easy it is to make these dishes at home. Rika Yukimasa shares the secrets and shortcuts she has devised for making authentic Japanese food without the fuss. For example, she uses instant dashi stock so cooks are freed from making dashi from scratch. Her recipes--from crabmeat salad with spinach and mushrooms and crunchy edamame to chicken curry and stir-fried udon noodles--call for familiar ingredients, and the only kitchen tool her cooking requires is a good sharp knife. This television chef also leads readers through the fundamentals of Japanese cooking, such as how techniques and ingredients are related. This beautifully designed cookbook includes inspiring photographs of the featured Japanese dishes on gorgeous Japanese tableware.