Robata

What is ‘robata’? ‘Robata’ as a concept means ‘fireside cooking’ and takes its name from a type of charcoal grill commonly used in Japan to cook skewered morsels of fish, shellfish, meat and seasonal vegetables. However, the robata differs significantly to the 'meatcentric' feast we call BBQ where the core principal seems to be ‘more is better’ – the Japanese equivalent is about delicacy, provenance and combining a selection of meat, fish and vegetable to create a satisfyingly nutritious, well-balanced meal. Discover mouth-watering recipes for classic yakitori (chicken) and traditional Japanese meat, fish and vegetable robata. Also included are recipes for the salads, side dishes and pickles that are cooked to accompany robata in the Japanese home or restaurant.

Extremely popular all over Japan, robata restaurants tend to be small places, more commonly known as Izakaya and serve the famous ‘yakitori’ – grilled chicken pieces.

This beautifully-designed cookbook will be one of the first to cover robata cooking. It contains circa 80 recipes ranging from nibbles to meat, fish and vegetarian main courses to pickles and desserts and is written by robata expert Silla Bjerrum, author of Simply Japanese (Quadrille). In this accessible book, Silla offers recipes to make at home, as well as an educational element covering sourcing, preparation, tools and instructions for grilling robata on a traditional BBQ. There is also a DIY guide to building your own authentic Japanese robata.