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The best Japanese and Korean cookbooks

Ramen, curry, the Japanese basics and the Korean home cooking that sends people to Seoul.

7 books · October 2026
Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking coverMaangchi's Real Korean CookingMaangchiHomemade Ramen coverHomemade RamenSho SpaethMomofuku coverMomofukuDavid Chang and Peter Meehan

Read one before you go

Where to eat in TokyoWhere to eat in KyotoWhere to eat in OsakaWhere to eat in Seoul

The classics

4

  1. Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking

    Maangchi · 2015

    Korean home cooking from the YouTube teacher who made kimchi a household word.

    Cook from it: Napa cabbage kimchi, Bibimbap (our write-up, saves to your recipes)

    Cook in its spirit: Quick Cucumber Kimchi (Oi Muchim-Style Salad), Sizzling Kimchi Jjigae with Pork Belly (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)

    No. 44 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

    Buy on Bookshop

  2. Momofuku

    David Chang and Peter Meehan · 2009

    The pork buns, the ramen and the story of a restaurant that changed how New York ate.

    Cook in its spirit: Quick-Pickled Smashed Cucumbers with Sesame and Chile, Pork Belly Steamed Buns with Hoisin, Scallion, and Quick Pickles (Chef's own recipes, not the book's)

    No. 54 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

    Buy on Bookshop

  3. Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

    Shizuo Tsuji · 1980

    Still the clearest English book on Japanese technique, with a foreword by M.F.K. Fisher.

    No. 70 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

    Buy on Bookshop

  4. Washoku

    Elizabeth Andoh · 2005

    The Japanese home kitchen, its pantry and its seasons.

    No. 71 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks

    Buy on Bookshop

New this year

3

  1. Homemade Ramen

    Sho Spaeth · 2025

    Ramen from the ground up, broth to noodle, by a Serious Eats editor.

    No. 20 on The New Cookbooks

    Buy on Bookshop

  2. Japanese Curry

    Tim Anderson · 2026

    Japanese curry and everything that goes with it.

    No. 44 on The New Cookbooks

    Buy on Bookshop

  3. Umma

    Sarah Ahn · 2025

    A Korean mother's home cooking, written down with her daughter.

    No. 50 on The New Cookbooks

    Buy on Bookshop

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