Japanese Mayonnaise was created in 1925 and became a craze and now almost a cult. This book delves into its history and serves up 55 remarkable recipes

When you think about Japanese cuisine you don’t tend to think of mayonnaise. We all now know our sushi from our sashimi, our tempura from our tonkatsu, but an egg and oil emulsion?

This, the first official Kewpie cookbook reveals the mayo’s unique formula, the iconic bottle design and how it now has its own museum and even a holiday.

The Kewpie Corporation was, we’re told, founded in 1919 by Toichiro Nakashima who wanted to ‘contribute to the health of the Japanese people’, An odd ambition for a man making mayonnnaise, one might think.

Toichiro discovered mayonnaise when working in the USA in the early 1900s and loved it. Back in Japan he set about making his own version, using only the egg yolks and not the whites, and to this day some secret flavourings. It worked, today David Chang of the Momofuku empire calls it ‘the best mayonnaise in the world’.

You can’t miss it on the shelves ; the squeezy pin-shaped bottle, the signature red cap and the Kewpie character.

The book tells the story of the mayo, its packaging and its world wide fame and even how to get every last bit out of the bottle.|

And there are the recipes. Kewpie as the secret ingredient in an apple galette; Kewpie and baby back ribs with hot honey, Kewpie for perfect spaghetti carbonara, for fritto misto, and for lemon cupcakes.

Discover a Japanese Potato Salad with Kewpie, Creamy Ramen with Kewpie, the ultimate Mac n Cheese, with Kewpie and Japansse Fluffi Pancakes made with, you guessed it, Kewpie.

It’s a remarkably good read as well as an inspiring cook book. Mayo the force be with you.

Available from Workman Publishing as a book and ebook. Also available from Amazon and Waterstones

Kewpie can be found in UK supermarkets but not always in the iconic bottle or to the same Japanese recipe, Search online for the real deal.