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Miso Cod Miso cod has becoming relatively common here in the UK. There's a good reason why people like it so much - the salty umami flavours in the miso are a perefct complement to the firm but quite bland flesh of good cod fillets. Most Japanese restaurants have miso cod on their menu and you can even buy it from some supermarkets. On the other hand, it is a very easy dish to produce at home for a fraction of the cost. What's even better is that the taste will be every bit as good (and probably much better) than what you can buy. I use Instant Pot Air Fryer to cook Miso Cod. I didn't have one before but I'm now discovering how useful an air fryer is to have in the kitchen. So, I thought I would try out some of my favourite recipes in the fryer and this simple Miso Cod dish was the first. The air fryer cooks really quickly and comes to the required temperature in now time at all. Miso cod cooked in an air fryer is every bit as good as using the traditional oven method. Tips: The key to well cooked cod (or any fish) is to get the skin quite dry. This stops the fish becoming soggy as it cooks and also means that the flesh browns more easily. Because the marinade contains salt in the miso and sugar in the mirin, it will burn if its left on the fish when you cook. So, make sure you remove most of the marinade just before you cook. You'll also need the marinade to make a delicious smooth miso source to pour over the cod once it is cooked. If you think you like the sound of this Miso Cod recipe, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Miso Cod or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Air fryer - https://instantpot.co.uk/shop-all-products/instant-pot/instant-pot-vortex-dual-11l-pfas-free-air-fryer/ Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. Ingredients: 2 servings 2 fresh boneless cod fillets with the skin on (approx. 280g / 10oz) 1/2 tsp salt 2 squares of kitchen paper For the miso marinade: 3 tbsp white miso 1.5 tbsp mirin 1.5 tbsp Japanese sake 1 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp water Marinade time 4-8 hours Air fryer temperature - 200 C /400 F Cooking time — 10 -12 mins depending on the thickness of the cod Optional: a few of blanched sugar snaps how to: Cut the cod fillets in half. Sprinkle over the salt. Place the fillets on 1 square of kitchen paper. Leave for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the white miso, mirin, sake and sugar in a bowl. Mix well until the marinade becomes smooth. Wipe the cod with the second square of kitchen paper to dry the flesh. Next, spread 1/3 of the miso marinade in the bottom of a small tray or dish. Place the pieces of cod in the tray, then add the rest of the miso marinade over the top. Marinade for 4 to 8 hours in your fridge. Heat your air fryer to 200C /400F. Remove any miso marinade off the cod to prevent the flesh of the fish burning when you cook. (Miso tends to burn easily if cooked). Place the cod fillets into the air fryer tray. Cook for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, to reduce the marinade into a sauce, add the leftover marinade and 3 tbsp of water to a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes or until you have a smooth, loose sauce. Place the cod on serving plates and decorate with sugar snaps or other optional garnish. Drizzle the miso sauce over the cod. Serve with bowls of freshly steamed white rice. Miso Cod

Chickpea and Cauliflower Salad with Cumin and Honey Dressing It's July, so I think we can agree (in the northern hemisphere at least) that salad days are here again. So here is an unusual but no less tasty salad that will serve you well as a satisfying and nutricious, meat free main course. The two main ingredients in the salad are, as the title suggests, chickpeas and cauliflower. Chickpeas, as you probably know, are the main ingredient of the Middle Eastern dip, hummus. But they also find their way into stews, curries and, of course, salads. Chickpeas are pretty good for you - they're low fat, relarively high in fibre, protein and folate. The only think chickpeas don't have going for them is taste - like most legumes they are pretty much tasteless so they need a good accompanying flavoring. But more of that later. As for cauli, living in the UK I always get the sense that it is an underrated vegetable. Think cauliflower and most people here seem to think of a soggy, pale, watery mess that would rather push around their plate than eat. On the other hand, cooked right (which means steamed or simmered until just soft but no more) , cauliflower makes a great salad vegetable (and you can even eat it raw as a rice substitute.) Nutrition wise, cauliflower contains some key antioxidants that it is hard to find anywhere else such as choline and sulforaphane - so it really is worth including it in your diet on a regular basis. Moving on to the dressing - the flavors derive from cumin, lemon juice, garlic and honey plus a little salt, so as you can imagine, you're getting a little sourness, a little sweetness and the aromatic, smoky flavour of the cumin. Not only is the dressing full of flavour but you will also be getting more antioxidants from the cumin as well as a boost of vitamin C from the lemon juice. So, as I think you will agree, this all makes for a very healthy, tasty dish for those days when you want a bowl of fresh, healthy (mostly raw) food. Interested? You can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Chickpea and Cauliflower Salad with Cumin and Honey Dressing or just scroll to the bottom of the page. The recipe is just below. Here's to healthy eating! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings as a main course) 350g / 12oz cauliflower 1/2 tsp salt 3 stalks of celery 1 bell pepper (I use red for the colour but any bell pepper is fine) 1 can (400g / 14oz) of chickpeas for the dressing : 1 clove of garlic 2 lemons 1/2 tbsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp of salt 1/4 tsp of pepper 1/2 tbsp honey 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil some parsley or coriander for a garnish how to: remove the leaves and stalk from a cauliflower. then break off the florest. cut any large florests into bite sized pieces bring about 3cm / 1.5 inches of water to the boil in a saucepan. add 1/2 tsp of salt and cook the florets for 2 mins, then drain slice the celery stalks and put in a large mix bowl cut the top off the pepper and remove the seeds and any white flesh. slice and then chop into bite sized pieces. add to the mixing bowl drain a can of chickpeas and add to the bowl add the drained cauliflower florets to the bowl to make the dressing; crush a clove of garlic and add to a jug. add in the juice from squeezed 2 lemons, the ground cumin, salt, pepper, honey and extra virgin olive oil. stir well until combined pour the dressing over the salad in the large bowl. mix well so that all the veg and the chickpeas get a good coating of dressing sprinkle with some chopped parsely and your salad is ready to serve Chickpea and Cauliflower Salad with Cumin and Honey Dressing

Teriyaki Salmon Skewers Teriyaki sauce is, IMO, one of Japan's great contributions to world cooking. It's so versatile - you can use it on any meat, vegetables, or as I use it here, on salmon. (Summer is beach barbecue time in Japan and this is a firm favourite, especially if you want something a little lighter over your charcoal than steak.) Now you might be thinking, "teriyaki sauce? I've seen that on the shelf at my local supermarket..." and you would be right. You can buy ready made teriyaki sauce quite easily these days. But do you really want to use something stuffed full of hydrolisers, stabilisers and emulsifiers when you can make a fresh, additive free sauce really easily yourself? A really delicious teriyaki sauce is a cinch to prepare at home - it's also cheaper - and, if you want to make a large batch, you can keep it in the fridge for a week or two as well. So, here's a great way to use teriyaki sauce - teriyaki salmon kebabs. Of course, you don't have to go to the beach to make this recipe - I actually made this under my grill in the kitchen! I used red bell peppers, onions and courgette along with the salmon but you could just as easily try out some other veggies. If you want to try this recipe out you can find the written recipe just below and the Youtube tutorial by clicking Teriyaki Salmon skewers or scroll to the bottom of the page. I've also popped the Teriyaki sauce tutorial in at the bottom of the page too. Happy grilling! Kurumi XXXX. If you want to try a different recipe using teriyaki sauce, why not try out my Pork stuffed Peppers recipe? ingredients: (2 servings = 4 skewers) for the teriyaki sauce: 1.5 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp sake or cooking sake 3 tbsp soy sauce 3 tbsp mirin 2 salmon fillets 1/2 medium sized onion, peeled 1/2 medium sized red or any colour bell pepper 1/2 courgette 4 barbecue skewers (20 cm / 8 inch) 1 tbsp vegetable oil a baking try and a sheet of aluminium foil oven at 220 C / 430 F for 15 minutes some green salad of your choice how to: First to make the teriyaki sauce, pour the sugar, sake, soy sauce and mirin into a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then adjust the heat so that the sauce simmers for 3 minutes while stirring. Once the sauce has begun to thicken a little, remove from the heat and set aside. Cut each salmon fillet into 6 equal chunks. Place the chunks in a small bowl and marinade them with 1 tbsp of the teriyaki sauce. Leave for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the courgette and onion into 4 pieces each. Cut the bell pepper into 4-6 pieces depending on the size Heat your oven to 220C / 430 F. Now, it’s time to prepare your skewers. Push a piece of salmon, a piece of courgette, then another salmon onto your first skewer. Follow up with a segment of onion, another piece of salmon and a piece of bell pepper. Repeat with the other skewers. Cover your baking try with the aluminium foil and brush some vegetable oil over the surface. Bake the skewers in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve with some salad leaves and last, drizzle the teriyaki sauce over the salmon skewers. Alternatively, for a more substantial meal, you can serve with rice if you prefer. Teriyaki Salmon Skewers

Tomato Bean and Shiso salad The shiso (which you may know as green perilla) in my garden is still going strong but with autumn just around the corner, it might not last much longer. So, I've been harvesting as much as I can and giving some plants I grew to friends and family. Here's a very simple salad I put together with some shiso leaves - I can't claim this is traditionally Japanese (although the Japanese do eats lots of salad) but it is delicious, very healthy and very colourful! The edamame and kidney beans in this salad make it a filling all-in-one lunch or supper, or you can cut the portions a little for a side dish. It's very simple, very quick and very satisfying. You can find the Youtube video tutorial by clicking Tomato Bean and Shiso salad or by scrolling to the bottom of the page.. You can find the written recipe just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. Ingredients: Makes 2 large servings 200g baby tomatoes 200g tinned red kidney beans 100g frozen soy beans 1/2 yellow bell pepper 6 shiso leaves for the soy and wasabi dressing: 1 tsp wasabi paste 2 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp sushi vinegar 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil how to: halve the tomatoes rinse the kidney beans deseed and cut the pepper into small bite size chunks bring the water to the boil and cook the soy beans for about 4 minutes in a small saucepan chop the shiso leaves combine all the vegetables together in a bowl for the dressing: combine the wasabi, soy sauce, sushi vinegar and oil in a jar and shake well until an emulsion is formed - that's it! Tomato Bean and Shiso salad

Grapefruit Smoked Salmon Salad This Grapefruit Smoked Salmon Salad recipe was provided by my collaborator Yumiko Nikaido, who lives in Tokyo. It's unusual for a Japanese salad inasmuch as it uses grapefruit which isn't a common constituent in Japanese cooking but times change and these days, Japanese cooks are experimenting more and more with fruit in their cooking. I think you will find that the combination of grapefruit with smoked salmon is really delicious - the grapefruit makes a great compliment to the rich flavour and oily texture of the fish. I hope you try it out and would be delighted if you'd tell me wha you think! If you think you like the sound of this drink, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Grapefruit Smoked Salmon Salad or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: 2 servings 70g / 2.5 oz baby mixed leaves 8 baby tomatoes 1/4 grapefruit 60g / 2 oz smoked salmon a handful of croutons for the dressing 2 tbsp grapefruit juice 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tsp French mustard 2 tsp honey Salt and pepper how to: Rinse the baby leaves and tomatoes. Halve the tomatoes. Cut the smoked salmon into bite sized pieces. Cut the grapefruit in half. Cut on half into quarters. Peel the quarters and break the flesh into segments. Squeeze the other half of the grapefruit for the juice. Next, to make your dressing, add 2 tbsp of the grapefruit juice, the olive oil, mustard, honey, salt and pepper to a jar and mix well. Assemble the salad and drizzle over the dressing. Serve with any bread you prefer. Grapefruit Smoked Salmon Salad

Strawberry Matcha Latte Here's a really delicious and healthy way to cool a fevered brow in the summer - my homemade Strawberry Matcha Latte. The ingredients are very simple - a few strawberries, a little matcha tea powder, some dairy milk (of a non-dairy alternative if you prefer) and some ice cubes. A little mixing, a little blending and you'll have a yummy, healthy cooling drink in about 5 minutes. My one tip to make your Strawberry Match Latte the very best it can be is to use a good quality matcha powder for the best possible flavour. My go to brand is Ippodo (一保堂）or Tujiri （辻利）Macha powder. If you think you like the sound of this drink, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Strawberry Matcha Latte or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: makes 2 small glasses 60g / 2 oz strawberries 1 tbsp macha powder 4 tsp sugar 3 tbsp hot water 200ml / 7 fl oz milk Some ice cubes how to: Blend the strawberries well, then divide into the 2 small glasses. Set aside. Mix the matcha powder, sugar and hot water in a bowl. Whisk well. Add the ice cubes to the glasses. Gently pour half the milk into each glass. Add the matcha mixture. Serve immediately. Strawberry Matcha Latte

Salmon sashimi Poke bowl Sashimi grade salmon is a true treat for the tastebuds. Soft and velvety on the tongue with just a trace of oil and flesh that seems to melt in the mouth. Marinated with a tbsp of mirin and soy sauce and touched with a little wasabi, it transforms into something truly simple and delicious. Salmon is now the second most popular choice among Japanese consumers of sushi - in fact, the Japanese consume more salmon than any other country, almost all of it in the form of sashimi and sushi. That hasn't always been the case. It took some enterprising Norwegian salmon farmers in the 1970s and 80s to persuade a sceptical Japanese public that salmon sashimi was every bit as good as tuna and that a farmed fish could taste every bit as good as a wild one. I don't think there can be many better ways to eat salmon sashimi than presented as a chirashi or poke bowl. (A chirashi and a poke bowl are really much the same things just separated by a few thousand miles of the Pacific, (chirashi having been created in Japan and poke bowls in Hawaii.) If you buy your salmon in a large chunk and forget to ask your fishmonger to fillet it, you'll need to cut it into 20 - 22 small fillets or fingers - ideally, if you have a sashimi knife, you can use it to do this job. If not, then use your sharpest kitchen knife to do this. Once, that is done, this becomes essentially a simple dish - a bed of sushi rice, topped with shredded nori and cucumber matchsticks covered with the main attraction, fillets of sashimi grade salmon. Just a little soy sauce and some wasabi and your are ready to make your diners (and hopefully yourself) very happy eaters. If you want to give this dish a whirl, you can find the written recipe below. For the Youtube tutorial, just press Salmon sashimi Poke bowl or scroll to the bottom of the page. (PS: If you watched the video and you're wondering about the sashimi bocho knife I used, you can find details about it in my Goods section here. It's a very good quality knife that I have used for some years and the price is quite reasonable.) Happy eating! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (make 2 portions) 180g / 6oz sushi grade salmon 1 tbsp mirin 1 tbsp soy sauce 500g cooked Japanese rice 2 tbsp sushi vinegar 1/2 nori sheet 100g / 3.5 oz cucumber to garnish: 2 finely shredded shiso /oba leaves a little wasabi a little soy sauce how to: mix the mirin and the soy sauce together if your fishmonger hasn't already done so, use your sharpest knife to cut the salmon sashimi into 20 - 22 small fillets or fingers. when you're done, place the fillets on a plate and spoon over the soys sauce/mirin mix. make sure each piece of salmon gets a coating and then set aside for at least 30 minutes in the fridge to make the sushi rice, mix the cooked rice and the 2 tbsp of sushi vinegar gently in a bowl, then set aside fold the nori twice, then pull into two halves. use a pair of scissors or a knife to cut the nori into fine shreds slice the cucumber thinly using a diagonal cut to produce long oval slices. then place the slices in a pile and cut into fine matchsticks now you are ready to assemble: ready 2 bowls. place a 1/2 share of the rice in each bowl. scatter the shredded nori & cucumber over the rice now arrange the salmon pieces over the cucumber finally garnish with shredded shiso & wasabi and drizzle over a little soy sauce your salmon sashimi poke bowl is ready for the table Salmon sashimi Poke bowl

Corned Beef Katsu sando We all make errors of judgement. When my husband first suggested I make a katsu using corned beef, I thought..well, I thought a number of things, such as, "..duh, men.." & "..what does he know about cooking?" and "corned beef in a katsu..?" Well, I was wrong. I reluctantly tried this out and for sheer speed, convenience and taste, I'm not sure there is a katsu out there that beats this. Now, I admit, the thing is that to eat a corned beef katsu, you have to like corned beef. That's a good first step. Second, to eat a corned beef katsu, you have to be hungry - these are filling...very filling! But if you've ticked both of those boxes, I suggest you try this recipe out. Why does corned beef in a katsu work so well? The panko breadcrumb coating adds a crispy crunch layer that contrasts with the soft corned beef. On top of that, the corned beef softens while the panko is frying, so you get even more texture contrast. The deep frying also releases more flavour - this is down to our taste buds being more sensitive to certain flavours at hotter temperatures - simply put, corned beef tastes better hot than cold! It should take you no more than 15 minutes to create these corned beef katsu, so you'll have them plated and ready to gobble up in no time. Remember that the corned beef is ready to eat out of the tin so you only need to deep fry for as long as it takes the panko breadcrumbs to develop their signature golden colour. After that, the only thing you really need to decide is whether to season with mayo, brown sauce, ketchup or mustard. So that's it. Read any blog primer and it will tell you that your blog posts needs to be at least 600 hundred words long but I believe when something works so well, there isn't really much to say - except...try out my Corned Beef Katsu and see if I'm not right! You can find the written recipe just below and for the Youtube tutorial click Corned Beef Katsu or scroll to the bottom of the page. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 3 or 4 katsu - my advice is to go with 3 katsu per can) 1 can of corned beef (340g / 12 oz) 2 tbsp plain flour 1 large egg 60-70g / 2.25 oz panko breadcrumbs some veg oil for shallow frying 3 or 4 ciabata rolls mayo, brown sauce, ketchup, mustard some salad leaves how to: open the can of corned beef, then carefully slide a knife in to loosen the meat - it needs to come out in one whole block gently shake the corned beef out and stand it on one end. now cut 3 or 4 equal slices from the block (my advice is to go for 3 slices with this recipe as 4 katsu from one can of corned beef do become a little thin) coat the corned beef slices liberally with the plain flour, remembering to coat the edges of the slices as well as the faces now coat the slices in the beaten egg, again making well the whole of each slice is eggy before moving on to the next step coat the corned beef slices all over with the panko breadcrumbs. make sure you get a good even coat put 1.5 cm of oil in a frying pan and heat to 170C / 340F. (You can test with a little bit of breadcrumb - if it bubbles and rises to the top of the oil, you are good to go) shallow fry the katsu until lightly brown, turn over and fry again until you have a nice uniform colour. remove and place on kitchen paper while you fry your other katsu cut your ciabata rolls in half, place your corned beef katsu in the ciabata. plate up and serve with some salad leaves and season with a sauce of your choice. Corned Beef Katsu sando

Sea Bream Ochazuke If you've heard of ochazuke, you may know it is one of Japan's oldest forms of cooking. There is no exact equivalent meaning in English but roughly ochazuke means "put with tea" although "steeped in tea" might have a better resonance with English speakers. Anyway, linguistics apart, ochazuke as a dish probably started life with the use of water rather than tea. Until recent times, rice was a precious commodity and leftovers would have been recycled into other dishes and one way to do this was to rehydrate old rice using water. When the drinking of green tea became widespread in Japan in the sixteenth century, the modern name for the dish - ochazuke - was born out of the new fashion of adding green tea rather than water to rice. (At the time, adding expensive green tea to fresh rice was seen as a way of creating a luxurious food rather than way of making a scarce resource go further.) Instant Ochazuke Fast forward to modern times and although the name ochazuke persists, green tea is used only rarely and an everyday ochazuke is hydrated for the most part with water once again. Today, most Japanese see ochazuke as a fast, convenience food and will make up their dish with hot water and an instant packet (like the one on the left). These normally contain salt, sugar, a little green tea powder, seaweed powder and some mini-rice crackers along with the usual preservatives and flavour enhancers. You could call this a "one minute meal" as that is about the time it takes to prepare. It's fine for a late supper or as part of a lunch when you need to use up some leftover rice but an eating experience, it is not. I am happy to say that on the other end of the scale, people are rediscovering the pleasures of a traditionally made ochazuke and making it into a centrepiece meal again. I wrote a post some time ago about new, up market instant ochazuke packs that you can buy in Japan. Ochazuke (As I said at the time, these would make a great gift to bring back home from a trip to Japan.) The one you can see in the photo on the right is from a traditional Japanese tea shop - Yamane-en - that started the trend for packaging luxury instant ochazuke. The one in the photo even has a fillet of fugu, (blowfish.) You might have heard of this fish - its poison is potentially fatal to humans, so it has to be prepared by chefs licensed to correctly fillet the fish without exposing their diners to a fatal dose of poisoning! (Don't worry though, I actually ate the pack I used for the photo and lived to tell the tale! It was also a lot tastier than the cheap instant pack above.) Which brings me to how to take the next step in ochazuke and prepare a luxuruious ochazuke yourself... My good friend Yumiko Nikaido who lives in Japan sent me this recipe - sea bream ochazuke - and encouraged me to try it out. The dish involves buying some fresh sashimi grade sea bream - one of the most prized fish in Japan. This is presented on a bed of shredded nori and garnished with toasted white sesame and shiso leaves. I put in a little ball of wasabi for extra flavour but you may choose not to. Finally, the dish is steeped in a freshly made broth of dashi and soy sauce to make it a truly luxurious ochazuke experience. The only problem with this dish is that once you've tried it, you may struggle to find a better way of experiencing ochazuke..... If you'd like to try this out, you can find the written recipe just below. The Youtube video tutorial is Sea Bream Ochazuke or scroll to the bottom of the page. Happy cooking. Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 350g / 12 oz cooked rice (wet weight) 150g / 5.3 oz fresh sashimi grade sea bream 2 tbsp white toasted sesame seeds, (roughly ground if you prefer) 2 tbsp mirin/honteri 2 tbsp _ 1 tsp soy sauce 400ml / 14 fl oz water 1 tsp Japanese dashi stock granules 1/2 tsp salt 1 nori sheet, cut into matchsticks 3 shredded shiso / oba leaves a little wasabi (optional) how to: slice the sea bream diagonally in 3-4mm slices (or let the fishmonger do this for you) place the sea bream in a bowl and add the sesame seeds, 2 tbsp of soy sauce and the mirin. marinade for 5 - 10 mins put 1/2 the rice in each serving bowl sprinkle nori shreds over the rice remove the sea bream slices from the marinade and arrange them over the rice garnish with the shredded oba and a small ball of wasabi pour the 400ml of water into a pan. add the dashi stock granules, the salt and 1 tsp soy sauce and stir until the stock begins to simmer. remove from the heat as it comes to the boil pour the dashi stock over the bream. your sea bream ochazuke is ready to enjoy Sea Bream Ochazuke

Okonomiyaki with Cheddar Cheese If you read my blog, you'll know that my family are okonomiyaki fans. We're also cheese fans, so I thought, why not combine okonomiyaki and cheese? Now I'll admit that cheese isn't the first thing you might think of when you think of Japanese food but I find it makes a great ingredient in a lot of Japanese dishes and that's certainly the case when you add it to an okonomiyaki. Adding 80 - 100g of good cheddar cheese enriches the flavour and provides protein, calcium and Vitamin A. As well as the cheese, I use a sweet pointed cabbage, onion a red pepper but you could use other vegetables (after all okonomiyaki does literally mean "fried the way you like it"!) About 4 minutes frying time on each side will achieve a nice, golden brown finish to your okonomiyaki so you need to make sure that the vegetables will cook within that time. That means not leaving any vegetable too thick that it won't cook quickly. It also means, in the case of the pointed cabbage, that I slice out and discard the tougher stem parts of the leaves. That consideration apart, this is a fairly easy recipe that you can have ready in 15-20 minutes for a simple Okonomiyaki lunch or supper. Once your okonomiyaki are out the pan, you can make a nice drizzly decorative effect with okonomiyaki sauce or Bulldog sauce and/or mayo. (My husband is quite partial to eating his okonomiyaki with mayo and a little English mustard.) I also dressed the tops of these okonomiyaki with katsuobushi bonito flakes and powdered laver seaweed to provide some additional richness and umami tones. Is your appetite whetted? If you'd like to try this recipe out, you can find the written instructions below or click Okonomiyaki with Cheddar Cheese for the Youtube tutorial or find it at the bottom of the page. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 okonomiyaki in a 24 cm / 9 inch frying pan) 150g / 5.3 oz sweet pointed cabbage (or any soft cabbage) 40g / 1.5 oz onion 40g / 1.5 oz bell pepper 130g / 4.5 oz plain / all purpose flour 1 egg 80g / 2.8 oz cheddar cheese 150ml / 5.3 fl oz water 1 tsp Japanese dashi stock or vegetable stock 2 tbsp vegetable oil optional toppings: brown sauce, mayonnaise, some bonito flakes & powdered laver (Japanese "aoko") or chopped nori how to: finely slice the onion, cabbage and pepper (if the cabbage leaf stems are quick thick, then remove them at this stage) put the vegetables, flour, egg, cheese, water & Japanese dashi granules into a bowl and mix well heat 1 tbsp oil in a 24cm / 9.5 in frying pan add 1/2 the okonomiyaki mixture and fry over a medium heat with the lid on for 4-5 minutes turn over & fry for a further 3 - 4 minutes repeat for okonomiyaki #2 your okonomiyaki are ready - top with your choice of brown sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes and powdered laver seaweed. Okonomiyaki with Cheddar Cheese

Gyoza One of the great culinary gifts of China to Japan must be gyoza or as the Chinese say, jiaozi. In the West, gyoza go by the name potstickers, reputedly because a Chinese chef mistakenly left his dumplings to boil dry and sometime later found them nicely fried and crispy where the pan had seared them. It's a charming story but I always wonder if it is true because most people I know actually prefer their dumplings fried rather than boiled - so my suspicion is that the chef was simply responding to the demand of his diners. It has to be said that gyoza look a lot nicer when they are fried a suntanned golden brown. Not only that but the crispy coat adds texture as well to the wrapper. Of course, all this only applies when gyoza are made correctly with the right ingredients and I am sorry to say that I come across quite a few mediocre gyoza when I eat out - awful, soggy things that fall apart to reveal who knows what filling. (Read the restaurant reviews on my Blog to find out who the guilty parties are!) But, it doesn't have to be like that - gyoza are very simple to make yourself. The only unusual ingredient you need are the gyoza wrappers themselves which you can order online or find at a Chinese or Asian store. Apart from the wrappers, you should find all the ingredients in your fridge or your store cupboard. Gyoza are not heavily seasoned - a little salt and pepper, some soy sauce, sesame oil and Chinese cooking wine (or a tablespoon of sherry at a pinch) - they rely on the freshness and flavours of the filling and the tang of their dipping sauce to satisfy. The classic gyoza is made using minced pork with vegetables - onion, spring onion and Chinese cabbage. You can also find chicken and vegetable only gyoza. They are all prepared and cooked in the same way. The preparation is quite straightforward until you get to wrapping the filling in the gyoza wrapper. Then, there's a little bit of technique to acquire but nothing you won't be able to master after a couple of minutes viewing the video tutorial below. My recipe makes around 45 - 50 gyoza, so a filling gyoza feast for 4 - 5 people. Even if I'm only cooking for 2 people, I tend to make a large batch as the raw gyoza freeze very well for another day. Once you've made your legion of little gyoza parcels, then it's on to your frying pan. Depending on the size of your pan and whether you intend to set some gyoza aside and freeze for a later date, you may need to fry 1 or 2 pans full. Japanese gyoza are fried for a few minutes on one side only over a medium / high heat. Once they are a little bit browned, a little water is added and a few minutes later, when the water has evaporated, you'll have some tasty little darlings in your kitchen just begging to be eaten - nicely browned on one side and steamed all over. A few spoonfuls of soy sauce, vinegar and chilli oil and you'll have a gyoza dipping sauce as well! Make these at least once so you can judge what an authentic gyoza should look and taste like. Then, next time you go to a restaurant and order a dish of gyoza, you'll be able to compare. You'll soon be able to figure out whether your chef is serving you something pukka or something that has been bought in bulk and shouldn't be seeing the light of day on your plate! If you'd like to give these a try, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Gyoza or scroll to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy wrapping! Kurumi XXXX. Perfect Gyoza ingredients: (makes 45 - 50 gyoza parcels) 330g minced pork 1 pack frozen gyoza wrappers (approx. 50 per pack) 70g Chinese cabbage leaves 3 spring onions 40g onion 3 cloves garlic 1cm ginger a little pepper 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp Chinese cooking wine or sherry 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tbsp cornflour or plain flour for dusting 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil per pan of gyoza fried a small bowl or small cup of water (about 50-70ml per pan) for the dipping sauce: (per person) 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp vinegar some chilli oil - amount depending on individual preference) how to: finely chop the onion, spring onion and Chinese cabbage leaves. place all the chopped vegetables in a large bowl grate the ginger and garlic. add to the bowl of vegetables add the salt, pepper, soy sauce, cooking wine and sesame oil. mix well for 2 - 3 mins until everything is nicely combined. (traditionally, this was done with fingers. personally, I use a large spon. you could also use a blender but be careful if you do so because you only want to mix the ingredients not create a pulp) dust 1 or 2 large plate with cornflour take your first wrapper. place 1 tsp of the filling into the centre dip your index finger into the water and moisten the edge of the wrapper around the filling fold over the top of the wrapper. now use your fingers to create 5 little pleats on the upper edge of the wrapper. press gently to seal the wrapper together as you create the pleats place the finished gyoza on the dusted plate. repeat until all the filling/wrappers are used now, heat 1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan once the pan is hot, place the gyoza in the pan in a circular patter with 3 or 4 in the middle. fry for 2 - 3 minutes over a medium heat until the wrappers begin to brown (check using chopsticks or a fork) when the gyoza are browned on one side, pour the water into the pan and cover immediately with a lid. cook until the water has evaporated - this should take a further 3 - 4 minutes. you might want to break open one gyoza parcel to double check that the filling is cooked set the cooked gyoza aside and repeat until all the gyoza ae cooked for the dipping sauce: pour 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp vinegar per person into individual dipping bowls. add Chinese chilli oil according to personal preference Gyoza

Kanada-ya My latest "taste and see" review took me to St. Giles, WC2. St Giles is a little area hemmed in by Soho to the West, Bloomsbury to the North and Covent Garden to the South. St Giles itself is a bit of a hodge podge and compared to the illustrious areas that surround it, you could be forgiven for thinking that it lacks any identity. Fortunately, the same cannot be said of Kanada-ya. This ramen shop specialises in the southern Japanese speciality Tonkotsu ramen. There are 3 branches in London, St. Giles, Islington and Piccadilly - St Giles was the original outlet and opene in 2014. I visited the St Giles branch on a Friday at around 1.30pm. There was a queue outside - always a good sign although maybe not surprising as the interior is tiny - cramped, you might say. Three narrow, single side only tables in the middle of the shop with three counters set up around the walls - seating for 18 people max. Kanada-ya We didn't have to wait too long to get inside - about 5 minutes. Inside Kanada-ya was fairly plain. This is not a ramen shop you would visit for the visual experience. On the plus side, the chef was right there, front and centre in front of his diners, preparing his noodles behind a little counter - just like in Japan. The table service was polite, attentive and informed. Once we had decided on our order, the waitress asked us, "how did we want our noodles? Extra hard, hard or soft. Hmm, I thought, that's a good sign. The waitress recommended hard, so we both went with her recommendation. Did we want a hanjuku egg with our ramen? Oh, yes we did. Hanjuku in Japanese, translates as semi-ripe although in terms of a soft boiled egg, it means semi-soft, ie soft but not oozy soft, if you know what I mean. Any ramen shop worth its salt should serve a proper pickled hanjuku egg with its signature brown colouration from pickling in a soy marinade. Would Kanada-ya pass the test? We'd have to wait and see. Would there be anything else? Yes, I said, a side serving of pork gyoza. This is another of my acid tests for the ramen shops that I visit - are they serving the real thing or something machine made several months ago that really should never see the light of day from the freezer? Let's see what Kanada-ya serves up. Tonkotsu X ramen What did we eat? We ordered the following dishes: Tonkotsu X ramen Extra Hanjuku egg Cha-shu Men Pork gyoza We sat back and waited for our bowls of ramen to arrive. In the meantime I mused with my co-diner about our visit so far. There were some nice touches. We both order tap water and it arrived at the table very quickly in rather cool looking black mugs that matched the black hardwood spoons and chopsticks that the waitress brought to the table at the same ime. No disposable chopsticks here however - these chopsticks were Black cup, spoon, and chopsticks beautifully made right down to the knurled ends that make it easier to pick up slippery ramen noodles - very clever. Looking around us, the place was full. Most of the diners were Chinese. With Soho right next door, this place must be doing something right if it can lure all these Chinese youngsters away from Wardour St, I thought. It wasn't the decor for sure, although as my co-diner reminded me, this is what most ramen shops look like in Japan - cramped little kitchens and people hunched over small tables - it might not be glitzy but it was certainly authentic. In Japan, these little places attract a loyal clientele who return month after month, year after year. Was that Kanada-ya's secret, I wondered? How did the food score? Tonkotsu X ramen + extra hanjuku egg Score 8/10 Tonkotsu X ramen The ramen dishes arrived together after an acceptable wait of less than 10 minutes. My co-diner's first impression was that the serving was on the small side. There's no denying that the bowls are on the small side but you can order an extra serving of noodles if you wish. Quality not quantity, I hear you say. So, was the quality there? I'm happy to say it was - it really was. First, the hanjuku egg - this was a true hanjuku egg - marinated to a deep brown on the outside and with a soft yoke on the inside. We were off to a great start. My co-diner's only criticism of the egg was that it was very cold, ie straight out of the fridge. Eating a cold egg isn't much fun but the problem is that it also cools the ramen broth too quickly - Kanada-ya, please take note. Talking of the broth - this is advertised as a pork and chicken bone broth. It was very good. It had the right balance - rich but not overpowering and it tasted just as it should, a smooth, meaty flavour but light and hardly oily at all - was it just a little too salty? - maybe but that could just be my co-diner's personal preference. The noodles had the right amount of "bite" for a hard noodle and were cooked perfectly. The sliced pork loin was tasty and nice and lean. My co-diner's only criticism was that the wood ear fungus advertised as being part of the dish, didn't appear to have made it to the bowl. In any case, he emptied his bowl and sat there with a "cat that got the cream" look of satisfaction on his face. Conclusion: The bowl was emptied. My co-diner had a big smile on his face. What more can I say? But for the cold egg and the missing fungus, this could have been a 9/10... Cha-shu men Score 8/10 Cha-shu men My cha-shu men noodles came in the same Asian appetite sized bowl. While my co-diner thought the standard serving a little on the small side, for me it was just the right amount. First, the tonkotsu broth, which is advertised as a pork only broth. I compared it with my co-diners pork and chicken bone broth - yes, there was a difference. my broth was a tad darker and just a little richer in taste and consistency - as broths go, this was really quite a pleasure. The seaweed and spring onion servings were generous and both tasted fresh. The slices of cha-shu pork collar were tasty and pleasant to eat. The "hard" noodles were just right. This is exactly what I would expect from a bowl of cha-shu if I were to buy it in Japan. One minor criticism - where was that wood ear fungus? Like my co-diner, I couldn't find any either - perhaps it was hidden in the seaweed...anyway, its absence didn't spoil my bowl of cha-shu men one little bit. Conclusion: The best bowl of Japanese noodles I have eaten in London in a long time. Pork gyoza 9/10 pork gyoza The side order of pork gyoza arrived a few minutes after the bowls of ramen. We were both already in a fine fettle from the ramen we were enjoying and the gyoza only improved our mood. These little pork parcels were nicely fried, if perhaps a little overdone. Inside, there was pork, a little garlic - I found myself thinking, when was the last time I found myself actually being able to identity the contents of a restaurant gyoza? The soy vinegar dip was fine but I could have happily eaten these without any dressing. Conclusion: Very good gyoza and worth every penny. The bill: finished ramen Tonkotsu X ramen £11.00 Extra Hanjuku egg £ 2.00 Cha-shu Men £13.00 Pork gyoza £ 6.00 Total £32.00 + service Summary: When I began writing this review and remarked about the uninspiring interior, it reminded me of that old Bill Clinton election slogan, "It's the economy, stupid!" Maybe Kanada-ya should hang a similar banner outside saying, "It's the food, stupid!" Because this place is all about the food. If you go to a restaurant (as I have to admit I do) with the objective of enjoying the cooking, not the ambience or the decor, then this is, in my humble opinion, one of the absolute best places to eat ramen in London. I've written in other reviews that a lot of the ramen sold in London sits in a broth that is overly rich and too thick. If that's what you like - fine. But it isn't, to my mind, an authentic Japanese ramen dish. The broth at Kanada-Ya tasted absolutely authentic. When I had finished the meal and paid, I asked whether the chef had worked in Japan. He hadn't - in fact, he was from Hungary. My point? You don't need to be Japanese and and you don't even need to have trained there to produce excellent Japanese food. Both of us left Kanada-ya as very happy eaters - there's something about knowing you've eaten very well that puts a spring in your step, isn't there? Food: ★★★★☆ Ambience: ★★☆☆☆ Value for Money: ★★★★☆ You can find Kanada-ya, St Giles at 64 St Giles High St, London WC2H 8DA. No reservations but you can check seat availability and waiting times via their Walk-In app. Click and Collect via the Kanada-ya website. (PS: the restaurants I review are unaware that I am reviewing their fare and service. I pay for what I eat. My opinions are honest and unbiased....) Or why not make it yourself? We all love to dine out. But don't forget you can make Japanese food at home which will not only taste as good or better than what you eat out (or order in) and for a fraction of the cost too! I've listed two recipes below for items I ordered during my review. Just follow the links to the written recipes and Youtube tutorials. Hanjuku egg Recipe #1: Kanada-ya's eggs were pretty much spot on (apart from being rather cold.) If you want to discover how to make them yourself, you need look no further than my recipe Hanjuku Tamago. If you just wish to see the Youtube tutorial, you can find the link to that Hanjuku Tamago. Remember, you don't have to do "hanjuku" (semi-soft), just boil the egg for the full 6 minutes if you prefer a harder boiled version! Either way, once you steeped your boiled eggs in their soy marinade, they'll have the proper brown colouration and you'll earn some serious cooking cred points from friends and family for your authentic looking Japanese noodle dishes. gyoza Recipe #2: Kanada-ya's gyoza were a pleasant surprise. I've eaten some, frankly awful gyoza, at other restaurants I've visited. Gyoza might look a little daunting but they are not at all difficult to make - a little fiddly perhaps, but I find making them is quite therapeutic! Once you've got the hang of wrapping, you can turn these little potstickers out at a cracking rate! If you want to try them out, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Gyoza. If you want to take a look at the written recipe, you can find that here. About the reviewer. Hi, I'm Kurumi, a cooking writer and blogger. I'm Japanese but I have lived in London for the last Kurumi 30 thirty years. Back in the days before the internet (and Youtube), I was a food writer. My first book published in English was called Japanese Cooking for Two which I wrote in 1994. It has become the 9th best selling Japanese cookbook ever… yippee! My other books were ‘The Noodle Cookbook”, “The Soy for Health Cookbook” and “Healthy Noodles.” I also published a book in Japanese “English Home Cooking”. Then I had children and my life changed! By the time my children had grown up, the world had changed quite a lot too! Internet, Youtube, Insta etc. So, these days, instead of books, I publish recipe and articles on my website and on my Youtube channel. I hope you'll check out my recipes - they are all tried and tested (some more times than I care to mention!) until I think you will get them right first time when you make them and enjoy eating them. If you’d like to read more about me or my books, then follow the link here: https://www.kurumicooks.co.uk/about Happy eating! Kurumi XXXX.