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Stir Fried Spicy Soy Eggplant Does this dish use eggplant or it is an aubergine? As you'll know, it depends where you come from. In the US, it's an aubergine, in the UK, an aubergine. Then again, in India, it's brinjal and in Japan, we call it nasu. Whatever you chose to call this beautiful vegetable, there's no denying that (let's call it) eggplant, can be a very important part of your diet. First off, it's zero fat and zero cholesterol. It's low in calories but high in dietary fibre. The gorgeous colour of an eggplant's skin comes from an anti-oxidant called nasunin. Eggplant also contains high levels of the minerla potassium which is vital for maintaining your body's fluid content at the cellular level as well as helping to maintain a healthy blood pressure. All of this probably explains why the eggplant is one of Japan's most popular vegetables. Health benefits aside, eggplant/aubergine is also a great vegetable for soaking up flavours, so when I make it, I like to accompany it with a rich sauce. This recipe in particular is one that I make quite often - the richness of the flavour makes it possible to use this as a main course in place of meat - the taste really is that satisfying - so, this works for vegetarians and vegans as a meat free meal. The first thing to do is a little bit of prep on your eggplant/aubergine. What does this entail? Nothing more than cutting the eggplant into bite sized pieces and then putting the pieces in a bowl and covering them with cold water for 15 - 30 minutes. You've probably come across this technique before - it removes the slightly bitter taste from the flesh of the eggplant. Some cooks immerse the eggplant in salted water - AKA blanching - but I find that you get much the same effect by simply using water alone. (But if you are in the habit of blanching your eggplant, then by all means do it that way.) Once the aubergine is in water, use the wating time to prepare the other vegetables - just some spring onion and a little shredded ginger. When that's done, you can make up your sauce - sugar, soy sauce, cooking sake, mirin, sesame oil and Chinese chilli oil (AKA toban jian) - yes, this sauce is rich and multi-layered - and the eggplant will soak up every last little bit of the taste. I add a little water to the sauce as well because it is going to go into a hot pan so what the eggplant doesn't absorb will evaporate quite quickly - ideally, what you want is a little sauce left over in the pan when you take the pan off the heat. (PS: If you don't have or can't find Chinese toban jian sauce, then use 1/4 tsp of chilli powder as a substitute.) When the prep is done, then it is just a matter of a quick stir fry for around 5 minutes and the dish is ready. As I said above, I often serve this as a main dish for those times when I want a meat free meal but you could also use the amounts below as a great vegetable side dish for 4 people. This dish is best accompanied with steamed rice but I've also eaten it ladled over noodles and that's great too. If you would like to try this recipe yourself, then you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Stir Fried Spicy Soy Eggplant or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is jsut below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 1 medium eggplant / aubergine / brinjal 3 spring onions, rinsed 1/2 in / 1 cm of fresh ginger (about the size of your thumb) 2 tbsp vegetable oil for the sauce: 1 tsp sugar 1.5 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp mirin 1 tbsp water 1 tsp sesame oil 1/2 tsp Chinese toban jian or Thai sriracha (or 1/4 tsp of chilli powder) 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar 1-2 tsp toasted sesame seeds for topping (optional) how to: Remove the stem of an eggplant and halve longways. Then, halve each piece again. Diagonally cut the quarters into bite size pieces Place all the eggplant in a bowl and cover with cold water. Leave for 10-15 minutes to remove the bitter flavour. Drain well prior to stir frying Trim both ends of the spring onions, then diagonally slice into small pieces and set aside Cut a thumb sized piece of ginger about 1/2 in / 1 cm thick. Slice into 2 or 3 pieces, then cut into fine shreds and set aside To prepare the sauce; Put the sugar, soy sauce, mirin, water, sesame oil, toban jian and vinegar into a small mixing bowl. Mix well Heat the 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a medium frying pan until hot. Add the aubergine and stir fry for 3 - 4 minutes until the aubergine begins to lightly brown. Now, add the ginger shreds and stir fry for a further 1 - 2 minutes Turn down the heat to medium. Add the sauce and stir fry for 30 seconds before adding the spring onions. Stir fry for another 10 seconds Pile the aubergine onto a serving plate and garnish with the toasted sesame Serve with a bowl of rice or alternatively, a plate of noodles Stir Fried Spicy Soy Eggplant

Taiwan Maze Udon This dish is a derivative of Taiwan Maze Soba. You can use my recipe with either udon or soba (or even ramen) noodles and it will work very well - I just think it works best with udon noodles. Where does the name come from? Well, first of all, the Taiwan bit - Although this dish originated in Nagoya City in central Japan some time in the 1980s, the technique of flavouring and oiling the noodles before eating comes from China and in this case, specifically, Taiwan. (Some say that the chef was Taiwanese but I don't know for sure.) The word "maze" in Japanese is a verb meaning "to mix" - the idea here is that once the dish is presented to the diner, he/she mixes everything together with chopsticks before eating. So, put the words together and voila - Taiwan style mixed noodles. Apart from your noodles - udon, soba or ramen, what is in the dish? It is usually served with minced pork although beef mince would be equally good. Along with the meat, a Taiwan Maze dish is usually topped with chopped spring onions / scallions, some chopped garlic, chopped Chinese / garlic chives and shredded nori seaweed. Optional toppings include katsuo flakes (which I use here as I think they provide an added level of umami flavour to the dish) furikake or tempura batter scraps. In Japan a raw egg is used to crown the dish and mixed into the noodles befor eating. In my recipe I use a soft poached egg instead - most people like poached egg but a lot don't like the raw variety and there's also the health risk as well - I don't want any of you going down with an upset tummy! So, how are the noodles and the pork flavoured? First, the pork. I make up a sauce that combines soy sauce, mirin, a little sugar, Chinese Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce and Chinese Toban Djan chilli sauce. (You can use sherry or Japanese sake as a substitue for the Shaoxing wine. Similarly, other chilli sauces like Thai Sriracha will work in place of the Toban Djan.) The recipe involves stir frying the pork and then stirring in the sauce. The idea is to get the sauce quickly absored into the meat before removing it from the heat. As for the noodles, once these have been cooked, I pour over a little sesame oil and soy sauce and mix it into the noodles for flavour and colour. You might be thinking that there are quite a few parts to this recipe and you'd be correct. But you can make the dish for 2 -4 diners in under 30 minutes and I can promise you, for a rich, hearty plate of noodles, this Taiwan Maze Udon dish is really hard to beat! If you would like to give this dish a try, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Taiwan Maze Udon of by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 30g / 1 oz Chinese or garlic chives, rinsed 2 spring onions / scallions, rinsed (if you can't find garlic chives, double the amount of spring onions / scallions instead) 1 packet (2g/0.07oz) of Katsuo flakes 1 sheet of nori 1 clove of garlic for the sauce for the pork mince: 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp mirin 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp Chinese Shaoxing wine (or sherry or Japnese sake) 1 tsp Oyster sauce 1/2 Chinese Toba Djan chilli bean sauce (or an alternative chilli bean sauce such as Thai Sriracha) 1 tsp vegetable oil 150g / 5 oz minced pork 2 packets of udon noodles 1/2 tsp sesame oil 1/2 tsp soy sauce 2 eggs 1 tbsp white vinegar how to: first, prepare the toppings: chop the rinsed chives into small pieces repeat with the spring onion rub the katsuo flakes inside the packets to break the flakes into smaller pieces fold the sheet of nori in half, fold again, then fold two more time. use a pair of scissors to cut into shreds mince the clove of garlic to prepare the sauce for the minced pork: combine the soy sauce, mirin , sugar, Chinese Shaoshing wine, oyster sauce and Toban Djan in a small bowl heat 1 tsp of vegtable oil in a frying pan. add the minced pork and fry for about 3 mins. next, add the sauce to the pan and stir fry for another 2 minutes or until the sauce is almost absorbed into the pork bring a large pan of water to the boil. add the udon noodles and cook according to the instructions on the packet (usually around 3 minutes) drain the noodles and mix with 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce & 1/2 tbsp sesame oil break 1 egg each into a small bowl. bring water to the boil in a small pan. add 1 tbsp of white vinegar and swirl the water so that it is moving around the pan. quickly add the egg into the middle of the pan. cook for 2 minutes before gently removing with a spoon or small sieve. repeat for egg #2 now to assemble your Taiwan Maze Udon: place 1/2 the udon noodels into each bowl. then arrange the minced pork, Chinese garlic chives, spring onion, nori, the minced garlic and katsuo flakes over the udon. lastly place the poached egg in the centre of the bowl serve and before eating, mix all the ingredients together using chopsticks or a fork Taiwan Maze Udon

Smoked Salmon and Oba Linguine Hand on heart, this is the easiest, quickest way to make a delicious dish of pasta that I know. The dish features that delicious Japanese leaf vegetable - oba - which you might know as shiso or Japanese perilla. The other ingredients comprise: a small pack of smoked salmon, 1/2 a red pepper, a couple of garlic cloves and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. For seasoning, you'll need a tbsp of soy sauce and a generous shake of ground black pepper. I used linguine in this recipe but the dish works equally well with spaghetti, tagliatelle - well, just about any pasta really. In 15 - 20 minutes, you'll have a deliciously fragant dish of pasta for your table - guaranteed. So what are the keys to this dish? The most important thing is not to overcook the ingredients. The minced garlic fries for around 3 minutes, the pepper 2 minutes and the smoked salmon and oba just go into the pan to warm up at the end but not enough to cook. (Remember the salmon is smoked, so it's safe to eat it without being cooked through.) The other thing to do is to add a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water to the frying pan along with the pasta to keep everything nice and moist - don't worry it's all in the "how to" instructions below. You might be wondering about the oba / shiso and where to get it. The most cost effective solution is to grow your own. I grow oba every year in my garden and this year I've had a bumper crop - the raised bed that I use to grow leaves is a mass of oba and mizuna this year. You can grow oba in pots as well - I grow some outside but I also grow some inside as well as the oba leaves grown inside have a sweeter flavour than those grown outside. You can buy oba leaves but they are quite expensive so I would really advise you to try growing some yourself - I don't consider myself a gardener, so if I can grow oba, then so can you! So, with all that said, if you would like to try this recipe out, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Smoked Salmon and Oba Linguine. Or, just scroll to the bottom of the page. the written recipe is just below. As for growing your own, click Grown your own Oba /Shiso for the Youtube tutorial or here for the written recipe. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (for 2 servings) 1/2 red bell pepper 2 cloves garlic 20g / 0.7 oz rinsed oba/shiso leaves 100g / 3.5 oz smoked salmon 1/2 lemon 1 tsp salt 170g / 6 oz linguine or spagetti 25g / 1 oz unsalted butter 2 tbsp cooking water from the pasta (once cooked) some black pepper 1 tbsp soy sauce 25g / 1 oz grated parmesan cheese how to: cut the bell pepper in half, then slice thinly slice the garlic cloves and then mince finely make the oba leaves into a pile, roll up and then cut into shreds cut the smoked salmon into rough 3cm / 1.5 in squares squeeze the juice from the lemon and set aside bring a large pan of water to the boil. add 1 tsp of salt and stir until dissolved. add the linguine or the pasta you are using and cook for 10 mins or according to the instructions on the packet a few minutes before the linguine is cooked, melt the butter in a large frying pan add the minced garlic and stir for 1 minute. then, add the pepper and stir for another minute using a pair of pasta tongs, add the cooked linguine to the frying pan. also, add 2 tbsp of the water used to boil the pasta into the frying pan sprinkle generously with black pepper. add the lemon juice, soy sauce and mix everything together well add the parmesan cheese and mix again add 3/4 of the shredded oba leaves and the smoked salmon. mix everything together quickly then turn off the heat plate up your pasta and then sprinkle the last 1/4 of shredded oba leaves over the linguine before serving Smoked Salmon and Oba Linguine

Stir fried Tofu Donburi I was watching a commercial on tv the other day - Weight Watchers, maybe - I don't recall exactly. In the commercial, a woman is told she can select what she wants to eat and still lose weight and on the screen, she strikes out tofu with a grimace on her face - basically, the message is, "Yuk, I really don't like tofu!" This seems to reflect a common idea (in the UK at least) that tofu is solely for vegetarians and rather odd people who enjoy eating this squidgy, anaemic, tasteless bean curd. Still reading? Good. Because tofu just does not deserve this bad wrap. I won't go into the health benefits of tofu. If you are interested in this aspect, then it won't take much of a search on the internet to convince you that you should eat it for these benefits alone. So why am I a big fan of tofu? Well, it is what I call a culinary version of a blank canvas. What does that mean? Basically, tofu's lack of flavour means you can spice it, sweeten it, salt it, flavour it anyway old how. Yes, it does look a little pasty, but partly drain off the water content and then pop it in a hot pan for a few minutes and you'll see that pasty face take on a light golden tan. So suddenly, you have a complete plant protein food with calcium, manganese, iron and Vitamin A (sorry I said I wouldn't talk about the health benefits, didn't I) that tastes good and looks good in a bowl. Still reading? OK let's move onto the recipe, shall we? If you know a little bit about Japanese food, you'll probably know that a "donburi" is a meal that involves serving food over a bed of rice. (Take a look at my site and you'll find lots of donburi dishes.) Although I call this recipe "Stir fried Tofu Donburi", that's really only half of the story. The missing chapters are about the other vegetable ingredients and the sauce that flavours the dish. The vegetables are really quite simple. Half a red bell pepper, some spring onions, garlic and ginger. I use a red pepper simply for the colour contrast but by all means use a green or yellow pepper if that's what you have available. The spring onions add more crunch and a little tang while the garlic and ginger enrich the flavour of the dish. Moving onto the sauce, it's a combination of some sugar (sweetness), soy sauce (saltiness), mirin and oyster sauce (umami and richness). If you want to serve this as a bona fide vegetarian dish, then you can find vegetarian/vegan versions of oyster sauce which are just as good as the original version. This dish takes about 25 minutes from the work surface to the table and that includes the time to drain the water out of the tofu, so not only is it healthy and delicious, it's quick and quite simple too. What's not to like about that? So if you think you'd like to give this dish a runout, then you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Stir fried Tofu Donburi or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy stir frying! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients (makes 2 generous servings) 2 portions cooked rice 1 packet of medium firm or firm tofu (approx. 400g / 14oz) 1/2 red bell pepper 3 spring onions 1.5cm / 1/2 inch fresh ginger 4 cloves garlic 2.5 tbsp vegetable oil for the sauce: 1 tsp sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp mirin 1 tbsp oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce 2 sheets kitchen paper some sliced spring onions for a garnish (optional) how to: prepare your rice open the tofu pack drain off the excess liquid. place the on a sheet of kitchen paper and wrap. set aside for at least 10 mins. (this will allow the tofu to give up more of its water content) deseed and slice the bell pepper. cut into small picecs trim off the top and end of the spring onions, then slice finely peel the ginger and remove the garlic skins. slice the ginger and garlic, then chop it all finely after 10 - 15 minutes has passed, unwrap the tofu and disgard the kitchen paper. slice the tofu horizontally to produce two thinner blocks, then slice & cut into small cubes heat 2 tbsp of the vegetable oil in a frying pan. add the tofu carefully and stir fry for about 5 minutes or until the tofu is lightly browned transfer the tofu to a plate and set aside add the chopped spring onion, ginger and garlic to the pan. stir fry for about 1 minute (add the remaing 1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil if the pan becomes too dry.) next add and stir fry the chopped bell pepper for about 1 minute. return the cooked tofu and mix gently, taking care not to break up the tofu cubes add the sugar, soy sauce, mirin and oyster sauce and stir well place the cooked rice on a plate or a bowl. pile the stir fried tofu and peppers over the top. garnish with the sliced spring onions serve immediately Stir fried Tofu Donburi

Easy Salmon Maze Sushi I don't think there is an easier way to get into making your own sushi than this recipe. You don't need to know how to fillet fish or roll sushi. You don't have to buy your fish from a Japanese specialist (the salmon is cooked not eaten raw.) Best of all you need no special utensils and the only thing you might need to invest in is a bottle of sushi vinegar. Yes, it really is that simple. Even better, this dish provides all your 5-a-day vegetables plus some omega-5 rich salmon. You get all the taste of "proper" sushi but with zero know how and very little effort. And, as you probably know, the Japanese think any good dish should be a visual feast as well (to get those taste buds up and running) - so you get some reds, yellows, greens and pinks. Sound good? Okay, let's get started! Oh, I forgot about the taste. Well, I'll leave you to be the judge of that but there are never any leftovers when this is put on my dinner table, so I think you can rest assured you're going to like this. Have I got your taste buds working already? If so, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Easy Salmon Maze Sushi or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2/3 servings) 2 cups (300g / 10oz) Japanese rice 4 tbsp sushi vinegar 1/2 cucumber 1/2 tsp salt 6 baby tomatoes a handful of rocket/ruccola, rinsed 1 avocado 100g/3.5oz frozen sweetcorn 1 tsp vegetable oil 2 fillets of salmon some soy sauce & a little wasabi how to: rinse your Japanese rice two or three times, until the water becomes almost clear. then cook in either a rice cooker or a large saucepan while the rice is cooking, prepare the vegetables and salmon cut the cucumber into quarters lengthways. then carefully slice out the seeds from the center. (this will stop your rice getting soggy.) next, finely slice the cucumber. put the pieces in a bowl. sprinkle with the salt and leave to stand for 10 - 15 minutes halve the baby tomatoes and set aside chop the rocket roughly for your topping and set that aside too halve the avocado, remove the stone and peel. cut each half of the avocado into 5-6 slices, then cross cut into bite sized pieces bring about 4 cm / 2 in of water to the boil in a small pan. add the sweetcorn and cook for 4 minutes before draining heat 1 tsp of vegetable oil in a small frying pan. fry the salmon fillets skin side down for 4 - 5 minutes with the lid on. turn over and fry for another 4 minutes or until cooked well, keeping the lid on when done, remove the salmon to a plate spoon out your cooked rice into a large mixing bowl. add the sushi vinegar a little at a time, mixing gently between each tbsp of vinegar now, back to the salmon. break up the flesh into small pieces using a spoon or a fork. remove the salmon skin as you won't need this for the recipe. (personally, my goes out for the local fox - he loves it!) next, return to the salted cucumber. give the cucumber pieces a good squeeze in your hand a few times to remove as much of the water content as you can. after this, transfer each handful into another bowl. discard the leftover liquid now to assemble your dish. add the sweetcorn, the cucumber, the avocado and the salmon flakes to the rice, stirring everything together gently with a spoon pile your Salmon Maze Zushi onto a serving plate. arrange the baby tomatoes around the rim and sprinkle the chopped rocket / ruccola over the top of the dish. just before eating drizzle with some soy sauce mixed with wasabi Easy Salmon Maze Sushi

Roast Vegetables in a Soy Lemon dressing As you probably know, the Japanese diet is quite well regarded as being high in vegetables, both raw and cooked. The Japanese prepare their vegetable dishes in various ways - grilling, simmering, fermenting and so on. But one thing the Japanese don't traditionally do is roast their vegetables. There's a very simple reason why - most Japanese homes don't feature an oven. That is changing now but I would guess that the majority of homes in Japan still don't feature an oven in the kitchen set up. I live in the UK where - well, what would an English cook do without his/her oven? It's pretty much essential, especially in winter. One thing I particularly like to do in my oven is roast vegetables. Roasted vegetables in a good quality olive oil makes a meat free meal more fillling and satisfying than simmering can and even if you not vegetarian or vegan, it is still a good idea to eat a few main meals every week without any meat. The one thing a dish of roast vegetables needs is a punchy flavouring and I think my soy and lemon dressing hits the spot in that respect - the ingredients are soy sauce, the juice of 2 lemons, some cloves of crushed garlic and a little honey, so you get a great combination of flavours - sweet, sour and salty, all in one hit. Once you've got this basic recipe sorted, you can either enjoy it by itself, or, for a more filling meal, mix in some cooked pasta or beans. Once I had completed the batch above, I mixed in some haricot beans. It was really quite delicious as an evening main meal and uber healthy too! If this is the sort of cooking you would like to try, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Roast Vegetables in a Soy Lemon dressing or just scroll to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy roasting! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 1 large aubergine/ eggplant 2 stalks of celery 1 courgette 1 medium onion 1 bell pepper 260g / 9oz sweet potato 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for the soy lemon dressing: juice of 2 lemons 4 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp honey 3 cloves of garlic some toasted sesame seeds for garnishing oven setting: 190 C / 375 F for 20 - 25 minutes how to: first, prep your vegetables. cut the aubergine/ eggplant in half lengthways, then cut diagonally into bite sized pieces put the pieces in a bowl and cover with cold water for 10 minutes. this will reduce the slightly bitter taste of the abergine / eggplant flesh cut the celery stalks into bite sized pieces cut the courgette diagonally into bite sized pieces halve the onion and cut into chunks halve and deseed the bell pepper, then cut into bite sized pieces peel and cut the sweet potato into bite sized pieces put all the vegetables in a large bowl. drain the aubergine / eggplant and add that as well. then, pour in 3 tbsp of olive oil. mix well to get all the vegetables coated in oil heat your oven to 190 C / 374 F. spread the vegetables over a large baking tray and roast for 20 - 25 minutes in the meantime, make your dressing: squeeze the juice of 2 lemons and pour in a small bowl add the 4 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of honey crush the garlic cloves and add to the bowl. stir together well remove the vegetables from the oven. pour over the dressing and mix well so that all the evegtables get a good coating garnish with some toasted sesame seeds and serve Roast Vegetables in a Soy Lemon dressing

Mini Onigirazu AKA Minigirazu If you enjoy Japanese food, you might have heard of the name Onigirazu before. What is an Onigirazu? Basically, it is a parcel of rice and fillings wrapped in nori seaweed then sliced into two pieces. Onigirazu are perfect for lunch boxes, picnics or al fresco eating. What's more they are easy to make - all you need is some nori, some cooked Japanese rice and some fillings and you're good to go. No special equipment required, just a small frying pan and a roll of clingfilm. Ah, you say, but your headline says "Mini Onigarazu". So what's that about? Well, as the name suggests, Mini Onigirazu are simply a smaller version of Onigirazu. Why a mini version? Because they make a great finger food and being smaller, they are good for serving with a range of other foods at, say, a picnic or a party. BTW kids also love them because they make great little snacks too! The filling I use to make these Mini Onigirazu are as follows: Japanese omelette (Japanese meaning whisked egg + soy sauce) , some slices of avocado and some salad leaves, in this case rocket, but by all means feel free to use other leaves if you prefer. So, how to make your first Mini Onigirazu. First off, you'll need some fresh Japanese rice. l use about 3 tbsp of rice per Mini Onigirazu. (Tip: Make sure the rice is cool before you use it otherwise the heat from the rice will spoil the nori.) Once you've got that put aside, it's time to make your omelette. For two Mini Onigirazu, I use 1 medium egg and 1.5 tsp of soy sauce. The key to the omelette is to get your (small) frying pan nice and hot and put in about 1.5 tsp of vegetable oil. When you pour in the omelette, make sure you get a thin covering over the whole of the pan. Keep moving the edge of the omelette as it cooks (to stop it sticking.) After about 1 minute, the bottom of the omelette should have formed a nice skin, so you'll need to use a slice to (carefully) flip it over. Don't then wait too long to slide the omelette out of the pan onto a plate - about 30 seconds will do. Next, slice the omelette in half and then into six pieces - three per half. The last piece of prep is to take a sheet of nori and slice it in half down the longer side. (Although nori sheets look square, they are usually rectangular). To assemble you first Mini Onigirazu, take a sheet of clingfilm about the size of a chopping board and lay it on your work surface. Lay a half sheet of nori on top. Spoon out 3 tablespoons of rice onto the nori and gently smooth the rice over so that you get a thin, uniform layer. Once that's done, take three of the pieces of omelette and lay then one on top of another in the middle of the rice. Then, take a few rocket (or your alternative) leaves and put those on top of the omelette. Last, lay two slices of avocado on the top of the leaves. Now, using the clingfilm, bring the two ends of the nori sheet together and fold them over to wrap the fillings. Fold the clingfilm over to complete a parcel and use some gentle pressure to form it into a nice, even shape. (The Youtube video tutorial shows you how to do this much better than words can!) Once you've completed your Mini Onigirazu, let them rest for 5 - 10 minutes and then cut them across the open ends and voila, you have created your first Mini Onigirazu. Once you've made them, you can create your own fillings as well - the combinations are endless! If the above has put you in the mood to get make your own Mini Onigirazu, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Mini Onigirazu. Or just scroll to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy wrapping! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 Mini Onigirazu) 6 -7 tbsp of cooked Japanese rice 1/2 small avocado, seeded and peeled 1 medium egg a handful of rocket or green leaves, rinsed 1.5 tsp soy sauce 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 sheet of nori a roll of cling film how to: Set aside 6-7 heaped tablespoons of cooked rice in a bowl meanwhile to cool. Peel the avocado, halve and remove the stone. Cut one half of avocado into 6 slices longways - (you'll only need the 4 larger slices.), Break the egg into a small bowl, add the soy sauce and whisk well. To make the omelette, heat the vegetable oil in a small frying pan until it is hot. Pour the egg mixture in. The omelette will cook quickly, so be sure to get a thin skin of egg over the whole surface of the frying pan before the skin forms. Use a pair of chopsticks or a slice to lift the edge of the omeletto gently to stop it from sticking. When the egg is almost cooked (which should only take about 1 minute), flip the omelette over gently using a slicer in the frying pan. Then after about 20 - 30 seconds, slide the omelette out onto a plate. Carefully cut the omelette in half, then into 6 pieces. Next, fold the nori sheet along the longer side and cut in half along the fold. Roll out a rectangule of cling film onto your work surface or chopping board. Lay a half sheet of nori onto the clingfilm. Spoon half the rice onto the nori and carefully spread in a thin, even layer. Next, place 3 pieces of omelette in the middle of the rice. Place half of the rocket on top of the omelette and then add 2 slices of avocado. Fold over the ends of the nori sheet using the cling film and wrap the cling film into a small parcel. Lightly press your Mini Onigirazu into an even shape and set a side for 5-10 minutes. When both Mini Onigirazu are ready, slice each into 2 pieces across the open ends. Mini Onigirazu AKA Minigirazu

Sukiyaki grade beef with other sukiyaki ingredients As a Japanese living in London, I am always struck by the big cultural difference in attitudes towards the eating of meat between the UK and Japan. What do I mean by that? One example - vegetarianism and veganism are significant movements in the UK and the proportion of the UK population choosing to eat a non-meat diet is growing year-on-year. On the other hand, for many English people, eating well means eating meat - Sunday lunch just wouldn't be Sunday lunch without a big cut of roast beef or a whole roast chicken taking pride of place on the dinner table. But in Japan, the vegetarian and vegan movements are nowhere near as high profile as they are in the UK even though meat consumption is far lower in Japan and nobody, as far as I know, serves up roast beef or a roast chicken as a dinner or lunch centerpiece. So what is going on? Pieces of simmered chicken served with with daikon. I think this difference has its roots in history and in the place that meat has traditionally occupied in European and Japanese food culture. Unlike in the West, the mass consumption of meat in Japan is a relatively new phenomena - regular meat eating has really only become widespread in Japan since the early twentieth century. In fact, (and you might be surprised to learn this) the eating of livestock was the subject of an Imperial ban in Japan that lasted for more than six centuries. At one point, even the eating of fish was banned. It wasn't until the late nineteenth century when the Emperor Meiji, at the age of twenty, celebrated the New Year with a publicised display of meat eating, that the public perception of meat consumption began to change. Japanese Menchi Katsu deep fried minced meatball. But deeply embedded habits and beliefs rarely change overnight. Even today, the Japanese are not huge consumers of meat. The way animal products are consumed is also quite different. Traditionally, those involved in the slaughter and butchery of animals in Japan were considered unclean and a separate caste - they were called burakumin. These people and their families were discriminated against and even today, to a lesser degree, they still are. I think this deep aversion to the butchery of meat has affected the way in which the Japanese consume it. Most meat in Japanese dishes is served sliced, diced , chopped or minced. There is no Japanese dish that serves up an uncut joint of meat and the idea of presenting a joint of beef or roast bird to the dining table is, as I said before, completely alien. After many centuries of being told that meat is forbidden and unclean, the Japanese want to eat meat in the most sanitised way possible - they don't want to be involved in the "butchery" of the animal flesh they consume in any shape or form. Japanese tonkatsu deep fried breaded pork cutlet I don't know if anyone has ever done a survey about Japan's favourite meat dishes but I would hazard a guess that tonkatsu - deep fried breaded pork cutlets - sits at the top of the tree. Perhaps the second spot would be occupied by yakitori and the third, maybe, sukiyaki. What I find interesting about tonkatsu (and its less popular cousins, beef katsu and chicken katsu) is that this dish is one of only a few popular Japanese meat dishes which feature a whole piece of meat, rather than meat that has been sliced, diced or minced. (Although many restaurants serve it to their diner already sliced rather than as a whole cutlet). But even when unsliced, a tonkatsu cutlet is still concealed beneath that crust of deep fried panko breadcrumbs. Is part of the popularity of katsu dishes due to the coating of panko that hides the uncut meat beneath? Given the country's history, you might find it strange that in Japan where meat consumption is relatively low - (Japan's neighbours, China and South Korea have considerably higher per capita consumption of meat despite having lower incomes than the Japanese) - that the vegetarian and Kakiage soba - vegetable tempura served with soba vegan movements are so low key. I have heard many stories of tourists travelling to Japan who are surprised by the fact that they cannot find a vegetarian or vegan restaurant or even a vegetarian menu however much they look. Given that 80% of the population of Japan say they are Buddhist when asked for a religious affiliation, doesn't it seem surprising that vegetarianism and veganism aren't more widespread? Maybe so, but almost all of the Japanese who claim to be Buddhist also eat meat.* I think the answer to this conundrum lies in the fact that meat is not central to Japanese food culture. With the eating of fish and vegetable protein such as tofu so much greater than in the West, meat has never assumed the importance in Japanese food culture that it has in the West. So, unlike in the West where vegetarianism and veganism requires a greater commitment because of the deeply rooted "meat culture", in Japan people don't feel the need to strongly reject meat because they don't have such a deep attachment to it. Buddhist inspired Kenchin Jiru - tofu and vegetable soup. There's no denying that meat has made its way into mainstream Japanese food culture but it is still by no means central to it. The Japanese per person still consume only 1/3 of the meat consumed by the average American. What's the result? Healthwise, the biggest benefit of the Japanese approach to meat is that while over 1 in 4 people in the UK are classed as obese in 2021 (and a whopping 1 in 3 in the US), less than 5 per cent of the population of Japan (1 in 20) is considered obese using the same measure. The corollary to lower meat consumption in Japan is a far higher consumption of vegetables. Simmered daikon in sweet miso sauce Most Japanese family dinners include one if not two vegetable side dishes along with rice, fish, tofu or meat, so the UK government 5-a-day target is probably consistently met by a considerable proportion of the Japanese population on an everyday basis. So what's the takeaway to all this? Vegetarianism and veganism may never take great hold in Japan because the Japanese don't consider meat to be the foundation of their food culture. But the benefits of eating in a "Japanese way" are clear - less meat and more vegetables makes for a healthier and environmentally more friendly food culture. Wouldn't you agree? I'd love to know what you think about it! *For clarity not all branches of the Buddhist faith forbid the consumption of meat. For readers who expect my posts to be devoted to cooking and food, I don't want you to be disappointed! I mentioned tonkatsu above and the fact that it is an unusual dish in Japan because it is often served as a whole cutlet rather than being sliced or diced. Tonkatsu served with shredded lettuce & tomato Tonkatsu is probably the most popular way to eat pork in Japan. You'll find it served in specialist restaurant and takeaways. Supermarkets will always have some take home tonkatsu on display. Tonkatsu isn't difficult to prepare if you want to make it yourself. All you need are some pork cutlets - I use thin cut pork loin steaks - and some panko breadcrumbs. (Thin cuts are better because they require less cooking and therefore you can get a beautiful golden coloured panko crust when you deep fry.) Tonkatsu are only lightly seasoned during preparation - the Japanese season on the plate using a combination of tonkatsu sauce, ketchup and/or mustard. Tonkatsu are usually served in Japan beside a big heap of shredded cabbage. In the UK, I've always found cabbage a little tougher than the Japanese varieties, so I serve tonkatsu here with shredded lettuce as a substitute. Pair with a bowl of rice and possibly some miso soup for a sustaining main meal of the day. You can find my Meat recipes here - https://www.kurumicooks.co.uk/recipes-17 Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX.

Chicken Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing AKA Hiyashi Chuka On a hot summer day, a bowl of noodles might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of lunch or dinner. But did you know you can eat noodles cold? In fact, a cold chicken noodle salad, known in Japan as Hiyashi Chuka, is one of the most popular summer dishes. I flavour my cold chicken noodle salad dish with a sweet sesame and soy dressing that combines tahini paste (which you may know as sesame paste) and soy sauce. Along with slices of chicken, the dish also boasts five vegetable toppings - tomato, cucumber, lettuce baby corn and a little shredded shiso leaf (or cress). The chicken and vegetables in this dish are sliced into small pieces so that they can be easily mixed together with the noodles and dressing when eaten. Talking about the noodles, I use dried yellow noodles that you just cook in boiling water for a few minutes and set aside to cool - nothing fancy and easily available from most supermarkets. All in all, your cold chicken noodle salad provides a healthy, nutricious dish that will grace any summer table. If you are interested to try this Chicken Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing AKA Hiyashi Chuka recipe out, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Chicken Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing AKA Hiyashi Chuka or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 2 babycorn 1/4 cucumber 1/2 medium size tomato 1 chicken breast 2 servings of dried yellow noodles 1 - 2 lettuce leaves 1 tsp sesame oil for the sauce: 2 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp tahini or sesame paste 3 tbsp soy sauce 1/2 tbsp sesame oil 3 tbsp rice vinegar 1 tbsp water some shredded shiso leaves or cress for a topping how to: slice the baby corn longways into 4 pieces thinly slice the cucumber diagonally, then julienne cut the tomato in half and remove the stem. cut into thin slice thinly slice the lettuce leaves slice the chicken breast into 2 thin fillets. next, bring a pan of water to the boil, cook the yellow noodles according to the packet instructions (this usually means 4 - 5minutes.) you can cook the sliced baby corn in the same pan once the noddles are cooked, remove the baby corn and drain the noodles. then, place the noodles on a plate of sieve and add 1 tsp of sesame oil. mix this in gently and it will stop the noodles from sticking together cook the chicken fillets in a small pan boiling water for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through the next step is to make the dressing. put the sugar, tahini paste, soy sauce and 1/2 tbsp of sesame oil into a bowl. mix well add the rice vinegar and water and stir again cut the chicken fillets into slices now arrange your chicken noodle salad, place the noodles into 2 serving bowls arrange the shredded lettuce, chicken slices, tomato, cucumber and baby corn over the noodles top with a little shredded oba. finally drizzle the sesame dressing over the top and your dish is ready to serve Chicken Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing AKA Hiyashi Chuka

Marugame Udon Ah, what a joy to wander around on a sunny Sunday morning in streets full of people out having a good time - good riddance to coronavirus and lockdown - let's hope that's permanent! I rarely venture into the City - the financial centre of London - but as I wanted to try out one of the Marugame Udon branches recently opened in London, we took the train to Moorgate and then took a leisurely 10 minute stroll to Middlesex Street in the Spitalfields district to Middlesex St. You might not know much about Marugame Udon but it is one of Japan's biggest restaurant chains with over 800 branches the length and breadth of the country. That's quite an achievement since Marugame opened its first outlet there only in 2000. Marugame is owned by a Japanese company - Toridoll Holdings - listed on the Tokyo Stock exchange - interestingly, the company also owns the Shoryu Ramen chain of ramen shops. I've reviewed Shoryu and really quite liked it so I was hoping for more of the same from the company's udon offering. There are other Marugame Udon outlets in London. In fact, since opening their Middlesex St shop with much fanfare in April 2021, Marugame have opened 3 more London outlets in Canary Wharf, the O2 Centre and St. Christophers Place, just off Oxford St W1. Marugame is also planning to open a further 4 outlets in London within 2022. I've read a good few gushing reviews about Marugame Udon's London restaurants. I have to admit, I find that a bit strange as Marugame in Japan is a fairly run-of-the-mill fast food operation - decent food, fairly priced - but certainly not a high end eating experience. So, I was intrigued as to what I would find. Kitchen in Marugame Udon So what exactly is Marugame's offering? As you would expect, the menu at Marugame Udon heavily features - yes, you guessed it - udon, or to be more precise, sanuki udon, which is a famous variety of udon from the island of Shikoku. Marugame Udon operates a counter service, meaning that you walk in, take a tray and then select your udon at the main counter where it is served to you. You can either order prepared bowls, such as Curry Udon or Tonkotsu Udon or you can order a bowl of Sanuki Udon noodles in a choice of dashi stocks and then add a choice of tempura or other side dishes such as gyoza. 30% of Marugame's menu is vegan / vegetarian friendly. They also serve children's portions at a reduced price. To my mind, these are both good things. Marugame also claim they make all their noodles on site so I was on the lookout for their noodle machines and, lo and behold, there they were behind the counter - a dough machine and a rolling machine. Neither was in use and I wondered how long it must take to produce enough noodles for several hundred or Flour for Marugame Udon more daily diners using just these two machines - but there was certainly a lot of bags of flour in evidence like the one in the photo on the left, so I have to assume they manage it somehow. Anyhow, for an early Sunday lunchtime, Marugame was doing a pretty brisk trade. The restaurant has seating for around 100+ diners on the ground floor (with more seating in the basement) and the place was already easily more than half full. As you would expect for a self service operation, the service was quick and efficient. The kitchen behind the counter was well staffed and everyone seemed to know what they were doing. Overall, the ambience of the place was just right for a fast turnaround outlet - the service was pleasant and quick, the surroundings were attractive and clean and the seating just comfortable enough for a quick meal. What did we eat? We ordered the following: Marugame Udon Two Pork Tonkotsu Chicken Paitan Kake Udon Pumpkin Korokke Vegetable Gyoza Asparagus, Prawn & Courgette Tempura Chicken Karaage As Marugame Udon operates a counter service, we didn't have to wait for our food. We had chosen and been served our dishes, paid and were seated within 5 minutes of walking into the restaurant. How did the food score? Kake Udon with Asparagus & Prawn Tempura, Pumpkin Korokke & Gyoza. 7.0/10 Kake Udon and tempura I ate bowl of Kake Udon - this is a very simple dish which contains only a serving of udon noodles in a fish dashi broth served with a little chopped spring onion. Both the noodles and broth were very good - my one compliant was that by the time I got to my seat, the bowl was tepid - sorry, but I like my noodles to be hot. I understand that with counter service, a restaurant might be reluctant to be handing over piping hot food to its patrons but I like to eat my noodles hot not cold! The Pumpkin Korokke was perfectly pleasant (it's hard to get too excited about a Pumpkin Korokke!). The high point of the meal was the tempura - in particular the Tempura Shrimp. This had just come out of the fryer so it was in perfect condition and honestly, quite delicious. Conclusion: The noodles were good and the broth tasted fine - if only it had still been hot! Two Pork Tonkotsu, Chicken Karaage, Courgette Tempura & Gyoza. 6.0/10 Two Pork Tonkotsu and tempura Unfortunately, the Two Pork Tonkotsu was the most tepid of the 3 bowls we ordered. That was a shame because it tasted fine, the noodles were good and the bowl was brimful of toppings - sliced char-siu pork, miso flavoured minced pork, egg, seaweed and spring onion. My co-diner was unhappy with both the chicken karaage which he felt was overdone (and cold) and the courgette tempura which he thought was undercooked. Conclusion: This could have been a lot better had the bowl of udon been hot! Chicken Paitan & Gyoza 6.5/10 Chicken Paitan & Gyoza The Chicken Paitan was an interesting dish. If you are wondering about the term "Paitan," it simply means a white broth. A Paitan broth can be made using either pork or chicken. The broth used in this dish was fine although no more than fine - my co-diner would have preferred the broth to be a little thicker and richer. Like my co-diner, it could have been a little hotter. The udon noodles were very good, soft, slippery and with the right amount of "bite." There was plenty of chicken pieces and a nice soft poached "Onsen Tamago". For the price, this was a satisfying bowl of udon. We all ate a gyoza just to try them out - if you read my reviews regularly, you will know that gyoza and miso soup are two of my acid tests of a good Japanese restaurant. Marugome didn't appear to have any chicken gyoza at the counter - perhaps they were restocking - so we all ate vegetable gyoza. The unanimous conclusion was that Marugame's offering was OK but nothing more than that - we all liked the fact that they were deep fried and had a nice crunchy skin - the flavour and filling left something to be desired though. Conclusion: This was a decent bowl of udon and good value for money. The Bill Assorted Tempura at Marugame Udon Kake Udon £4.75 Two Pork Tonkotsu £8.95 Chicken Paitan £7.95 Gyoza (each) £0.85 Pumpkin Korokke £1.65 Courgette Tempura £1.25 Asparagus Tempura £1.45 Shrimp Tempura £2.25 Chicken Karaage £1.95 Total £31.05 + VAT Summary: We all quite liked Marugame Udon - it does what it says on the tin as they say. The food was good - not outstanding but certainly good and reasonable value for money - and the service and ambience were certainly better than you might expect from a fast food outlet. On the whole, Marugame is a welcome addition to London's foodscape. Reading some of the corporate blurb about Marugame's outlets in London, they view their offering as on a par with Greggs or Macdonalds. Honestly, I think they are underselling themselves - Marugame is certainly a step up from a Macdonalds and as for Greggs, absolutely no contest IMO. The walk in, self service philosophy might be similar but the eating experience was much superior. On the other hand, that is reflected in the cost of the food - I doubt any of you have ever spent £33 in Greggs, have you.... But don't be fooled by some of the other reviews you might have read about Marugame Udon - don't come here expecting (as some reviews imply) something outstanding. Marugame Udon is - and makes no claims to be anything other than, a fast food outlet - the food is tasty and probably a lot better for you than Macdonalds or Greggs. The value for money proposition is pretty good too . But udon Nirvana, it is not! Minor criticisms: None of the bowls of udon were really hot. I appreciate the potential health and safety issue of hot bowls of food for a counter operation, but there must be a way to solve this - Marugame Udon, the ball is in your court! Food: ★★★☆☆ Ambience: ★★★☆☆ Value for Money: ★★★★☆ You can find Marugame Udon's Liverpool St branch at 114 Middlesex Street, Spitalfields, London E1 7ES. Other current branches in London are: Upper Floor, The Atrium Kitchen, Cabot Place, Canary Wharf, E14 4QT Unit 2.03 Entertainment Avenue, The O2, Greenwich, SE10 0DX and, Oxford St branch at 14 - 15 Barrett St (St Christopher's Place), London W1U 1LT Click & Collect via the website at https://order.marugame.co.uk (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....) And what about making it yourself? We all love to dine out and you certainly won't be disappointed by Abeno's offering. But don't forget you can make Japanese food at home which will not only taste good but for a fraction of the price too! I've listed two recipes below for items I ordered during my review. Why not give them a try? Just follow the links to the written recipes and Youtube tutorials. Recipe # 1 Udon Noodle Soup Udon noodle soup with Egg and Spinach Making a dish of udon noddles in a broth at home really could not be easier. It makes for a cheap, healthy meal and you get to decide what other goodies you add to your broth. If you would like to try this out, just click Udon Noodle Soup with Spinach & Egg. Recipe #2 Chicken Karaage Chicken Karaage Making your own deep fried Chicken Karaage is not as difficult as you might think. Just click on Japanese Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets to go to the recipe. If you would like to try making your own Karaage but you don't want to do any deep frying, then check out my oven baked method. You can find that by clicking Oven Baked Chicken Karaage. 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: http://www.kurumicooks.co.uk/about

Akira My other half finished a two week stint of jury service the other day, so I thought I would cheer him up with lunch somewhere quite swish - so, we found ourselves at Akira Japanese restaurant in Kensington High Street, London W8. Akira is sited on the first floor of the Japan House, which, if you've never been, is a charming little piece of Japan in the UK - there's a shop, takeaway Japanese tea and snack bar, regular exhibits and, last but certainly not least, Akira Japanese restaurant. Akira is named after its head chef, Shimizu Akira. As well as offering an extensive lunch and dinner menu, Akira offers a Japanese style afternoon tea and boasts a rather swish cocktail and drinks bar. When I booked, Akira was offering 50% off its bento lunch sets, so, unable to resist, that's what I booked Coco Japan House is very easy to find being only a minute away from High St Kensington tube station. Once inside, simply climb the spiral staircase or, you lazybones, take the lift one floor up to find Akira. The restaurant occupies the entire 1st floor of the building - there's a cocktaill bar with seating for 8 - 10 and some small tables with seats for about 10 more. Walk through into the main restaurant and you find a Japanese style counter (where we sat) facing the kitchen area with seating for 12 and tables spread around the rest of the space with seating for 50+. The ambience is understated Japanese - light wood furniture and dark wood screen dividers, muted abstract music in the background. There were 5 or 6 staff sharing the meet and greet and table service. For 1 pm on a Friday, the place was quite busy but the staff were well organised and coping easily with the flow. Kitchen in Akira We were seated within a minute of our arrival facing the kitchen where the chefs - 5 of them - were busy preparing the food. Acording to our waitress, the head honcho is Japanese but the other chefs hail from various place including the Philippines and Malaysia. If you've read my other reviews, you'll know I always try to find a spot with a view of the "action" - every kitchen tells a story and here the story was about a clean, efficient, well oiled operation - a good start to our experience. Sushi bento lunch set What did we eat? We ordered the following: Akira Bento Lunch Set Sushi Bento Lunch Set As you can see from the photo, Akira's bento lunch sets are presented in an array of beautiful little serving dishes - 15 per bento box. Akira's claim that its approach is based on three fundamentals - food, tableware & presentation - isn't just marketing talk - this really was quite the visual treat. The Sushi Bento (above) included some nigiri sushi - salmon, tuna and tai - as well as some tuna and salmon sashimi. The Akira Bento (photo below right) was served with the same cuts of sashimi but instead of the nigiri sushi, there were small cuts of chicken karaage and tonkatsu. How did the food score? The dishes and scores were as follows: Akira bento lunch set Vegetable Tamagoyaki 8.0/10 Simmered Daikon 7.0/10 Simmered Belly Pork 7.0/10 Chicken Karaage 7.5/10 Chicken Katsu 8.0/10 Simmered Lotus Root 7.5/10 Salmon sashimi 8.0/10 Tuna sashimi 8.0/10 Fried eel 8.5/10 Tonkatsu 8.5/10 Grean bean salad 8.5/10 Savoury egg custard 9.0/10 Wasabi pickles 9.5/10 Deep fried white fish 8.5/10 Salmon & Tuna Nigiri 9.0/10 Vegetable tempura 9.0/10 White fish Nigiri 9.0/10 Sushi rolls 8.5/10 Conclusion: A very good selection of dishes with not a "miss" amongst them. The Bill. Akira Bento Box £ 20.00 Akira Sushi Bento Box £ 20.00 Kirin beer £ 5.00 Matcha Chocolate Fondant £ 8.00 Total £ 59.62 including VAT & Service charges Summary: You've heard of the expression, "You get what you pay for". Well, at Akira, we got a lot more than we paid for when we ate there. The lunch time 50% offer is fabulous value - in fact, it's the nicest surprise I've had at a restaurant for a long time! Apart from the high quality of the food and presentation, the restaurant itself was elegant, spacious and understated. The table service was attentive, friendly and willing to help. After our lunch, I left wanting to eat here again sometime soon - the menu has so many good things listed on it and the quality of the lunchtime bento leaves me in absolutely no doubt that the rest of the menu will be equally delicious. Food: ★★★★☆ Ambience: ★★★★☆ Value for Money: ★★★★★ You can find Akira at 1F Japan House, 101-111 Kensington High Street, London, W8 5SA Booking via the website at info@akira-restaurant.co.uk (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....) And how about making it yourself? We all love to dine out and you certainly won't be disappointed by Abeno's offering. But don't forget you can make Japanese food at home which will not only taste good but for a fraction of the price too! I've listed two recipes below for items I ordered during my review. Why not give them a try? Just follow the links to the written recipes and Youtube tutorials. Recipe #1 Vegetable Tamagoyaki Vegetable Tamagoyaki The vegetable tamagoyaki served at Akira was a true teaser dish - enough to enough, not enough to satisfy once you've tasted it. But you can make an equally good vegetable tamagaoyaki at home and, best of all, you don't even. need one of those flash Japanese square shaped pans to make it! (I have to admit a square pan does help though.) Follow my recipe and it will taste every bit as good as the restaurant version. If you would like to tke a closer look at this dish, simply click Vegetable Tamagoyaki to go to the recipe page. Recipe #2 Savoury Egg Custard AKA Chawanmushi Japanese Savoury Egg Custard If you're ever a little under the weather and want to eat something easy on the tummy but tasty and nourishing, I can think of nothing better than a Japanese savoury egg custard, AKA Chawanmushi. Of course, you don't have to be ill to enjoy this meal but I think it illustrates how light and easy to digest this dish is. Chawanmushi isn't difficult to make at home - in fact most Japanese probably eat it more at home than out. If you want to try these out, just click Japanese Savoury Egg Custard to go to the recipe. 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 Hayter 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

Stir fried Beansprouts Eating 5 vegetable portions a day doesn't have to mean eating a salad. Here's a simple recipe that takes only a little longer than 5 minutes to prepare (less if your chopping skills are top notch.) The main ingredient is the humble bean sprout. I probably don't eat enough beans sprouts - I tend to ignore them when I find them at my local supermarket as I never think they look very fresh. But the beansprouts I find when I occasionally go to an Asian supermarket always look as if they're freshly picked, so I tend to buy up a pack whenever I shop there. Along with the beansprouts, I use 3 cloves of garlic and half a red and yellow pepper with a garnish of chopped spring onion. Once you've chopped all your veg, it's just a matter of getting a tablespoon of sesame oil nice and hot in a large frying pan or wok. Then, toss in your garlic and stir fry for 1 minutes and then 2 minutes with the rest of the veg. Season with salt and pepper and you're done, Tip out onto a large plate and garnish with the spring onions. What could be easier? What could be more healthy? You can use this dish as a side to share or as a main course with a bowl of rice. You'll get your five-a-day vegetables with fibre, plenty of vitamin B, C and K plus lots of essential minierals. I think you have to agree, that's not bad for 5 minutes of effort! So, if you want to bring some fried beansprouts into your life, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Stir Fried Beansprouts or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy stir frying! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 generous servings) 3 cloves of garlic 1/2 yellow bell pepper 1/2 red bell pepper 1 spring onion for topping 1 tbsp of sesame oil 1 packet of beansprouts (approx. 350g), rinsed 1 tsp of salt or to taste a little pepper how to: slice the garlic cloves, peppers and spring onion thinly heat the sesame oil in a large frying pan or wok. add the sliced garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds. add and stir fry the peppers and beansprouts for 1 - 2 minutes and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste place the fried beansprouts on a large serving plate and garnish with the sliced spring onion. your Stir fried Beansprouts dish is ready to serve. Stir fried beansprouts