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Thai Riceberry salad If you've never come across Thai Riceberry, you are in for a treat. Riceberry is a relatively new hybrid rice variety created in Thailand by creating two local varieties to create a beautiful deep purple wholegrain rice. Riceberry has it all - it's different, it's attractive, it cooks as easily as jasmine and it has all the health benefits of wholegrain brown rice (Vitamin B1, Vitamin) as well as much higher levels of antioxidants and polyphenols than brown rice varieties. If you like your rice and you're looking for the very best nutritional bang for you buck plus easy preparation, you absolutely need to check Thai Riceberry out. Even better, you can buy Thai Riceberry from lots of online stores and considering its health benefits, it isn't at all expensive. So, once you have your Thai Riceberry, how should you enjoy eating it? Because of its health properties, I like to put it in a big, healthy salad along with beans and lots of vegetables - Riceberry is quite substantial and combined with some beans plus tomatoes, peppers, aubergine avocado and courgette, you get a salad which is a true meal in itself and uber-healthy. The dressing I use in my Riceberry salad is very simple - French mustard, olive oil, lemon juice and a dash of honey. I add a boiled egg per serving for extra protein but you could dispense with the eggs if you prefer and still enjoy a substantial, healthy meal. To start with, I get the rice cooking. Thai Riceberry is wholegrain so there are no starchy remnants to wash off - just 2 or 3 rinses with water and you're good to go. I use a rice cooker but if you cook your Riceberry in a saucepan, most packets advise cooking in 1 : 1.5 times water for 25 minutes on a very low simmer, then resting for 10 minutes. In the meantime, there is plenty of vegetable chopping to keep you busy. I keep some of the vegetables raw - the pepper, tomatoes and avocado - and I fry the courgette and eggplant/aubergine. Once the courgette and eggplant/aubergine are cooked, I make the dressing and peel and halve my boiled eggs (if you want to present this dish as vegan, then just forget the boiled eggs - this salad is plenty nutricious even without them!) Then, it's just a matter of combining everything in a bowl. This salad is substantial and nutricious enough to enjoy on its own as a healthy dinner or lunch option - I guarantee, you'll leave the table feeling satisfied and healthy! If you think you'd like to try Thai Riceberry, then you can find my Youtube tutorial by clicking Thai Riceberry Salad or scrolling to the bottom of the page. You'll find the recipe just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. PS: If you have some good wholegrain brown rice in your cupboard, this recipe will work well with that too! ingredients: (makes 2 substantial servings as a main course) 1 cup (130g/ 4.5oz) Thai Riceberry (or any red or brown rice) 2 eggs 1/2 red onion 10 baby tomatoes 1/2 yellow or any coloured bell pepper 1/2 avocado 1/2 eggplant/aubergine 1 small courgette 1 X 400g / 14 oz tin of mixed beans, drained 30g / 1 oz rocket or green leaves 2 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil salt & pepper for the dressing: 1 tbsp French mustard 1 tsp honey 3 tbsp lemon juice 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil how to: rinse the rice 2 or 3 times with cold water. put the rice in your rice cooker or a saucepan. add water according to your rice cooker markings or the packet instructions and cook meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. add 2 eggs and cook for 10 mins. cool in cold water, then peel and halve slice the onion thinly. soak it in water for 10 mins to remove the bitterness rinse and halve the baby tomatoes halve and slice the pepper halve the avocado and cut into slices halve and cut the eggplant into small pieces. soak them in a bowl of water for 10 mins to remove the bitterness halve the courgette longways, then cut into slices heat 2 - 3 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. add the eggplant and courgette to the pan. season with salt & pepper and fry until lightly browned to make the dressing, combine the mustard, honey, lemon juice and olive oil. give the ingredients a good stir and set aside when the Riceberry is ready, spoon it into a large bowl. add the fried aubergine & courgette, drained red onion, the pepper, tomatoes, the drained mixed beans and the avocado. mix everything together well last, pour over dressing and add the rocket. mix once more serve with the boiled egg as a topping Thai Riceberry salad

Chinese style stir fried Spicy King Prawns Along with tempura, IMO this dish is one of the best ways to eat king prawns - I've eaten this in Chinese restaurants in Japan since I was a child, so I guess it's ingrained as a Kurumi family favourite . Preparation is pretty minimal - a little marinading, some sauce and some frying - no more than 15 minutes from start to finish. I should point out that I used prepared king prawns in this recipe. If you buy unprepared prawns, the dish will take a little longer as you will need to peel and devein them. Chilli Bean Sauce Along with your king prawns, the key ingredient is a jar of Chinese chilli bean sauce or toban djan as it is called in Chinese. You can buy this in most supermarkets these days or if that fails, online or in a Chinese/Asian food store if you have one nearby. I used a Lee Kum Kee brand for this recipe as it doens't contain any MSG or artificial colouring. Taste wise, this is medium/ hot in the range of toban djan sauces I have tried. Depending on how spicy you like your food, you only need to use a teaspoon or two in this dish but a jar of chilli sauce will keep for a long time in the fridge and once you start using it, you might realise that it's a versatile sauce that you can use to give a spicy boast to lots of other dishes too! (Remember that Japanese dishes are normally quite mild when it comes to spiciness, so don't be afraid to add more toban djan if you want something with extra heat.) This recipe also uses a little cooking sake for extra richness of flavour but you can miss this if you prefer not to use alcohol. On the other hand, if you have no cooking sake, you can use the same amount of Chinese Shaoxing wine as a substitute. I usually serve this dish on a bed of lettuce but that isn't obligatory - the dish works perfectly well by itself and paired with bowls of fresh white rice, will make a satisfying tasty seafood dinner or lunch. If you're in the mood for some Chinese style seafood for dinner or lunch, you can find the Youtube tutorial Chinese style stir fried Spicy King Prawns or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 12-14 frozen raw king prawns, peeled & deveined a little salt a little pepper 1/2 tbsp potato flour 1 tsp cooking sake or Chinese cooking wine (optional) 1/2 medium onion 1 clove of garlic 1 slice of ginger for the spicy sauce: 1 tsp toban djan (豆板醤 - Chinese chilli bean sauce) 1 heap tsp soy sauce 1 tsp cooking sake or Chinese cooking wine (optional) 1/2 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp tomato ketchup 1 tsp potato flour 60ml / 2 fl oz water 1.5 tbsp vegetable oil 5 tbsp frozen peas how to: rinse the king prawns, then put them in a bowl. season by sprinkling with a little salt and pepper. add 1/2 tbsp of potato flour & 1 tsp of cooking sake over the prawns. mix well before setting aside. chop the onion, garlic & ginger finely then set that aside too. next, prepare your spicy sauce. combine the toban djan, soy sauce, cooking sake, sugar, tomato ketchup, 1 tsp of potato flour & water in a bowl. mix well. heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan. add the onion, garlic & ginger and stir fry for 1 - 2 mins or until the onion is soft. add another 1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil to the frying pan then, add the prawns & peas and stir fry for 2-3 mins or until the prawns are cooked. now add the spicy sauce to the frying pan. stir fry for another 1- 2 mins or until the sauce has thickened. your Chinese style Spicy King Prawns are ready for the table. serve with fresh, steamed bowls of rice. Chinese style stir fried Spicy King Prawns

CoCo Ichibanya Japanese Curry House CoCo Ichibanya Japanese Curry House a review. A recent trip into central London took me to what might just be the world's largest chain of curry houses - CoCo Ichibanya Japanese Curry House. I wasn't intending to do a review but as I was in Chinatown doing some shopping at lunchtime, I thought, why not? CoCo Ichibanya has two branches in London and one, was just around the corner in Gt Newport St. (The other branch - just opened - is just off of Oxford St.) CoCo Ichibanya Japanese Curry House has over 1500 outlets worldwide - as I said above, I think it probably qualifies as the world's largest chain of curry houses. CoCo Ichibanya in Japan In Japan, Coco Ichibanya is everywhere. I took the photo on the left in a Japanese motorway service station. I think you probably get the fact that CoCo Ichibanya isn't the sort of place you go on a night out - the equation here is very much reasonable food at a reasonable price put in front of you quickly enough that you don't need to rush your eating before the end of your lunch break. The food is meant to be good, satisfying fare but don't expect to be wowed. If you delve a little into the company's Japanese website, you'll find that CoCo Ichibanya Japanese Curry House is owned by one of Japan's largest sellers of Japanese curry cubes under the Java, Vermont and Kokumaru brands. Interior of CoCo Ichibanya CoCo Ichibanya is quite easy to find - it's at the western end of Gt Newport St, Nos 17 - 18. It's been open since 2018. Inside, the place is clean, bright and there's seating for around 30 diners - roughly 10 seated at a window front counter with the others at tables arranged around the cooking area - I thought it looked much better and was certainly much bigger that a CoCo Ichibanya you would find in Japan which tend to be oriented a lot more to stand up and takeawy service. There's nothing inside to tell you that this is a Japanese restaurant but CoCo Ichibanya sells nothing but Japanese curry dishes - mostly curry rice dishes but also curry gratin. I wanted to try the latter but unfortunately there were no curry gratins available when I visited. a kitchen in CoCo Ichibanya CoCo Ichibanya's approach to curry is very simple - you get one standard curry and rice dish. You can order more or less rice compared to the standard serving for an extra charge. As for your curry, you can order the standard flavour or order one of 5 grades of extra spice and heat. Then it's a simple matter of deciding which curry you wish to order - well, in fact it's not so simple as there are a dizzying array of different plates to choose from. If you're new to Japanese curry, you might be surprised at some of the combinations CoCo Ichibanya Japanese Curry House offers - plates like Chicken Katsu and Cheese curry, Sausage curry or Okra & Tofu Omelette curry! CoCo Ichibanya even offers a Natto curry - I have to admit that even I was scratching my head at that and thinking, hmmmm... I guess it all depends on what you expect from a curry but to me, the different combinations you can choose is all part of the fun of eating a Japanese curry - Cinnamon Club this is not - it's all a bit wacky and a bit of fun and all the better for it! I should add that CoCo Ichibanya's formula seems to be working - the place was just about full for the duration of our stay. What did we eat? CoCo Ichibanya We ordered the following: Omelette Seafood Curry Spice Level 1 Cheese Curry Spice Level 2 The service was very friendly and efficient and our waitress explained how to order the dishes. We waited just under 10 minutes for the food to arrive which was pretty good given that the shop was quite busy at the time. I took the time to check out the other diners - very few Japanese, quite a few Chinese locals from Soho and then a variety of mosty young people. Everyone seemed to be having fun and enjoying the food. How did the food score? Omelette Seafood Curry 7/10 Omu Curry with seafood Also known as an "Omu-Curry", this dish stands as a true Japanese innovation. (Let's face it - who else would have thought of combining an omelette with a curry sauce!) Basically, you get a mound of rice covered with an omelette. The omelette is just cooked through so that it has a shiny appearance. The omelette and rice is then surrounded with a moat of curry sauce. CoCo Ichibanya's attempt at an Omu-Curry was IMO very good. The seafood curry had a real seafood taste to it and was complemented with some rather tasty squid and shrimp. The omelette was cooked just right for that shiny appearance. The curry was on the mild side, but that was what I wanted. I was glad I only ordered the standard portion of rice as I just about managed to finsh the plate Conclusion: A satisfying, fast Japanese curry. Cheese Curry 6.5/10 Cheese curry Cheese in a curry, you might be thinking? If you haven't tried a cheese curry before, it might surprise you to know that this isn't a Japanese first. I first started eating cheese in a curry when I first came to England. Before I tried it, I really didn't think I was going to enjoy it, but in fact I got to like it quite quickly and now I make it at home on a fairly regular basis. My co-diner - AKA my husband - loves a cheese curry, so he chomping at the bit to see how the dish measured up. CoCo Ichibanya's cheese curry was, I have to say, a little bit disappointing. I couldn't identify the cheese that was in the curry and the pieces were cut so small that they had all but melted into the sauce by the tme it got to the table. Part of the enjoyment of a "pukka" cheese curry is that the cheese (which should be a mature cheddar) should be semi-soft but not melted - that way you get to enjoy the contrasting flavours of the curry and the cheese. As for the curry sauce, this was definitely a little hotter than the sauce I ordered, so you do get a hotter curry as you move up the scale. Conclusion: Ultimately a reasonable dish but it could be better without too much effort. The Bill. Omelette Seafood Curry £ 13.50 Cheese Curry £ 9.40 Total £ 26.10 (Including VAT and service) Summary: I liked CoCo Ichibanya and I'd go there again if I found myself wanting a quick Japanese curry hit in central London. The curries reminded me of what I would get in Japan and the food was decent value for money. CoCo ichibanya is very much a case of "what you see is what you get" - a place to have fun picking a quirky Japanese curry from the menu, enjoying a fast, filling meal and getting out. Food: ★★★☆☆ Ambience: ★★☆☆☆ Value for Money: ★★★★☆ You can find CoCo Ichibanya at 17-18 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JE. The new CoCo branch is 39 James St, London W1U 1DL. Reservations via phone on the company website. CoCo Ichibanya doesn't offer takeaway. (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....) CoCo Ichibanya, Japan I thought you might like to see what a typical Coco Ichibanya looks like in Japan. So, as I'm back home at the moment, I thought I'd take a snap of one of their shops in Tokyo. The Soho outlet looks a little more swanky that the more humdrum Japanese shop although, of course, it is only a couple of years old. The shops in Japan tend to be a bit smaller and the interiors a lot plainer so think yourself lucky, you Londoners! Other than that the branding is very much the same. I didn't do an exhaustive check of the menu but the one in Soho did look as if was offering pretty much exactly what you would get in Japan, which is a good thing, IMO. 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 Chicken Omu Curry Chicken Omu Curry CoCo Ichiban's Omu Curry makes for a satisfying lunch but if you really want to make the absolute most of an Omu-Curry, then try my Chicken Omu-Curry. This takes a little time and a little bit of know-how to master the eggy omelette but once you've done this, you can create a dish which will have the chefs at CoCo Ichiban licking their lips with envy! If you want to try this recipe out just click on Chicken Omu Curry for the culinary keys. Recipe #2 Java Cheese Curry Java Cheese Curry As I said above, I've been making and eating my own Japanese cheese curry for a long time. In my recipe I use Java curry cubes, spinach and a mature cheddar cheese. If you want to try it out yourself, then just click Java Cheese Curry to go to my recipe. You'll be eating a Java cheese curry in your own kitchen in no time! Java cheese curry 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

Chinjao Rosu (Chinese style peppered pork) Chinjao Rosu, like Gyoza and Ma Po"s Tofu is a Chinese origin dish which is so ingrained now in Japanese food culture that many Japanese would probably be hard pressed to identify its true heritage. As you probably know, when the Japanese appropriate a foreign dish a few things happen in the converion, spiciness and heat are reduced and sweetness is increased in proportion and Chinjao Rosu is no different. You might find this in other places called Pepper Steak but I think that is another appropriation - this time American, or at least Chinese-American - the mainland Chinese eat little if any beef, so Pepper Steak likely has its roots in Stateside Chinatowns. (The Chinese name for this dish - 青椒肉絲 - from which the Japanese name is taken, states pork, not beef.) Apart from its origins, what else can I tell you about Chinjao Rosu? First, it is very easy to make. Second, it takes no more than 30 minutes. Third, for the best results, prepare the pork in advance and leave it to marinate for an hour or so for the very best flavour. I use pork shoulder in this recipe and slice it myself, but if you want to make things even simpler, just buy some sliced pork at your butcher or supermarket and you'll be able to save a little more time. If you eat Chinjao Rosu in Japan, you'll find a lot of restaurants make it with sliced bamboo. Personally, I prefer my Chinjao Rosu without bamboo but if you wish to include it, about 50g / 1.5 oz is about the right amount. I used 1/2 a gren and red pepper in this dish but really any colour of pepper will do. Last, Chinjao Rosu is served with a bowl of steamed rice. You could add another side dish of vegetables if you like but Chinjao Rosus makes a great meal all by itself. If you think this is the dish for you, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Chinjao Rosu (Chinese style peppered pork) or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy frying! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 1/2 green bell pepper 1/2 red bell pepper 250g /9 oz pork shoulder steak salt & pepper 1 tbsp Chinese Shaohsing wine or Japanese sake 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp potato flour 2 tbsp sunflower oil 1 clove of garlic 1 thin slice of ginger 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp Chinese Shaohsing wine or Japanese sake 1 tbsp soy sauce how to: deseed the bell peppers, remove most of the white flesh andslice thinly thinly slice the pork shoulder. put into a bowl and season lightly with salt & pepper. add the shaohsing wine, soy sauce, potato flour and mix well. marinate for at least 15 mins but referably up to an hour meanwhile, slice and mince the garlic and ginger heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. stir fry the pepper for 1 minute and then set aside add the second tbsp of oil to the frying pan. add the minced garlic and ginger and the pork. stir fry for 5 minutes until the pork is cooked through add the sugar, shaohsing wine, soy sauce to the frying pan and stir. then, add back the pepper and stir again for a minute or two until the alcohol from the wine has evaporated serve with bowls of steamed rice. Chinjao Rosu (Chinese style peppered pork)

Fish Finger Musubi Here's my latest easy fusion creation. Fish Finger Musubi. I think I can safely claim to this dish being a Kurumicooks original - I haven't seen it anywhere else and it was just one of those serendipitious occasions when I found some fish fingers in the back of the freezer and wonder what to do with them for a quick lunch - eh, viola! The Fish Finger Musubi was born! If you know your Japanese, you'll know that a "musubi" translates as a "rice ball". Musubi are one of the oldest Japanese foods with a history of a thousand years and more. Musubi are all about a quick, food on the go, style of eating. They make their way into millions if Japanese lunch boxes every day. Which brings me to fish fingers - those little battered digits beloved of two or three generations of children, mine included. My grown up child of a husband is still partial to the occasional fish finger or three for lunch, so whenever I am away, he always buys some and puts them in the freezer, which, as I said before, is where i found them. My husband made some appreciative noises when I tested one of these out on him and I thought they worked very well too. Taste-wise, using a fish filling complements the nori seaweed wrapper. I added an extra zing with a couple of teapsoons of tartare sauce spread across the fingers although you could use mayo if you have no tartare handy. I added some rocket leaves as a vegetable component although any small salad leaves would work just as well. These are a cinch to make - the one bit of kit you need is a musubi mould to shape your rice. (These are only about $/£5 on line and usually you get a pair of them - I purchased mine from Amazon.) Once you have your musubi moulds, all you need to do is cook some rice, bake your fish fingers in the oven for 12 - 15 minutes (basically, what the pack tells you to do) and then assemble. What do you get for a few minutes work? A quick, filling and nourishing lunch or supper (I hesitate to use the word "snack" as one of these is really quite filling.) I ate just one of these with a salad and was more than ready for an afternoon's work. I really hope you try these out. They are quick, good to eat and fun to make - we should all have a bit of fun in the kitchen now and again, shouldn't we? You can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Fish Finger Musubi or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy moulding! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 3 musubi) 4 frozen fish fingers 200g / 7 oz cooked Japanese rice 1 sheet of nori seaweed 4 tsp tartare sauce 1 musubi mould how to: cook the fish fingers according to the instructions on the packet. this should take 12 - 15 minutes take a sheet of nori and fold in half lengthways. (make sure the folded nori is the same width as the musubi mould.) then, cut in half lay 1/2 a sheet of nori on a cutting board. place the musubi mould in the middle of the nori. put 50g of cooked japanese rice into the mould. insert the mould lid and press down to compact the rice. remove the mould and then take the mould lid off of the rice. if the lid is stuck to the rice, then gently prise it off using a knife next, place 2 cooked fish fingers on the rice layer. add 2 tsp of tartare sauce and spread the sauce along the fish fingers pile some rocket leaves or other small salad leaves on the top of the fish fingers now, put another 50g of cooked rice into the mould. compact the rice with the musubi lid and then remove the mould and the lid using a slice or the blade of a large knife, ift up the rice layer and place it carfully over the salad leaves last, wrap the fish fingers and rice up with the nori sheet, gently closing the nori over the top. if the ends of the nori won't close, use a few grains of rice to stick them together your first fish finger musubi is ready! repeat the process for #2 Fish Finger Musubi

Okan A little while ago, I posted a review of what used to be London's sole okonomiyaki specialist restaurant; Abeno in Bloomsbury. Personally speaking, I loved Abeno: the food was excellent, the service faultless and the value for money 100% spot on. But Abeno is no longer London's only okonomiyaki restaurant, now there is OKAN (which in local Osakan dialect means "mum".) I'm not sure exactly how long OKAN has been open but the first outlet started in Brixton Village and now Okan has three outlets, Brixton Village, Brixton East and now London's South Bank. (BTW: If you don't already know, an okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake made with a wheat flour batter (or a mix of wheat and yam flour) mixed with shredded cabbage and other ingredients. Okonomiyaki in Japanese means, "fried as you like it", so as the name of the dish implies, you get to select what additional fillings go into your okonomiyaki. So, I went along to Okan South Bank one rather gloomy Monday lunchtime wondering how it would compare to the rather wonderful, Abeno. The first two things I should point out about Okan are as follows: All the Okan outlets are very small - they are described as canteens - so it's probably wise to book ahead. I had visited Okan once before, without booking ahead, and as I had faced a wait of over an hour to be seated, I'd given up. So this time, I booked in advance. As it turned out, being a Monday, I needn't have bothered as Okan South Bank wasn't at all full. Okan South Bank is quite difficult to find! The restaurant is tucked away in the rear of the old Greater London Council Building on the South Bank but the only clue outside is a small wooden pavement sign, so be prepared for some sleuthing before you find the place. Once I had found my way to Okan, I had an Alice Through The Looking Glass experience as I went inside. Okan's interior is a designed to look like a 1970's or 1980's Japanese "hole in the wall" restaurant and I have to say that they've done a great job in recreating that ambience and atmosphere - the place is decked out with lots of 20th Century memorabilia and looks very authentic - in fact, it looks like those "authentic" places that are getting harder and harder to find in Japan itself these days. Okan South Bank really is a "hole in the wall" size restaurant - 7 tables and a counter - so no more than 22 diners at a time. (So, yes, booking in advance does make a lot of sense.) Inside of Okan Although OKAN has a street food vibe, the place was clean and the tables spotless. The chef and his "teppan" hotplate were behind the counter and in full view of his diners. My one criticism of Okan's interior would be that it was just too gloomy inside. You could say that's part of the ambience but I do like to see my food and I found Okan's interior just a little too dark - dark enough that people with poorer eyesight might struggle to see the menu. (I should also mention the fact that if you feel the need for a trip to the WC , there isn't one in OKAN - you have to leave the restaurant and walk for a minute or so down through the corridors of the GLC Building to find the Ladies and Gents. But the restrooms are very modern and rather swanky, so once you've found them, you'll no doubt be happy!) The design of OKAN also reminded me a lot of a ramen restaurant that I visited some month's ago; Heddon Yokocho. If you've read that review, you'll know I liked the ambience but the food left an awful lot to be desired. So, I wondered, would OKAN be all flash and no substance? What did we eat? We ordered the following: Sweet Soy Lotus Root Isobe Maki mochi OKAN Special Okonomiyaki (Kimchi, Squid and Prawn) OKAN Omu Yakisoba The Lotus Root and Isobe Maki dishes were starters and these duly arrived first, followed about 15 minutes later by the Special Okonomiyaki and Omu Yakisoba main dishes. Timing-wise, this all worked well, just long enough between the first and second courses. How did the food score? Sweet Soy Lotus Root 7.5/10 Sweet Soy Lotus Root The small dish of lotus root (renkon in Japanese) arrived stir fried and seasoned with a little chilli and saffron. The lotus root itself was nicely fried, maybe a little on the soft side but certainly with some crunch left in it. The dish didn't taste particularly sweet but had a slightly barbecued, toasted quality to it, which I liked. I couldn't taste any trace of saffron however. Both my co-diner and I thought the same thing - an ideal side dish to enjoy with a glass of cold Japanese lager. Conclusion: A decent enough start to our meal. Isobe Maki Mochi 9/10 Isobe Maki Mochi Isobe maki is a simple enough dish. Japanese mochi rice grilled in soy sauce and wrapped in a square of nori seaweed. There isn't much that can go wrong with Isobe Maki unless you burn the mochi rice. OKAN's serving of Isobe Maki was well made: the mochi was warm and soft. seasoned with just the right amount of soy sauce and wrapped in a tasty square of seaweed. Conclusion: A nicely made starter that I couldn't fault. OKAN Special Okonomiyaki 7.5/10 Okonomiyaki My co-diner's Special Okonomiyaki arrived straight from the chef's "teppan" hot plate dressed with okonomiyaki sauce, mayo, powdered nori and powdered katsuobushi. I have to admit i was a little surprised that the restaurant was using cheap powder instead of katsuobushi flakes. Okonomiyaki is Okan's flagship product, so I didn't think corners would be cut here. Nonetheless, the pancake was nicely cooked and well flavoured. The kimchi flavour was quite subtle but then kimchi does tend to lose its powerful spicy flavour when cooked. There were fairly generous portions of squid and prawn. Conclusion: Overall, this was a dish of okonomiyaki that was authentically Japanese and good to eat. OKAN Omu Yakisoba 7.5/10 Omu Yakisoba For me, the way to judge a good yakisoba is not only the taste. but the texture of the noodles, the "bite." This is all the more difficult to get right if the noodles are cooked/recooked over a teppan hot plate. I'm happy to say the chef got these right, the noodles were just how I like them, still with some body. Taste-wise, I couldn't complain either. Okan clearly use a shop made sauce that has a distinct, smoky flavour which I rather liked. Conclusion: Like Okan's okonomiyaki, this was a satisfying dish that I would happily order again. The Bill. Menu Lotus Root £ 4.50 Isobe Maki mochi £ 3.00 Special Okonomiyaki £13.95 Omu-Soba £11.50 Total £32.95 (Excluding service) Summary: I liked Okan. I enjoyed the somewhat nostalgic interior - some might say it is contrived but I think it was done very well. Okan's food was good / very good and exactly what I would have expected had I walked into Okan in downtown Tokyo or Osaka. Minor criticisms: first, the twilight grade gloominess was overdone, second, the chef and waitress probably needed some help, they were coping with the restaurant half full but people were having to try several times to get the waitress' attention - but there again, that's probably what you would expect in a small ma and pa run okonomiyaki-ya in Japan, so maybe it's all part of the experience. Inevitably, you have to compare Okan with Abeno, the long time champion of okonomiyaki dining in London. A homesick Japanese might be attracted to the nostalgic atmosphere of Okan and the home from home feel of the place. On the other hand, if it's the food and the food experience you are looking for, then Abeno wins by a good distance. Abeno's food is beautifiully presented (Abeno's Omu-Soba is a visual treat as well as a culinary one - in terms of presentation, there's no contest.) The food is also cooked at your table and tastes very, very good. But, on the other hand, that's probably not the point of Okan, which is very much a no-frills dining experience. I should point out that price-wise, there's very little difference between Abeno and Okan. On the basis of the food alone, Abeno would get my money every day of the week. Food: ★★★★☆ Ambience: ★★★★☆ Value for Money: ★★★★☆ You can find OKAN at County Hall, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 7PB. Reservations and takeaway via www.okanlondon (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 Sweet Soy Lotus Root Sweet Soy pan fried Lotus Root OKAN's sweet soy lotus root is a great way to serve this unknown superfood. (Check out lotus root - it is very, very good for you!) I like to think my recipe (which doesn't use saffron as I think the taste gets lost) is even better than OKAN's! If you want to try it out yourself, then just click Sweet Soy Lotus Root to go to my recipe. You'll be making this delicious, healthy dish in your own kitchen in no time! Recipe #2 Okonomiyaki with Prawns and Squid Okonomiyaki with Prawn and Squid OKAN describes this dish as their Special Okonomiyaki. It certainly made for a tasty meal (although, like me, you have to like squid!) But don't think it's something that you can't learn to create at home - okonomiyaki is really quite simple to make. If you want to try it out yourself, then just click Okonomiyaki with Prawns and Squid to go to my recipe. You'll be eating okonomiyaki in your own kitchen in no time! 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

Steak Donburi with Wasabi Butter sauce I wouldn't describe myself as a big meat eater but every now and again I do like to indulge in a good steak. One of my favourite ways of eating steak is like this. The Steak Donburi with Wasabi Butter sauce recipe is as easy as you like. I use a couple of good quality rump steaks, pat dry and then season with salt and pepper. The steaks get a 4 minute fry (2 minutes each side) in a tbsp of olive oil (each ) to medium rare. Once the steak is out of the pan to rest, I add some soy sauce to the juices and stir in, then set the pan aside. Then, I mix some wasabi with a knob of softened butter in a small bowl and set that aside also. (I use "instant" wasabi from a tube as I find this is more powerful than raw wasabi and suits the dish better than the milder, fresh version.) Next, I take one spring onion and finely chop. Once the steak has rested, I slice and cut into diamonds, then return to the frying pan (no heat this time) and give the steak a good coating with the juices. The next step is to fill two bowls with a generous helping of steamed white Japanese rice. Then, lay the steak diamonds over the rice. Once the donburi bowls are ready, I sprinkle with the chopped spring onion. Finally, (this is the ingredient that takes this dish to another level taste-wise) I pop the wasabi butter into the microwave on high for about 10 seconds to soften it, then spoon it over the spring onion and steak. This dish makes a substantial lunch or satisfying dinner. It's easy, quick and as I said above, rather indulgent - but we all need a little indulgence now and again, don't we? This recipe is provided by Yumiko Nikaido from Tokyo. Thank you for delicious steak recipe, Yukiko san! If this is the sort of cooking that floats your culinary boat, you can click on Steak Donburi with Wasabi Butter Sauce for the Youtube tutorial or scroll to the bottom of the page. You can find the recipe ingredients and "how to" instructions below. Happy eating! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 2 spring onions, rinsed 2 sirloin steak (approx. 200g each) 1 sheet of kitchen paper salt & pepper 2 tbsp olive oil 40g butter 15 - 20g of wasabi paste from a tube (according to how hot you want the wasabi butter to taste) 2 tbsp soy sauce 400g cooked rice how to: slice the spring onions very thinly and set a side for your topping pat dry each steak with a square or two of kitchen paper. season well with salt & pepper on both sides combine the butter and the wasabi in a small bowl. mix, then set aside heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and let it get hot. add your steak and fry for 2 mins. then, turn over it and fry for a further 2 mins remove the steak to a plate to rest. repeat with steak #2. (or, of course, you can fry both steaks together if you have a big enough pan!) when both steaks are ready, add 2 tbsp of soy sauce to the pan. turn off the heat immediately and stir (you don't want the soy sauce to burn as this will spoil the flavour). slice the steaks into 1 cm strips, then cut into diamond shape. return each steak to the pan (with the heat off) and give the ieces a good coating with the sauce plate up two large bowls with fresh rice. arrange the steak pieces over the rice in a nice pattern. spoon /12 of the chopped spring onion into the cente of each bowl. last, pop the wasabi butter into the microwave to make it nice and runny, then spoon or drizzle the butter over the steaks your steak donburi with wasabi butter is now ready to serve Steak Donburi with Wasabi Butter sauce

Daikon Ribbon Salad My latest recipe is a simple, healthy salad where Japanese daikon is the star turn. (Daikon translates simply as "big root" in English) although you may know it as white radish, mouli, luobo or my personal favourite, icicle radish. Daikon is good for you - a 15cm / 6 inch daikon provides nearly 150% of your daily Vitamin C requirement plus folate, calcium, magnesium and copper. Daikon is also very easy to grow in your garden if you fancy doing something a little green fingered in the spring months. But back to the recipe. As I said above, this is very simple to make - it's just a mixture of daikon peeled into long strips and some chopped rocket leaves. The daikon strips are mixed with salt and rested for 10 minutes to draw out the bitterness and some of the water content. A few good squeezes and you'll be surprised how much liquid you can drain out of the strips, leaving a lovely light, crunchy plate of goodness. Once the daikon has been squeezed, in goes the rocket. Then, seasoning is composed of a heaped teaspoon of Japanese dashi stock granules, two teaspoons of lemon juice and about 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar. Everything gets a good miz and voila - it's ready. I garnish with a little white sesame for extra flavour and a rather nice decoartive effect and that's it. I think you'll agree, a healthy, tasty salad doesn't get much easier than that! If this is something that you would like to try, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Daikon Ribbon salad or scroll to the bottom of the page. As always, you can find the written recipe just below. Happy squeezing! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 generous side servings) 20cm / 8 inches (approx. 450g) daikon / white radish 1 tsp salt 1 heaped tea spoon of Japanese dashi stock granules 2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp sugar a handful of rocket leaves, rinsed 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds how to: first peel the daikon skin, making sure you remove all the skin down to the white inner flesh. next, cut the daikon in half lengthways. take on 1/2 and and slice into ribbons using a peeler when you have peeled as much daikon as you can, use a knife to cut the last piece into slivers. repeat with the other 1/2. place your daikon ribbons in a bowl and sprinkle over the salt. use your hand to give the ribbons a gentle mix so the salt is well distributed. leave for at least 10 minutes meanwhile, roughly chop the rocket and set aside when the 10 minutes is up, use your hand to squeeze any excess water from the daikon and drain the liquid into another bowl of into your sink. repeat a couple of times - you will be surprised how much liquid you can draw off the daikon ribbons - this will give the salad a nice crunchy texture next, add the Japanese dashi granules, lemon juice, sugar and chopped rocket leaves to the bowl. mix everything together gently and transfer to a serving dish last, sprinkle with the white sesame Daikon Ribbon Salad

Okonomiyaki with Prawn and Squid If you've read any of my Japanese restaurant reviews, you may have seen my reviews of London's two okonomiyaki specialists, Abeno and Okan. Both restaurants will give you a great experience although I have to say that Abeno is my personal favourite. On the other hand, if you want to try your hand at making your own Japanese savoury pancakes, they are really not at all difficult to produce in the comfort of your own kitchen. The ingredients are all readily available. You can buy instant dashi powder on line, or if you prefer, you can just use a vegetable stock instead. When it comes to seasoning your okonomiyaki, you have a number of options. You could use a purpose made okonomiyaki sauce or Bulldog sauce. At a pinch, normal brown sauce will do as well. As for the mayo, I use the Japanese brand, Kewpie. I think of this as a sort of cross between salad cream and French mayo. If you don't have any Kewpie or can't get hold of it, a lite mayo will do as a substitute. The final touches on your okonomiyaki should be a sprinkling of katsuobushi bonito fish flakes and some aonori, powdered laver seaweed. I appreciate you may not have this in your kitchen but if you decide you like okonomiyaki, then do buy some - you'll find katsuobushi and aonori will raise the taste of your okonomiyaki to a completely different level. I hope this has got you in an oknomiyaki frame of mind. If it has, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Okonomiyaki with Prawn and Squid or just scroll to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kuurmi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 large okonomiyaki) 140g / 5 oz sweet pointed cabbage leaves (or any soft cabbage variety ) 2 spring onions 60g / 2 oz bell pepper 60g / 2 oz raw squid 100g / 3.5 oz raw or cooked prawns 1 tsp of Japanese instant dashi granules or vegetable stock powder 150ml / 5.3 oz cold water 1 medium / large eggs 140g / 5 oz plain flour 2 - 2.5 tbsp sunflower oil for the topping: okonomiyaki or Bull-dog sauce mayonnaise katsuobushi bonito flakes aoko green seaweed powder a 24 cm / 10 in frying pan how to: using a knife, remove the stalk from the cabbage leaves slice the leaves in approx. 1cm / 1/2 in strips, then chop. slice the tougher stalks finely. put everything in a large bowl chop the spring onions and bell pepper and add to the bowl chop the squid and prawns and add to the bowl add the dashi stock granules to the water and mix put the flour and the egg in another bowl and mix. then, add the stock and mix together well (you don't need to create a smooth batter, a few lumps are absolutely fine) add the batter mixture to the vegetables and mix everything together well heat 1 - 1.25 tbsp of the sunflower oil in a frying pan. when the oil is hot, add half of the okonomiyaki mixture to the pan cook over a medium/high heat with a lid on for 4 - 5 minutes until your okonomiyaki is lightly browned. turn over and cook for a further 3 - 4 minutes with the lid on. when both sides are browned, carefully slide out onto a warmed plate repeat for okonomiyaki #2 finally, drizzle with okonomiyaki or Bull-dog sauce and mayonnaise, then sprinkle over some bonito flakes & green seaweed powder Okonomiyaki with Prawn and Squid

SPAM Musubi SPAM ...hmmm... it conjures up all sorts of reactions, doesn't it? In the UK, SPAM or "luncheon meat" as it also used to be called, was a mainstay of every lunchbox. Then, along came Monty Python with their SPAM comedy sketch and it became a bit of a joke to ask for SPAM to eat. Over on the other side of the world, people think of SPAM in a very different way. In South Korea, people love SPAM and serve it up in lots of different ways - in fact, one of Korea's national dishes - Budae Jjigae (Army Stew) - has to be served with SPAM or it simply doesn't cut the proverbial mustard. The Koreans learned to love their SPAM during the Korean War back in the 1950's when protein rich food was very scarce, but SPAM remains just as popular today in Korea as it was back then. In Hawaii, the subject of this post - SPAM Musubi - is a bit of a thing - in fact, the SPAM Musubi was invented in Hawaii - nobody quite knows who invented it but it is now a ubiquitous feature of many a Hawaiian menu along with many a Hawaiian's favourite breakfast - Fried Rice with Egg & SPAM. I must admit when I first made SPAM Musubi in my own kitchen, I wondered about the combination of pork and ham (ie SPAM) with nori seaweed. But once I had made and tasted a few SPAM Musubi I was a converted. My family followed soon after and now SPAM Musubi find their way to our table at lunch and supper on a regular basis. If you look around on the web, you'll find other SPAM Musubi recipes but with only a strip of nori rather than a wrap. I advise you to follow the wrapped method - it means you can eat your SPAM Musubi with your fingers - you can't do that if you only use a strip of nori. I usually add some salad leaves to my SPAM Musubi as well as some mayo. I've tried various leaves, but I think that baby spinach is a good choice. I season the SPAM using teriyaki sauce during the frying stage. You can use shop bought teriyaki sauce if you like, but if you wish, you can also make your own - it's simple, quick and a lot cheaper than buying from the supermarket! I've put a link to my Youtube tutorial for teriyaki sauce at the bottom of the page. You can find my written recipe by clicking Teriyaki Sauce and the Youtube tutorial by clicking Yakitori Sauce or scroll to the bottom of the page. All in all, these SPAM Musubi are easy to make, filling (very filling, in fact) and as long as you pre-cook your rice, they take no longer than 15 - 20 minutes to serve to your hungry horde. Musubi mould Now, you will need a little bit of equipment to start making your SPAM Musubi. While some people claim you can use the SPAM can itself as a mould, I don't advise it simply because I don't want you to cut your fingers any more than I want to cut my own! Instead, you can do as I did and pick up a Musubi mould like the ones in the picture on the left from Amazon or other online stores. They cost about $5 / £5, so they won't break the bank! What you get is a mould, a lid and a dinly little spoon for filling the mould with rice. Once you've got your moulds, simply follow my instructions or take a look at the Youtube tutorial (or both) and you'll be delighting your family with SPAM Musubi in no time at all! Have I put you in a SPAM frame of mind? If you'd like to try this out just click on SPAM Musubi for the Youtube tutorial or scroll to the bottom of the page. You can find the written recipe just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 6 SPAM Musubi) 1 tin of SPAM (340g) 600g cooked Japanese rice some spinach or some salad leaves 1 - 1.5 tbsp teriyaki sauce 3 nori sheets some mayo a musubi mould how to: open your tin of SPAM. give the tin a good squeeze to loosen the SPAM and shake it out onto a cutting board put the SPAM on its side and cut the block longways into 6 slices about 1 cm / 1/2 inch thick fold the nori sheets along the longer side. check that the nori is now same width as your musubi mould then, use scissors to cut the nori along the fold, creating 6 nori strips heat a non-stick frying pan (no oil) and fry the slices of SPAM for about 2 minutes or until nicely browned. turn over again and fry until browned add 1 - 1.5 tbsp of teriyaki sauce to the SPAM, making sure each slice gets a good coating as the sauce will be your main seasoning now put 2 heaped tbsp of rice (50g / 2 oz) in your musubi mould and press the rice down firmly using the musubi mould lid remove the lid and then gently remove the mould, leaving the slice of rice on your board now, using a large kitchen knife or fish slice, gently pick up the rice and place it across the centre of a strip of nori. next, lay a slice of SPAM onto the rice now, make your second layer of rice in the same way as you made the first layer squeeze out some mayo on the SPAM and then top with some baby spinach or other small salad leaves. now, place the second rice layer over the leaves place 3 or 4 grains of rice onto one edge of the nori. (this will enable you to "stick" the nori edges together.) fold the nori over to wrap the SPAM & rice inside. seal with a little gentle pressure on the rice grains your first SPAM Musubi is now ready! 5 more to go... SPAM Musubi Teriyaki sauce

Abeno Japanese Restaurant My latest meal out the other day took me to the Abeno Japanese Okonomiyaki Restaurant in London WC1. The restaurant is on Museum St, literally a minute away from the British Musueum. Abeno describes itself as Europe's first specialist okonomiyaki restaurant - the place was established in 1993, so it has certainly been around for a good long while (almost as long as I've lived in London.) I'm sure you're aware of what an okonomiyaki is but if not, in brief it's a Japanese savoury pancake made with a wheat flour batter (or a mix of wheat and yam flour) mixed with shredded cabbage and other ingredients. Okonomiyaki in Japanese means, "fried as you like it", so as the name of the dish implies, you get to select what additional fillings go into your okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki specialists typically seat diners at table with a built in "teppan" stell plate on which the pancakes are fried in front of their diners. Abeno is no exception to this, each table has its own built in teppan plate. I had checked out the restaurant website before I went and was struck by two things. Abeno advises people to make a reservation (which I didn't do but probably should have). Second, although it's speciality is okonomiyaki, (there are 14 varieties available) Abeno's menu also includes some other Osakan specialities like Omusoba that I really wanted to try. Abeno Japanese Restaurant So, I arrived at Abeno without a reservation and was told I would have to wait for 10 minutes. That's something I never mind. A busy restaurant with its tables full is always a promise of good things. When the 10 minutes were up, my co-diner and I were invited inside. Abeno is a cosy place with only 8 tables. Everything was spotless and the teppan cooking plates were mirror bright. Abeno is a family owned restaurant and the owners were there in the thick of it with at least one of their children, a well informed, friendly young man who made our teppanyaki (expertly as it turned out.) What did we eat? We ordered the following: Miso soup Spicy Naniwa Okonomiyaki (Superior) Pork & Squid Omu Soba The Miso soup arrived first. The Okonomiyaki contents arrived a few minutes later and cooking commenced in front of us. The Omu Soba arrived shortly after the Okonomiyaki had finished cooking, so timing-wise everything worked very well. How did the food score? Miso soup 8/10 Miso soup I've written before that I think miso soup is a good first test of any Japanese restaurant. It's not at all difficult to make a good miso soup but it's very easy to make a bad one. Miso soup is about more than just miso and hot water (although many lower middle/end Japanese restaurants don't appear to think so.) Abeno describes its miso soup as a blend of 4 different kinds of miso, so I was intrigued. The soup looked good, a nice depth of colour, some chopped spring onion and a few cubes of silk tofu, garnished with white sesame. We both took a taste. Ummmm. This is what miso soup should taste like - slightly salty but with that indefinable umami flavour sat behind it. Enough umami to make you want more, enough saltiness to satisfy with just the one small bowlful. I asked my co-diner, "How much was this?" The answer, "£3.50." Hmm, I thought, why on earth can't other Japanese restaurants turn out soup as good as this? Conclusion: A very nice way to start our meal Spicy Naniwa Okonomiyaki Spicy Naniwa Okonomiyaki 9/10 The Spicy Naniwa Okonomiyaki comes with pork and Korean kimchi together with some extra hot chilli powder. It arrived at the table premixed in a bowl and our young cook proceeded to spoon it onto the hot teppan plate to get the frying started. The strips of pork were laid direct onto the teppan around the okonomiyaki and everything was then covered with a steel lid while the magic underneath happened. Our cook returned a few minutes later and piled the pork onto the pancake and the lid was closed again. My co-diner had order the "Superior" (large) portion but my first impression was that it still looked a little small. But a small portion of goodness is a better thing than a large portion of mediocrity, so I decided to wait and see. Our cook returned again and we chatted for a while as he shaped the pancake and then flipped it over. It was so nice to able to find out a little bit about his life, his four siblings - hats off to Mr and Mrs Abeno - running a restaurant while bringing up 5 children! (There just are not enough family run restaurants in London anymore.) Anyway, back to the food. Our cook returned for a final time armed with all the seasoning for the okonomiyaki - green powdered seaweed, okonomiyaki sauce, Kewpie mayo and bonito fish flakes which were duly liberally applied to our beautifully finsihed okonomiyaki. (As this was the Spicy Naniwa we were also offered some chilli oil, which we declined.) So, the dish was ready and all that remained was to cut it up and dig in. How did it taste? From the first bite to the last, this okonomiyaki was a delight. A delicious fried crust with a soft mix of batter and cabbage underneath. I spent some time trying to detect what the other filling might be that gave this okonomiyaki such a rich flavour - I was told later that there were some "secret ingredients" - whatever they are (I have an idea but I'm not going to spill the beans here) they work perfectly. I had thought the serving a little on the skimpy side for a "Superior" portion but I was wrong, the portion was just the right to satisfy. As okonomiyaki go, this little pancake was from the top drawer. Conclusion: Could this dish be improved? I'm not sure how. It was very, very good. Omusoba, 8/10 Omusoba is an Osakan dish. If you've ever heard of Omurice, you'll know that dish is composed of Omusoba rice with chopped vegetables (with or without meat) folded in an omelette. So, an Omusoba? Yup, it's an Omurice but with chopped yakisoba noodles inside instead of the rice. Now, there's a Japanese idea that food should first be enjoyed and savoured with the eyes. In the case of Abeno's Omusoba, it would have been difficult not to enjoy the spectacle that arrived at the table. It was so prettily decorated, I really had to struggle to pick up my chopsticks to dissect it. You can see it in the photo above, a thin omelette decorated with a lattice work of brown sauce, mayo and ketchup and garnished with a little spring onion and beni shoga ginger. So simple, but such a visual feast. How did it taste? I have to confess, I'm not from Osaka and I can't claim to be an expert on Omusoba dishes but this tasted very good as far as I could judge, The yakisoba noodles still had a little "bite" in them and there was plenty of pork and squid to enrich the flavour. Like Omurice, Omusoba is a family dish most often made with leftover noodles (or rice), so the focus is on a filling, hearty meal rather than an exquisite flavour. In this case, Abeno Omusoba didn't disappoint. Conclusion: I left Abeno thinking, "Why on earth haven't I been here before?" It certainly won't be so long before I return to this wonderful little piece of Japan in London. The bill: Menu Miso Soup £ 3.50 Pork & Squid Omusoba £14.00 Spicy Naniwa Okonomiyaki £16.00 Total £33.50 (Excluding service) Summary: Placing this restaurant only a few moments from the British Museum was likely a very savvy way of picking up the trade of Japanese tourists in need of some nourishment after a morning of culture vulturing at the museum. But the quality of the food Abeno produces really does deserve a much wider non-Japanese audience. If you ever find yourself in the West End and minded to try out something new, do yourself a favour and try Abeno. I think you will struggle to find a better made, better priced Japanese restaurant offering. Food: ★★★★★ Ambience: ★★★☆☆ Value for Money: ★★★★★ You can find Abeno Japanese Restaurant at 47 Museum St., London WC1A 1LY. Reservations and takeaway via www.abeno.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. Okonomiyaki with Bacon Recipe #1 : Okonomiyaki with Bacon. Abeno's okonomiyaki are uber tasty but you can produce a great Japanese savoury pancake in your own kitchen using just a frying pan. You need look no further than my recipe Okonomiyaki with Bacon . If you want to see my Youtube tutorial, you can find the link by clicking Okonomiyaki with Bacon . (PS: When I make an okonomiyaki, I like a little more fibre left in the vegetables, so mine are chopped but not blitzed, so your jaws will have just a little more work to do!) Miso Soup with Tofu Recipe #2 : Miso Soup with Tofu. This is one of the easiest and most satisfying Japanese dishes you can make, Abeno's miso soup is definitely up there in the taste charts but you can make an equally good miso soup yourself in no time in your own kitchen. What's more, miso soup is a nutricious dish you can eat for a light lunch with a bowl of rice or you can enjoy it as part of a larger evening meal. You can find my recipe for making your own by clicking miso soup Miso Soup with Tofu . If you only want to check out the Youtube tutorial, you can find that by clicking Miso Soup with Tofu . About the reviewer. Hi, I'm Kurumi, a cooking writer and blogger. I'm Japanese but I have lived in London for the last 30 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! Kurumi Hayter 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.

Sweet spring rolls for Christmas You don't need me to remind you that Christmas is fast approaching. Last year, for the first time I can remember, there were no parties, no dinner guests - just lockdown. Let's hope this year more than makes up for that! I thought I would re-post a couple of my Christmas fusion dishes for you to experiment with now that you will be doing some seasonal entertaining again. So, this weekend's recipe is my sweet mincemeat spring rolls. Yes, a sweet spring roll! Don't be deceived, these sweet, deep fried parcels make a great alternative to traditional British mincemeat pies. They are a little smaller - maybe like me you struggle to finish a whole mincemeat pie - so there are fewer calories to pile one and I find that the soft, sweet mincemeat makes a great partner for the deep fried, slightly crunchy spring roll wrapper. I know that most people associate spring rolls with savoury foods but they really do work well with sweet flavours as well. (In my humble opinion, I think they work really well with mincemeat but you should be the judge of that.) I made my mincemeat at home with less sugar and (vegetable) suet than the mincemeat you can buy in the shops but with a tangier taste (more zest and lemon/orange juice). Use shop bought mincemeat by all means if you prefer. If you make the mincemeat yourself, my advice is to let it rest for at least a couple of hours once you've mixed all the ingredients together so that the flavours can develop. You can store any leftover mincemeat in a sterilised jar in the fridge. Sweet spring rolls for Christmas You can buy spring roll wrappers at any Asian store. (Tip: The wrappers do sometimes unravel when they're fried so I use water and cornflour to stick them closed rather than just water alone - the cornflour makes for a nice gummy seal.) If the odd wrapper still refuses to behave itself and unravels in the pan, just use chopsticks to hold it and it will some stick together again. I made up enough mincemeat for about 75 rolls. (Party time - yippee!) If you don't want to make such a large batch at one go, then, as I said above, just pop the mincemeat in the fridge in a sterilised jar and it will keep for a week or two. Any unused spring roll wrappers can also be wrapped in clingfilm and refrozen. On the other hand, you could make up more rolls than you need and pop half in the freezer to deep fry later. Your sweet spring rolls for Christmas won't take long to deep fry - just a minute or two. When they are a nice, light golden colour, remove from the pan and rest either on a rack or a square of kitchen paper for a few minutes to cool. (Don't be tempted to eat them straight out of the pan or you'll burn your tongue!) If you want to try something that's deliciously different this Christmas, give these a go! Interested? You can find the recipe below. For the Youtube tutorial click Sweet Spring Rolls or scroll to the bottom of the page. Happy Christmas cooking! Kurumi XXXX. Sweet Spring Rolls. ingredients:(makes 25 rolls) 50 (12.5x12.5cm / 5 in) frozen spring roll wrappers 120g currants 120g sultanas 120g raisins 120g vegetable suet 1 medium apple, peeled & very finely chopped 75g dark brown sugar zest & juice of 1 orange zest of 1 lemon & 1/2 juice 60ml port wine 1 tsp cornflour dissolved in 60 ml water some vegetable oil for deep frying a rack or some squares of kitchen paper for resring your spring rolls how to: to make the mincemeat: combine all the dried fruit, finely chopped apple, sugar, suet, orange and lemon zest, port wine, lemon & orange juice in a bowl. mix well and set aside for at least 2 hours place 1 tsp of mincemeat on the lower corner of a spring roll wrapper. brush the edges of the wrapper with the cornflour water mix to seal take the lower corner and cover the mincemeat. fold the two side corners inwards, then roll from the bottom & seal tightly. repeat for however many rolls you wish to make fill a pan with 1.5 - 2 cm / 1 in of veg oil & heat to 170 C. deep fry the rolls until golden brown which will take about 1 - 2 minutes. don't put too many rolls in your pan at a time - you don't want them to stick to each other rest each batch of spring rolls on a rack or kitchen paper sprinkle with some icing sugar and serve immediately. like all spring rolls, these are at their best when freshly cooked. Sweet spring rolls for Christmas