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Takikomi Gohan Japanese rice doesn't have to be a sidekick dish - mixed with flavourings and vegetables, it can be a one pot show stopper all by itself - the Japanese call this dish " takikomi gohan ", (literally, steamed mixed rice). The rice is steamed in a broth of soy sauce, cooking sake and mirin under a bed of vegetables. I've used chicken and mushroom in this recipe but you can use other vegetables and/or exclude the meat component. Takikomi gohan is delicious eaten hot or cold for lunch the next day - it's also great for making onigiri (rice balls). You may have heard of another Japanese mixed rice dish called " maze gohan" (mixed rice) - if you're wondering what the difference is, maze gohan involves cooking and preparing sushi rice and then mixing in vegetables - I'll be doing a maze gohan recipe for you soon. Coming back to this dish, you can watch the "how to" video by clicking Takikomi Gohan or scroll to the bottom of the page. you can see the recipe just below. happy cooking! kurumi XXXX. Takikomi Gohan ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 3 cups Japanese rice 150g chicken breast 50g enoki mushrooms* 50g enrigi mushrooms* 50g shimeji mushrooms* 100g carrots 1 sheet abura-age 70g frozen green peas 250ml water 1.5 tbsps japanese cooking wine 2.5 tbsps soy sauce 1 tbsp mirin 1 tbsp sugar 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp instant dashi granules 0.5 tsp salt 2 tbsps cooking oil * you can use only one type of mushroom if you prefer how to: rinse the aburaage in hot water, cut into quarters and shred remove the mushroom stems and chop the mushrooms into small pieces peel the carrot, slice and shred dice the chicken into small pieces rinse the rice 4-5 times under running water and drain in a sieve (you want the rice to absorb as much flavour as it can) put 2 tbsps of oil in a pan and fry the chicken for 1 min add the other veg (except the peas) and stir fry for 2 mins add the water, stock granules, cooking wine, mirin, sugar, salt & soy sauce bring to the boil and simmer for 18 mins or until the water has reduced by half cook the peas in boiling water for 3 mins and drain place the rice in your rice cooker, strain the liquid from the vegetables and add it to the rice (top up the liquid to the level for cooking 3 cups of rice) add the veg (but don’t stir it) then cook the rice as usual when the rice is ready, add the peas and stir everything together serve garnished with a little shredded nori Takikomi Gohan

Quail egg croquettes I'm quite partial to a Japanese potato croquette now and again - they remind me of my childhood in Japan, so they're a little trip down memory lane. Over time, I've developed a few twists on the standard croquette and here is one of them - quail's egg croquettes. My family used to eat quail's eggs a lot when I was a child but they have become less popular in Japan which is a shame because they are as versatile as a chicken egg (although I do admit that peeling the shells is a bit of a pain.) Anyway, apart from the eggs all you need for this recipe is a couple of potatoes, a little beef, some parsley and panko breadcrumbs. To bind everything together, you'll need flour and a medium chicken egg. Everything is precooked before you create your croquettes, so when you fry them, you can focus on getting the breadcrumbs a lovely golden brown colour, which only takes a couple of minutes. In japan, most people would drizzle a little bulldog brown sauce over these. You could put them in a bento lunch or eat them with some rice and miso soup for a lunch or supper. the croquettes will happily keep in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. Like the sound of this recipe? You can find the recipe below or take a look at the Youtube tutorial by clicking Quail egg Croquettes or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. Quail egg croquettes ingredients: (makes 6 croquettes) 6 quail’s eggs 300g potatoes 50g onion 100g minced beef a little salt & pepper 1 tsp dried parsley 40g plain flour 1 egg, beaten 50g panko breadcrumbs veg oil for deep frying how to: boil the quail’s eggs according to whether you want a hard or oozy yoke. peel & set aside peel & cut the potatoes into thick slices, put the slices in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10-12 mins or until softened. drain and set a side fry the onion in 2 tsp of vegetable oil, add the minced beef and fry until browned mash the potato in a bowl, add the fried onion & beef and the parsley & mix together well season with salt & pepper divide the mixture into 6 portions coat the boiled eggs in plain flour, then push each egg in a portion of the potato mixture & form into a small ball coat the balls with plain flour, then the egg & then roll in the panko breadcrumbs until you have a uniform coating put 2cm of veg oil in a pan, heat to 170’C and deep fry the balls, turning occasionally until lightly browned Quail egg croquettes happy cooking! kurumi XXXX.

Miso Tuna spaghetti Do you believe in serendipity? I know it doesn't happen very often, but I believe that sometimes, things do just fall into place. I was wondering what to make for supper the other day. One of my sons wanted spaghetti while the other wanted something Japanese. I could have just made something like a natto spaghetti or one using tarako fish eggs. After all, those are the two widely recognised Japanese spaghetti dishes, aren't they? But, I didn't have any natto in the fridge or any tarako , not even one of the tarako spaghetti packs that you just shake over your spaghetti. So what to do? And then it came to me. I was about to sweat some onions and then I thought - "sweat them in butter and then try adding some miso and soy sauce and see what happens." Well, what happened was I discovered that after doing just that and stirring in some canned tuna, I had a really rather oishii (tasty) Japanese spaghetti dish all of my own! And it makes a kind of sense - after all, miso butter ramen is one of Japan's most popular noodle dishes so why not do the same with spaghetti? I really think you should try this Miso Tuna spaghetti out - it's quick, easy and, best of all, very good to eat! So, if you want to put a little umami into your pasta, you can find the written recipe below and the youtube tutorial by clicking Miso Tuna spaghetti or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. I referred to natto spaghetti above. If you want to try out that dish, follow the link Natto Linguine to my recipe for a natto pasta dish. You can substitute spaghetti for the linguine if you wish. Miso Tuna spaghetti ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 180-200g spaghetti 2 medium onions 5 cloves garlic 35g unsalted butter 2 tbsp miso 1.5 tbsp soy sauce 1 tin (145g net) tuna 15g wasabi rocket or wasabi rocket leaves a pinch of pepper 50g shredded parmesan cheese how to: peel, halve and finely chop the onions and garlic rinse & chop the rocket leaves melt the butter in a frying pan, add the onion & garlic and fry with the lid on over a medium heat for 15 mins, stirring occasionally while the onion & garlic is cooking, bring a sauce pan of water to the boil, add the spaghetti and cook according to the packet when the onion & garlic is ready, add the drained tuna, mix together well over a low heat, add the soy sauce & miso and mix well again over a low heat (you don’t want the miso to cook) drain the spaghetti & add it to the pan. mix together well place 1/2 the spaghetti on a plate, top with 1/2 the rocket and sprinkle with 1/2 the parmesan. repeat for the second serving Miso Tuna Spaghetti

Japanese Seafood Doria Of all the Western dishes that Japan has made it's own, I think doria might be my favourite. If you've never heard of or eaten a doria, let me explain what it is - doria was apparently introduced into Japan by the Swiss master chef of the Yokohama New Grand Hotel way back in the 1920s. A doria consists of cooked rice, mixed with seafood or chicken and usually flavoured with tomato ketchup, covered in a white sauce. This is then baked in the oven. You can find it in restaurants all over Japan and it's a dinner table regular in most homes as well. It's a cinch to make. (It's also the best way I know of using leftover rice!) and a real tummy warmer now that the days are beginning to close in. If you'd like to try my Japanese Seafood Doria recipe, you can find the written recipe below and for the Youtube tutorial click Japanese Seafood Doria or scroll to the bottom of the page. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. Seafood Doria ingredients: (makes 2 servings) for the rice filling: 1/2 veg oil 60g onion, minced 50g mushrooms, sliced 50g frozen sweetcorn 110g frozen seafood mix 20ml white wine 1/2 tsp bouillon powder salt & pepper 310g cooked rice* for the white sauce: 40g butter 4 tbsp plain flour 300ml milk salt & pepper for the topping: 40g grated cheddar cheese, 1 tsp, dried or fresh parsley how to: first make the stir-fried rice: heat the oil in a frying pan. add the onion, mushroom & sweetcorn and stir for 1 minute add the seafood & the wine. fry for 2-3 minutes add the bouillon and fry for a further 1 minute season well with salt & pepper to your taste add the rice and stir well spoon the rice filling into an oven proof dish and set aside next to make the white sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan. add the flour and mix well add the milk a little at a time to incorporate it. make a smooth white sauce over a medium heat heat the oven to 210’C pour the white sauce over the rice in the dish. sprinkle over the cheese and bake for 15-18 mins or until golden brown garnish with the parsley Japanese Seafood Doria

Simmered Chicken and Daikon Now that autumn is here, it's time to start making some dishes for cooler darker, evenings - something warming and nutricious. This week, I'm featuring simmered chicken and daikon (white radish/mouli.) As you may know, most kitchens in Japan lack an oven but gas or electric hobs are ubiquitous. So, cooking food in a pan, either by frying, deep frying or, in this case, simmering (known as "Nimono" in Japanese) are the standard techniques for preparing cooked food. If I was preparing this dish in Japan, I would probably pre-cook the daikon as Japanese daikon tends be to a little tougher than the daikon you can find in the UK. But here, I cook both in the same pan from the get-go. Like many Japanese home cooked dishes, simmered chicken with daikon is the kind of recipe that varies from home to home and region to region. The recipe features those stalwarts of Japanese seasoning - soy sauce, cooking sake and mirin. This recipe gives you a great start for the basic recipe - once you've mastered the basic approach, you can vary it until you find the right combination of flavours for you. If you would like to try this recipe yourself, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Simmered Chicken and Daikon or scroll to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. If you like the idea of "nimono" simmered dishes, why not try my Nikujaga recipe ? Simmered Chicken and Daikon ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 300g boneless chicken thigh 300g daikon (white radish) 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1.5 tbsp cooking sake 1.5 tbsp soy sauce 1.5 tbsp mirin 100ml water 1 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp Japanese stock granules 5 mm slice of ginger, peeled some chopped chives for garnishing (optional) how to: peel the daikon and cut into 1 cm thick pieces cut the chicken into bite sized pieces heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan, add the chicken & daikon and stir for 1 min add the water, the japanese stock granules, cooking sake, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and ginger to the saucepan, and simmer for 10 mins with a lid on over a medium heat after 10 mins, remove the lid and simmer for a further 10-15 mins over a medium heat with the lid off. when the liquid has reduced by about 3/4, the dish is ready serve with rice, salad & miso soup Simmered Chicken and Daikon

Pork stuffed Peppers with Teriyaki sauce My recipe this week is here - peppers stuffed with pork and seasoned with my Teriyaki sauce. Stuffed peppers aren't a traditional part of Japanese cuisine but they have been popular since my childhood. Japanese peppers are quite different to the ones I can buy here in the UK. A Japanese pepper is smaller and the skins are thinner but glossier. Eaten raw, the flesh of the Japanese variety is crunchier and sweeter with a little bit of bitterness as an aftertaste. Not that you need to use Japanese peppers in this recipe - the only change I make is to use 1/3 of a pepper for each piece whereas I would use 1/2 a pepper in Japan. The trick with this recipe is to cook the pork thoroughly but keep the pepper a little bit crunchy - that's why you cook these pork side down initially - that way the pork cooks through without the pepper flesh getting overdone. These make a hearty lunch and are substantial enough to hold their own as a dinner as well. If you'd like to try this recipe, you can find the Youtube tutorial Teriyaki Pork stuffed Peppers or scroll to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. For a different pork recipe, why not try my Miso minced Pork in Lettuce wraps recipe ? Pork stuffed Peppers with Teriyaki sauce ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 70g onion 160g minced pork 4 pieces of bell pepper (about 1/3 of a pepper each) 1/8 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp panko (breadcrumbs)* 1 tbsp milk 1 heaped tbsp plain flour for the teriyaki sauce: 1.5 tbsp sugar 3 tbsp mirin 3 tbsp cooking sake 3 soy sauce some veg oil for frying how to: for the pork stuffed peppers: add the milk to the panko breadcrumbs and leave to stand for 5 min finely chop the onion put the minced pork, chopped onion, panko mixture, salt & pepper in a bowl and mix well sprinkle some plain flour inside the bell peppers, (so the filling won’t drop out when they are cooked) divide the meat mixture into 4 portions and stuff the pepper pieces shake a little more flour over the meat heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan, fry the peppers (meat side down) for 5-6 mins over a medium heat with the lid on turn the peppers over, adjust the heat so that they don’t burn and cook further 5-6 mins with the lid on drizzle with teriyaki sauce and serve with some salad and rice for the teriyaki sauce: combine the the soy sauce, sake sugar & mirin in a pan. bring to the boil and simmer for 6-8 mins until the sauce thickens slightly Pork stuffed Peppers with Teriyaki sauce

Thai style Mango Salad I got this idea for a tangy, healthy salad from a Thai green papaya salad that a Thai friend of mine made. Fresh green papaya makes a great salad but it has two drawbacks - one, it is expensive and two, it is only available in season (in the UK at least.) Mango on the other hand, is widely available at supermarkets throughout the year and also not at all expensive. Old school Thai salad lovers might say, ‘there’s no chilli or crushed peanuts’. That’s a deliberate omission - I want this salad to be tasty but not overpowering. Also, I am mindful of how many people suffer from peanut allergies these days. Of course, if you want more heat, add a small crushed and minced red chilli by all means. Ditto crushed peanuts, if you don’t suffer from a nut allergy! You could serve this salad in small portions with a meat or chicken dish and rice. Alternatively, double up on the amounts below for a healthy, zingy, big salad extravaganza. If you think you like the sound of this dish, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Thai style Mango Salad or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: serves 4 people as a side dish for the dressing: 1 garlic clove 2 limes 3 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp sunflower oil 2 tsp honey for the salad: 1/2 red bell pepper, deseeded 10 baby tomatoes 300g /11oz carrots 100g / 3.5oz fine green beans 1 large, firm mango a little fresh coriander for garnishing how to: to make the dressing, first mince the garlic clove and place it in a bowl. sqeeze the juice from the 2 limes and add to the bowl with the minced garlic next, add the fish sauce, sunflower oil and honey to the bowl and stir everything together well. set aside. next, slice the red bell pepper thinly. place in a large bowl. cut the baby tomatoes into quarters lengthways and add to the pepper in the large bowl. peel the carrots and grate them into the bowl. peel and slice the mango like the bell pepper and add to the bowl too. top and tail the green beans and then cut them into thirds. blanch the green beans in boiling water for 2 minutes. drain and add to the bowl. now add the dressing to the bowl and mix well. sprinkle over the coriander and serve. Thai style Mango Salad

Sesame and Soya Milk Hotpot When I first came to England (nearly thirty years ago, OMG!), soya milk was something you found in health food shops and just about nowhere else. Today, things are very different - you can find soya milk stocked in just about every supermarket and you have a choice of a whole heap of brands and flavours. I use soya milk as a dairy substitute and I also use it in cooking, so I thought I would put a soya milk dish on the website. Using soya milk in a hotpot is quite a new thing even in Japan but it's easy to do and really quite healthy. The only thing to be aware of is that the soya milk has to go in last and shouldn't be boiled otherwise it will separate. (If you look at the picture, you can see that mine did separate (aaaargh!) - this doesn't change the flavour a jot however.) This dish makes a great alternative to a traditional hotpot - it's ready in under 30 mins and it has that lovely warming, home cooked flavour that's perfect for autumn and winter suppers. If you have any leftover soup, a great thing to do is pop it in the fridge and use it the next day to cook some udon noodles for your lunch - two meals in one - what's not to like about that! If you want to try this recipe out, take a look at my youtube tutorial Sesame and Soya milk Hotpot or you can find the written recipe here . Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. If you fancy a more traditional Japanese hotpot, why not try out my pork and vegetable miso stew recipe which you can find by clicking Tonjiru / pork and vegetable miso stew . ingredients: 2 servings 1 boneless chicken breast 1/2 small chinese cabbage (250g) 60g carrot 100g leek 50g sugar snaps 2 shiitake mushrooms 300ml water 1 tbsp vegetable stock 2 tbsp crushed sesame seeds 2 tbsp tahini (sesame paste) 1 tsp sugar 2 tbsp mirin 1 tbsp miso paste 1/2 tsp salt 250ml soya milk 50g fresh spinach 1 packet of udon (optional)* *if you have any leftover broth, you can use it the next day - it will make a tasty lunch if you cook some udon or ramen noodles in it how to: halve the chicken breast lengthways, then slice diagonally into bite sized pieces halve the chinese cabbage lengthways, then cut into chunks slice the leek diagonally peel & halve the carrot, then slice lengthways remove the stalk from the shiitake, then slice put the water, stock powder/cubes, tahini, crushed sesame seeds, mirin, sugar & miso in a pan, stir and bring to the boil add the cabbage, chicken, leek, carrot & shiitake and cook for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked (if you are using udon noodles as well, put these into the pan 3 minutes before the end of the cooking time) add the sugar snaps, soya milk, salt & spinach and bring back to the boil, then turn off the heat immediately. (if you don’t, the soya milk may separate.) serve at the table, using a ladle to serve the chicken, vegetables and broth and cooking chopsticks to serve the udon Sesame and Soya Milk Hotpot

Salmon Miso Hotpot or Ishikari Nabe Here's a winter salmon miso hotpot or Ishikari nabe in Japanese recipe from Japan's northernmost island, Hokkaido. This is a traditional Japanese meal and dates back to the 19th century - legend has it that the Ishikari river was great for salmon fishing and in winter the locals would pop chunks of salmon they had caught into a pot with vegetables and miso to create a warming hotpot feast. These days, Ishikari nabe / salmon miso hotpot remains a firmly popular winter dish in Japan, especially in Hokkaido (you need something warm inside you when the average winter temperature is -4C!) The way to make the hotpot hasn't changed much except that now, people add butter when the dish is ready in order to enrich the stock. The seasoning of this dish is deliberately subtle so that the flavour of the salmon doesn't get lost. If you prefer a stronger flavour, you can add more miso and butter. also, leaving the kombu in the stock until the dish is ready will further enhance the taste. One tip is to cut the vegetables so that they all cook through at roughly the same time - this means that you need to cut the daikon thinnest (as it takes longest to cook), the potato a little thicker and so on. One of the great things about this stew is that once you've done your prep, it's ready in 15-20 mins - just the thing for a sudden cold snap one evening! BTW, if you've got a table top cooker, this is an ideal dish to cook on it. So, if you're in the mood for a warming fish dish, you can find the youtube tutorial by clicking Salmon Miso Hotpot or Ishikari Nabe or just scroll to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. For a more modern take on a Japanese hotpot, why not check out my Japanese Tomato hotpot . Ishikari Salmon and Miso stew ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 1/4 sweet pointed cabbage (100g) 1/2 onion (100g) 100g daikon (white radish) 200g potato 150g tofu 70g shimeji mushrooms (or shiitake or button mushroom) 10cm dried kelp 500ml water 1 tbsp mirin 1 tbsp cooking sake 50-60g miso 10-20g salted butter how to: peel & slice the onion into 1 cm slices remove the cabbage stalk and cut the cabbage into 2cm slices peel & thinly slice the daikon (the thinner the daikon, the quicker it cooks) rinse the shimeji mushrooms, remove the stem and separate the mushrooms peel & cut the potato into small chunks halve the tofu and cut into 1cm cubes cut the salmon into bite sized pieces put the water & kelp into a pan or casserole, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins over a medium heat with the lid on (if you want a more subtle flavour, remove the kelp at this stage) add the mirin, sake & miso and stir into the stock add the onion, daikon, potato & cabbage, bring to the boil and cook for 5 mins with the lid on add the mushrooms, tofu & salmon and cook for 7-10 mins with the lid on or until the daikon & potato are cooked add the butter & serve * when you have finished your meal, don’t throw away any leftover stock! just add cooked rice or udon, cook and enjoy a second helping or a lunch or supper next day. Salmon Miso Hotpot or Ishikari Nabe

Sukiyaki Happy St. Valentine's day everyone! If you want to serve something special for your loved one tonight, I can't think of anything better than preparing and sharing a pan of sukiyaki. Sukiyaki originated in Japan about 100 years ago when the centuries old ban on meat eating was repealed by the Emperor Meiji and the consumption of meat become popular again. Today, there is a slight regional variation in the way Sukiyaki is made. Coming from Tokyo, I'm showing you how to make Sukiyaki "kanto" style ("kanto" describing the eastern side of Japan's main island, Honshu) of which Tokyo is a part. In Japan, people eat the meat component of this dish with a raw egg, but eating raw eggs comes with a lot of worry baggage here in the UK, so i'm not including egg. The beef used for sukiyaki is very finely sliced, so either ask your butcher to do this for you or alternatively, try an Asian or Japanese store to find it. Once you've gathered your ingredients, you'll need to make a sukiyaki sauce to cook your ingredients. My sauce recipe is easy and can be prepared in 15 minutes. Then you'll just need a large frying pan and (ideally) a table top portable cooker. If you don't have one, you can always cook this on top of the hob at a pinch. When you finish your meal, you should be left with some rather tasty juices in the pan. In Japan, people fry udon noodles in this leftover sauce, as the udon noodles soak up the flavours really well. Alternatively, if you've already eaten your fill, pop the juice in the fridge - it should keep for up to a week, so you can fry some noodles in it for a lunch or supper later on. If this is something that floats your culinary boat, you can find the written recipe for Sukiyaki and Sukiyaki sauce just below. For the Youtube tutorial just click Sukiyaki or scroll to the bottom of the page and for the sukiyaki sauce click here. happy cooking! kurumi XXXX. For an alternative , fish based, Japanese hotpot, why not take a look at my "Ishikari nabe" (Salmon and Miso Hotpot recipe here . Sukiyaki (Kanto style) ingredients: (makes 2 portions) 80g peeled onion 120g leek 2 large chinese cabbage leaves 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms* 250g firm or grilled tofu** 4 bundles of shirataki 250g extra thin sliced beef*** 1tbsp veg oil or beef lard 250ml japanese dashi stock (a table top cooker if you have one, otherwise you can. make this one your hob) *you can also use button mushrooms or enoki mushrooms, if you prefer **grilled tofu ( yakidofu) is commonly used for sukiyaki in Japan, but you can use firm cotton tofu as I do here if grilled tofu is not available ***traditionally beef lard is used for sukiyaki, but if it’s not available, just use veg oil how to: cut the onion into 1cm slices cut the leek diagonally into 1cm slices halve the cabbage leaves lengthways, then cut them diagonally into 2cm slices halve the tofu lengthways and cut into 1 cm slices remove the mushroom stalks and cut crosses into the mushroom heads (if you like, this is purely for decoration) heat the oil in a hotpot or a frying pan and fry 1/2 the leeks lightly, then add 1/2 of the onion, tofu, shirataki & shiitake pour the sukiyaki sauce in & simmer the vegetables when the vegetables are half cooked, lay 1/2 the beef slices over the vegetables when the onion & leek is cooked well, it’s ready to eat as you take cooked food from your hotpot/frying pan, replenish it with more raw ingredients & sukiyaki sauce * - just take care to keep the raw meat separate from the food that is ready or almost ready to eat * if the sauce becomes too thick, add a little japanese dashi to loosen it up how to make sukiyaki sauce: ingredients: (makes enough for 1 sukiyaki meal of 2 portions) 50ml japanese dashi stock (I used instant granules here) 100ml soy sauce 100ml mirin 50ml japanese sake 30g brown sugar* * you can use white sugar as a substitute how to: combine all the ingredients in a pan, bring to the boil while stirring, then turn off the heat (yes, it's that easy!) you can keep any leftover sauce in the fridge for up to a week. you can also use this sauce in recipes such as “gyudon” (Japanese beef bowl donburi). Sukiyaki Sukiyaki sauce

Salmon and Avocado Sushi Rolls Here's an "uramaki" inside out sushi roll recipe for you to hone your sushi skills! "Uramaki" literally means "outside roll". I think the photo at the top shows you how this works - the sushi rice is on the outside of the roll with the filling wrapped in the nori on the inside. In the United States, (where a couple of West Coast sushi chefs claim they invented uramaki in the 1960s), these are known as "California rolls" with the classic contents being crab and avocado with the rice being rolled in a thin layer of crab roe. Uramaki rolls have been a commercial success in the rest of the world but were somewhat slow to catch on in Japan where they were perhaps considered, "not quite the done thing" if you know what I mean. Now you may have seen videos of Japanese chefs making these and thought, "that looks pretty technical" but in fact, it's not a difficult skill to master - you only need the same basic tools and ingredients as for a normal sushi maki roll - then with minimum of trial and error, I am sure you'll get the hang of it quite easily. I do advise you to take a look at the Youtube video to see how it's done - I'm sure you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. You can find the written recipe below and for the Youtube tutorial Salmon and Avocado Uramaki or scroll to the bottom of the page. Now get rolling! Kurumi XXXX. If you want to combine these rolls with others with a different filling, try out my Tamagaoyaki Inside Out rolls here . Salmon and Avocado Uramaki Sushi Rolls ingredients: (makes 2 rolls /16 pieces) 200g cooked sushi rice* 1 sheet of nori, halved 4 strips of sushi grade fresh salmon (enough to fit lengthways on the 2 pieces of nori) 1 small avocado 2 tsp of toasted white sesame seeds 1 spring onion, for garnishing 1 sushi mat some cling film a bowl of water for your hands * you can find a recipe on how to make sushi rice on my website how to: unroll your sushi mat and wrap it tightly with the cling film 2 or 3 times (this is to prevent the rice sticking to the mat when you roll your sushi chop the spring onion finely wet your hands & spread 1/2 the sushi rice over a 1/2 nori sheet in a thin layer sprinkle 1 tsp of sesame seeds over the rice and then turn the sheet over on the mat so the rice side is down place 2 strips of salmon across the nori sheet cut thin slices of avocado and place them beside the salmon now to roll the sushi: take the lower edge of the sushi mat with your thumbs and index fingers. roll over to form the sushi roll, using your middle fingers to keep the filling in place if necessary give the roll a little, light squeeze with your fingers to make sure it is well formed cut the sushi into 6 pieces, wetting your knife between cuts to stop the rice sticking to the blade repeat this process again for the second roll your salmon and avocado uramaki are now ready. serve with small bowls of soy sauce and a little wasabi Salmon and Avocado Sushi Rolls

Tantan Ramen Tantan ramen - known all over Japan as "Tantanmen" - is right up there with the other all time favourite ramen dishes like Miso Ramen and Shoyu Ramen. Like almost all Japanese noodle dishes, it's roots go back many centuries and inevitably to China. In the case of Tantan Ramen, the dish harks from the City of Chengdu in the Chinese province of Sichuan. If you know your Chinese cooking, you'll know that most Sichuan cooking is spicy and oily and the original Chinese version of Tanttan Ramen - called Dandanmian in Chinese - is no different. The original dish was said to be a soupless bowl of noodles and hot, chilli oil spiced pork with pickled mustard leaves. As it spread across China, the spiciness of the dish was toned down and in Shanghai - so the story goes - a milky broth was added. The Tantan Ramen you'll find in Japan today is closer to the Shanghai version of the dish - not so hot and hosted in a bowl of rich, soya milky broth. My recipe is all about using ingredients that you can source easily and bring to the table quickly. So, I use instant noodles from packs that I've bought in my local supermarket along with some minced beef (which I find enriches the flavour better than pork), pak choi and spring onion. The broth uses a soy milk base so as you can imagine, it isn't too chilli hot on your tastebuds. If you would like to try this recipe out, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Japanese Tantan Ramen or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 1 pak choi, rinsed 1 white part of spring onion, rinsed 2.5cm / 1 inch ginger, peeled 2 large garlic cloves 200g / 7oz minced beef 2 tsp vegetable oil 1/2 tbsp Toban djan (chilli bean sauce) 2 tsp miso 2 tbsp Japanese cooking sake for the broth: 2 tsp vegetable oil 350ml / 12floz water 2 tsp vegetable stock granules 2 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp sesame paste or tahini 2 tsp saoy sauce 350ml / 12floz soy milk 2 packs of instant ramen noodles (only the noodles, you won’t need the seasoning powder that comes bundled in the pack.) how to: cut the white part of a large spring onion longways into shreds. then put the shreds into a small bowl of water. (this is just so they curl up - it’s purely cosmetic.) remove the root end of a pakchoi. cut in half to separate the green leaves, then slice the white part in half longways. rinse the leaves and set aside. mince the cloves of garlic and put them in a small bowl. repeat with the piece of ginger. heat 2 tsp of vgetable oil in a frying pan. add 1/2 of the minced ginger and 1/2 of the minced garlic. stir fry for 1 minute. add the minced beef to the frying pan and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. next, add the toban djan, miso and cooking sake. stir fry for about 2-3 minutes until the beef is cooked, before turning off the heat. to make your soup broth, add 2 tsp of vegetable oil to a hot saucepan. add the rest of the garlic and ginger and stir fry for about 1 minute. next, add the water, vegetable stock granules, sesame paste, oyster sauce and soy sauce. stir together well and bring to the boil. turn down the heat and add the soy milk. at this stage, keep the soup broth hot but don’t let it boil or the soy milk may curdle. bring a large pan of water to boil. cook the instant noodles according to the instructions on the packet (usually 4 minutes.) 1 minutes before the noodles are ready, add the pak choi leaves. when the 1 minute is up, remove the pak choi and drain the noodles. to serve, add the drained noodles to 2 serving bowls. then, add the soup broth, the minced beef and the pak choi. last, garnish with the shreds of spring onion. Tantan Ramen