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Machiya Japanese Restaurant My latest Japanese restaurant review took me to a place I've visited a couple of times before with friends - Machiya near London's Soho - I don't know why I haven't reviewed it previously but as I was town with my family, I thought I would visit again and get their opinion. There must be more Japanese restaurants in and around Soho than any other part of London, so Machiya has quite a lot of competition. The place is owned by the people who brought us Kanada-Ya, which in my humble opinion serves up some of the best, most authentic ramen you can get in the UK. So, that in itself is a good start. In fact, there is a small Kanada-Ya outlet just a couple of shops up the street from Machiya. Whereas Kanada-Ya is very much ramen focussed, Machiya's offering is a little bit like a Japanese Cooking 101 course - the menu offers what I would call "the basics" of Japanese cooking - there's no ramen but there are a few udon noodle dishes along with classics such as Gyudon, Unaju and Katsu Curry. Machiya is quite a small place - no more than 30 seats at tables and a small bar - so booking is advised. While I was there I noticed that walk-in diners were being turned away because the place was fully booked. Finding Machiya isn't at all difficult - it's in Panton St. just a few minutes walk south from either Leicester Sq or Piccadilly undergrounds stations or a couple of minutes north from Charing Cross station. Machiya Machiya has been plying its trade since 2017. Inside, it is basic, clean and functional. It is also quite cramped - as I said before, no more than 30 seats - there is a basement area but that seems to be more oriented towards drinks and bar food rather than any kind of serious eating. There were three people waiting the tables and welcoming diners and as it was an early Sunday afternoon, business was really quite brisk. Nonetheless, the table service was efficient, polite and friendly. You choose your food from an online menu after uploading it from a barcode on the table. The odd thing is that having decided what you want to eat, you then order in the old fashioned way via the waiter/waitress - maybe the plan is to automate ordering which I am sure would win the approval of the busy table staff! What did we eat? We ordered the following: Nikujyaga Niku Jaga Chicken Karaage Gyudon Oyakodon Kinokodon How did the food score? Nikujaga (photo above) 6.5/10 Nikujaga is usually served as a main course, but Machiya offer it as a starter. The dish was perhaps a little bit "too much soup, too little contents" but then again, it was a starter. Tastewise, we all thought it was a little underflavoured but that apart, it was a decent enough dish. Chicken Karaage 8.5/10 Chicken Karaage Machiya''s chicken karaage were very good. close to perfect - quite large, very well deep fried in lots of crumb - served with a soy based sauce and lemon. The texture was excellent, cruncy on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside. I couldn't tell whether these were shop made or bought in but either way, they made for a great starter dish. Gyudon 7.0/10 gyudon Machiya's gyudon was substantial but it stopped there. The beef was wafer thin - as it should be and very lean. I asked the waiter how it was prepared and he explained that Machiya's chefs prepare and marinade the beef before freezing it. (Having a solid chunk of beef that can be "shaved" is the way you get the thin wafers of meat.) I've had Gyudon before at Machiya and it tasted better than this - maybe the chef was having an off day. The soft pouched egg was a nice touch but we all though the dish lacked flavour and richness and was light on onions. What it wasn't light on was rice - I couldn't complain about the amount of rice in the dish. Pork Katsudon 6.0/10 Pork Katsudon Like the Gyudon, Machiya's Pork Katsudon was certainly substantial. Taste -wise, things were a bit of disappointment. The egg in this dish should be oozy and shiny, Machiya's effort was fully set and lacked ny kind of sheen. The egg and onion should be cooked with a mixture of Japanese dashi, soy sauce and a little sake for a rich flavour - the egg then goes in and gets cooked with the stock - that's what gives this dish its flavour. Machiya's offering came up short although like the Gyudon, the serving of rice was very generous. Kinokodon 7.0/10 Kinokodon While most of Machiya's menu items are very much standard Japanese fare, their mushroom donburi - Kinokodon - was a little different which was good to see. I guess it is on the menu to offer a vegetarian option. How did it taste? Again, Machiya's Kinokodon was a little disappointing. The dish was substantial enough, nicely dressed with some spring onion and a little chilli. There was also a soft boiled egg (which Machiya should point out on the menu so vegan's have the opportunity to order the dish without the egg.) The mushrooms - I could see button mushroom and some kinoko - were nicely flavoured but there just wasn't enough of the cooking juices in the bowl to make it a really tasty dish. Like the other dishes, there was a lot of rice in the bowl but once you've worked your way through the topping, you are left with a bowl of rice without any juices having oozed into it to give it any flavour. The Bill. Nikujaga £ 6.50 Chicken Karaage £ 8.00 Pork Katsudon £13.00 Gyudon £13.00 Kinokodon £13.00 Total £60.20 including VAT & Service charges Summary: Being part of the Kanada-Ya set up, you might be forgiven for expecting a little more from Machiya. Don't get me wrong - the food is decent enough and they certainly don't skimp on the main course portions. But whereas Kanada-Ya's ramen is really quite outstanding, Machiya is a little too run of the mill for me to get excited about. I put it on par with Taro in terms of quality - you'll end your meal satisfied but perhaps wondering if there's something better out there. Taro offers a full menu of Japanese cooking including noodle dishes and sushi/sashimi. Machiya's menu is much more limited - they really should be able to offer a better eating experience, similar to Kanada- Ya's ramen, in my opinion. As I said above, Machiya is near Soho, so it has plenty of competition to contend with and there are, I'm afraid, better places than Machiya to enjoy a Japanese meal all within a few minutes walk. BTW: I normally don't mention WCs in my restaurant reviews - i simply assume they are going to be up to stratch. Unfortunately, Machiya's gents loos were tatty and in sore need of a face lift - come on, Machiya - up your game, please! Food: ★★★☆☆ Ambience: ★★★☆☆ Value for Money: ★★★☆☆ You can find Machiya at 5 Panton St., London, SW1Y 4DL . Deliveries: Supper, Deliveroo. (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. But don't forget you can make Japanese food at home which will not only taste good but will be fun and cost you 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 Gyudon Guidon by kurumicooks The Gyudon served at Machiya didn't really do it for us. It isn't difficult to make a good, hearty Gyudon - just try my home made version and see if I'm not right! If you would like to tke a closer look at this dish, simply click Gyudon to go to the recipe page. Recipe #2 Kinokodon Kinokodon by kurumicooks Machiya's offering got me thinking about making my own recipe for Kinokodon. Try this out and I think you'll agree it's a great way to enjoy Japanese food vegetarian / vegan style. This dish is simple to make but it packs a delicious punch - more so if you like your chillis and want to add another to the mix! If you want to try these out, just click Kinokodon to go to the recipe. About the reviewer: Hi, I'm Kurumi, a cooking writer and blogger. I'm Japanese but I have lived in London for the last Kurumi 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

Oven baked Sweet Potato Korokke Every Japanese loves a korokke - Japan's take on the French croquette. Every food store in Japan sells them and mums in every kitchen turn them out in their millions every week. A korokke usually features a filling of waxy mashed potato or a very thick white sauce mixed with minced meat and/or other vegetables to make the dish a "meal-in-one" . The filling is rolled into a patty shape (sorry that should be korokke shape) then dipped in plain flour, beaten egg and finally some panko breadcrumbs. The korokke is then deep fried in oil for a few minutes until a beautiful, golden brown. The end result is a lovely crunchy skin and a soft filling that most Japanese adore - the quintessential korokke - especially when it is swathed in Bulldog brown sauce! But deep frying isn't to everyone's liking. Deep fried foods aren't the most healthy thing to eat and deep frying can be a little bit messy and environmentally a bit of a challenge - (how to dispose of the old oil? - personally, mine goes on the compost pile.) There is an alternative to deep frying to create your korokke which is to bake them in the oven. This does create a healthier, less messy result. The oven needs to be nice and hot - 220 C / 430 F (fan) - to get that crisp almost crunchy texture that defines a true korokke but I would advise you to keep peeking into your oven as the panko breadcrumbs do turn quite quickly and I wouldn't want yours to turn into burnt offerings! You will probably have noticed that this recipe uses sweet potato instead of white potato. The point of using sweet potato is - surprise, surprise - you get a sweeter filling. You also get a slight nutritional benefit because sweet potato is very high in Vitamin A and also a little higher in Vitamin B6 and Vitamin C than the white potato - the calorific and fibre values are just about the same. Nutritional comparisons apart, using sweet potato is much the same as using white potato as far as the recipe goes - you simmer the potato until it is just soft and mashable (I cut mine into small chunks to make this stage a little quicker.) For this recipe, I add some fried onion and minced beef. Seasoning wise, I use cumin, (admittedly not Japanese but it makes a great pairing with sweet potato IMO) a little parsley, salt and pepper. Basically, the filling is precooked so that at the final stage, you can concentrate on getting the coating right and not have to worry about whether the filling is ready. When you come to the final stage, the recipe diverges a little however. In order to get that nice crisp, tanned coating of breadcrumbs, you need to lightly brush vegetable oil over the breadcrumb coating. Do this gently and make sure you get a uniform thin, coating of oil and you'll get a result that looks every bit as good as the deep fried version and is a bit healthier as well! If you'd like to try out this recipe in your kitchen, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Oven baked Sweet Potato Korokke or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy baking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings ) 4 sweet potato korokke 350g / 12oz sweet potato 1/2 medium onion, peeled 1 tbsp of vegetable oil 120g / 4 oz minced beef 1 tsp of cumin powder salt & pepper 2 tsp of dried parsley 1 medium egg 30g / 1oz plain flour 40g / 1.75 oz panko breadcrumbs 2 - 3 tbsp vegetable oil oven setting 220 C / 430 F (fan) Bull-dog brown sauce or any brown sauce if you prefer how to: peel the sweet potato, then slice it and cut into chunks place the sweet potato into a medium saucepan. cover with water. bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 mins or until softened (be careful not to overcook) test the sweet potato if they are soft enough to mash, then drain. peel & slice the onion, then dice heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan. add the diced onion and stir until all the onion has got a good coating of oil. next, add the minced beef and stir together while frying add the cumin powder, salt & pepper and stir fry for a few minutes until cooked the beef is cooked put the drained sweet potato into a bowl and mash it well add the cooked minced beef mixture and dried parsley and mix again divide the mixture into 4 equal pieces and set aside crack the egg into a bowl and beat it. have your plain flour and panko breadcrumbs ready in two separate bowls now pour 1 tsp of vegetable oil over the palm of one hand and rub your hands together (this will stop the filling sticking to your hands) scoop up 1/4 of potato beef mixture into your palm and form it into a rough round korokke - don't worry too much about the shape at this stage dip the korokke into the bowl of plain flour and get it covered. now, form the korokke into a better, rounded shape next, dip the korokke into the beaten egg, making sure it gets completely covered. then, coat the korokke in the panko breadcrumbs and get a good, uniform coating of crumb your first korokke is ready. repeat to create 3 more korokke heat your oven (fan) to 220’C /430 F. brush a small baking tray with some oil. place the korokke onto the tray, then lightly brush each korokke with vegetable oil, making sure that you get oil anournd the sides of the korokke as well, not just the top now put the korokke in your oven and bake for 15-20 mins or until lightly brown serve with some salad and drizzle brown sauce over the korokke. Oven baked Sweet Potato Korokke

Tofu and Brown Rice salad with Wasabi Soy dressing Think "wasabi" and you might think that this delicious mustardy root is for sushi and sashimi and the story ends there. It's true that most wasabi is used to season those dishes but wasabi is really too oishi not to use it in other dishes as well! I usually keep a tube of wasabi paste in my fridge at home and one way I use it (other than when I make sushi) is to make salad dressings like the one in this recipe. (PS: If you ever buy ready made takeaway sushi or sashimi and you don't use the little balls of wasabi that comes with the food, please don't throw it away. Just pop it in a small container and put it in the fridge for recipes like this - it'll last a week or two in the fridge and as you bought it, you might as well make use of it!) Anyway, back to the recipe. As my partner and I get older, we've cut down a lot on our intake of meat and try to eat a main meal salad at least twice if not three times a week. Eating a salad as a main course presents a few challenges - like, how to make it substantial enough and how to make it nutricious enough for the main meal of the day. That's where the brown rice and the tofu come in to the picture. Both the tofu and the brown rice provide protein. You'll also be getting Vitamins B1 and B6 along with calcium and magnesium. All this and plenty of fibre and very low levels of fat. What's not to like about that! As for the vegetable content, the salad contains bell pepper, cucumber, baby tomatoes, spring onion and avocado - so that's your 5-a-day veg sorted as well. The idea here is simply to add a little sweetness and some contrasting textures and colours. If there's something else you would prefer to use or substitute, then please do so - we live in a cooking democracy after all! If you like the sound of this recipe, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Tofu and Brown Rice Salad with Wasabi Soy dressing or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 large servings as a main course) 2 portions of cooked brown rice (I cook 1 cup /140g/8oz of brown rice in a rice cooker as it is a convenient amount to cook. I use 1/2 the cooked rice for this salad and save the rest. If your have bigger appetites to feed, you can add more rice to the salad accordingly) 1/2 a medium size cucumber 15 baby tomatoes 3 spring onions 1 bell pepper 1 medium avocado 300g / 8oz pack of silk tofu or firm tofu for the wasabi soy dressing: 2 tsp of wasabi paste from a tube* 1/2 tbsp of honey juice from 1 lemon, appox. 2 tbsp 1 tbsp of Japanese rice vingar 1 tbsp of soy sauce 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil 2 tsp of toasted sesame seeds for topping (optional) *wasabi paste available in tubes has a stronger flavour than what you might get with a sushi takeaway. so, if you decide to use wasabi left over from your sushi, then use double the amount how to: first, rinse 1 cup of brown rice 2 - 3 times and drain. cook the rice in a rice cooker or a saucepan next, prep your vegetables. slice the cucumber into quarters longways, then cut into segments. place in a large mixing bowl halve the 15 baby tomatoes and add to the bowl remove the tops and bottoms of the spring onions, then dice and add to the mixing bowl halve and deseed the bell pepper. slice, then cut into the bite sized pieces and add to the mixing bowl cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and peel. slice and dice into bite sized pieces. add to the bowl. remove the block tofu from its packaging. cut the block in half to create a top and bottom layer., then, slice longways and cut into about 1 cm / 1/2 in cubes. drain any excess liquid from the tofu before adding to the bowl to prepare the wasabi soy dressing: put 2 tsp of wasabi paste and 1/2 tbsp of honey into a small bowl. squeeze and add the juice of 1 lemon. mix well until the wasabi paste and honey are smoothy blended add 1 tbsp of rice vinegar, 1 tbsp of soy sauce and 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to the jar and stir until combined add the brown rice and tofu to the salad vegetables in the large mixing bowl pour the dressing in and gently mix everything together, making sure not to break up the tofu lastly, sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and your tofu and brown rice salad with wasabi soy dressing is ready to eat Tofu and Brown Rice salad with Wasabi Soy dressing

Miso soup with Tofu Miso soup must be the most popular dish in Japan. At least half the Japanese population drink miso soup three times or more every week. That's a smart thing to do because miso soup is high in protein and low in fat. There are lots of health claims made about miso that I shan't go into here but if you are looking for a non-animal source of protein you cannot do much better than this recipe. The two key ingredients in a classic miso soup are Japanese dashi stock and miso. As such, it shouldn't be a difficult dish to prepare well although I am always amazed that some restaurants particularly at the low/mid-range end of the price scale sell miso soup that is nothing more than a spoonful of miso stirred into boiling water with a few morsels of rehydrated seaweed. Well, Japan's most consumed meal really does deserve better and it isn't at all difficult to produce a quick, tasty and healthy miso soup in your own kitchen in no time at all. I simply added some cubes of fresh silk tofu, spring onions and some sesame seeds for more protein and nutrition. That's all. In 15 minutes you can have a delicious soup that is sustaining enough for lunch with a bowl of rice or you can serve this as a part of a bigger dinner dish. Ajinomoto Instant Dashi granules. As I said above, the two basic ingredients of any miso soup are dashi stock and miso. The best dashi stock is the one you prepare yourself but if you haven't the time or the inclination to do that, then there are some other options you can try that will give you a great tasting miso soup. The picture on the right shows you one of Japan's leading brands of instant stock - Ajinomoto. This is the easiest way to get yourself a great tasting stock for your miso soup. I used some Ajinomoto below and, I assure you, you won't be disappointed with the flavour that these granules produce. You don't need to use too much to produce a decent, subtly flavoured base for your miso soup. I usually use a heaped 1/2 teaspoon per person. Dashi stock bags If you want to move a little further up the scale, you could consider using a stock bag instead of instant granules. These bags require a little more effort than granules but not much. The stock they produce is, in my opinion, better than a stock prepared with granules - but, as they say, you get what you pay for. Dashi stock bags are expensive compared to instant stock granules so I tend to reserve them for those occasions when I want to go the extra mile in search of some quality flavour. Of course, no self respecting Japanese cook should be with out their own dashi stock recipe. Take a look at the Soups & Stocks section of my website and you'll find a number of stocks that you can make yourself including stocks that are vegan and vegetarian friendly. red miso. As for the miso component of your soup, there are many varieties to choose from online these days and most of them will produce a good miso soup. The taste of your soup will differ depending on whether you choose a "white" or "red" miso. For this recipe I used Marukome brand Marunouchi red miso but use a different brand by all means. I like this particular miso because it produces a good depth of flavour and also contains no additives. Using a "white" miso will tend to produce a lighter, more delicate flavour in your soup. Last but by no. means least, I added some tofu to my soup along with some finely chopped spring onions and sesame seeds. The spring onions and sesame seeds go in after the heat has been turned off, so you need to chop finely so that the spring onion just softens a little in the heat of the soup - you want some body left though to contrast with the softness of the silk tofu. And that's it. If you want a simple, nourishing soup that is ready in just minutes, there is nothing better than this. If you would like to try this recipe out. You can find the written "how to" below. The Youtube tutorial can be found by clicking Miso Soup with Tofu or just scroll to the bottom of the page. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. Miso soup with Tofu. ingredients: (2 - 3 servings) 500ml / 16 fl oz water 1 heaped teaspoon of Japanese dashi stock granules 2 tbsps Japanese miso 180g / 6.5 oz silk tofu, 2 spring onions, rinsed 1 heaped teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds how to: halve the spring onions and chop them finely slice and dice the tofu into 1 cm cubes (if you don't use the whole pack, you can keep the leftover tofu in water in the fridge for a couple of days) pour the water into a saucepan. add the Japanese dashi stock granules and the diced tofu bring to the boil and simmer for 1 min using a small sieve or a ladle to prevent the tofu cubes breaking up, dissolve the miso into the stock once the miso has dissolved, turn off the heat. add the chopped spring onions and sesame seeds your soup is now ready to serve Miso soup with Tofu

Vegetable Gyoza I am sure I am not alone in being very, very partial to Gyoza. (AKA Chinese dumplings, AKA Potstickers.) I probably eat gyoza at least once a fortnight and if I am in the mood to be nice and offer my family a choice of evening meal, gyoza are usually somewhere near the top of the list when the hands go up. If you've read any of my restaurant reviews, you'll also know that I regard gyoza as one of my "acid tests" for restaurant quality. I have to admit that I find the quality of restaurant gyoza to vary wildly from the very good (thank you, Kanada-ya) to the downright awful (yes, Tonkotsu, you know who I'm talking about!) What's more, gyoza are very easy to make yourself. They might look difficult what with them being nice little pleated parcels but the technique is easy to master. (I do advise you to take a look at the video to get a close up on how to do this.) You might be thinking that producing 50+ of these little parcels seems a bit tedious but I find it quite therapeutic and there's no getting away from the fact that there is a certain pride in filling a couple of plates with these beauties all by your own hand. I tend to avoid ordering vegetable gyoza in restaurants at all because I've learned from experience that most restaurant offerings are pretty soggy, tasteless little things. So I set my mind to producing a recipe that would lift the vegetable gyoza from the humdrum to something of a stand out. Most vegetable gyoza recipes use a mixture of Chinese cabbage, spring onions and garlic. My recipe makes the filling a little more adventurous and much more nutricious by adding baby spinach and tofu to the mix. Everything you need is widely available although you might have to order your gyoza wrappers online unless you have a Chinese or Asian store near you. They usual come shrinked wrapped in batches of 50. One of the benefits of vegetable gyoza over their meat filled cousins is that the vegetables don't really need much heat at all to cook, compared to a raw meat filling. So, once your gyoza are in the pan, you can concentrate on getting the perfect pan fried colouring and crunchy texture on the gyoza wrapper. You can cook your vegetable gyoza in one of two ways: either you can fry on one side until you've got a nicely browned wrapped and then steam them by adding water to the pan and putting a lid on, or: you can simply fry on one side, then add a little more oil and fry the gyoza on a second side. Because the water content of the tofu can make these gyoza go a little soft, I tend to favour the second approach, frying only with no steaming, but steaming produces a perfectly good gyoza too, so the choice really is down to you! Once your gyoza are ready, you only need to mix some soy sauce, vinegar and chilli oil as a dipping sauce and you're ready to wow your family and friends with your very own vegetable gyoza! If you like the idea of trying your hand at this recipe, you can find the written recipe just below. Access the Youtube tutorial here Vegetable Gyoza or just scroll to the bottom of the page. Happy wrapping! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes approx 50 gyoza) 2 cloves garlic 2 cm / 1/2 inchpiece of ginger, thinly sliced 50g chinese cabbage 3 spring onions 60g baby spinach 300g firm tofu 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tsp sugar a little pepper 1 tbsp plain flour 1 pack frozen gyoza wrapper (50 wrappers per pack), defrosted some plain flour for dusting the plates on which you will put your gyoza before frying/steaming 2-3 tbsps sunflower oil for frying a small bowl or small cup of water (about 30-40ml) to moisten the edges of the gyoza wrappers when you make them for the dipping sauce (for 4 people): 4 tbsps soy sauce 4 tbsps brown vinegar some Chinese chilli oil how to: slice and mince the garlic and ginger. finely chop chinese cabbage, spring onions & baby spinach put the tofu in a bowl and mash with a fork. add the garlic & ginger, chinese leaves, spring onions, baby spinach, salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper & plain flour and mix well dust a couple of large plates with the plain flour take your first wrapper, put 1 tsp of the filling into the centre. dip your index finger into the water and moisten the edge of the wrapper. fold over the top of the wrapper and seal, using your thumbs and index fingers to make 5 small pleats. (watch the video to get an idea of how this is done.) place your first finished gyoza on one of the floured plates now, repeat until you've used up your filling once you've wrapped all your gyoza, you have a choice of how to cook them: either - heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. place the gyoza in the pan and cook with a lid on until the bottom of the gyoza becomes lightly browned. then, add 30-40 ml of water to steam (lid on) until the water has all but evaporated. this method will give you a softer gyoza. (if you think the gyoza aren’t cooked enough at this point, just add a little more water to the pan and steam for a minute or so more.) or - heat 2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. place the gyoza in the pan and cook with a lid on until the bottom of the gyoza become lightly browned. then, turn the gyoza over and add a little more oil. cook the other side of gyoza become they also become lightly browned. this method will give you gyoza with crispy wrappers. (it's my favorite way to cook them.) your gyoza are now ready. for the dipping sauce, mix the soy sauce and vinegar and divide in 4 small dishes. add some chilli oil according to each diner's personal preference Vegetable Gyoza

Ma Po's Aubergine As you probably know, the Japanese love Chinese food. So much so that there are lots of Chinese recipes that have been "localised" and are now regarded as a part of everyday Japanese cooking. I posted one of those recipes, Ma Po's Tofu, a little while ago. The Japanese palate generally prefers more sweetness and less heat, so Ma Po's Tofu in it's Japanese version, dials down on the chilli, boosts the sweetness and reduces the oil content. This version of that classic dish drops the tofu and replaces it with aubergine ("nasu" as the Japanese call it - one of Japan's favourite vegetables). Nasu/aubergine is low in calories, high in fibre and is a good source of B vitamins and potassium - so it's well worth making it a regular part of your diet. If you know your aubergines well, you'll know that Asian aubergines are quite different to the one's you can find in the UK. The aubergines you can find in Japan tend to be thinner and longer, which makes it easier to cut them into chunks for stir frying. But there's no reason why you can't substitute a European aubergine (I used one in this recipe). You'll just need to cut it a little differently. The Chinese ingredients you'll need for this dish - toban djan (chilli bean sauce) and ten men djan - are available in Asian stores. If you can't find ten men djan than you can use miso as a substitute. I would grade the heat/spiciness of this recipe as medium. If you fabcy something hotter (or milder) simply add or subtract the amount of toban djan and ten men djan by about 0.5 tbsp each. If this has got you in the mood to bring a little aubergine into your cooking, you can find the Youtube tutorial Ma Po's Aubergine or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. So, go on, get like Ma Po! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (serves 2) 300g aubergine 3 spring onions 150g minced pork 1 tsp ginger paste 2 cloves of garlic 1 tbsp chilli bean sauce (toban djan) 1/2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp tomato ketchup 1 tbsp ten men djan (or a miso substitute) 1 tsp sugar 150ml water 2 tsp potato flour 2 tsp water 4 tbsps vegetable oil some kitchen paper how to: cut the aubergine in half lengthways, then into quarters. next, slice the quarters into segments soak the aubergine segments in water for 10 minutes to extract the bitterness and then drain slice the garlic thinly and then mince slice the sping onion diagonally heat 3 tbsps of vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the aubergine until it has softened. rest on the kitchen paper add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil to the pan. add the garlic, ginger and minced pork. fry until the pork is lightly browned add the aubergine back to the pan along with the chilli bean sauce, ten men djan, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, sugar and water. bring the liquid to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes mix the potato flour with the 2 tsps of water into a smooth paste. add to the pan and stir again for 30 seconds add the spring onion your Ma Po's aubergine is ready. serve with fresh steamed rice. Ma Po's Aubergine

Golden Meatball Curry Hand on heart - this Golden Meatball Curry is currently my favourite family curry. It's a perfect winter curry dish and although a little more time consuming than my other curries, it's well worth the extra time. I know "curry" isn't the first thing that comes into your head when the word "meatballs" is mentioned, trust me, this really does work. The basic ingredients are fairly simple - meatballs made with minced beef and onion, some carrot, red pepper and brocccoli for vegetable nutrition and fibre and some Golden curry cubes with added cumin and coriander. The secret to the success of this dish is in the meatballs. I add a teapoon of curry powder to them when I make them. That way, when you are eating your curry, you get a nice sweet and spicy Japanese curry sauce and then, suddenly, an extra hit of spice and heat when you bite into the meatballs. The meatballs are cooked for a little while separate to the other ingredients so that they are already firm when you make up your curry sauce - that way, the meat balls don't break up. Other than that, the steps to make this are much the same as any other Japanese curry and the results, as I say, are well worth the extra effort. I used Golden brand curry cubes for this recipe but I have also used Java brand cubes to make it - both work well so don't think you need to use Golden brand for this to work. When your ead through the recipe, you may ask yourself, why add the curry cubes in stages? I do this becauseI have found that if you put in too many cubes at once, one or two may sink and stick to the bottom. So, I add them in stages so I can mix them in more easily as they dissolve. If you want to try a curry winter warmer, this one should definitely be on your shortlist! You can find the written recipe below. For the Youtube tutorial either click Golden Meatball Curry or scroll to the bottom of the page. Happy cooking, Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (serves 4) for the meat balls: 1/2 medium onion 5g fresh coriander 500g minced beef 1 tsp garlic puree (or chopped garlic) 1 tsp ginger puree (or chopped ginger) 1 tsp mild curry powder 1/2 tsp salt a little pepper 2 tbsp sunflower oil for the curry: 1/2 medium onion 150g carrot 1 bell pepper 8 small broccoli florets 1 tbsp sunflower oil 1 tsp garlic puree 1 tsp ginger puree 1 tsp cumin powder 600ml water 1 tsp soy sauce 1.5 tbsp tomato ketchup 6 pieces Golden curry roux cubes how to: to make the meatballs, first slice & mince the 1/2 onion. chop the fresh coriander leaves finely put the minced beef in a bowl, add the minced onion, chopped coriander, 1 tsp of garlic, 1 tsp of ginger, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of curry powder & pepper. give everything a good mix, then use your hand to knead the mixture into a nice firm ball - this should take about 1 minute next, take a dessertspoonful of the minced beef and use the palms of your hands to roll it into a small ball (a bit smaller than a golf ball.) repeat until all the mince mixture is used up heat 2 tbsp of sunflower oil in a frying pan. fry the meatballs over a medium heat for 3 minutes, turning them around the balls so they are sealed all over now to make the curry sauce. chop the 1/2 onion finely, peel & slice the carrot, deseed & cut the bell pepper into small bite sized pieces. if your broccoli florets are on the large side, cut into smaller, bite sized pieces heat 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in a large saucepan. add the chopped 1/2 onion, garlic & ginger. fry for 1 min add the cumin powder and stir, then add the carrot and the water. bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer carefully add the meatballs and bell pepper. add 2 cubes of Golden curry roux. simmer for 10 mins next, add the soy sauce, tomato ketchup and 4 more Golden curry cubes. simmer for a further 10 minutes, stirring until all the cubes have dissolved and you have a thick sauce last, add the broccoli florets, turn the heat down and cook 3-4 minutes more. your Golden Meatball Curry is ready. serve with rice of your choice. Golden Meatball Curry

Fried Soy Lotus Root I recently ate out at OKAN, a specialist okonomiyaki restaurant on London's Southbank. My co-diner ordered this dish - Freid Soy Lotus Root - which we both enjoyed. I think of this as a perfect "o-tsumami" dish (which basically translates as means a "snack" or "nibble" in Japanese) that pairs perfectly with a glass of chilled lager. Of course, it also works well as a starter or side dish to a main course too. Just the name "lotus" conjures up all sorts of exotic and mysterious connotations in the West but in Asia, it is very much an everyday food, highly regarded for its copious amounts of vitamins and minerals. Lotus root really is a bit of a superfood - it provides you with part of your daily Vitamin B, C, iron copper and zinc plus lots of dietary fibre. Lotus root is also fat and cholesterol free so all-in-all, it's really is a great thing to eat. You can but lotus root online or, if you live near to a Chinese or asian store, they will almost certainly stock it. Lotus root is available both in its fresh form or frozen. I used a fresh root for this recipe - once you have reached the stage where you have soaked the slices of lotus root in vinagered water for 10 minutes, you can pop any slices you don't need to use into a bag and refreeze - just pat them dry first. You can eat lotus root boiled, baked or deep fried as chips (crisps, if you are a UK reader) but the most popular way to prepare it is to stir fry. Stir frying lotus root opens up and softens the fibres but don't fry for too long - you want to retain the lovely cruncy texture of the root. Once it has been stir fried for a few minutes, the flesh of a lotus root will readily absorb any flavours you throw into the pan. Like the dish I ate at OKAN, the flavours in this recipe are primarily soy sauce and mirin with a dash of chilli flakes. OKAN use saffron in their dish but I dispensed with this as I think the subtle saffron flavour gets buried under the more robust soy and mirin and the chilli. When I stir fry lotus root, I usually use sesame oil to fry. Sesame oil gets hot very quickly and imparts a lovely, nutty flavour to the lotus root. I fry the lotus root until the skin begins to wrinkle and loses its sheen - that means it is almost done and ready for flavouring with the soy and mirin. At this point, turn the heat off and stir in the flavouring if you want a sweeter taste. Leave the heat on a minute or so longer and the soy sauce will impart an almost smokey flavour to the lotus root - perfect for that cold lager. My garnishes for this dish are white sesame and a little watercress. If this has got you in a mood to try this dish, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Pan fried Lotus Root or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. You can find the written recipe just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (serves 2 as a side dish) 240g / 8.5 oz fresh lotus root 1 tbsp white vinegar some water 1 tbsp sesame oil 1.5 tbsp mirin or 2 tsp honey 1.5 tbsp soy sauce a dash of chilli flakes (or more according to your preference) 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds some water cress how to: carefully peel the lotus root. you may need to use a knife to remove some of the skin halve the root and cut into 5 mm / 0.2 inch slices. soak the slices in a bowl of water with the white vinegar for at least 10 mins. drain well and pat dry with a kitchen paper for the crispest result heat the sesame oil in a frying pan. add the lotus root and fry for about 5-6 mins over medium / high heat. keep turning over the lotus root slices until all the slices are lightly browned now, add the mirin, soy sauce, a dash of chilli flakes and stir everything together well finally, add the sesame seeds and stir once more I garnished this dish with a little water cress Fried Soy Lotus Root

Sweet Soy Aubergine Donburi If you read my recipe blog regularly, you probably know that I love aubergine. I think it is a much under rated vegetable here in the UK, unlike in Japan where it is one of the most popular vegetables in the kitchen. Aubergine is good for you, it contains high amounts of anti-oxidants as well as plenty of trace minerals and elemtns such as folate, copper, magnesium and iron. Aubergine is also very good at soaking up different flavours. In this recipe, the piece of aubergine are fried in sesame oil and the flesh of the aubergine soaks up the lovely, nutty flavour of the oil as the aubergine softens in the pan. The rich flavours make this a great meat free alternative to a meat dish. Some people complain that aubergine has a bitter taste - that is easily removed - once you've prepped your aubergine just immerse it in water for 10 - 20 minutes and the flesh will lose its bitter after taste. Drain and rinse and you're ready to cook. Back to the recipe - this dish is a "donburi" meaning that it is served on a bed of rice. So, it makes a great one bowl lunch or supper. It makes for quite a filling dish. If you want to bulk up the rice a little, you can add some barley to it before you cook it as I did here. The sauce is a mixture of mirin and soy sauce with a little extra sugar and some potato flour to thicken it. I garnish this dish with some chopped spring onions and white sesame for a little colour, some more vegeable in my diet and a little more protein form the seeds. Obviously, the choice of garnish is entirely up to you. If you like the sound of this vegetarian/vegan friednly one bowl meal, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Sweet Soy Aubergine Donburi or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The wirtten recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 1 medium aubergine (300g) 1 - 2 tbsp sesame oil for the sauce: 1 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp mirin* 1 tsp potato flour 450g cooked rice 2 spring onions some toasted sesame seeds for topping *if you prefer, you can use 1 tbsp of honey instead of the mirin. if you do this, then use only 1/2 tbsp of potato flour or your sauce will be too thick how to: remove the stalks from an aubergines. cut them in half lengthways, then cut into 1 cm slices put the aubergine slices in a bowl, cover with water and soak for at least 10 mins before draining put the sugar, soy sauce, mirin* and potato flour in a small bowl and mix together well. set aside rinse the spring onions and finely slice them heat a large frying pan. add 1 tbsp of sesame oil and let it get hot. add the aubergine slices and fry until they are lightly browned on both sides. keep the slices moving around the pan to ensure they all brown evenly on both sides. if at any point the pan becomes dry (the aubergine will soak up the sesame oil quite quickly,) add another tbsp of sesame oil once all the aubergine slices are nicely browned, add the soy/mirin sauce to the pan. quickly stir and give everything a shake and then remoce from the heat to assemble your donburi bowls, place the cooked rice in 2 bowls. place 1/2 of the aubergine on top of the rice in each bowl. top with 1/2 the chopped spring onion in each bowl. last, sprinkle with the sesame seeds your Sweet Soy Aubergine Donburi is ready to serve. Sweet Soy Aubergine Donburi

Chicken Omu Curry Most people probably don't associate curry with the Japanese but a recent food survey in Japan suggested that curry and rice is the nation's most popular dish. Curry was introduced into the Japanese food landscape by the British more than a hundred years ago and it has gone from strength to strength. Why do the Japanese love their curry? Part of the reason is the Japanese curry cube - a solid block of curry roux that you can drop into a saucepan of water and a few minutes later, you have a curry sauce. Curry cubes have a much longer shelf life than curry powder and there's no need to mix in other spices - the work is already done for you. I admit though, that I usually add a little extra spice and heat to my Japanese curries but you don't need to if you want a milder, less spicy flavour. The Japanese have found all sorts of ways to serve curry that might surprise you. Here is one such dish: Chicken Omu Curry. You might have heard of Omu Rice. That dish features mixed rice which is folded into an omelette. Omu Curry takes an Omu Rice a little bit further. You get your rice (mixed or otherwise) covered in an omelette and then, you get a curry sauce poured all around the omelette and rice - and voila - you have an Omu Curry! It's a simple dish to create, quite different and I can assure you, it tastes great! One of the distinguishing features of an Chicken Omu Curry is the silky texture of the omelette. You could just fry a normal omelette but there isn't too much technique involved in creating this attractive, shiny - just get your pan nice and hot and when your our in your omelette, gently stir it around the pan a few times to stop the bottom cooking too quickly. Keep moving the omelette as it cooks (you can watch this on the Youtube tutorial) and just when the omelette is beginning to firm but is still oozy on the top, carefully slide it out onto your rice. BTW, to make the rice, simply put a serving into a rice bowl and then invert this onto a plate to create a half sphere of rice. When I make an Chicken Omu Curry, I usually make my curry sauce first. For this recipe I used Java curry cubes and some chicken breast but the recipe works well with lots of other combinations too. Once the curry sauce is sitting ready in its pan. I cracks a couple of eggs into a bowl and mix with a little milk and whisk. Then, I plate up my servings of rice. The omelette take about 2 minutes to cook, so the rice doesn't have too long to cool down before it is covered in its eggy coat. Last, I pour the curry sauce around the omelette. s an option, you can transfer your sauce to a large gravy bowl and put it on the table so your diners can serve themselves. If this recipe has whet you appetite, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Chicken Omu Curry or by scrolling to the bottom of the age. the written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients: (makes 2 servings) 400g-450g cooked white rice 1/2 medium onion 2 cloves garlic 1 5mm / 1/4 inch slice of ginger, peeled 2 boneless chicken thighs 2 tbsp sunflower oil 1 tsp mild curry powder 1/2 tsp salt a little pepper 300ml water 4 tbsp of frozen sweetcorn 4 tbsp of frozen pea 90 - 100g House Java curry cubes* 1 tbsp tomato ketchup 4 large eggs 2 tbsp milk some parsley for topping (optional) *this recipe works well with other Japanese curry cubes as well, eg Golden Curry, Vermont Curry etc. how to: slice and finely chop the onion, garlic & ginger cut the chicken thighs into bite sized pieces heat 1 tbsp of oil in a medium sauce pan. add the onion, garlic & ginger. stir fry & for 1 minute add the chicken breast pieces and fry for another 2 minutes sprinkle the salt, pepper & curry powder into the saucepan. stir well for a further 1-2 minutes add the water, sweetcorn & pea and curry cubes. bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat, stirring time to time add the ketchup and cook for 5 mins more while stirring occasionally. set aside next, fill a rice serving bowl with rice. invert this onto a plate and remove the bowl. repeat for serving #2 for each omelette: break 2 eggs into a jug or small bowl. add 1 tbsp milk and mix well heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a frying pan. pour the whisked egg in. use a chopstick or fork to gently swirl the egg as it firms - this will stop it cooking to quickly underneath and sticking to the pan. as it cooks, use a slice to raise the edge of the omelette to prevent sticking, then, when the omelette is nearly cooked but still shiny and a little oozy on top, use the slice to gently slide the omelette over the rice repeat for omelette #2 last, pour the chicken curry around the omelette. garnish with the parlsey. your chicken omu curry is ready to serve. Chicken Omu Curry

Tsukune Japanese meatballs Take a look at the menu in any Japanese yakitori restaurant and you will be bound to see "Tsukune" on sale. "So what exactly is a Tsukune?" you might ask. Basically, a Tsukune is a meatball (usually composed of seasoned minced chicken) that is presented on a skewer. The meatballs are easy enough to create - first, just blend a mixture of chicken breast, mayo and a little plain flour into a smooth mince, then lubricate your hands (or gloves if you are wearing them) with a little vegetable oil. Take up a heaped teasooon of the mince and roll - it's really very easy. There are a number of ways to cook tsukune Japanese meatballs - in a yakitori restaurant, you'll usually find them grilled. Ditto if you happen to buy a few tsukune skewers from a road side stall (of which, sadly, there are fewer and fewer these days.) But Tsukune can also be baked, fried or boiled. The way I make Tsukune at home depends on the season. In the summer, I like to barbecue them over charcoal but in the seasons where I cook exclusively in the kitchen, I parboil and then fry. Why both when Tsukune will happily cook in a frying pan? Well, it's down to the "look". I find that Tsukune that are put straight into the frying pan to cook tend to lose their shape quite quickly - you get a result that is no less delicious but sometimes a little mishapen. Par boiling the meatballs before frying gives the surface a chance to cook and harden before you pop them in a frying pan - that way, your Tsukune will look a lot prettier when you present them. (PS:If you do decide to parboil, don't through the liquid away, it makes a great base for a ramen stock a day or two later!) Of course, if you aren't that bothered about presenting nicely uniform Tsukune, you can dispense with the parboiling stage - as I say, they will still taste great. Which brings me on to the seasoning. When I make my meatball mince , I blend the chicken with just a little ginger paste (1/8th tsp), some salt and pepper and a little minced carrot and spring onion. Traditionally, there are two ways to serve your tsukune - either sprinkled with a little salt or cooked in a soy and mirin sauce. I find most people prefer the latter, so that's the recipe I present here. These really are delicious and as good as / better than anything you'll find served in a restaurant! Just give yourself about 30 minutes and you'll have a plate of Tsukune ready for your table. If you want to try these out, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Tsukune Japanese meatballs or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. ingredients (makes 12 - 15 balls) 30g / 1 oz carrot 1 spring onion 250g / 9 oz boneless chicken thigh (or minced chicken) 1/8 tsp ginger paste 1 tbsp plain flour 1 tbsp mayonnaise a little salt a little pepper a finger bowl of vegetable oil 2 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp mirin 2 tbsp soy sauce 4 or 5 skewers for 3 balls each how to: peel and roughly chop the carrot and the spring onion. put them into a blender and give them a quick blitz chop the chicken thigh and add to the blender. blend to a smooth mince put the mince into a large bowl. add the ginger paste, plain flour and mayonnaise to the bowl. season with a little salt & pepper, then mix unil everything is evenly combined next, moisten your hands (or gloves if you wish to wear them) with a little vegetable oil, so that the mince won’t stick to your hands. take a heaped tea spoon of the in your hand and roll into a ball shape. repeat until all the mince is used up bring a saucepan of water to boil. give the chicken balls (your Tsukune) one more roll and pop each into the pan. simmer for 2 minutes heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan. transfer the drained Tsukune) and fry for 2 minutes next, add the sugar, soy sauce & mirin to the frying pan. stir gently to avoid breaking any of the Tsukune and cook the sauce until it has thickened a little. roll the Tsukune in the sauce to give each ball a good coating finally, push three meatballs onto each skewer and place on a srving plate. garnish with a little more chopped spring onion and last, drizzle with some of the sauce from the pan. your Japanese Tsukune are ready to serve! Tsukune Japanese meatballs

Soy & Sesame stir fried Konnyaku My latest recipe features a root which is a little bit controversial - konnyaku. While the name konnyaku might not be familiar unless you are Japanese - you might have heard of it by its many other exotic names - Konjac, Devil's Tongue, Snake Plant, Elephant Yam or Voodoo Lily (my absolute favourite.) Why controversial? Well, both the American FDA and the EU banned confectionary products containing konnyaku - which was believed to present a choking hazard to children. In Australia, konjac (konnyaku by anoher name) is banned as a dietary supplement because it is thought to be able to block the intestine if eaten in large enough quantities. I should point out that other konnyaku products aren't banned - just the children's jellies and dietary supplements. That has to be a good thing because konnyaku is one of the oldest known food sources in Japan with a heritage that goes back well over a thousand years - and despite the bans on some products, konnyaku is also very good for you - it's 97% water and 3% fibre (glucomannan in this case) and it contains almost no calories - no sugars, cabohydrates, fats or gluten. Konnyaku isn't easily digestible - so much so that it used to be called, "the stomach's broom" because of its high fibre content - so yes, it is very good for gut health - just don't going eating it in unreasonably large amounts. Konnyaku is alo a decent source of calcium. The only other ingredient you will find in a block of konnyaku is a plant based gelling agent - kanten or agar agar powder. Konnyaku Question - How do the Japanese eat konnyaku? Answer - there are two common variants of konnyaku - one, the subject of this recipe - is konnyaku made into a gelatinised block (as in the photo on the right) which can then be cut into small pieces or strips and cooked in various ways. The other - konnyaku noodles - which are usually called "shirataki" or "ito konnyaku" in Japan, are used in Japanese hotpot and simmered dishes such as "nikujaga" and "sukiyaki." You can buy both konnyaku in its block form and in its noodle form at Japanese and Asian food stores. You can also purchase online at sites such as Amazon and a range of other internet based grocers. Another question - How does konnyaku taste? - Answer - konnyaku itself has little taste (it's a root, so no surprise really) but when it is cooked, konnyaku soaks up flavourings very quickly, so whatever you choose to use as a flavouring or seasoning, konnyaku will suck it up. In the mouth, konnyaku feels quite firm and a little chewy but it really isn't difficult to eat at all. So, on to the recipe - Soy and Sesame fried Konnyaku. This dish is simplicity itself and takes only 15 minutes from beginning to end. The ingredients you will need are those in the recipe title plus some chilli flakes and white sesame for garnishing. Start by unpacking your konnyaku. At this point you may notice an odour - some people say konnyaku has an unpleasant smell - personally, I think it just smells a little bit "fishy" - but a quick rinse under cold water and you'll find that most of the smell has gone away. In any event, cooking just about eliminates it. Once your block of konnyaku is rinsed, you can proceed to cut it up. I usually cut a 250g / 9 oz block into 16 little cubes and then cut each cube into 2 small triangle shapes - but little cubes are fine as well - essentially, what you are aiming at is a small sized piece of konnyaku that will cook quickly and absorb the flavours that you add to the pan - konnyaku itself has no flavour so it is very much a blank canvas for your to flavour as you wish. Once you've prepared your konnyaku, heat up a small frying pan and add 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Fry the konnyaku for 2 - 3 minutes and then add 1/2 tsp of chilli flakes and 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Stir fry for 1 minute more before adding 1 tsp of honey. One more minute of frying and then add some white sesame seeds. One last minute of stir frying and your dish is ready. I serve my soy and sesame fried konnyaku as a side dish - you could pair it with another vegetable and/or meat dish along with some rice. Served regualrly as a side dish, konnyaku will do you no harm and is a fat free source of calcium and dietary fibre - that gets my vote every time! If you'd like to try this dish out you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Soy and Sesame stir fried Konnyaku here or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. the written recipe is just below. Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX. PS: I have added a little more information about konnyaku jellies at the bottom of this page if you are interested! ingredients: (makes 2 / 3 servings as a side dish) 1 250g / 9oz pack of Konnyaku 1 tbsp sesame oil 1/2 tsp dried chilli 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp honey 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds how to: open the pack of konnyaku, then drain and rinse slice the block in half longways. cut into quarters, then into 8 cubes. now cut each cube into 2 triangles. once done, stand each triangle on end and slice in half heat the sesame oil in a frying pan. add the konnyaku triangles and stir fry for about 2 minutes. add the chilli flakes, soy sauce and stir fry for a further 1 minute. next add the honey and stir fry again for 1 minute. last, add 1 tsp of sesame oil and stir fry again for 1 minute. just before serving, garnish with 1 tsp of white sesame seeds Soy & Sesame stir fried Konnyaku Post script: During a recent back home in Japan, I bought a pack of konnyaku jellies to see what Konnyaku Jellies all the fuss was about. A pack of jellies doesn't cost very much - about 300 yen. The pack contains 12 mini-konnyaku jellies each in its own little recyclable cup with a non-recyclable lift off lid. Each jelly is around 25 calories. Nutrition wise 25% of each jelly consists of root fibre. The packaging does carry quite a lot of warnings about eating the jellies carefully and not swallowing them whole. I have to admit, I wouldn't ever think of swallowing one of these jellies Konnyaku Jellies whole but I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry. As you can see from the individual jelly pot on the right, there's also a warning about not giving these to the very young or the very old. So, you may be wondering how they taste. The jellies are quite sweet and really have a consistency much like a gelatine based jelly. We ate a few of these on a warn evening out of the fridge and they tasted good and were quite cooling. I brought another pack home to the UK with me - I think they make a nice little gift and they would certainly provide a talking point!