Thinly sliced pork and beef are commonly available in Japan, but not here in Australia. Occasionally I find frozen sliced meat in Asian grocer stores but the ordinary butchers and supermarket stores don’t sell them. That’s why I sometimes purchase a block of meat, half freeze it, slice as thin as I can, then freeze …
Watercress has quite peppery taste. The pepperiness becomes quite mild when blanched, and crunchy texture and the flavour go well with Wasabi sauce. I love this dish. But my family seems to enjoy it very little. Wasabi is a tricky ingredient to use. OK… you will enjoy this dish only if you like Wasabi. Makes …
The summer in Japan is severe. Every year I used to lose my appetite because of the heat and humidity, but something acidic always helped me to eat to survive. The vinegared vegetables are something I crave for when I am tired. I quite like strong vinegar flavour of this dish. If you don’t, use …
It was last year’s Easter holidays when I sowed the seeds of Kale in my veggie garden. It’s been more than 10 months, we are still harvesting them. I was running out of the ideas how to cook them. Then I thought of making ‘Okonomiyaki’ using Kale. You know Kale smells like cabbage. It should …
‘Daikon Carrot Namasu’ is one of my all time favourite ‘ae-mono’, a type of salad. The sweet and sour dressing goes very well with Daikon. Whole-grain mustard can add extra flavour to the sweet and sour dressing. You may wish to add some other vegetables such as Cucumber, Carrot, Mizuna or Sprouts. The traditional Japanese …
One of the most common ‘Ae-mono’, a type of Japanese salad, dressings is called ‘Sanbai-zu’ which is made with Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar and Sugar. Based on this dressing, I added Peanut Butter to create this Kale salad. My husband and son don’t like Kale, but they enjoy this salad even though Kale is uncooked. …
They say that Silverbeet (Chard) is easy to grow. Yes, Silverbeet does grow so well and it’s not easy to keep up eating. How do you cook Silverbeet? Stir-frying, adding to soup, simply steaming, mixing with Fetta, etc. Here is one Asian recipe for you to try. Makes 4 Servings Ingredients 200g Silverbeet Leaves1 clove …
My home-made ‘Umeboshi’ is just right to add saltiness & sourness to this pasta sauce. This is another perfect pasta dish on a hot day in summer. The key ingredients might be difficult for you to find, but they are often available from Asian grocery stores. Shiso (Perilla) can be replaced with Basil, just maybe …
Kale and Silverbeet are always sold in a large bunch. Do not let that stop you to purchase them. Here is one recipe for you to use up a lot of them. This ‘Ae-mono’, a type of salad, is good as a side dish but it can be a main dish. Because it is simply …
This is an extremely simple yet absolutely delicious tofu salad. If you like tofu, please try this dish. Healthy, nutritious, cheap, yummy, and what else do you want? The spring onion mixture can be mixed with tofu of medium firmness or it can be enjoyed as a topping with very soft silky tofu. Makes 4 …
On the other day, I heard a friend of mine complaining about something I would love. She grows vegetables in the backyard and occasionally gets too much harvest to eat. She was particularly complaining about too much cucumbers. Ahhh… come on! Here is an Asian flavoured ‘Miso Dip’ that would help her to snack a …
Daikon Radish is so sweet and juicy when in season. I often cook this dish, sometimes with fish or beef, but Daikon itself is very nice. Many Australians don’t cook radishes, but they are so beautiful when simmered, stewed or even stir-fried. Makes 4 Servings Ingredients Daikon 400 to 500g *about 16cm if large oneWater …