Cook up a storm with these easy recipes for everyday Japanese comfort food.
Cook up a storm with these easy recipes for everyday Japanese comfort food.
SALMON IKURA DON
By Frank Shen, manager of 510 Sake Bar
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
½ cup rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 cups warm Japanese rice
240g sliced salmon sashimi
4 tbsp ikura (salmon roe)*
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp pickled ginger*
3 tbsp thinly sliced nori (Japanese seaweed sheets)
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp wasabi
*Available from sushi counters at major supermarkets.
DIRECTIONS
1 In a large bowl, mix rice vinegar, salt and sugar into warm rice. Leave to cool to room temperature, then divide into 4 bowls.
2 Arrange salmon sashimi over the rice until the slices cover the top.
3 Sprinkle ikura over the salmon, followed by sesame seeds.
4 Add pickled ginger, then garnish with nori. Serve with soya sauce and wasabi on the side.
CALIFORNIA MAKI ROLL
By Frank Shen
Serves 5
INGREDIENTS
½ cup rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 cups warm Japanese rice
5 sheets nori
1 avocado, cut into
1cm-thick strips
100g crab sticks
1 zucchini, cut into strips
1 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
100g tobiko (flying fish roe)*
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp wasabi
*Available from sushi counters at major supermarkets.
DIRECTIONS
1 In a large bowl, mix rice vinegar, salt and sugar into warm rice. Leave to cool to room temperature.
2 Cover both sides of a sushi rolling mat with cling wrap, and set aside a bowl of clean water.
3 Place a sheet of nori on a flat, clean surface. With dampened fingers, spread a thin, even layer of rice over the nori. Put the sushi mat on top of the rice, then flip everything over, such that the sushi mat is now underneath.
4 Line avocado strips along the width of the nori. Line a row of crab sticks beside the avocado, followed by zucchini strips. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on top, then sprinkle with tobiko, saving a little to coat the maki in later.
5 Using the sushi mat, roll the sushi into a tight log. Once the rolling edge of the sushi mat hits the nori, peel it back downwards. Continue rolling into a log.
6 Spread remaining tobiko onto a plate. Coat maki rolls in it, then cut each roll into 6 pieces with a damp knife. Serve with soya sauce and wasabi on the side.
CHICKEN KARAAGE WITH WASABI MAYONNAISE
By Frank Shen
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp sake
2 tsp sugar
450g skin-on chicken thighs, deboned and cut into
5cm-long pieces
For the batter:
1 cup plain flour
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp ground black pepper
1½ cups stout
For the wasabi mayonnaise:
²/³ tbsp wasabi powder*
1 tsp water
4 tbsp mayonnaise Cooking oil, for deep-frying
1 lemon, cut into wedges
*Available from Japanese supermarkets like Isetan Scotts and Meidi-ya.
DIRECTIONS
1 In a large bowl, whisk ginger, garlic, soya sauce, sake and sugar together. Marinate chicken in this mixture for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
2 To make the batter, whisk flour, egg, garlic powder and black pepper together, then stir in the stout. Set aside.
3 In a small bowl, combine wasabi powder with water to form a paste, and let sit for 1min. Stir in mayonnaise to make wasabi mayonnaise.
4 Heat the cooking oil in a pot. Evenly coat the chicken pieces with batter and deep-fry until golden brown. Transfer onto kitchen towels to soak up excess oil. Serve with wasabi mayonnaise and lemon wedges.
OYAKO DON
By Kanazawa Homare, chef of Sushi Kou
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
For the dashi mixture:
360ml dashi stock
2 tbsp mirin
3 tsp sugar
4 tbsp Kikkoman Usukuchi Soy Sauce*
4 tbsp Kikkoman Premium Soy Sauce*
2 tsp salt
2 tsp mirin
200g diced chicken thigh
1 yellow onion, sliced
4 tsp chopped spring onions
4 eggs
4 bowls cooked Japanese rice
*Available from Japanese supermarkets like Isetan Scotts and Meidi-ya.
DIRECTIONS
1 In a pot, bring all the ingredients for the dashi mixture to the boil, then turn off the heat.
2 Bring another pot of water to a boil. Stir in salt and mirin. Blanch chicken for 15sec, then drain.
3 Divide the chicken and onions into four portions.
4 In a saucepan over medium heat, spread out one portion of chicken and onions, then pour in a quarter of the dashi mixture. Cover and simmer for 4min.
5 Add 1 tsp spring onions. Turn the heat to low, beat one egg lightly and pour over the chicken. Stir lightly, and turn to high heat for 5sec.
6 Turn off the heat and cover for 15sec. When the egg starts to set, slide out the chicken and egg mixture onto a bowl of rice. Repeat for the remaining portions.
PORK TONKATSU
By Kanazawa Homare
Makes 4
INGREDIENTS
4 pork loin chops, each about 120g and 1cm thick
2 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups tempura flour 3 eggs, beaten 2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2 cups cooking oil
DIRECTIONS
1 Use a sharp knife to make shallow slits on the surface of the pork chops.
2 Season pork chops with salt and pepper.
3 Place flour, egg and panko in separate shallow plates, then dredge the pork chops through each one in the same order. Press on them lightly to help the panko stick to the meat.
4 Heat cooking oil in a pot and deep-fry the pork chops, one at a time. Cook each side for 3min, until golden brown.
5 Transfer pork chops to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil, then slice into 2cm-thick strips.
