JAPANESE

Japanese cuisine is elegant and refined. The essence of Japanese food lies in its simplicity and flavour.

I think it's a great party idea because sushi rolls can be made several hours in advance but always store it chilled because the rule about sushi is- it has to be consumed at its best, which is the same day or even better, immediately. It also makes a delightful finger food adding to the array of colours and varieties. The varieties are endless and quite frankly, i just didn't quite know where to begin.

From the Chicken Kara-age, which is Japanese style fried chicken flavoured with ginger to the authentic Japanese grill over hot sizzling sauce baste on the Yakitori kebab pieces placed on the skewers in alternating order are simply marvellous. Yakitori are ideal for barbecues or parties as one can prepare them ahead of time and store them marinated until it's time for the grill.

A must have accompanying dip sauce- Tempura sauce and Japanese soy sauce.

Wasabi is Japanese horseradish. It is most famous in form of green paste used as condiment for sashimi (raw fish) and sushi.

Some sushi accessories that i'd found from a Japanese little store in a Mall i had bought to make work light for sushi rolling and moulding. I had hoped that even my younger son would be able to make some for himself whenever he wanted a quick snack.

But later found that the press mould was a little tricky even for me especially if the rice was not sticky enough. So the children usually prefer to either do a California roll (triangular wrap with the seaweed piece) or roll the usual way with the seaweed and then cut into bite sized pieces.

Simple Rolled Sushi

Variety shaped sushi


Some popular sushi names to get acquainted so you can order with ease-

-Nigiri are those with fish, shellfish, etc. on top

-Norimaki are those rolled out ones then cut into bite sized pieces. Did you know that these kind are only popular outside of Japan but rarely in Japan?

-Temaki are those cone shaped nori seaweed we usually refer to them as California Rolls.



-Gunkan are those with the sea urchin and various kinds of fish eggs. These are really the cool ones. My boys go gaga with these and snapped them up quicker than they could replenish on the conveyor belt in a Japanese Restaurant.

Chicken & Prawn Hot Pot

also known as Yosenabe, for a 4 pax,

400g chicken thigh or breast fillet
8 raw tiger prawns
4 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
3 leeks, sliced diagonally
6 small tofu , cut into bite pieces

in 1 litre of kombu and bonito stock
6 tsp sake or dry white wine
2 tbsp of soy sauce
4 ysp of mirin
a pinch of salt



Miso Soup

A Japanese tradition which is very nutritious and delicious, a popular accompaniment that usually goes with a Bento, which is an adorable Japanese lunch box that offers not only a delicious slice in presentation, taste and colour but also a very healthy meal.

Is it any wonder that the Japanese are enjoying healthier and even more youthful lives even into old age. Is it not an astounding fact that more than 20,000 Japanese are over a 100 years old? Life expectancy in Japan, for both men and women, is statistically, still very much, the highest in the world.

Trout marinated with Teriyaki Sauce, grilled

Baked Salmon in Miso Sauce.

This one is too easy. i think i can do this blind folded- (with the fold slightly more over the top, of course :P)

here, i add in a few dashes of Japanese soy sauce, miso paste, some olive oil, a large tablespoon of butter and lots of grated cheese- a great pouch lunch with some rice after 10-15 min at 350F/180C. Open the foil and usually i throw in more cheese at this point and then bake it for a further 5 min or so until the cheese melts and oozes and is slightly browned.

or pan fried in a little olive oil and butter

Teriyaki Salmon in Garlic Butter Sauce

a slow searing in some olive oil, butter and finely minced garlic also releases some of the oil from the salmon pieces. Combined with the marinate and butter oils and garlic, the sauce is magical.

(And yes- if you must ask, it was a little over done because your gracious blog hostess here was trying to capture some good angled pictures while it was searing away back there?)

Cod pieces

Marinated cod pieces taste great whether poached or grilled/pan fried with butter. The secret is basically in the sauce and of course, if you use cod, the firmness and taste of the sea will just be a long affair to remember.

Vegetables deep fried in Light Batter

Tempura can be prawn or other seafood pieces as well.

Excellent with either sake (alcoholic beverage) or green tea. Finish off with some sweets of rice cake with fruit which is really a more modern version, although one would find it in aduki bean paste traditionally.




Here's some love blown out to all my blogging friends out there. Wishing you a great week ahead.. will be visiting you soon to find your posts and new happenings around the blog !



PS By the way, no Memoirs of the Geisha here- If you were the people who had clicked on my post  when i first hit the PUBLISH button- you would have noticed a great part of incoherence, which is nothing strange about me usually- but .. the truth is, i did this post, putting all these pictures together in my insomniac hours..so, clarity of mind could be a tiny disadvantage.

Further editing only made more sense afterward- i hit the bed like 6 am this morning and.. I'm cranky!!  Can someone get me a double Expresso, please?

fl