Kaarage aka Japanese Fried Chicken is one of the under-celebrated dishes of Japanese cuisine overseas – it’s a popular dish in izakayas (pubs) and small casual restaurants across Japan but it’s over-shadowed by dishes such as ramen, sushi, tempura, teriyaki and tonkatsu when it comes to Japanese food available in the UK. This classic kaarage ... Read more »
I am surprised by how many of my friends turn their nose up at tofu, insisting that it’s bland and slippery and they don’t get it at all. But tofu is incredibly versatile and has become one of my favourite ingredients over the years, especially when it’s fried. This Homemade Atsuage (Fried Tofu) with Cherry ... Read more »
There’s a real disconnect between how complex many Brits perceive Japanese cooking to be, and how difficult it actually is. In reality, the majority of every day Japanese food is straightforward to make, especially if you have a clear, easy-to-follow recipe. That’s where Aya Nishimura’s Japanese Food Made Easy comes in, a cookbook to help ... Read more »
We recently reviewed Andrew Kojima’s cookbook No Sushi which reflects his personal journey to becoming a restaurateur, and launching Koj Cheltenham. One of his signature dishes, and extremely popular with customers, is his sticky toffee pudding with white miso butterscotch sauce. We are delighted to share the recipe with you for this delicious dessert. This ... Read more »
We recently reviewed Andrew Kojima’s cookbook No Sushi – part cookbook, part autobiography. One of the recipes we are keen to make is the okonomiyaki. This popular pancake-like Japanese dish is a filling meal of cabbage and other ingredients mixed into in a wheat-flour batter, cooked on a flat pan or hot plate, and topped ... Read more »
‘No Sushi’ is part autobiography, part cookbook, written by chef restaurateur and winner of Masterfchef 2012, Andrew Kojima. The title is a reference to the (gradually eroding) British perception of Japanese food being all about sushi, the topic of a conversation Koj had with his Japanese father shortly before he died. It’s also the name ... Read more »
2020 is definitely not the year of international travel. That passtime has pretty much ground to a halt, as many of us around the world hunker down at home in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel lovers like me, who would usually be booking the next trip, focus instead on dreams of past travels, ... Read more »
Recently, I reviewed Tim Anderson’s Vegan Japaneasy. Now I want to tell you about his previous title, Japaneasy. Stylistically – in voice and in approach – both cookbooks are stamped with the humour, personality, skill and enthusiasm of their author, so I’ll avoid duplicating my own equally enthusiastic approval of all four traits (warning: probably ... Read more »
Nicky cooked and loved many recipes from Tim Anderson’s Vegan Japaneasy. With kind permission from publishers Hardie Grant to share three of Nicky’s favourite recipes from the book with you. Yesterday, we shared Tim’s Rough Night Rice. Today, we have a vegetarian katsu made with sliced cauliflower. 5 from 1 vote Caulflower Katsu Curry The ‘katsu’ ... Read more »
In her review of Tim Anderson’s Vegan Japaneasy cookery book, Nicky shared her many cooking successes and identified some of her favourite recipes from the book. With kind permission from publishers Hardie Grant we have three delicious recipes from the book to share with you. The first is this delicious Rough Night Rice, perfect hangover ... Read more »
The Place of Onions, in old Lille. After last night’s rainstorm the intense sticky heat has broken and today is cool, breezy, fresh… I love it! A drop of… [more]
We went to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void this morning, an amazing VR experience where we got to be Rebel Alliance members going undercover as… [more]