Kakiage Mixed Vegetable Tempura by Fiona Uyema

I want to share another favourite recipe from my Japanese cookbook "Japanese Food Made Easy". I recently tried this recipe with Irish Wild Garlic instead of kale and it was so refreshing and delicious! 

I was lucky to learn the secret to a light and crispy tempura batter while living in Japan and it’s simple – don’t overmix the batter and use ice-cold water. Overmixing the batter will activate the gluten, leaving the batter heavy and doughy, so lumps are OK.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

vegetable oil for deep-frying
lemon wedges to serve
freshly ground sea salt to serve (optional)
For the vegetable mix
80g sweet potato, cut into matchsticks with the skin still on
80g carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
50g kale, stalk removed and roughly chopped
100g onion, peeled and cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons cornflour
For the batter
1 egg yolk
200ml ice-cold water
a few ice cubes
150g flour, sieved
50g cornflour, sieved
For the dipping sauce
100ml dashi stock (home-made dashi stock (pp. 52–54) or 100ml water and a sprinkle of dashi instant granules)
20ml mirin
20ml soy sauce
grated ginger/daikon (optional)

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients for the dipping sauce into a saucepan and let them simmer for a few minutes, then set aside and let cool.
2. Mix all the vegetables in a large bowl and, using your hands, evenly coat them in cornflour, then set aside.
3. Beat the egg yolk and ice-cold water in a large bowl. Toss in a few ice cubes to keep the water cold.
4. Gradually add the flour and cornflour to the water/egg mix and then lightly mix. It’s OK to leave lumps in the batter.
5. Toss all the vegetables into the batter mix and ensure they are all equally coated.
6. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan to 170ºC (medium/high heat). Drop a bit of batter in the oil to check the temperature. If the batter rises slowly to the top of the oil, starts to sizzle and slowly turns a golden-brown colour, then the temperature is right.
7. Put a large tablespoon of the tempura vegetable mix on a large wooden spoon and slowly place in the oil against the side of the saucepan. Use a large spoon or chopsticks to slide the tempura mix off the wooden spoon and into the oil. Remove the wooden spoon slowly once the tempura mix is secure and firmly bound together.
8. Deep-fry the tempura until it is golden brown, turning a few times.
9. Drain on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
10. Serve with either the dipping sauce or lemon wedges and a sprinkle of freshly ground sea salt.

Tips 
For vegetarians use a vegetarian-based dashi stock using seaweed and/or shiitake mushrooms (see page 54).
Make sure none of the ice cubes are caught in the kakiage before you place it in the hot oil.

Fiona Uyema in the Sunday Independent Home Feature

I thought it would be nice to post this article on my blog in case you live outside Ireland. This article was published in the Sunday Independent around the time of my book launch for my first cookbook "Japanese Food Made Easy". There are some nice photos of my kitchen and home so have a look. By the way my house is NEVER this clean!!! Fiona :)

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/a-yen-for-adventure-peek-inside-japanese-cookery-authors-home-31602034.html

Salmon Teriyaki recipe from my cookbook "Japanese Food Made Easy"

 My cookbook is available to buy on Amazon. 

I want to share one of the most popular recipes from my cookbook SALMON TERIYAKI. The homemade teriyaki sauce works really well with other meats too including steak and chicken. If you are vegetarian it works beautifully drizzled over steamed vegetables or added to a tofu and vegetable stir fry. This is the perfect dish (Japanese recipe) to bring Japanese cooking into your home!

Without exception, everyone loves this salmon teriyaki recipe – it’s one of the most talked about recipes at my cooking classes. The perfect combination of flavours in the salmon and the sweet teriyaki sauce make this an all-time favourite in households across the world and on menus in both Asian and non-Asian restaurants.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

- vegetable oil
- 2 fillets salmon
- handful of sesame seeds to garnish

Teriyaki sauce 
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 teaspoon sugar/honey

Method:

1.  Combine all the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce, mix well and set aside.
2.  Pour a little vegetable oil into a non-stick frying pan on a medium to high heat.
3.  Place the salmon fillets (skin-side down) on the frying pan and sear both sides of the fish.
4.  When the fish is nearly cooked (place the salmon fillets skin-side down at this point) pour the teriyaki sauce over it.
5.  Use a large spoon to continually pour the sauce over the fish fillets while continuing to fry.
6.  Fry until the teriyaki sauce is reduced to the consistency of a syrup.
7.  Garnish with sesame seeds.

Tip
Keep a close eye on the teriyaki sauce as it can quickly reduce on a high heat and start to burn.

Taste of Dublin 2015 - Sushi Masterclasses Fiona Uyema

It was great to be part of Taste of Dublin again this year. I arrived on Thursday morning to kick off the festival with the traditional Taste of Dublin photo in front of the fountain alongside a fantastic line up of well known chefs.

One of the highlights of the festival was to be shoulder to shoulder with Michel Roux Jr. and Kevin Thornton talking about Japanese food.

I was overwhelmed with the demand for my sushi masterclasses in the SONY tent with every session booking out from Thursday to Sunday along with a waiting/cancellation list.

I was truly impressed with the knowledge and interest from the public in not only sushi but Japanese food in general. I had so many interesting conversations with people who came up to me after the demos learning about how they became fans of Japanese food.

I was lucky to have the wonderful staff from Banyi Japanese Dining next door to me who were serving delicious sake cocktails and freshly made sushi.

The Goastbridge trout caviar proved very popular as a topping for the temaki rolls!

When I wasn't giving demonstrations I was enjoying the live music and delicious food with my family and friends. If you haven't been to Taste of Dublin be sure to stick it in your calendar for next year as it's such an incredible festival for everyone. The Minions appearance was the highlight of the festival for my little boy.

Japanese stir-fried okra vegetable recipe

My husband's grandparents are from Okinawa, Japan so he grew up on an Okinawan/ Japanese influenced diet. Okra is a green vegetable that is grown and popular in the Okinawan diet. I remember eating okra the first time I visited my husband's parents and couldn't believe how tasty it was in his mother's homemade Japanese seasoning. I haven't got her original recipe yet but here's my version of Japanese stir-fried okra, I hope you like it as much as we do in our house!

Ingredients:
Few handfuls of okra
1 tbsp sake (Japanese rice wine)
Half tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
Shichimi-togarashi (Japanese seven spice)

Instructions:
1. Wash the fresh okra under cold water and drain.

2. Using a sharp knife cut off the top and end of the okra. Then, slice about half an inch thick to allow the flavour to completely absorb into the okra pieces when stir-frying (see pic below).

3. Heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil on high heat on a non-stick frying pan.

4. Toss the okra pieces into the frying pan and after frying for about a minute add the sake and mix using a large spoon. Continue to fry for another minute. Then, sprinkle the sugar evenly over the okra and fry for another minute continuing to mix.

5. Finally pour the soy sauce over the okra. Take off the heat after one minute or less.

6. Season with shichimi-togarashi (Japanese seven spice).

Tips:
- Okra can be found in Asian stores. 

- This dish can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container and eaten hot or cold.
- Leftovers are perfect for a bento box (Japanese lunchbox).

Saba shioyaki - grilled mackerel recipe

 

A Japanese work colleague once told me that Japanese cooking is about bringing the flavour out of the food rather than creating complicated sauces to cover the taste of the food. This simple recipe called "saba shioyaki" demonstrates the Japanese way of cooking using only salt and letting the mackerel do the rest of the work. I'd encourage you to buy mackerel fillets from your local fishmonger to make sure that you get really fresh ones. Mackerel is known for not staying fresh for long.

I love cooking mackerel at home because it's really tasty and cheap! I bought these mackerel fillets for just over €3 from my local fishmonger.

This recipe will take a few minutes to prepare and then less than ten minutes to cook.

Ingredients:
Sea salt
Fresh mackerel fillets
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Instructions:

1. Generously season the mackerel fillets with sea salt on both sides.

2. Pour vegetable oil into a non stick frying pan and set the heat medium to high.

3. Once the pan is hot place the mackerel fillets on the pan skin side down and fry for a few minutes depending on the size. Then turn over and cook the other side for another few minutes until cooked through. The skin should be nice and crispy.

4. Serve with a salad or with rice and vegetables. Traditionally in Japan saba shioyaki is served with grated daikon (mooli) and soy sauce.