JAPANESE SPAGHETTI CARBONARA RECIPE WITHOUT CREAM

I have a slight intolerance to dishes with added cream or butter so when cooking at home I try to avoid adding these when possible. Some people find it hard to believe that you can make carbonara without cream however once you have good quality eggs and Parmesan cheese the sauce will be nice and creamy.

I love cooking Italian food at home. My favourite Italian cookbooks are from Jamie Oliver and Catherine Fulvio. Italian food is very popular in Japan, you'll find Italian restaurants in every town across Japan and Italian dishes on the menus in their family restaurants. The dishes are influenced by local Japanese tastes by adding some favourite Japanese ingredients such as seaweed.

Here's my carbonara recipe with a Japanese twist and no added cream.

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:
300g spaghetti pasta
4 slices of bacon (cut into small square pieces)
Olive oil (for frying)
4 egg yolks (preferably free range or organic eggs)
50g Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
Salt & pepper (to season)
Nori - roasted seaweed (to garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Boil the pasta as per the packet instructions until it is cooked to your liking.

2. Fry the bacon pieces on a frying pan with olive oil until they are nice and crisp (but not overcooked and black in colour).

3. Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl. 

4. Before draining the pasta make sure you have the whisked egg yolks, grated Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper and nori at hand. Also set the table in advance as this dish should be served immediately.

4. Drain the cooked pasta leaving some water at the bottom of the saucepan. 

5. Quickly add the bacon to the pasta and stir. Immediately pour the egg yolk over the pasta and stir completely covering the pasta in the egg yolk. Now toss the grated Parmesan over the pasta and mix well.

6. Season with salt and pepper.

7. Serve on a place and garnish with some nori.

TIPS:

- When you mix the raw egg yolk into the pasta it's important that the saucepan is removed from the heat to avoid the egg scrambling. 

- The hot pasta will cook the raw egg yolk.

- To make the perfect creamy sauce you need to work quickly through the instructions from point 4 to 7.

NOTES:
Nori is a type of roasted seaweed which can be found in Asian supermarkets and also supermarkets such as Tesco, Dunnes and Superquinn. If you can't find nori sprinkles, then get a sheet of nori and using a grater make nori sprinkles. 

JAPANESE SWEET POTATO CHIPS RECIPE WITH WASABI MAYO

I mentioned in a previous post that I’m always looking for foods that help asthma since my little boy was diagnosed with asthma this year. Sweet potatoes can help diseases related to inflammation such as asthma and also chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. It's worth including them as part of your weekly diet as they're filled with nutrional benefits.

This recipe is a quick and healthy way to eat sweet potatoes as a snack or as a side dish to a main meal.

INGREDIENTS:
1 large sweet potato, about 400g (peeled and cut into chips)

2 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil
Freshly ground salt and pepper for seasoning 
Nori (optional to garnish)
Wasabi mayo (optional for dipping sauce)

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Place the sweet potato chips in a roasting tray and use your hands to coat in the oil and then season with freshly ground salt and pepper. 
3. Spread the chips out in a single layer so they cook properly and won't stick together.
4. Cook for about 30 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chips) in the oven until the chips are cooked through.

TO MAKE WASABI MAYO

Mix the mayo and wasabi together until you get a nice green mayo. Add more or less wasabi depending on your liking. I usually add 1tsp of wasabi to every 2 tsp of mayo.  

NOTES: 

Wasabi is made from the root of the wasabi plant. It has a similar taste to hot mustard and is regularly used in Japan. It is best known for being served on the side with sushi. If you can't find wasabi for this recipe (big supermarkets like Tesco and Superquinn stock wasabi) then Hellman's recently launched Hellmann's wasabi mayonnaise.

Click here to see my recipe on Japanese style fish & chips

BASIC JAPANESE COOKING INGREDIENTS PART II

This post is a continuation of my first post on Basic Japanese Ingredients and gives a brief description of an extended list of basic ingredients used in Japanese home cooking. All these ingredients can be found in either Asian markets or large supermarkets. From my experience Asian supermarkets tend to be cheaper compared to supermarkets.

NORI - ROASTED SEAWEED

These roasted seaweed sheets are well known for wrapping sushi rolls. They can be shredded and sprinkled over dishes before serving. This type of seaweed is relatively easy to find and not expensive.

WAKAME - TYPE OF SEAWEED

Wakame is often added to Japanese miso soup and Japanese style salads. Be careful how much wakame you add to a dish as these tiny dry pieces of seaweed expand once they are added to water. 



HIJIKI - TYPE OF SEAWEED

Hijiki goes well with vegetables in a Japanese style stir-fry. It's important to soak the dried seaweed in water before adding to any dishes.

KOMBU - TYPE OF SEAWEED

This seaweed is used along with bonito fish flakes to make Japanese homemade fish stock called dashi.

KATSUOBUSHI - BONITO FISH FLAKES

Katsuobushi is used along with kombu seaweed to make Japanese homemade fish stock. It goes well with fresh tofu and soy sauce. Depending on where you live it can be difficult to get and a little expensive. I get it in my local Asian supermarket.

TOFU - PREFERABLY GM FREE

Tofu is made from fermented soya beans. It's low in calaroies yet high in protein and calcium. Try to buy tofu in an Asian store as the quality and the taste of the tofu tend to be much better. Fresh tofu can be eaten cold straight from the fridge or added to hot dishes. 

PANKO - JAPANESE BREAD CRUMBS

The biggest difference between panko and standard breadcrumbs is that panko doesn't contain the crust of the bread and the breadcrumbs are bigger in panko. Seemingly panko absorbs less oil than standard breadcrumbs! Panko is used for dishes such as Japanese style croquettes and tonkatsu.

ROASTED SESAME SEEDS

These are often sprinkled over dishes before serving.

NANAMI TOGARASHI - JAPANESE SEVEN SPICES

This spice mix includes chilli, orange peel, black sesame seed, white sesame seed, seaweed, Japanese pepper and ginger. It's often added to Japanese dishes to add a little kick and extra taste to the dish. 

 

SESAME OIL
Used to flavour Japanese Chinese style dishes such as fried rice

SHISO LEAF

A type of herb that is used in Japanese cooking. It can be difficult to find in supermarkets outside of Japan however if you can get shiso leaf seeds then you can grow your own!

WASABI - JAPANESE HORSERADISH

This is the green coloured mustard that is served with sushi. The wasabi root looks like a ginger root and can be hard to find. 

UDON NOODLES

A type of thick wheat flour noodle. Udon is usually served in a clear lightly seasoned soup with other ingredients.

 

RAMEN NOODLES

This is a wheat noodle used for Japanese Chinese style dishes including "Ramen" which is a tasty and very popular noodle soup. 

SOBA NOODLES

This is a thin brown buckwheat noodle which tends to be eaten cold during the summer months and hot during the colder times of year.