Tuna & Mango Tataki Salad

LUNCH, MAIN MEALS, RECIPES, SALADS, SEASONS, SPRING, SUMMER

When making this recipe make sure to lightly sear the tuna as I truly believe tuna tastes better either raw or lightly seared. Once tuna is cooked it becomes tough and loses its flavour. This salad is particularly nice eaten while the tuna is warm, so don’t waste any time once it’s ready and try to eat it straight away.

To see my new website, please click here.

Ingredients:

Mixed sesame seeds to coat the tuna

Salt and pepper to season the tuna

100g fresh tuna steak/loin

Vegetable oil

A few handfuls of mixed salad leaves

1 ripened mango, peeled and cut into strips

For the dressing:

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

½ teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions:

1 Mix together the sesame seeds, salt and pepper on a flat plate.

2 Place the tuna on the plate and coat each side in sesame seeds.

3 Heat a little vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan on a medium to high heat.

4 Place the tuna on the pan and sear each side lightly (less than 1 minute for each side).

5 Transfer to a chopping board and, using a sharp knife, thinly slice the tuna.

6 Place the mixed salad leaves on a serving dish along with the mango strips.

7 Carefully place the tuna slices on top.

8 Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and, just before serving, pour over the salad.

For more recipes please go to: 

https://fusedbyfionauyema.com/fionas-japanese-food-recipes/

or follow me on:

https://www.facebook.com/FionaUyemaChef/

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Fused by Fiona Uyema Ltd

I'm so happy to share with you my new venture, my new company Fused by Fiona Uyema Ltd. I launched “Fused by Fiona Uyema Ltd” to share my passion for Japanese cooking and flavours and to inspire people across Ireland and further afield. I've travelled to Japan and Dubai as an Ambassador for Japanese food and culture.

“Fused by Fiona Uyema Ltd” inspires Japanese flavours through my profile as a TV cook and cookbook author, Fused range of healthy and tasty flavoured soy sauces and Fused Japanese Street Food Pop-Up Roadshow.

Fused launched its first products last year, a range of healthy and tasty flavoured soy sauces with no added sugar, preservatives or additives and using non-GMO soy beans.

Fused Japanese Street Food Pop-Up Roadshow has appeared at Ireland's largest food festivals and events and also caters for private hire.

To see my live TV cooking videos go to my YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHdgAxEmF1cO_I457qWLow

Healthy Lunch Box Cookery Class June 11th

Are you bored with your work lunch, or need inspiration for your children’s school lunchbox?

On Saturday June 11th (10:30am -1:30pm) in Miele Gallery Citywest I'm hosting a hands on cooking class focusing on creating Japanese inspired lunch boxes to give your work or school lunch an interesting twist.

During the classes I will introduce you to the simple steps to creating a lunchbox that is time friendly yet healthy and tasty. I also make an effort to use every day ingredients so they can be easily sourced by families across Ireland.

Tickets are priced at €65. For enquiries email fiona.uyema@gmail.com or call 0860704052. For bookings go to fionauyema.com/booking-japanese-cooking-classes. This class is parent and children friendly, with reduced rates are available for children.

Experience Japan Festival 2016

All year I've been looking forward to this Japanese festival and I'm delighted to be able to say this year it was even bigger and better. Although the Irish weather can be unpredictable in April, the sun was shining the whole day and the temperature was higher than an average spring day. The first Japanese street food/ Japanese festival food I tried was curry udon garnished with bonito flakes, it was delicious and I got it from the WACAFE

There were more food stalls this year due to the growing demand for this Japanese festival every year. One of my favourite food stalls was the takoyaki and okonomiyaki. 

These are typical Japanese street foods/Japanese festival foods and always taste amazing when freshly made and served like this. 

The queue for this stall was particularly long even at the end of the day.  

I was delighted to see a Japanese gift shop called "Cactus Dublin" at the festival with a fantastic selection of Japanese gifts and they also stocked my cookbook "Japanese Food Made Easy".

There was plenty of opportunity to absorb Japanese culture with displays of marital arts such as kendo and karate. 

It was great to see Irish children embracing marital arts and tentatively listening to their Sensei!  

Asia Market Dublin had a stall again this year with a fantastic selection of Japanese ingredients and their stock of my cookbook sold out! 

 

I really enjoyed my talk on "Japan through the Eyes of Fiona Uyema" in the Cabinet Kitchen. There were so many questions at the end of the session and thanks to everyone who came up to say hello. It always motivates me to hear that people are following my journey and enjoying my recipes and adventures through my blog and online.

I had an information stall in the Cowshed on Japanese food & culture. My little boy came along to help me! 

I bumped into these two beautiful ladies again this year. Every year they wear costumes to the festival, I love them :)

Although the cherry blossom trees are not in full bloom across Ireland yet we found a few that had blossomed.

Notes:

If you 're interested in attending Japanese festivals around Europe you should also look at Hyper Japan in the UK and Japan Day in Germany. I hope to attend these wonderful festivals one day too. 

I want to say a special thanks to Natalia from Smiles!Photography for allowing me to use her photos for this blog post. Her photos are much nicer than mine!!

To see more about Experience Japan festival go to www.experiencejapan.ie

DISCOVER THIS YEAR'S TOP THREE FOOD TRENDS AT KILDARE VILLAGE LOUNGE WITH FIONA UYEMA

On Saturday April 2nd I gave a talk about this year's "Top Three Food Trends" with seaweed expert Tom Jones from Sea of Vitality.

We spoke about seaweed, matcha and fermentation. During the talk I prepared tastings and drinks for the guests to demonstrate how easily these ingredients can be included in everyday dishes i.e matcha granola, freshly made sushi rolls. miso soup, seaweed pickled salad and matcha flavoured smoothies.

I really enjoyed this event and the lounge at Kildare Village is stunning!

I've linked some of the recipes from my blog at the start of this post, You can also find most of these recipes and much more in my cookbook "Japanese Food Made Easy".

Top 5 Japanese Street Foods You Have to Try

On my return trip to Japan last November my family and I got to experience authentic Japanese street food, here's our top 5 Japanese street foods. You can see our return trip which was broadcast on NHK TV if you click on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BYgg28I9fQ

1. Salted Sweet Potato

There was an elerly Japanese lady at this stall making salted sweet potato sticks, she was so delighted to meet a foreigner that she wouldn't let me pay. My 4 year old and I loved these!!

2. Taiyaki

These fish shaped pastries are freshly made with various fillings such as sweet bean, custard and chocolate. They are absolutely delicious. I was so excited when I stumbled across this local taiyaki stall and got the chance to taste one after 10 years.

Here is a photo of the lady putting the different fillings in the taiyaki while they're baking in the fish shaped moulds.

3. Dango

These are sticky rice balls made from mochi (rice flour). 

4. Yakisoba

See my yakisoba recipe on the link below:

http://fionasjapanesecooking.blogspot.ie/2013/09/vegetarian-yakisoba-recipe.html

5. Okonomiyaki

I didn't come across okonomiyaki on my last visit to Japan, but I have to share it here as one of the top 5 streets foods from Japan. Here's the link to my okonomiyaki recipe. I've really simplified it so it'll work for you at home.

http://fionasjapanesecooking.blogspot.ie/2014/03/okonomiyaki-japanese-pancake.html

Now, decide which Japanese street food you'd like to try ccoking at home! Fiona :)

Fiona Uyema YouTube Channel - subscribe for recipes

Thanks for all your messages over the past year asking me to start posting recipe videos on YouTube.

I've finally dedicated time to this project and I've started to post some content. I'll add new recipes to this every week so please SUBSCRIBE to my channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtHdgAxEmF1cO_I457qWLow

Check out my new MATCHA video.

https://youtu.be/tD2fnTruCzI

Let me know what type of recipes you like me to post for you.

Fiona x

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.

don't diet, change your lifestyle - 7 Japanese secrets

Photo courtesy of thetaste.ie
I'm delighted to be joining the fabulous team at TheTaste.ie (Ireland's fastest growing online food magazine) as a food writer. 

My articles & writing will focus on Japanese food and my foodie adventures across Ireland and further afield. 

You can read my first article now live on the website "don't diet, change your lifestyle - 7 Japanese secrets". I hope you enjoy it and let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like me to write about :)
http://thetaste.ie/wp/dont-diet-change-your-lifestyle-7-japanese-secrets/

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.

Corporate Events/ Team Building/ Workshops by Fiona Uyema

In 2016, I'm very excited to announce I'm providing customised and unique corporate team building experiences through a talk, demo, hands-on cooking experience or a health & well being programme.

For more details see my website or get in touch fiona.uyema@gmail.com

http://fionauyema.com/workshops-team-building/

Can you guess what the most common New Year's Resolutions are?

According to researh by StatisticBrain the top 3 New Year's Resolutions are:

- Lose weight
- Getting organised
- Spend less, save more

For me personally, in the past I'd set myself unrealistic goals to lose weight and become healthier and desperately failed.

If losing weight and/or becoming healthier is one of your New Year's Resolutions then I want to share with you the Japanese way of eating and why Japanese people tend to be slimmer and have a drastically lower obesity rate than we have here in the West/ Ireland. The Japanese diet has helped me to maintain my weight without having to diet or deprive myself of some of my favourite treats. 

The Japanese Way of Eating

People who attended my cooking classes in 2015 have given me feedback to say it had a drastic impact on their lifestyle, health and weight. They did this by adopting some of the elements of the Japanese way of eating. 

The Japanese way of eating is not about dieting or depriving yourself of specific foods. It's about balance, changing your eating habits so you enjoy eating and love the food you eat e.g. eating until you are 80% full (in Japanese it's called "hara hachi bu") so you don't feel an energy slump after eating. 

Click on the link below if you'd like to read an article published about my cooking classes by author (of the Flower Arrangement) Ella Griffin who describes the benefits of adopting the Japanese way of eating after attending my cooking class.
http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/japanese-food-the-secret-to-a-long-life-31401837.html

"Japanese Food Made Easy" cooking class dates 2016 :

Howth Castle Cookery School - Thursday February 25th from 7pm

Howth Castle Cookery School - Friday February 26th from 7pm

Blackrock Cookery School - Monday February 1st from 7pm

Miele Gallery Citywest Dublin - Saturday March 6th from 10:30am

Overview of my cooking classes "Japanese Food Made Easy"

- Introduce the Japanese way of eating and how to adopt the elements of the Japanese diet which are well known to contribute to weight loss and well being

- Explain the basic Japanese ingredients which can be found in large supermarkets and how to stock your cupboard at home so cooking doesn't become a chore

- Demonstrate how to make some well known Japanese dishes within 30 minutes or less from scratch such as teriyaki, yakisoba, miso soup, simple sushi rolls etc

Contact details

General enquiries - email fiona.uyema@gmail.com or phone 0860704052

Miele bookings - email fiona.uyema@gmail.com or phone 0860704052

Howth Castle Cookery School -  email info@howthcastlecookeryschool.com or phone 01 8396182

Blackrock Cookery School - email info@dublincookeryschool.ie or phone 01 2100555

Wishing you a healthier 2016 and happy cooking!

Fiona

Christmas Gift Ideas - quick & personalised Christmas Gifts

If you're looking for a last minute Christmas gift idea then look no further. I have gift vouchers for my hands-on Japanese cooking classes "Japanese Food Made Easy" in 2016. If you want more details email fiona.uyema@gmail.com or call 0860704052. I can pop it in the post today! 

I'm also sending signed copies of my cookbook "Japanese Food Made Easy" along with a personal note wrapped to anywhere in Ireland or the UK for only €25. I can post it to other countries but the price will vary depending on postage. 

Happy Christmas, Fiona xx

Power Breakfast - Matcha Granola with Kaki Fruit & Natural Yoghurt

This is a great way to start your day with the power of matcha (green powder tea) which slowly releases caffeine compared to coffee. I've also included a tip below to show you how this can be packed and eaten on the go using an old jam jar. You can get small bags of mixed nuts & seeds in most supermarkets for this recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
200g oats
Few handfuls of your favourite mixed nuts (almonds, pinenuts etc) & seeds (e.g. pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, linseeds etc)
2 heaped tablespoons of coconut oil
2 heaped tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon matcha
1 kaki (persimmon/ sharon) fruit, peeled and thinly sliced

Note:
I prefer to use fresh fruit than dried fruit as I think it's a healthier option. However if you'd like to add dried fruit you can simply add it when the granola is removed from the oven and cooled. 

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2. Place the oats in a large flat pyrex dish.
.
3. Toss in the nuts and mix well together.

4. Over a low to medium heat melt the coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan.

5. Once melted stir well and pour evenly over the oats and nuts.

6. Use a large spoon to completely cover the oats and nuts in the coconut oil and honey.

7. Place in the pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes (during this time stir a few times).

8. Remove from the oven and once cool, add the matcha powder and mix well.

9. Add a few large spoonfuls of the granola to a cereal bowl and serve with natural yoghurt and sliced kaki fruit.

10. Store the remaining granola in an airtight container.

Tips:
Also great on the go breakfast to bring to work

5 things I miss about Japan (apart from food of course)

Here are the 5 things that I really miss about Japan after returning home from my trip in November.

1. Outdoor Vending Machines

You can get hot and cold drinks in these machines. You can even get beer in some machines! I would love to see these in Ireland but I don't think they'd work as vandalism and theft might be a problem.

2. Transport system 

I often tell people that it's so easy to live in Japan and one of the reasons for this is the amazing transport system. If you've never lived in Japan and you're reading this post you'll will find it hard to believe that buses and trains are NEVER late in Japan. I've taken buses in terrible weather conditions including rain and snow and they still arrive on time! The Japanese subway system is so efficient and it's so enjoyable to ride on a SHINKANSEN (Japanese bullet train). 

I wouldn't recommend bringing a buggy on the subway though, I made this mistake in rush hour traffic and it wasn't pleasant! Japanese women tend to use baby carriers more than buggies especially in busy places like Tokyo which don't really accommodate buggies. 

3. Japanese Convenience Stores

On my first day back to Japan I was so excited to go to a convenience store! The staff are so polite and accommodating. They sell everything you need including food, alcohol, toiletries, stationery and limited clothing. They also sell a fantastic selection of healthy convenience food including small salads, rice balls, boiled eggs, individually wrapped bananas. My 4 year old was thrilled that they had children's shopping baskets too! 

4. Wet Cloth (oshiori)

It is custom in Japan for restaurants and coffee shops to give customers a wet cloth before serving them to clean their hands. Sometimes you get a cold cloth in a plastic wrap and other times you get a hot face cloth (as shown in the photo above taken from Wikipedia). After living in Japan I got used to this custom, it makes sense!

5. Toilets

You might think this is a strange one but I'm intrigued by Japanese toilets! Apart from the traditional Japanese toilets where you have to squat, Japan's Western style toilets are so advanced. They are plugged in so the toilet seat is always warm. There's also a selection of buttons on the right side of the toilet which do a range of things including making white noise. If you can't read Japanese I would advise against using these buttons as you may get a fright! 

Looking for a unique Christmas gift - my cookbook

If you're looking for a unique Christmas gift then I've got it sorted for you!

To celebrate Christmas throughout December I'm sending my cookbook "Japanese Food Made Easy" to anywhere in Ireland or the UK for €25. This includes a personalised note inside the book, wrapping and postage. The orders are being sent daily so you should receive them within a few days of placing the order. I can also post to other countries worldwide however due to postage the price may vary.

If you'd like to place an order simply comment here or send an email to fiona.uyema@gmail.com.

Happy Christmas!

Fiona x

NHK's TV news feature on my return trip to JAPAN

Last month a dream came true when my family and I returned to my Japanese hometown through the JET Satogaeri Programme. Over 10 years ago I worked as an English teacher through the JET programme in a small rural village in Japan called Nishiyama located in Niigata prefecture. 

NHK (Japan's National Broadcaster) filmed my return trip to Japan. This meant that NHK's correspondent and camera crew followed my family and I around Japan for 3 days!! It was an amazing experience, one we'll never forget and treasure! They also popped over to Ireland prior to my trip to Japan to film me at work and at home. It was aired on NHK Niigata in Japanese and NHK World in English. Here's the link to the English version from NHK World.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BYgg28I9fQ

I popped into NHK's studio in Tokyo for a live interview during the airing of the news feature! The other presenters were so friendly and easy going they settled my nerves.

I wasn't complaining when they offered to do my hair and make-up.

And the studio is very close to the famous Shibuya crossing in Tokyo which I remember from my time in Tokyo as a student. It's astonishing to see the stark contrast between Tokyo and Japan's countryside, both completely different experiences but still Japan :)

I hope you enjoy watching my return trip to Japan, we certainly enjoyed making it :)