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".

ICE-CREAM WITH SUMMER BERRIES & SOY SAUCE

In an article in The Grocer, top chef Michael Roux Jr said that Kikkoman soy sauce is one of his store cupboard essential ingredients and that he sometimes puts a few drops in vanilla ice-cream. It's also one of my key store cupboard ingredients and you can see that I use it in most of the recipes that I post on this blog. 

The weather in Ireland is unpredictable so when the sun shines we tend to make the most of it by doing things like having barbecues. I find this dessert perfect to serve at a barbecue when you're entertaining people at home at the last minute as it's quick and most people love ice-cream.

INGREDIENTS:

Vanilla ice-cream

Mixed summer berries

Soy sauce (optional)

Matcha 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. If you'd like to be adventurous mix a few drops of soy sauce with the vanilla ice-cream.

2. Using an ice-cream scoop or spoon put 2 scoops of ice-cream into a wine glass. 

3. Toss a handful of washed mixed berries into the glass.

4. Sprinkle matcha over the ice-cream and berries.

Japanese Twist on classic recipe: Matcha Simple Apple Tart

This is my St. Patrick's Day inspired recipe taken from chef Paul Flynn. It's a simple apple tart recipe that I love making this because it takes about 5 minutes to prepare and then another 15 minutes to cook in the oven. It's goes perfect with a cup of tea!

I sprinkled the apple tart with matcha just before serving and garnished with pecans and maple syrup instead of making the sweet sauce in Paul Flynn's recipe. 

 

INGREDIENTS: 

shop bought pre-rolled puff pastry
red apples (half an apple per portion)
icing sugar
50g chopped pecans

For the sweet sauce
40g castor sugar
100 ml water
200 ml cream
drizzle of maple syrup 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Unwrap the pastry and roll out on a chopping board. Cut into 10cm x 5cm rectangles. Prick the centre of the pastry, leaving a 1cm border around the edges unpricked.

2. Cut the apple in half and remove the core. Thinly slice the apple and spread out over the surface of the pastry. Dust liberally with icing sugar. 

 

3.. Bake at 200°C for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is crisp and caramelised.  

4. Toast the pecans in a dry non-stick pan and transfer to a bowl. 

5. Place a thin layer of caster sugar in the pan and allow caramelising on a medium heat. Add a little water and dissolve the caramel. Return the pecans to the pan with the caramel syrup. Add cream and maple syrup. Bring to the boil then allow to cool slightly before serving.

Note:
For information on how to make matcha and where to buy it click here.

MATCHA - Japanese Green Powder Tea

Matcha has grown in popularity throughout the world in recent years due to it's undeniable health benefits. Traditionally, matcha was only consumed by the elite and used in formal tea ceremonies. Today, it is consumed daily like a regular tea and also used to flavor other foods and drinks such as desserts and lattes. 

There is an Irish company called "The Matcha Tea Company" and they sell a wonderful range of products including matcha porridge and matcha flapjacks (www.thematchateacompany.ie).

Here are some interesting facts about matcha:
- contains virtually no calories
- full of antioxidants which prevent cancer
- 10 times more concentrated that regular green tea
- delays the signs of ageing
- burns calories
- aids digestion
- relieves stress
- contains caffeine but unlike coffee energy is released slowly into the body
- energy booster 

HOW TO MAKE JAPANESE GREEN POWDER TEA

1. Put 1/4 tsp of green tea powder into a cup. 

2. Use a bamboo whisk (called chasen) to get rid of any lumps in the powder.

3. Pour a little hot water between 70°C(158°F)-80°C(176°F) into a cup and whisk. Do not use boiling water.

4. Pour the remaining hot water into the cup.

 

Tips:
1. Use more than 1/4 tsp of green powder tea depending on your taste
2. There are different grades of matcha, a good quality matcha will cost a little over 20 euro. 

Where I buy good quality matcha and traditional matcha utensils: 
Koyu Matcha sell different grades of matcha tea and the traditional utensils used to make matcha
http://koyumatcha.com/wp

Les Palais  Des Thes (Wicklow St Dublin 2) sell a range of different teas from around the world including matcha and other types of Japanese teas. They also sell beautiful tea canisters and traditional Japanese tea utensils.
www.palaisdesthes.com