JapanEasy: Classic and Modern
Japanese Recipes to (Actually) Cook at Home by Tim
Anderson offers an introduction to the world of Japanese cooking
via some of its most accessible dishes. Anderson's first book Nanban is killer, you can find more
information on that title on my Friday Flashback.
In his new title, Anderson shares everything we need to know to
make authentic Japanese food at home which, in turn, eliminates all
the reasons ("excuses") that we come up with for not doing so. The
photos are killer, the instructions spot on and the recipes and
diagrams will have us all whipping out gyoza (including making our
own wrappers) in no time.
Fried prawns with shichimi mayo, Japanese fried chicken, the Best
miso soup, and Crab cream croquettes are a few examples of what you
will find here. Also included are Sushi, Sukiyaki, Hot Pots and
more with tips, tricks and Anderson's expertise to guide us.
Thanks to Hardie Grant for sharing the Curry udon recipe with
our members and for providing three copies of this book in our
contest below.
Curry udon (Kare
udon)
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Serves 4
Difficulty: Supremely not difficult
Japanese curry and udon: a comfort food power couple. The
addition of curry to hot udon doubles down on its warming,
satisfying qualities - I love all kinds of udon, but this may be my
favourite.
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 green chilli, very finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- 1 red (bell) pepper, diced
- 60 g (2 oz / 1/2 stick) butter
- 6 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour
- 45 g (1 3/4 oz) Madras curry powder (you can use hot or mild,
or a combination of both)
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1.2 litres (41 fl oz / 5 cups) chicken or beef stock, dashi, or
any combination of the three
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce, or more to taste
- 4 tablespoons ketchup or Tonkatsu Sauce (see below)
- salt
- 1 sweetcorn cob, or 150 g (5 oz) tinned sweetcorn
- 4 portions of udon noodles
- 2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
- 4 eggs, poached or soft-boiled
- pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)
- 40-50 g (1 1/2 -2 oz) red pickled ginger (optional)
- 50 g (2 oz) Cheddar cheese, grated (optional - but it's
DELICIOUS)
- toasted sesame seeds
Method
Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and add the onion.
Cook until lightly browned, then add the chilli, garlic and red
pepper. Continue to cook until the garlic has softened and the
pepper has started to brown.
Remove the veg from the pan with a slotted spoon and reserve.
Add the butter to the pan and let it melt, then whisk in the flour.
Cook until the roux turns a light golden brown, stirring
constantly. Add the curry powder and garam masala, reduce the heat
to low and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add the
stock or dashi in a thin stream, whisking constantly to prevent
lumps, and bring to the boil. Add the soy sauce and ketchup or
tonkatsu sauce and reduce to a simmer.
If using a sweetcorn cob, blanch in boiling water then cut off
the kernels, or heat up the tinned sweetcorn in a saucepan or the
microwave.
Cook the udon according to the package instructions, then drain
and portion into deep bowls. Pour over the curry broth and top with
the sweetcorn kernels, sautéed onion and pepper mixture, spring
onions, eggs, chilli flakes, pickled ginger, cheese, if using, and
sesame seeds.
Tonkatsu sauce
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Makes about 600ml (20 FL OZ / 2 1/2 Cups)
Variations on this tangy-sweet, fruity-savoury,
Worcestershire-like brown sauce - an essential flavour in dishes
like okonomiyaki, takoyaki, tonkatsu and yakisoba - are incredibly
common in casual modern Japanese cooking. I was running a cooking
class a while ago in which I taught the students how to make this,
and one of them said, upon tasting it, 'Oh! You taught us how to
make brown sauce.' And so I did - tonkatsu sauce's flavour is
remarkably British, sitting somewhere on the flavour spectrum
between HP and Branston Pickle, but it has a few Japanese
flourishes to enhance umami and sweetness. It also has a delightful
affinity with mayonnaise.
By the way, there's no need to get too nerdy about this, but
generally speaking this sauce should be made a little sweeter for
okonomiyaki (more sugar), more acidic for tonkatsu (more
vinegar/Worcestershire sauce), and thinner and more savoury for
yakisoba (more soy sauce/Worcestershire sauce).
- 200 ml (7 fl oz / scant 1 cup) Worcestershire sauce
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar (malt or rice, or a mixture)
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 8 dates or about 3 tablespoons raisins, chopped
- 1/2 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
- 1 teaspoon hot mustard (English, Chinese or Japanese)
- big pinch of garlic powder
- big pinch of white pepper
- 200 ml (7 fl oz / scant 1 cup) tomato ketchup
Method
Combine the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar,
vinegar, onion, dates or raisins, and apple in a small saucepan and
bring to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the onion and
dates or raisins are very soft. Add the mustard, garlic powder,
white pepper and ketchup, transfer to a blender, and purée until
smooth (then pass through a sieve if you want it really
smooth).
Keep in an airtight container in the fridge indefinitely. PRO
TIP: This is the best possible condiment for a sausage or bacon
bap.
Recipe excerpted with permission from JapanEasy by Tim Anderson, published by
Hardie Grant Books September 2017, RRP $29.99 hardcover.
The publisher is offering three copies
of this book to EYB Members in the
US. One of the entry options is to answer the
following question in the comments section of this blog post.
Which recipe in the index would you try first?
Please note that you must be logged
into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won't be
counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Be sure
to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications.
Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you
are not already a Member, you can
join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on
November 28th, 2017.