Notes about Recipes in this book

• Sweet azuki bean pancake sandwiches (Dorayaki)

  • sb509 on April 06, 2022

    This recipe did not turn out -- entirely too much sugar and honey, it was WAY too sweet. So sugary that the pancakes were difficult to lift to flip in a nonstick pan.

• Sweet potato and sesame croquettes (Satsuma-imo kurogoma korokke)

  • rodillagra on September 30, 2020

    I didn't drain the sweet potatoes well enough (or should have steamed/microwaved them) so the mixture was really, really soft. Messy as anything that has to be dipped in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Doubly so when the croquettes were so very soft. But they held together well when frying so all is good. . . . Fried food is nearly always lovely and this is no exception. . . . Unpicky daughter tried them and deemed them tasty even though she doesn't like sweet potatoes. . . . Definitely worth making the tonkatsu sauce to serve with them.

  • patioweather on April 09, 2020

    Easy, as far as deep-frying anything is easy. I used the "better batter for breadcrumbing" from his other book, Vegan Japaneasy, in place of the eggs. They stayed together well as I fried them. I'll definitely make these again.

• Grilled mackerel, kabayaki style

  • rodillagra on January 21, 2021

    Very tasty. I used mackerel fillets and cooked them in a very hot oven and they only took minutes!

• Curry rice (Kare raisu)

  • rodillagra on December 23, 2020

    Tasty. Needs a roux and to be blended twice so although it's not actually hard to make it does take a bit of effort.

  • Yildiz100 on January 10, 2021

    Nice! Tastes exactly like I hoped: like an instant curry but fresher. Couldn't detect the banana, which was a good thing. The only negative is that the color isn't as attractive as in the photo.

  • ellencooks on January 08, 2021

    Used an instant curry.

  • paisleymonsoon on December 26, 2021

    This was literally the only recipe in the book that didn't require me to acquire ingredients I can't find locally. I'm not a fan of this recipe though. I think cooking the onions before processing would have made it less pungent. It's also really vinegary tangy, but not in a good way. I'll stick to curry blocks for my Japanese curry from now on.

• Katsu curry (Katsu kare)

  • rodillagra on January 11, 2021

    Tasty. Needs a roux and to be blended twice so although it's not actually hard to make it does take a bit of effort. Made a quick katsu sauce from a recipe I found on the internet at the same time in case my picky eaters could taste the loathed banana and also so I could make it spicy. Definitely worth the effort to make this version if you've time.

  • Frenchfoodie on August 06, 2018

    This was delicious, compared well to restaurant katsu and was really quick and easy - add most of ingredients together, process to paste, fry, add stock then ketchup and soy. Blend. The recipe made enough for 6 good sized portions. Was cooking after work so just fried chicken breast strips and added sauce and cooked veg. Great hidden veg dish if you have fussy eaters that like curry.

• Simmered green vegetables with sesame dressing

  • rodillagra on January 14, 2021

    I would happily eat this dressing neat with a spoon.

  • Foodycat on August 10, 2021

    The dressing packs a heck of a punch - my husband was licking his plate. We had it with broccolini and bok choy.

  • JLDuck on November 17, 2017

    The dressing is delicious and goes very well with grilled vegetables. I tried asparagus and it worked a treat.

  • Lepa on February 11, 2024

    This dressing is delicious! We ate it with steamed broccoli.

  • ellencooks on March 18, 2021

    I made this with broccolini and loved it!

  • Debella on June 09, 2019

    We had this with asparagus and I agree it is delicious. I will try it as a salad dressing next.

  • Debella on June 09, 2019

    Delicious

  • Lesliehauser on January 27, 2018

    Perfect on steamed spinach or broccoli

  • catmummery on September 23, 2023

    deeelicious dressing! will be using for a lot of things; didn't have sesame seeds so used toasted almond flakes and still lovely.

• The best miso soup

  • rodillagra on December 10, 2020

    Lovely but a bit salty. I see Yildiz100 has a good suggestion of trying it with homemade dashi so I'll try that next.

  • Delys77 on November 10, 2022

    We did cut back on the miso a bit and still found this had enough umami. I will say I didn’t like the mirin in this.

  • Yildiz100 on August 22, 2018

    This uses more miso than some recipes, and I enjoyed the richness, but it was too salty. I was, however, using dashi powder, so next time I will try his homemade dashi and that should fix the salt issue. Mirin in miso soup was also new for me, and I liked the balance it brought. The only change I made to the recipe was to add the miso after cooking and never boil it, as I have read that it ruins the flavor. I haven't tested this myself, but saw no reason to risk it.

  • JLDuck on June 13, 2020

    I would reduce the amount of miso as I found it a little rich, although tasty.

  • Frenchfoodie on August 04, 2018

    Quick and easy. Nice even with white miso.

• Japanese quick pickles (Asazuke)

  • rodillagra on January 14, 2021

    I liked these a lot. Perfect side dish and very little effort.

  • SheilaS on April 22, 2023

    I made these with a mix of Persian cucumber, carrot and hakurei turnips and thought they were very good.

  • Yildiz100 on August 23, 2018

    I was disappointed in these. Boring and bland.

  • JLDuck on June 13, 2020

    I had some cucumber and pickled this. I found the taste crisp and clean. Not boring or bland

  • clcorbi on December 20, 2018

    I didn't find these bland at all--actually, for the amount of effort they require, I thought they were excellent. I did up the dashi powder slightly. I made these with cucumbers which were very flavorful after only a half-hour or so, but I'd love to try them with carrots or radishes and let them cure a little longer.

  • Frenchfoodie on August 06, 2018

    Decent basic pickle we served with miso cod. Preferred carrot to radish - the french breakfast radishes I used ended up a little wrinkly.

• Mixed salad with sweet onion and ginger dressing

  • rodillagra on October 04, 2020

    Surprisingly tasty. While I was making it I did worry that it was just going to taste like sweet soy sauce which didn't sound like the sort of thing I would normally put on a lettuce. But, no, much tastier than that and lovely in a green salad.

  • Yildiz100 on April 21, 2018

    Really delicious on spring mix but a tiny bit salty. Might be worth swapping out half of the soy for low sodium or just go easy on the amount of dressing used on the greens. Makes a lot and time will tell how well it keeps (onion can get funky) so next time make a half batch.

  • Yildiz100 on June 03, 2018

    Update: This kept in the fridge very well for over a week, and the onion didn't get that funky unpleasant taste it sometimes does in certain preparations. Still, I didn't manage to finish the dressing, so make a half recipe next time.

  • JLDuck on March 07, 2020

    I used low sodium soy so the salt factor was not an issue. Fabulous dressing that went well with the salad especially the avocado.

  • lizbot2000 on September 16, 2018

    This dressing is no joke!

  • Lucylew on July 16, 2019

    This dressing is really good and may replace carrot, ginger & miso as my favorite Japanese salad dressing. The recipe makes a lot, which is a good thing since it is so delicious. Keeps well in the fridge.

  • Crumbles on January 16, 2023

    Made half the recipe. It came together nicely and wasn't too powerful. Good on veg or salad. You only need a little so wasn't too concerned about the soy content

• Cabbage with sweet ginger vinegar

  • rodillagra on January 21, 2021

    I thought this was really tasty. The dressing is excellent.

  • Yildiz100 on March 15, 2018

    Subbed okonomiyaki sauce for the tonkatsu sauce since they are very similar. This was fine but not quite as exciting as the author promised. More like something you'd use as a garnish. I have lots of leftover dressing so I will be making it again. Next time I might try adding another vegetable (shredded carrots? Scallions? ) to add interest.

  • mharriman on April 26, 2022

    We liked how the dressing ramped up the flavor of the cabbage. Went well as a side dish to Nobu’s marinated black cod. I’m on a sodium restricted diet, so this is not something I’ll be eating very often- very very high in sodium ( soy sauce, dashi). That’s probably what makes it so tasty!

  • JLDuck on September 24, 2020

    It is ok if a little dull. An excellent accompaniment to a more highly flavoured meal.

  • Frenchfoodie on May 30, 2019

    Makes a nice, and very quick, side dish.

• Tonkatsu sauce

  • rodillagra on September 30, 2020

    Made this in advance and so far have only eaten it with the Sweet Potato and Sesame Croquettes. Very tasty. Very like HP sauce!

  • JLDuck on June 13, 2020

    Very rich. You need to use it sparingly. That aside very tasty.

  • Frenchfoodie on April 24, 2022

    Delicious - like an improved HP sauce - though the recipe made 2x full jars which was a lot for something that only needs to be used sparingly.

• Fried rice (Chahan)

  • rodillagra on January 14, 2021

    Loved this. Served with Quick Pickles and Greens with Sesame Dressing. Used prawns instead of bacon. Didn't have any mushrooms. Added spinach.

  • Delys77 on November 10, 2022

    We made a few modifications to lighten this up a bit but still really enjoyed it. We used about 4 oz of ham instead of the bacon and cut out one egg. We also added a few extra veggies we had kicking around in the fridge, including shade Brussels sprouts and green beans. We didn’t have any pickled ginger on hand unfortunately. Nicely seasoned and easy to put together.

  • mharriman on July 06, 2019

    My husband and I really liked this healthier version of fried rice. I halved all the ingredients to serve two people and probably have at least one serving leftover for lunch tomorrow. Served with the salmon and ponzu recipe from the same cookbook. When I make it again, I may increase the vegetables to the four serving level to make the rice dish more of a main meal than side dish.

• Cold udon or soba with hot dipping sauce

  • rodillagra on October 21, 2020

    I made the soba noodle variation. Pleasantly surprised. I thought it might be nice for the first couple of mouthfuls and then become dull but it was really nice. I've made a couple of other recipes from this book and I am beginning to worry that everything is going to be quite salty.

  • Yildiz100 on May 21, 2018

    The dipping broth was tasty and easy. It is the first recipe of its kind I have tried, however so I can't say if it is any better or easier than other recipes. I really didn't care for the cold/hot combo though, as the cold noodles made the dipping sauce cold after a few bites. (This is just a personal preference though.)

• Tomato salad with spicy ponzu

  • bernalgirl on July 12, 2024

    I flexed the recipe and added cucumber and leftover grilled corn to my really excellent summer tomatoes. I thought 1 cup pinto was too much and next time I’ll use 1/2 cup and stir it occasionally while I’m preparing the rest of the meal. I look forward to enjoying this easy and umami-rich salad all summer.

  • Yildiz100 on March 15, 2018

    I enjoyed the way the dressing tasted on its own but somehow thought it clashed with the tomatoes. It was like I became unpleasantly aware of the sesame oil everytime I bit into tomato and I love sesame so that shouldn't have happened. I also didn't think it was at all spicy (sriracha was my hot sauce of choice.) Maybe a bit more of a kick would have balanced it out. Double sriracha next time.

  • Foodycat on November 02, 2017

    The dressing for this salad is so good I could drink it. I will make this again and a again.

  • Frenchfoodie on July 06, 2019

    I liked this though didn’t find it spicy and there was about 2x the dressing needed. Nice and quick and zingy though. Won’t replace my favourite tomato salad (ginger, chilli, coriander, fish sauce) but a decent one for the repertoire.

  • patioweather on September 08, 2020

    We all thought this was extremely good. I used my extra ponzu on shaved raw zucchini and that was also delicious.

  • Lucylew on July 16, 2019

    I liked it a lot but there was way too much dressing. It won't replace my favorite Asian tomato salad which, like Frenchfoodie's, includes cilantro and fish sauce. It's Melissa Clark's recipe and also includes sesame oil.

• Multigrain rice (Zakkoku-0mai)

  • bernalgirl on October 05, 2024

    A flavorful blend that cooks up perfectly, unlike some blends of this type that I have purchased.

  • lizbot2000 on March 22, 2018

    I looked all over for a recipe for this style of rice, and I've finally found one that's doable! The proportions of the different grains to rice and water were perfect, and the cooking time was right on. I make up a large batch of this to have on hand, and we now use it instead of white rice for pretty much everything. It's a bit of a pain to locate everything, but we eat this so much that ordering the different grains from Amazon ended up being totally worth it.

  • Frenchfoodie on May 30, 2019

    Didn’t have the quinoa or linseeds but worked just fine upping the other mixed ingredients. Makes a nice change and leftovers are so much more interesting than plain rice.

• Pan-roasted mushrooms with soy-garlic butter

  • Delys77 on October 17, 2023

    This was delicious, but how could it not be with that much butter.

  • Yildiz100 on March 15, 2018

    I treated this more like a cooking technique than a recipe since I wasn't up for using 1 stick of butter. Pretty good. I am sure it is great if you go all out with the butter. I might like to try roasting the mushrooms for a different texture (Small victories roasting technique maybe) while I make the garlic soy butter stove top.

  • Foodycat on October 09, 2017

    SO delicious! I think I will be making these mushrooms a lot. I used a mixture of oyster, king oyster, enoki and shimejii mushrooms and it was absolutely wonderful. We had it as a side with steak, but I think tossed through some noodles would be a wonderful meal too.

  • JLDuck on March 07, 2020

    I used field mushrooms as they were all I had at the time and it was delicious. Use that butter and maybe go for a very long walk. The results are sensational.

  • Sandiegolemons on March 12, 2018

    This is a good mushroom dish but holy cow, one stick of butter for 1 pound of mushrooms. This is one of those once a year dishes. Instead of truffle oil, I used ground truffle shavings and they worked out great. I also used regular button mushrooms as well. Next time will half the butter to see the results so I don’t stress about the cholesterol.

  • patioweather on July 29, 2019

    I accidentally doubled the soy, which made it incredibly salty, but everyone still liked it enough to go back for seconds. I guess it's hard to say no to that much butter! Half a recipe served 5 people as a small side.

  • s.shadan on August 24, 2021

    Not the most healthy of dishes, but tastes divine.

• Beef tataki

  • Delys77 on November 10, 2022

    Made this with tuna as per the variation and it was excellent. Went with just 11g of sugar and this was just right for us. Also did 4 tsp of oil and this worked well. Would do an extra clove of garlic next time. With three yellow fin steaks we had plenty for three people along with fried rice and miso soup.

• Chicken thigh and spring onion yakitori

  • Delys77 on December 21, 2022

    I used skinless thighs and it was still very good. Fiddly under the broiler but the result was well liked.

  • KarinaFrancis on March 30, 2021

    These were a little fiddly but once you have the glaze made, you’re half way there. Being thigh meat they stay nice and juicy inside while browning on the outside. I’d make them again.

  • Foodycat on June 09, 2020

    I couldn't get skin-on thighs so I brushed them with a little oil. Very nice! And very easy. I served them with the asparagus and bacon ones from the same book and some rice.

  • patioweather on October 28, 2019

    Air fryer adjustments: 400 degrees, 5 minutes per side for the first batch, 4 minutes per side for future batches.

• Chicken and egg rice bowl (Oyakodon)

  • Delys77 on November 03, 2022

    I agree that it needs a bit of time to reduce the liquid but I found that I liked the concentration flavour and would likely go with the same ratio again and just reduce for longer. I think this makes a good 5 servings, if not 6. Overall nice balance of flavours and very hearty. Our result was closer to loosely scrambled eggs so I may have slightly overcooked but it was very well received by everyone at the table. I used a low sodium soy and I think you really need the full sodium as I ended up re-seasoning at the table. I also went with way more green onion for garnish. Thigh wise mine were quite small, so I went with a few extra to end up with about 400 grams of chicken.

  • JLDuck on July 05, 2018

    Very easy and delicious. The Shichimi Togarashi gave the dish a lift and worth adding. I halved the recipe. Found it was ok for two people. Maybe we were hungry (see previous comments).

  • clcorbi on March 19, 2018

    This is a very nice, comforting dish that I really enjoyed. However--the recipe makes WAY more than four servings! Which is certainly not a bad thing, but you really need to have quite a large skillet or wok in order to stir-fry this much food. Next time I'd probably halve the recipe since my skillet isn't large enough. Also, I found the amount of liquid added to be too high--I had to allow everything to reduce for around 15 minutes before I could add in the eggs. Other than adjusting the liquid, I'd definitely repeat this dish.

• Ramen salad with sesame dressing (Hiyashi chuka)

  • Delys77 on January 18, 2022

    This was fairly good but we found the dressing little one note. I do love the idea and it is a much lighter fresher application for Ramen, but I would make some changes next time. Some spring onion, perhaps fresh garlic in the dressing, maybe even a bit of chilli oil in the noodles or shichimi togarashi. I also think pairing with something acidic or a pickle would be nice on the side.

  • Yildiz100 on July 24, 2018

    Very good. This makes large portions. I can easily eat a packet of ramen but once you bulk it out with veggies and a rich sauce it becomes very filling. I would say three packs serves 4 people. Add sauce to taste, he calls for a lot. Any extra can be reserved for salads or steamed veggies. It is delicious!

  • JLDuck on April 05, 2020

    Superb. It is fresh and tasty. Definitely worth doing the soy marinated eggs.

  • clcorbi on August 13, 2018

    I think this is going to be a new favorite lunch recipe of mine. I went all-out and made the soy sauce eggs, and between the eggs, all the delicious veggies, and the amazing sesame sauce, I seriously could not get enough of this salad. You could substitute any number of in-season vegetables to great effect. As long as you leave the dressing separate, leftovers keep well for several days, too. This is going into regular rotation and, suffice to say, I am now obsessed.

• Soy-marinated eggs (Ajitsuke tamago)

  • Delys77 on January 18, 2022

    Simple but very tasty.

  • JLDuck on April 05, 2020

    Another recipe from this book that not only works but is delicious. Even when you accidentally break the shell!

  • Lucylew on July 16, 2019

    This was really good and the cooking times are spot on.

• Sesame sauce

  • Yildiz100 on July 24, 2018

    Made for the hiyashi chuka. Really delicious, especially just to dunk some salad greens into. Used 1 tbs Colmans mustard mixed with a few drops of water for the "hot mustard" in the recipe. Makes a large portion so plan to use it for a couple of recipes.

  • JLDuck on April 05, 2020

    Interesting conundrum when you only want a small amount. But not only possible but delicious.

• Matcha mascarpone pots

  • Yildiz100 on February 11, 2022

    This was very heavy on the vanilla so that we couldnt taste the matcha. Possibly my matcha was a bit mildly flavored as well, but I would definitely reduce the amount of vanilla extract if I made this again. This was also too sweet for my taste, so I would reduce the sugar but about 25%. It was very rich, so we thought the six servings were actually too large. I would reduce portions and maybe serve garnished with berries or something for freshness. Also, use an electric whisk or mixer, as this was too thick to whisk by hand, and it really does thicken up nicely with vigorous whisking.

• Soy-braised turkey mince rice (Shichimencho kashiwa meshi)

  • Yildiz100 on April 21, 2018

    The author noted this was more traditionally made with shredded chicken so I decided to go with that, since I prefer it to mince anyway. Used a rotisserie and just added the chicken after adding the sauce ingredients, then cook to heat through. Quite good, would repeat.

  • Lepa on February 11, 2024

    My husband made this. He said it was simple to make and he followed the recipe exactly. We all enjoyed it and will make this again!

  • clcorbi on December 20, 2018

    Really nice flavor, and despite involving multiple components, very fast and easy to throw together. I'd definitely repeat.

  • Frenchfoodie on August 02, 2018

    Delicious and pretty quick to come together. Made with roughly chopped turkey escalope rather than mince which is hard to find here.

• Tempura

  • Yildiz100 on November 04, 2022

    This was good, though the batter was a bit heavy and I needed to thin it out a little bit. Make a half recipe or even less as it is a lot of batter. The watery ingredients like onions and cod sizzled so ferociously on even a fairly low heat that I got nervous and didn't want to cook anymore of those. The ingredients I liked best with sweet potato. Broccolini was also nice but a little harder to work with. Note that this batter stays quite White even when it is cooked through so don't wait for it to turn golden or the ingredients inside will be dry and overcooked. This wasn't a problem with the sweet potato but it was with broccolini.

• Sweet miso-grilled cod

  • Yildiz100 on January 01, 2021

    This version has a lot of miso and little of the other ingredients so to me it JUST tastes like miso. I will try a version with more mirin, sugar, or sake (or all three) next time.

  • Foodycat on November 02, 2017

    Would have been better with red miso - the white miso I used wasn't oomphy enough. But very simple and good.

  • Sandiegolemons on January 06, 2018

    Well, I can’t say I would do this again and definitely wouldn’t plan a dinner party around it. I did grill the fish on a bbq grill, which was a mistake. It needs to bathe in the sweet miso while it cooks up. I just hate the idea of broiling anything in aluminum foil and still hesitant to put my good pans under a broiler for eight minutes or so. I did marinate it with white miso for 8 hours, but still wasn't really wow’d. Easy? - yes, Japanese? - yes. Worth it?...with regular cod? - no....black cod? - maybe. I also did an Ono filet with it and the Ono turned out better with the sweet miso than the cod. Ono loves miso though.

  • Frenchfoodie on August 04, 2018

    A simple and relatively tasty addition to a set of Japanese dishes but lacked oomph on its own (at least with white miso). Looked attractive with the caramelisation.

• Japanese carbonara

  • Yildiz100 on June 26, 2018

    Really delicious. Just be aware the portion size is quite large, which is often the case with this book. We nearly halved the recipe (9 ounces/255 grams spaghetti, halved the sauce ingredients ) and found it made a nice main dish portion for three with a light side salad. Will try this with bacon in the future.

  • clcorbi on May 23, 2018

    Excellent fusion dish; the flavor is awesome and so umami-rich. The garnishes really make this one; the parmesan goes so well with all the Japanese flavors, and the scallions add an extra bright crunch. I will be making this dish again. Also, I almost omitted the few tablespoons of sake, but I'm glad I didn't; the flavor really came through.

  • lizbot2000 on September 16, 2018

    I thought this was a little bland, but that might be because the dried shiitakes I ordered online turned out to be super crappy. On the bright side, my 7 year old daughter who loves buttery pasta but is super suspicious of anything "weird" (her words of course) loooooooved it and had no idea she was eating miso, dashi, etc. I will try again with decent shiitakes, which I'm sure will make it much better.

• Candied sweet potato wedges (Daigaku imo)

  • Yildiz100 on January 01, 2019

    We felt this was too sweet also, actually that there was too much glaze. I also didn't care for the lime zest here. It reminded me of fruit loops!

  • KarinaFrancis on January 03, 2018

    A really great side dish, we made it to go with some Kara-age chicken. Made the recipe as written but should have read Foodycat's note, I think baking them would be simpler with no loss of flavour.

  • Foodycat on November 02, 2017

    I baked the sweet potato wedges instead of shallow frying, and they were excellent.

  • Lesliehauser on January 27, 2018

    We found these too sweet.

  • patioweather on September 22, 2020

    This was easier than I expected given the mild amount of frying involved. I cut down the sugar slightly.

• Surprisingly awesome one-hour spicy miso ramen

  • imaluckyducky on June 16, 2020

    4/5 stars. Alright so this ramen is delicious and it was definitely made in under an hour. The broth is deep, complex, and tastes more nuanced than many I've had in some hipsterfied ramen shops in the city (coming from a hipster so no hate). The trade off for speed is the large cleanup. I had no less than 3 burners occupied, several mixing or mis en place bowls, soup bowls, a cutting board, and a food processor to deal with after stuffing my face. Also, the pork never got that desired crispy texture, something in my mix made it far too watery to the pork ended up steaming which wasn't the most pleasant. I'm willing to claim it was my own error in the 1 hour cooking frenzy. Will make again with better prep ahead.

  • lena_london on December 28, 2017

    Really lovely, surprising depth of flavour. A little fiddly but worth it

  • Frenchfoodie on July 29, 2018

    Seriously good, deep umami hits, even with plain old chicken stock. Prep can be done in stages so final assembly is quick, spicy pork mix is fine chilling for the day for e.g. (I am pretty sure overnight would be fine too).

  • MADCH82 on June 14, 2021

    extremely saulty, in my case. guess i did something wrong.... other than that delicious

  • Lucylew on July 16, 2019

    We really enjoyed this dish! The pork & veg could be switched up to use what you have on hand - the broth is the star of the show. We will definitely have this again as written though.

  • catmummery on January 03, 2024

    This is absolutely delicious. But full disclosure - I did't have leeks, so used extra onion; I had too much mince (and beef not pork). I had the same issue as other writers re the initial wetness of the mix when trying to get the mince to brown. I found it worked with time and ended up with deeply savoury browned ince. The combination of the mince spices and the broth works a treat; next time I'll try it with the correct ingredients! main thing - my husband shut up apart from slurping for 15 mins, and has requested more. PS the eggs are definitely worth adding!

• Crab cream croquettes (Kani kurimu korokke)

  • Rinshin on August 04, 2018

    Recipe at https://www.cooked.com/uk/Tim-Anderson/Hardie-Grant-Books/JapanEasy/Small-dishes/Crab-cream-croquettes-recipe . I make a version of this periodically. You need to put the cooked bechamel sauce mixture with crab or any seafood in a shallow, preferably metal pan which cools down quickly in the refrigerator. I normally use square baking glass to spread out the mixture rather thinly and placed in refrigerator. Just putting the mixture in a bowl to cool down may cause the mixture to cool down too slowly which may cause spoilage issues. You also don't need to use crab only either. Can use shrimp, lobster, fish or scallop paste (by pounding with knife into small pieces) which are popular in Hokkaido area.

  • Rinshin on April 16, 2022

    Made with this year’s last of Dungeness crab that has not been frozen at home. Since I had it, added crab miso to the mixture to up the umami. This one came out a little looser than I like which took extra effort and frequent hand washing to form 5 cm by 2 cm croquettes or korroke. I think my mixture was not thick enough from under cooking initially. Taste was excellent though. Served with two sauces ie traditional tonkatsu sauce and fresh tomato sauce.

  • Foodycat on September 13, 2019

    Much simpler than I was expecting - I was concerned about handling the cooled bechamel but with oiled hands as the recipe states it was very easy. They are incredibly rich but so delicious. I used a 50/50 mix of brown and white crab meat.

  • Sandiegolemons on February 04, 2018

    Warning! Do not do this recipe. I just wasted 7oz of crab and two hours during the Super Bowl for a choleric artery bomb. No need to elaborate.

• Salmon tataki with ponzu and green chillies

  • mharriman on July 06, 2019

    Other than the chiles (too hot for us- we were immediately grabbing our water glasses!), this was very, very good. I cut smaller (as shown in photo) pieces from a one pound wild sockeye fillet and placed them on the ponzu that I’d whipped up earlier in the day. Easy, easy, easy. Served with fried rice from the same cookbook.

  • Lucylew on July 16, 2019

    This was very good. I used a jalapeno and it was not as spicy a I'd like but very good.

• Japanese rice gratin of shellfish (Kairui no doria)

  • Foodycat on November 20, 2017

    Rich as anything but absolutely gorgeous. The miso and wine give the sauce an incredible rich flavour. I didn't have any chives, and I just used gruyere rather than gruyere, cheddar and parmesan. Of course, it looks like hell as soon as you dunk a spoon into it, so I think if I were making it for a special occasion I'd do individual portions.

• Ponzu

  • Foodycat on May 10, 2019

    I love that this has recipes for both small and large quantities. And it's delicious. My husband drank the leftovers.

  • patioweather on December 08, 2019

    I will up the amount of citrus next time.

• Sweet miso sauce

  • Foodycat on October 23, 2017

    Very good (made it for the nasu dengaku) and very easy. And, unlike some of the recipes for similar sauces that I have made before, is vegan.

• Japanese fried chicken (Chicken karaage)

  • Foodycat on November 20, 2020

    Absolutely delicious! I overcooked mine a bit but it was still excellent - even with only a 4 hour marinade the flavour really penetrated.

  • JLDuck on November 17, 2017

    Stunningly gorgeous. I did a 48 hour marinade.

• Sweet miso-glazed aubergine (Nasu dengaku)

  • Foodycat on October 23, 2017

    I only had white miso, which wouldn't have been my choice for this but it was still really luscious and deep-flavoured. One of the easier recipes for this dish that I have tried but with no loss of flavour. I thought I had sesame seeds but I didn't so they went by the wayside.

  • JLDuck on December 16, 2017

    I found this recipe very tasty but rather rich. Also I BBQed the aubergine rather than fried. It worked a treat.

  • JessicaRFisher on April 01, 2021

    I love this. Really straightforward to make and full of flavour.

  • Indio32 on December 06, 2018

    Had this last night. I think the combo just doesn't do it for me as it was a bit meh. No doubt others will like it though.

  • s.shadan on August 24, 2021

    This is very easy to make and tastes very Japanese -- true to the book's title.

• Bacon-wrapped asparagus skewers

  • Foodycat on June 09, 2020

    Very simple and absolutely delicious

• Japanese pork cutlet (Tonkatsu)

  • Foodycat on March 01, 2021

    I didn't follow the recipe exactly - I had thin, boneless loin steaks and Iberico loin medallions - but I took his advice on pre-seasoning the meat and the cooking time and temperature and it was extremely successful. I used bought Bulldog sauce.

  • JLDuck on June 13, 2020

    Can only agree with Frenchfoodie. The sauce went well with the dish.

  • Frenchfoodie on February 08, 2020

    Not exactly a recipe, just a (perfectly fine) breaded pork cutlet. Nice served with the tonkatsu from the same book.

• Stir-fried chicken thigh

  • JLDuck on February 05, 2018

    I agree that this recipe works brilliantly with Ramen noodles etc. Toasted sesame seeds add a tasty crunch which finishes the dish.

  • Lesliehauser on January 27, 2018

    So easy, served with ramen noodles, broccoli and sesame dressing. Would be equally good broiled or on the grill

  • bob.mack on December 19, 2023

    Very easy and delicious. I served with rice and some stir fried green beans.

• Beef, onion and sweet soy rice bowl (Gyudon)

  • JLDuck on March 07, 2020

    I too thought the amount of onions was excessive and used 2 medium-sized ones. Otherwise the dish is delicious and dead easy to make.

  • clcorbi on July 03, 2018

    Really delicious comfort food. Once the sweet soy sauce is ready, the dish itself comes together very quickly. I would never use four onions with this amount of beef, though--that's way too many! I used one large onion and thought it was the perfect amount.

• Japanese steak haché (Hambagu)

  • JLDuck on December 16, 2017

    A delicious Japanese style hamburger. An excellent use of that mince languishing in the freezer.

• Sweet soy and stout-braised pork belly (Buta kakuni)

  • JLDuck on September 01, 2019

    I agree with Frenchfoodie that it is meltingly delicious and easy to make. Rather than add vegetables to the dish I stir-fried cabbage and carrots using a modified version of the ginger sauce (stir-fried pork and ginger sauce). It worked a treat. Cooked previously September 2019

  • Frenchfoodie on July 07, 2019

    Delicious, very easy to put together and mouth meltingly tender and tasty. Next time I think I’d add shallots and carrots half way through as it was missing veg for me. Not at all garlicky despite using a whole head.

• Chicken patty yakitori (Tsukune)

  • JLDuck on December 16, 2017

    Again I was unable to get the meat to stay on the skewers so we had large flat patties instead. It was delicious. I minced my own chicken fillets so was happy with the texture.

  • Frenchfoodie on July 06, 2019

    Nice, juicy even with turkey breast. All about the sweet soy; I am looking forward to using the rest of the batch elsewhere.

  • patioweather on January 30, 2023

    Everyone loved this. We were concerned that it wouldn't stay on the skewers but it worked like a charm.

• Japanese potato salad

  • JLDuck on November 17, 2017

    It is not easier than my usual potato salad. However it is rather nice. Would not add the carrot and cucumber in future. Quail eggs are fabulous and I will consider using them in standard potato salad.

  • Frenchfoodie on July 06, 2019

    Made this though with surimi rather than ham and normal chicken eggs. I liked the deeply savoury tastes and will repeat. It looked good too. My cornichons were small and very sour, I think larger and sweeter dill pickles would be better.

• Curry udon (Kare udon)

  • Agaillard on November 14, 2022

    Thankfully i read the comments before trying this and put just 2 large spoonfuls of curry powder I think about 10 to 15 grams. I am sick today and this was the perfect comfort food. The soup itself tasted great! Just like actual Japanese curries. I didn't use cheese and candied ginger as i didn't think they would go well with the rest, i put the noodles, corn and onion pepper mixture in the stock and then the egg and spring onions as toppings.

  • joyosity on November 09, 2017

    I tried this recipe today, but the curry sauce ended up being almost inedible because of the massive amount of curry powder (45 g!). It may be a typo, but looking at the color in the picture, it might not be. It's very rare for me to say this, but I will not be making this again.

• Hot udon or soba

  • clcorbi on June 10, 2018

    Really nice! I didn't bother frying the tofu; instead I just sliced it and simmered it in the broth for a few minutes before serving. I also added a sliced leek that I had laying around. The addition of a vegetable was welcome here, and I'd plan on adding some next time I make this, too. The broth is super flavorful and this dish comes together quickly, so it's very doable on a weeknight.

• Stir-fried pork with ginger sauce (Buta shogayaki)

  • clcorbi on June 15, 2018

    Really nice flavor and very fast. The cabbage retains a nice bite when cooked with this method.

  • Frenchfoodie on August 05, 2018

    Lovely, fast and easily adaptable to other protein and veg (though Savoy/Chinese cabbage holds the sauce nicely). A keeper.

  • Lucylew on July 16, 2019

    This was a really good, fast meal. The ginger sauce is most definitely on repeat. I'd make this again but would probably use ground pork vs. pork belly since it is easier to find.

• Fried prawns with shichimi mayo (Ebi-furai)

  • Frenchfoodie on February 08, 2020

    Yum, easy to do and delicious. The panko stayed on well and even though I had to do in 2x (shallowfried) batches the 1st batch stayed crisp in a low oven while I cooked the second batch.

• Yakisoba/yakiudon

  • MADCH82 on June 11, 2021

    Delish!!

• Sweet soy sauce

  • patioweather on October 28, 2019

    This sauce is amazing on anything. Everyone at my dinner party enjoyed it.

• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

  Tim Anderson never disappoints. JapanEasy is as innovative and inspiring as Nanbam. Do yourself a favor - buy his books.

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