Japanese

Japanese 

 

A collection of Japanese inspired recipes. 

 

 

Tempura Veggies

with Wasabi Dust

Serves 2  Difficulty: Medium  Time: 30 minutes 

 

My little twist on traditional Japanese tempura. Tempura should be crispy and crunchy on the outside, not oily.

The wasabi dust recipe gives a nice bite to this beautiful dish

 

Wasabi & Green Tea Dust

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon of wasabi

1 small pinch of green tea

Batter Ingredients

2/3 of a cup of sifted plain flour

150 ml  Ice cold water

2  tbsp vegan mayonnaise

Ingredients

Vegetable Oil for deep frying

½  a sweet potato sliced into thin circles 

½  an eggplant sliced into long pieces

½ a  small zucchini sliced into long pieces

Snow peas a small handful

 

Wasabi & Green Tea Dust

• Spoon and spread the wasabi on a piece of baking paper & place on a baking tray
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 140 degrees or until dry
• Remove once dry and grind until dust forms.
• Add with the green tea and set to the side

Batter

• Place the flour in a bowl, add the iced water and mayonnaise, whisk until smooth
• Try to bring together quickly and don’t overwork the batter
• Then place in the fridge to keep cold until veggies and oil are ready

Vegetables

• Start by pouring enough oil into a saucepan to completely cover vegetables when you fry them.
• Heat the oil to 180 degrees
• When the oil reaches 180 degrees, dip the vegetables into the batter using chopsticks or tongs and place straight into the oil
• Cooking in a few batches, so you don’t overfill the saucepan
• Cook the vegetables for around 1 minute or until lightly golden. Remove and place on paper towel, until all are cooked
• Then place in a bowl, dust with wasabi and drizzle vegan mayo over the top

Tip

The secret to getting a really crisp batter is using ice water. Using ice-cold water also prevents gluten strings from forming. The less gluten the higher the crispness. Tempura also gains its crispness from the temperature shock when hitting the oil. 

 

Ginger Ramen

with Vegan Eggs

Serves 2  Difficulty Ramen easy Time: 15 minutes 

 Ramen Soup is one of those all-time favourite Japanese dishes, full of flavour and nutrition

Ingredients

2 tbsps of sesame oil

2 tbsp of sliced ginger thin

2 garlic cloves sliced thin 

1 cup of sliced swiss brown mushrooms

1/2 a cup of Shimeji Mushrooms

2 cups of filtered water 1 tsp of vegan chicken stock powder

1 cup of cooked black rice noodles

To Serve

Green onion sliced thin

A small bunch of bok choy

Bean sprouts a small handful  

Vegan eggs – see recipe 

Enoki mushrooms

Sliced red chilli & sliced ginger 

 

Ramen

• Start by prepping all the ingredients
• Now add the oil & mushrooms to a medium saucepan
• Cook them on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes
• Next, add the garlic, ginger & cook for 1 minute until fragrant
• Lastly, add the stock and let simmer for 10 minutes to infuse flavours
• After 15 minutes add the noodles and heat through for a few minutes
• To serve, place the bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms & bok choy in a bowl, top with ramen and add vegan eggs
• Lastly, sprinkle with some green onions & red chill 

 

Vegan Eggs

Makes 12 Egg Halves Difficulty Medium Time 30 minutes

The secret ingredient is black salt. Known as Kala Namak this is what gives these eggs that true eggy flavour.

 

Ingredients

250ml Oat cream

1 teaspoon Miso paste

1/2 a cup of oat milk

1 packet of jell-it-in-setter

Large pinch Black Salt/Kala Namak ( add at the end once finished cooking)

Vegan chipotle mayo to pipe into eggs

 

• Start by adding the oat cream and milk to a saucepan on low heat
• Add the jell-it-in setter and miso. Mix well and whisk over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, bringing the liquid to a light boil
• Remove from heat, add in the salt and pour into egg moulds 
• Tap lightly on the bench to remove any air bubbles and place in the fridge to cool and set for a few hours
• Once set, use a melon baller to scoop out the centre and make room for some yolk
• Then remove from the egg mould and place on a plate
• Pipe the mayo into the egg yolk space and serve with ramen
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like 

 

Red Sushi & Vegan Mayo 

Makes 4 rolls Difficulty Medium Time 30 minutes   

Not only do these sushi rolls look gorgeous! They taste incredible & will wow your friends

 

Ingredients Garlic Mayo

1 can of chickpea brine

1/4 cup of chickpeas

1 small clove of garlic

1 tbsp of Dijon mustard

1/2 a tsp of apple cider

1/2 tsp of sugar

250 ml of grapeseed oil

Sushi Rolls 

4 sheets of nori

1 cooked beetroot & puree 

3 cups of cooked sushi rice

1 tsp of mirin

1 carrot cut into sticks

1 avocado sliced thin

½ a red capsicum cut into sticks

125 gram of firm tofu sliced into sticks 

Edible flowers to serve 

 

Garlic Mayo

• Start by adding all the ingredients except the oil into a tall cylinder
• Using a handheld stick blender, blend the ingredients until smooth
• Then slowly add the oil while blending until you get a thick emulsion, this takes a few minutes
• Once thick and creamy, pour into a squeeze bottle and set in the fridge to cool

Sushi Rolls 

• Start by adding the cooked beetroot to the rice and mirin. Mix through until evenly combine
• Then place 1 sheet of nori on a bamboo mat, shiny side down
• Cover the nori with a layer of rice around ½ cm thick
• Start by adding the vegetables along with a sheet horizontal, leaving a 1cm gap closest to yourself
• Once you have a few pieces of each vegetable and tofu on the rice you are ready to roll
• To roll, start by pulling up the edge closest to you and rolling over the ingredients
• Use the mat to help tuck the roll towards yourself to give a tight roll
• Continue to roll until the end of the log
• Set to the side and finish making the others
• Once you have made them all, slice the sushi into 1cm thick pieces and place it on a plate to serve
• Squeeze the mayo over the sushi and top with edible flowers

 

Okonomiyaki

(Japanese Pancake)

Serves 2  Difficulty Medium Time 15 minutes

Okonomiyaki is savoury street food from Osaka, Japan.

You’ll absolutely love this vegan version.

Ingredients

1 cup of chickpea flour

1 cup of filtered water

1 cup of a red or green cabbage shredded

1 carrot grated

1 green onion sliced thin

2 tbsps of grated ginger

1 tsp dashi stock powder

1 tsp of bonito flakes

1/2 a tsp of salt

2 tsp of oil

Garnish

Vegan mayonnaise

Sliced green onion 

Edible flowers

Pancake

• Start by placing the flour and water into a large mixing bowl and mix until smooth
• Now add in the cabbage, carrot, onion, ginger, dashi stock powder, bonito flakes, salt, and mix until combined
• Set to the side to rest while you heat a nonstick frying pan ( 15cm ) on medium heat with 1 tsp of oil
• Place 1/2 of the mixture into the frying pan and spread out until you cover the pan
• Leaving a little space on the edges to help you flip
• Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden
• Gently flip and cook the remaining side for 2 minutes
• Remove and place on a plate, serve with vegan mayo, green onion and edible flowers

 

Katsu Tofu

Served over Spicy Noodles

Serves 2   

My vegan twist on a Japanese classic katsu. This flavourful recipe has a super crispy outer shell with a melt in your mouth tofu centre. Very hard to stop at one bowl!

Ingredients Batter

1 cup plain flour

1 cup of cold water

½ tsp of salt

1 cup of panko breadcrumbs

Ingredients

125 grams of firm tofu

250 grams of cooked udon noodles

1/2 a green onion sliced thin

Sauce Ingredients

2 tbsp of tamari

1/2 cup of water

2 tbsp vegan oyster sauce

1 tsp of dark soy sauce

1 garlic clove diced

1 tsp ginger diced

1 tbsp of sesame oil

1 tsp of sugar

1/4 tsp of  white pepper

 

Method

• Remove tofu from the packaging and cut it into 3 even rectangle blocks
• For the batter: Whisk together plain flour, salt, and white pepper until all incorporated in a large shallow bowl
• Add the water and stir to combine. The consistency should be thick like yogurt, if not, add more flour or vice versa.
• Dip the tofu in the batter, then place onto the breadcrumbs and coat evenly
• Place a deep side fry pan on medium heat and fill with oil (Heat to 180 degrees)  Enough oil to cover 1/2 of the tofu height
• Then slowly place tofu in the oil and fry until golden brown on both sides
• Remove cooked tofu and place it on a paper towel to absorb excess oil

To make the Noodles

• To make the sauce, place all sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined
• Place the sauce and noodles in a frypan and heat for 3 to 4 minutes, tossing regular
• To serve, place the noodles in a bowl
• Slice tofu at an angle and place it on top of the noodles
• Sprinkle with sliced green onions and drizzle with any excess sauce from frying-pan