A Japanese Gourmet in London: 2014

Foie Gras with Shio-Koji Muscat (pickled muscat in fermented rice, koji) with Wasabi, Caramelised Fennel, Purred Celeriac

It is the marriage of Foie Gras and muscat!
I gained this idea from the one of the best foie gras restaurants in London, Club Gascon. We've been visiting there for nearly a decade and never missed their iconic dish (we believe): Foie Gras with Grape.

Shio Koji is a fermented rice preparation. In recent Japan, it became very popular for its delicate and healthy method of seasoning.

http://kojiya.jp/shiokoji/index.html

Pickle muscat in Shio-Koji

I removed seeds and skin of muscat pieces and pickled them with shio koji for a week.
In order to enhance the flavour, I add a tea spoon of wasabi.

Got a pack of foie gras (around 1kg) from Ginger Pig. It was 28.49 pounds.

Celeriac puree

1. Peel the skin of a celeriac and cut into pieces. Soak in cold water for a while to remove out excess tannin.

2. Boil celeriac into tender then drain water.

3. Blend cooked celeriac with a table spoon of butter and a pinch of salt till becomes smooth (for 30-40 seconds).

Caramelised fennel

1. Slice fennel into 5mm.

2. Apply oil thinly and sprinkle sugar over each surface. Place them over the baking sheet.

3. Grill fennel in oven over 250c for 5-7 minutes till the sugar gets caramelised.

Cook Foie Gras

1. Slice Foie Gras in to 3 cm. Heat up a frying pan over high temperature and fry Foie Gras pieces until each surface is toasted.

3. Wipe the excess amount of oil with paper towels and set Foie Gras aside. Put a tablespoon of soy sauce and a tea spoon of balsamic vinegar into the pan to mix.

5. Place caramelised fennel, puréed celeriac in a large dish. Put Foie Gras and pour the sauce in the pan. Put shiokoji muscat pieces with wasabi on the top of Foie Gras to serve.

It was a lovely Christmas brunch!

Total cost for two: 18 pounds (15 for Foie Gras, 3 for the rest of ingredients)

Total time to prepare: 40 minutes

Bolognese Rice Gratin

When I run out of idea and energy, and when I got a ready made bolognese sauce in our fridge and some rice, I make this dish.

Just mix rice and bolognese sauce and top with white (Béchamel)

sauce to heat in the oven.

Direction of Béchamel sauce for small amount

1) Melt 1.5 tablespoons of butter in a pan over small temperature.

2) Add 3/4 tablespoon of flour and mix well with spatula till the batter gets smooth then turn off the heat.

3) Add 200cc of fresh milk bit by bit. Each time when adding milk, mix well with the batter to avoid lumpy texture.

4) Once mix all portion of milk, warm up the batter over small heat until becoming to nice, slightly runny sauce.

Instead for using rice, thinly sliced potato is also nice. Before adding the bolognese sauce, microwave the potato slices for 3-4 minutes to cook.

Total time to prepare: 10 minutes

Total cost: less than 0.5 pound

Toddler Bento Archive: 2nd Week of November

Rice with Soy Sauce Seasoned Dried Bonito Flake and Nori
Japanese Style Fried Chicken
Carrot and Spinach Korean Seasoning (Sesame oil, salt and tiny hint of Garlic)
Tomato and Halloumi Cheese
Apple

Rice with Dried Shiso Leave
Shrimp, Spring Onion and Avocado Saute with Oyster Sauce and Mayonnaise
Tomato and Halloumi Cheese
Cucumber
Apple

Fried Rice with Spring Onion, BAcon, Carrot, Shiitake Mushroom and Egg
Teriyaki Salmon
Spinach Saute with Butter
Tomato and Cucumber

Bolognese Rice Gratin
Tomato
Cucumber

Rice with Dried Shiso Leave
Hamburg Steak with Japanese Style Mushroom Sauce
Potato, Carrot and Cucumber Salad with Mayonnaise and Dill
Tofu with Soy Sauce

Toddler Bento Archive: 1st weeks of November

Rice with Sour Plum

Teriyaki Salmon

String Beans seasoned with Sesame, Soysauce and Sugar

Potato Salad with Cucumber, Carrot and Shiitake Mushroom

Cherry Tomato

Rice with Steamed Green Peas
Teriyaki Chicken with Cherry Tomato
Deepfried Tofu with Spinach, Japanese Seasoning
Cucumber

Rice with Furikake
Deep-fried Chicken
Carrot seasoned with Butter and Salt
Spinach
Tomato
Cucumber

Toddler Bento Archive: 4th Week of October

Panda Rice with Sour Plum Cheeks
Grilled Salmon and Broccoli Miso Seasoning
Cucumber

Rice with Dried Shiso Leaf
Teriyaki Chicken with Broccoli
Hash Potato with Seaweed Powder
Cherry Tomato
Apple

Rice Topped with Seasoned Minced Chicken and Egg
Broccoli
Cherry Tomato

Rice with Dried Shiso Leaf
Deepfried Tofu Topped with Chicken, Shiitake Mushroom, Carrot and Spring Onion Sauce
Spinach and Sausage Butter Saute
Cucumber

Toddler Bento Archive: 3rd week of October

Rice with Nori
Teriyaki Salmon
Cauliflower, String Beans, Shiitake Mushrooms, Carrot and Pork Saute with Oyster Sauce and Mayonnaise
Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad
Apple

Grilled Rice Balls
Boiled Broccoli
Mackerel and Spinach Saute with Soy Sauce and Sugar
Boiled Cauliflower
Cherry Tomatoes
Cucumber

Rice with Hake Flake
Hamburg Steak with Red Wine and Tomato Sauce
Spinach and Carrot Saute
Boiled Broccoli
Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Rice with Hake Flake and Nori
Fried Chicken with Boiled Broccoli
Cherry Tomatoes
Apple

Mackerel and Spinach salty-Sweet Stir Fry

I prepare mackerel almost once a week during winter.

This is one of my favourite ways to prepare the mackerel.
It is very tasty and easy to prepare.

I got this recipe from my favourite cooking magazine site, orange page:

http://www.orangepage.net/recipes/detail_121724

Ingredients for two-three people

Fillet pieces of mackerel
Two hands full of spinach
Corn flour to dust mackerel pieces
Vegetable oil
1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce
1.5 tablespoons of mirin (sweet sake)
1.5 teaspoon of sugar
Salt
a pinch of Chilli flakes (this time I didn't involve this for my toddler)

Directions
1. Slice mackerel into 1.5-2cm or into large bite sized. To remove the fishy smell, put pinches of salt over the mackerel and leave them for 3-4 mints.

2. Heat up a frying pan and fry spinach with a pinch of salt over medium temperature.

3. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the spinach for 1-2 mints over small heat. Then set it aside.

4. Dust mackerel pieces with corn flour lightly.

5. Wipe the frying pan with a paper towel, add 1.5 tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat it up over medium temperature. Fry mackerel pieces with chilli until the surface colour turns gold. Then cover the frying pan with a lid.

6. Cook mackerel pieces over small heat for 2-3 mints.

7, Add soy sauce, sugar and mirin to dress mackerel (and chilli flakes). Turn off the heat.

8. Add the spinach and mix to serve.

Nice to serve either in hot or cold.

Great for the lunchbox contents, too.

Time to prepare: 25 minutes

Total cost: 2.7 pounds (1.7 for mackerel fillet, 1 for spinach)

Sweet and Salty Caramelised Jerusalem Artichoke

Ingredients

A handful of jerusalem artichoke pieces
Vegetable oil to deep-fry
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
Sesame seeds

Directions

1. Peel the skin of jerusalem artichoke and cut into small bite sized. Soak in water to remove tannin for some minutes. Set aside over a kitchen towel.

2. Deep-fry artichoke pieces in a small pan filled with 1cm depth of vegetable oil over small-medium temperature.

3. Set aside artichoke pieces over a kitchen towel to remove extra oil

4. In a small frying pan, add sugar and 1 tablespoon of water and make it caramel over medium temperature. Add honey in the end then turn off the heat.