♥︎Turkey with pointed cabbage & ginger

For ➋ 

piece of ginger root (approx. 1 cm), grated 

2 tbs sherry (or mirin) 

2 tbs soy sauce 

1 ts sambal 

1 ts lemon juice 

200 g turkey fillet 

500 g pointed cabbage 

1 small yellow pepper 

2 balls of ginger (e.g. sushi ginger) 

1 tbs oil 

1 clove of garlic 

½ orange juice 

salt & pepper 

Peel the piece of ginger root and grate it finely. Make a marinade of the ginger root, the sherry (or mirin), the soy sauce, the sambal and the lemon juice. Cut the turkey fillet into cubes. Marinate the meat in the mixture for 1 h in the refrigerator. 

Clean the pointed cabbage and cut the pointed cabbage into strips. Clean the pepper and cut into cubes. Cut the ginger into small pieces. 

Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the turkey in it for a few m until brown. 

Squeeze the garlic clove over it. Add the bell pepper, pointed cabbage, ginger and orange juice and stir fry the dish for another 8 m until done. Season the dish with salt and pepper.

♥︎Kikerage & enoki with udon noodles

For ➋

25 g dried kikerage (black fungus)

1 tbs sunflower oil

1 tbs mirin

100-150 g udon noodles

100 g fresh enoki, without feet, in 2 portions

5 g plant butter

3 scallions, cut in rounds

2 garlic cloves, chopped or crushed

1 tbs furikake

Pour warm water over the kikerage and let it soak for 15 m to 1 h. Drain it, and use as a base to cook the udon. If necessary, add some water. Heat and dissolve 1 tbs miso in it. Cook the miso as directed.

Meanwhile, fry the kikerage for 5-7 m in 1 tbs sunflower oil. Add a dash of mirin and let evaporate. Set the kikerage aside in another container. Stew the onion and garlic for 2 m in the same pan, with a little oil.

In the meantime, cook the enoki with a few small lumps of plant butter in 2 packets 1 m in the microwave.

Mix the kikerage with the onion and garlic.

Let the udon drip. Place on plate. Mix the kikerage and onion over it. Sprinkle with furikake.

Place the enoki on the plate.  Serve.

Kikerage is an edible mushroom and is a popular condiment in Japanese ramen noodles. It is also commonly known as wood ear mushroom, black fungus, jelly ear, jew’s ear, and mu-er in Chinese. It is known for its nutritious value.The edible mushroom gets its name from resembling the shape of an ear. Kikurage has a smooth surface on both sides and is dark brown in colour. Raw wood ear mushrooms carry a light woody fragrance. Once cooked, the mushroom is gelatinous and easily absorbs the flavours in the dish. To rehydrate wood ear mushroom, soak the desired amount in cold water for 1 to 2 h. The wild mushrooms can expand 3-4 times in size. For faster results, soak the dried kikurage in warm water for 20 m. However, the mushrooms will not expand as much and will be less crunchy. Once rehydrated, store in the fridge and consume within 1-2 days.

Easy miso sauce for noodles

For ➍ 

1 heaping tbs white miso paste 

1 tbs plain peanut butter or Chinese sesame paste 

1 tbs toasted sesame oil 

½ tbs chili garlic sauce, adjust according to desired spice 

½ tb soy sauce 

1 ts dark soy sauce, optional for colour 

½ tbs maple syrup or other sweetener like mirin

½ tbs rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar 

1 ts minced garlic 

1 scallion chopped 

Mix everything together. Add to the boiled and drained noodles.

Easy salmon sashimi

For ➋ 

250 g sushi rice

33 cl water

3 tbs sushi vinegar

2 tbs sugar or mirin

½ ts salt

150 g sliced salmon sashimi

Rinse the rice 3-4 times. Drain.

Add the water, cover and bring to boil. Cook covered for 10 m.

Close the fire and let the covered rice rest for 20 m.

If wanted, mix the vinegar, sugar or mirin and the salt to the cold rice.

Rub salmon lightly with rice vinegar and mirin (salt or light soy  sauce optional)

Cover with sliced salmon.

Serve.

* Serve with fennel salad if wanted.

Miso Brussels sprouts

For ➋ 

500 g Brussels sprouts 

150 g black rice 

3 tbs white miso 

2 tbs maple syrup 

1 tbs mirin 

2 ts sesame oil 

3 ts black sesame seeds 

6 radishes 

5 cl rice vinegar 

2 ts coconut blossom sugar 

pinch fleur de sel 

Clean 500 g Brussels sprouts. Cut them in half lengthwise. 

Boil 150 g of black rice according to the directions on the package. 

In a small bowl, beat 3 tbs white miso, 2 tbs maple syrup, 1 tbs mirin and 2 ts sesame oil until smooth. 

Add 3 ts black sesame seeds and mix well. Mix this marinade with the Brussels sprouts. 

Divide them over a baking tray covered with parchment paper. 

Bake 20 m in a preheated oven at 220 °C. 

Meanwhile make the sweet and sour radish. 

Cut 6 radishes into very thin slices, preferably with a mandolin. Beat 5 cl ml rice vinegar, 2 tsp coconut blossom sugar and a pinch of fleur de sel together until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Add the radishes and mix well. Let this marinate for 10-15 m. 

Serve the rice on a plate, top with the Brussels sprouts and radishes and drizzle lightly with the sweet and sour marinade.

Kinoko takikomi gohan (Japanese mushroom rice)

For ➏
600 g (3 cups) Japanese premium short-grain rice (or substitute with brown rice)
70 cl (3 cups) dashi stock (substitute with 3 cups water mixed with 1 ts dried bonito dashi powder)*
3 tbs soy sauce (shoyu)
2 tbs mirin
1 tbs cooking sake
2 dried shiitake mushrooms
15 cl (1 cup) water (for reconstituting dried shiitake mushrooms; this reserve liquid is to be combined with the dashi stock)
100 g (½ cup) of fresh mixed mushrooms (shimeji mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, and hiratake mushrooms)

Wash and rinse rice until water runs clear. Drain and set aside in rice cooker**.
Rehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms in 15 cl water for 30-60 m. Remove shiitake mushrooms and squeeze excess water from them.
Reserve the soaking liquid.
Slice rehydrated shiitake mushrooms and either slice or break apart fresh mushrooms with your hands into large bite-sized pieces.
Add soy sauce, mirin, and sake to the washed rice in the rice cooker**.
Add reserved shiitake liquid to a large measuring cup. Add water to the reserved shiitake liquid until a total of 3 cups is measured. Otherwise, measure a total of 3 cups of liquid, combining the reserved shiitake liquid and water.
Add 1 ts dried bonito dashi powder (or konbu dashi) and dissolve the powder with the water and reserved shiitake liquid mixture to make a dashi stock.
Add this combined dashi stock to the rice cooker to make 3 cups of liquid according to the measuring guide indicated within the inner bowl of your rice cooker**. If more liquid is needed to meet the 3-cup marker indicated on the inner rice cooker bowl, add water.
Add dried shiitake slices and fresh mushroom mixture to the rice. Gently incorporate all of the ingredients. Steam the rice according to the instructions provided with your rice cooker**.
After the rice is steamed, allow it to rest in the rice cooker** for 10 m.
Gently mix the rice and serve.

*Substitute katsuo (bonito fish) dashi with konbu (kelp) dashi for a vegan dish.
**Steam the rice on a stove-top instead. Use same volume of rice and liquid (like 1½ cup for 2-4 persons. 1½ cup uncooked rice will make 4½ cup steamed rice)
[optional]: rinse the rice in 2 or 3 changes of water until it runs clear and not milky. It will make the rice less sticky.
[optional]: soak the rice for at least 30 m to give it a softer texture.
Add the rice to the pan.
Either use your hand or gently shake the pan to make sure the rice level is even.
Start by adding the same volume of water/liquid. Then place your middle finger on top of the rice and continue adding water until it just reaches just to the first knuckle of your middle finger.
Bring the water to a boil, uncovered, over medium heat. You want to see bubbles gently forming around the edges of the pot.
Cover, turn the heat down to low, and let the rice simmer for about 20-22 m, until all the water is absorbed and the grains are soft.
Turn the heat off. Leave the pot on the burner and let the rice sit, covered, for another 10 m.
Fluff and serve.

Or combine the rice with Japanese mushroom recipes like salted mushrooms an/or shimeji.

Tamagoyaki (Japanese layered omelet)

For ➍
6 radishes
1 scallion
8 eggs
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs dashi
1 ts mirin
salt
oil for baking

Clean the radishes. Cut them into thin slices first and then into thin strips. Clean the spring onion and chop it finely. Place the radish and spring onion in cold water. Beat the eggs with soy sauce, dashi and mirin. Stir the mixture smooth and add a little salt if desired.
Brush a large non-stick frying pan or a roasting pan with an oil-dipped brush*. Heat the oil - don't let it get too hot! - and pour so much of the beaten eggs into the pan that the bottom is covered with a thin layer. Let the egg set and roll it up using two spatulas.
Slide the roller up against the edge of the pan. Brush the pan again with a brush dipped in oil, pour some of the egg mixture back in and let it set. Roll out the first roll to the bottom edge of the pan and roll it up again with the new layer.
Continue like this until the egg mixture has run out and a thick roll has formed. Slice the still warm roll or wait for it to cool.
Drain the radish and spring onion, sprinkle with salt and place on the roll.

*Japanese cooks use a rectangular iron pan.

Quick Japanese marinated salmon

For ➋
2 salmon fillets 150 g each
1 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs mirin
1 tbs sake
½ tbs oil

Combine all ingredients except the oil in a ziplock bag, remove as much air as possible and marinate overnight (or minimum 3 h).
Heat ½ tbs oil in a non stick pan over medium heat*.
Add salmon skin side down, cook for 2 to 3 m until crispy. Check the skin to ensure it isn't cooking too quickly - if it is, then turn down the heat and/or remove the pan from the stove briefly to allow the temperature to decrease.
Drizzle over remaining marinade in the ziplock bag over the flesh side. Flip and cook the flesh side for 2 m, or to your liking. I like salmon medium rare so the inside is very moist and just cooked.
Rest for a couple of minutes, remembering that the salmon will continue to cook while resting, then serve.

*Be careful to ensure you cook it over medium heat and no higher - because of the sugar in the mirin, if you cook it on too high a heat the sugar will burn before the inside has been cooked.
**Other method: to broil/grill, preheat the broiler/grill on high. Use the oil to grease a tray, then place the salmon on it and place under the broiler/grill (about 5 inches / 15 cm from the heat source) until cooked to your liking. The general rule of thumb is 10 m per 2.5 cm thickness of the fillet (measure the thickest part of the fish).

Japanese style poached salmon

For ➍
600 g skinless salmon filets
150 g portobello mushrooms, finely chopped
3 tbs finely chopped yellow onions
20 cl mirin, sake or dry white wine (or add some water)
15 cl heavy cream*
2 tbs butter*
1 tsp fresh (or ¼ tsp dried) tarragon, finely chopped
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

Rinse salmon and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut filet into 4 equal portions.
In large skillet, arrange mushrooms and onions covering bottom of pan. Place salmon pieces on top.
Pour sake and water over salmon and bring to a boil over medium-high. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer 3-5 m or only until salmon is slightly undercooked. Remove salmon from pan, transfer to a plate, cover with tin foil, and set aside.
Increase heat to medium-high and continue to boil mushrooms and onions until the liquid has reduced to 40 cl.
Add any extra juices from salmon plate, stir in heavy cream*, butter*, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook 10-15 m until liquid has reduced to 10 cl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove sauce from heat and set aside.
Transfer salmon to individual serving plates, spoon mushroom reduction sauce on top of salmon. Serve immediately.

*Omit cream and butter.

Teriyaki salmon rice bowl with spinach & avocado

For ➍
500 g salmon fillet cut into 4 thin portions (skin on is ok)
teriyaki sauce
1 square sheet of nori, cut with a scissors into 2.5 cm strips, then stack the strips & cut crosswise into 2.5 by 0.5 cm confetti*
2 tbs of black or/& white sesame seeds
400 g sushi rice
16 cl homemade seasoned rice vinegar  or bought seasoned rice vinegar
500 g fresh spinach, washed
1 tbs Asian sesame oil
salt
1 bunch scallions, washed, trimmed, & sliced crosswise
1 avocado, peeled, pitted & sliced

Make the teriyaki sauce.
Toast nori and sesame seeds in a hot skillet for 2 m, stirring and tossing constantly just until sesame seeds start to get a little brown. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Make the sushi rice. Rinse rice several times to remove excess starchy powder: put rice into a large bowl and cover by an inch with water. Swish rice around with your hands. Pour off cloudy water. Repeat 2 or 3 times more. Drain in a fine mesh colander. Cook rice per package directions. (about 60 cl  water per 400 g rice and a 15 m simmer, covered) Remove rice from heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 m.
While rice is cooking, make seasoned rice vinegar. 
Transfer rice to a large nonmetallic bowl. Slowly pour 16 cl of seasoned rice vinegar over the rice, while tossing and mixing it. Cover bowl with a cloth and set aside.
Cook the spinach: Heat 1 tbs sesame oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add spinach and 2 tbs water to the pan. Cover pan and leave it for 2 m. Uncover and stir. Spinach will be mostly wilted. Cook, stirring for about 1 m more until it is completely wilted. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt. Remove from heat.
Cook the salmon**: Preheat oven to broil and set the rack 20 cm from the top. Place salmon skin-side down on a foil-lined jellyroll pan. Pour 6 cl of teriyaki sauce into a separate small bowl to use for glazing the salmon. Brush salmon with teriyaki sauce and cook for 2 m under the broiler. Pull salmon out of the oven and brush more teriyaki sauce on top. Return to the oven and cook for 1-3 m more, to your desired doneness. Better to undercook it slightly as it will continue to cook a bit even after it's out of the oven. Remove from oven.
Assemble rice bowls: Put rice and spinach in the bottom of a bowl. Lay salmon on top. (skin will peel off easily, if you prefer it skinless) Garnish with avocado slices. Sprinkle with scallions and nori-sesame confetti. Drizzle with teriyaki sauce. Repeat for each bowl.

*Use dried seaweed instead.  Let stand for 5 m in a bowl of water. Discard the water.
**Alternatively, cook the salmon in a frying pan, as they would in Japan. Replace teriyaki with this seasoning mix.
2 fillets salmon with skin (2 fillets =  340 g) (1 to 1.8 cm thickness, skin will hold the flesh together while cooking); ¼ ts salt; freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbs all-purpose flour; ½ tbs neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc); 1 tbs unsalted butter; 1 tbs sake
Seasonings: 1 tbs sake (or Chinese rice wine or dry sherry); 1 tbs mirin (or 1 tbs sake + 1 ts sugar); 1 tbs granulated sugar; 2 tbs soy sauce
Combine the ingredients for seasonings and mix well until the sugar is mostly dissolved (or you can microwave for seconds). Rinse the salmon and pat dry. Season the salmon with kosher salt and black pepper on both sides.
Sprinkle ½ tbs of all-purpose flour on one side of salmon and spread evenly. Flip over and sprinkle the rest of flour on the other side. Gently remove the excess flour.
In a frying pan, add the vegetable oil and melt the butter over medium heat. Don’t burn the butter. If the frying pan gets too hot, reduce heat or remove from the heat temporally.
Add the salmon fillets, skin side on the bottom (this will be top when you serve). Cook the salmon for 3 m, or until the bottom side is nicely browned.
Add sake and cover with lid. Steam the salmon for 3 m, or until it's cooked through. Remove the salmon to a plate.
Add the seasonings to the pan and increase the heat little bit. When the sauce starts to boil, add salmon back in the pan and spoon the sauce over the salmon.
When the sauce thickens, turn off the heat. Plate the salmon on a plate and serve immediately.
http://www.justonecookbook.com/teriyaki-salmon-recipe/
***Make the teriyaki sauce and toast the sesame seeds and nori in advance. Keeps in airtight containers in the fridge for a week or so. The rice is best made fresh.
This is a very adaptable recipe. Eat it hot, cold or at room temperature. Try it with different vegetables like sautéed snow peas, sugar snap peas or asparagus (cut on the diagonal into bite-sized pieces). Use tofu or chicken instead of salmon.

Teriyaki sauce & glace

For ➍
18 cl soy sauce
18 cl mirin (rice wine)
100 g sugar (white or brown)*
1 ts finely minced garlic (optional)
1 ts finely minced ginger (optional)

In a small saucepan bring soy sauce, mirin, sugar, garlic (if using) and ginger (if using) to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, about 10 m. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Use with salmon or chicken, or rice bowl. Use to marinate** or as a glace.
To make a glaze: mix ½ tbs cornstarch with 1 tbs water. Heat sauce on medium high heat and add cornstarch water mixture. Simmer until thickened about 1 m.

*Classic teriyaki sauce is made of equal parts sake, mirin and soy sauce. It can be adjusted with some sugar, if needed.
**Most Japanese recipes, s.a. for salmon, don't marinate the fish, just brush it.

Japanese grilled soy ginger swordfish

For ➍
600-800 g swordfish steaks
4 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs sake
2 tbs mirin
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2.5 cm piece fresh ginger root, peeled & chopped fine
2-3 scallions, minced

Combine marinade ingredients in a shallow dish. Place swordfish and cover with marinade. Let marinate for at least 1 h.
Remove fish from marinade. Pour marinade into small saucepan over high heat, and cook until thickened.
Grill swordfish on both sides over medium heat over prepared charcoals, brushing marinade over fish as it cooks.
Place swordfish on serving plates. Spoon any leftover marinade over the fish and top with minced scallions.*

*Serve with steamed rice, or with quinoa, couscous or steamed vegetables. Since the sauce is so tasty, serve with something that absorbs the sauce. Grilling always yields the best taste, but baking in an oven works fine too.

Miso & soy sea bass

For ➍
5 tbs sake
5 tbs mirin
3 tbs soy sauce
30 g brown sugar
70 g cup miso paste
4 (100-150 g) fillets fresh sea bass, about 2.5 cm thick
2 tbs chopped green onions

Whisk together the sake, mirin, soy sauce, brown sugar, and miso paste in a bowl to make the marinade.
Place the sea bass in a large sealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over the sea bass. Chill in refrigerator 3 to 6 h. Arrange the fillets on a baking sheet. Discard the marinade.
Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 15 cm from the heat source. Prop the oven door to remain slightly ajar.
Bake the sea bass under the broiler until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 7 to 9 m. Sprinkle with chopped green onions to serve.
Serve with white rice and pak choi (Chinese cabbage).

Easy nikujaga (Japanese beef & potato stew)

For ➍
1 tbs oil
500 g beef, thinly sliced or cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, sliced
4 large potatoes, (or 400 g pumpkin), cut into bite sized pieces
1 carrot, cut into bite sized pieces
5 dl dashi (or water or beef stock)*
3 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs sugar
2 tbs sake
1 tbs mirin
1 green onion, sliced
shichimi togarashi** to taste (optional) (or some shredded ginger)

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the beef and brown on all sides.
Add the onion, squash and carrot and sauté for 5 m.
Add the dashi, soy, sugar, sake and mirin, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender (30-40 m).
Serve immediately.

*Nikujaga is often simmered until most of the liquid has evaporated, but some prefer to have some liquid left.
**Shichimi togarashi is a Japanese condiment that is made from a blend of chillies and other things like sesame seeds, nori, etc.

Try a richer version or a fusion tomato version.

Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet)

For ➋-➍
4 large eggs
1 tbs sugar (slightly more for cold tamagoyaki)
1 ts mirin
¼ ts salt
½ ts light soy sauce (usukuchi shoyu)* or regular soy sauce
oil for cooking
(halve the quantities for a 2-egg tamagoyaki**)
extra:
20 cm non-stick frying pan
a heat resistant brush or kitchen paper, for spreading the oil
1 or 2 forks, or 1 fork and a pair of chopsticks
sushi rolling mat
a fine-meshed sieve***

Heat up the pan on medium-low heat. Make ready a small bowl of oil, and the brush or kitchen paper.
In another bowl, beat all the ingredients together with a fork or chopsticks. Don’t use a whisk since because it would foam the eggs. (Strain the egg mixture through a sieve to even it out, making a finer and more even egg mix.)***
Brush the heated pan with a little oil. Put in about 2 to 3 tbs of egg mixture in the pan. Cook gently (lower the heat if necessary) until it’s not quite set on top, but not runny. Roll it up with a fork or chopsticks to one side of the pan.
Brush the exposed part of the pan with a little oil.
Put another couple of tbs of egg mixture in the pan. Spread it around, lifting the cooked egg so that the uncooked egg flows below it.
Cook until this layer is almost set, then roll the whole egg to the opposite side of where it is.
Brush the pan again with oil. Add another couple of tbs of egg mixture in the pan, and spread around the pan and under the cooked egg.
Keep repeating this procedure until the egg mixture is used up.
Put the tamagoyaki on a moistened sushi rolling mat, seam side down.
Roll it up tightly.
Take it out, slice with a sharp knife and serve immediately with some grated daikon radish, with a tiny bit of soy sauce.
When making it for a bento box, leave the whole roll in the mat over a raised rim plate or bowl until it’s cooled to room temperature. This allows air to pass under and over it, cooling it faster. Slice into even pieces. Cut off the ends for nice cuts.

*Using light soy sauce will keep the colour pale yellow. Cook over low heat to avoid browning.
**A 2 eggs variant will be thinner.
***Optional.

'Tamagoyaki' or 'atsuyaki tamago' means fried egg in Japanese. A slightly sweeter (with some more sugar) variation is used cold in bento boxes and on sushi rolls. Vary the flavor by adding finely chopped green onion or garlic chives, or small bits of nori seaweed. Achieve a black-and-yellow spiral effect by putting torn pieces of nori over each almost-set egg layer before rolling. In Japan, a square pan would be used to make perfect rolls.
If the tamagoyaki seems a bit too runny, firm it in the microwave for about 1 m.

tip: endives @ microwave

For ➍
4 medium endives, ends removed
2-4 ts mirin

Put the whole endives in a glass tray. Sprinkle with the mirin.
Cook for 10 m at 800W.
Cut endives in 2, lengthwise.
To serve as a luke-warm salad, let cool for 20 m. Serve for instance with pheasant.

Read the braising endives without water tip.
More tips