Instead of making New Year resolutions you are sure to give up this January, it makes more sense to pick something you can succeed at like trying new recipes or styles of cooking.
You don’t need to be an expert in the kitchen to make excellent Japanese cuisine. With just a bit of patience and creativity you can enjoy sushi, nigiri, noodles and a full range of tasty, healthy and nutritious dishes and you can give yourself a pat on the back for keeping your resolutions for a change.
Japanese food has the added bonus of being low in fat so if you are still determined to lose some of those extra Winter pounds, here is an idea for a low-fat lunch that will fill you up, teach you some basic sushi-making skills and is good for you all at the same time.
Tuna and Cucumber Hosomaki with Japanese Salad
Hosomaki are ideal for lunch as they are the smallest sushi rolls and this salad dressing is versatile with a variety of vegetables.
First, make your sushi rice, on the hob or in a rice cooker, transfer it to a large bowl and fold in some sushi rice seasoning.
For the seasoning, mix 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 2 teaspoons of castor sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Cut a nori sheet in half and lay it on your sushi magic machine or hand rolling mat and put on a layer of rice, some thinly sliced raw tuna (or tinned if you prefer) and some thin strips of cucumber.
Roll it up and cut into inch long rolls.
For the salad, in a bowl mix 3 tablespoons of mirin, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds and 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil.
Thinly slice some iceberg leuttice and grate a raw carrot. Mix these well with the dressing and that’s it.
The small Hosomaki are easy to take to work in some Tupperware with a blob of wasabi and you can take the salad separately, or make it for lunch and scoff it all at once.
A delicious, filling and calorie busting two-course Japanese lunch is really that simple.
Cucumber sushi rolls - Kapa hosomaki
inari sushi
Inari is a God of the Japanese Shinto religion and a fitting namesake for these delicious stuffed pouches of tofu.
Inari sushi(stuffed sushi) is quite different to seaweed wrapped sushi. The pouches are made of deep fried tofu, sometimes known as aburage. The texture is a bit like omelette but the pouches are sweet and savoury in taste. They are usually filled with just rice but this recipe adds few more flavours and is very tasty.
Cook your sushi rice – preferably in a rice cooker – and leave it to cool before mixing in a rice dressing made of 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 2 teaspoons of castor sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of Gomashio (roasted black sesame seeds and sea salt).
Finely chop a carrot and a large handful of mushrooms and cook in a bamboo steamer for a few minutes until tender.
In a large bowl, mix the vegetables with some sesame seeds and a glug of seasame oil and leave it to cool down.
Add the rice and some daikon radish (Takuan), chopped finely again, and give it a light stir. Some recipes like to use a dash of lime juice as well but it’s optional.
Now comes the messy (but fun) bit. The Inari pouches come ready to serve so all you have to do is fill them up with the rice and vegetables and then firmly press the sides together to seal them up.
That’s all there is to it. All that you have to do them is spread them on a serving dish and serve with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.
vegetarian hosomaki sushi rolls
I had some vegetarian friends for dinner the other night who were new to sushi and I wanted to prove to them that Japanese food is not always dishes with fish or meat.
There is a wide choice of sushi for vegetarians and I won them over early on with my Red Pepper and Takuan Hosomaki.
I served them as canapés but Hosomaki are also ideal for a lunchtime snack as they are the smallest sushi rolls.
Hosomaki usually have the nori seaweed sheets on the outside. My friends liked them so much they took home my recipe for this delicious veggy roll so I thought I would share it with you.
First, make some Yutaka sushi rice, which takes about 30 minutes, and then transfer it to a large bowl and fold in some sushi rice seasoning.
For the seasoning, mix 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 2 teaspoons of castor sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Or, if you are in a rush, pop some Yutaka microwaveable rice in for 60 seconds and season to taste with 2 tablespoons of sushi vinegar
Sprinkle in some Black Sesame and Sea Salt Shake (gomashio) for extra flavour.
Cut a nori sheet in half and lay it on your sushi magic machine or hand rolling mat and put on a layer of rice, some sliced red pepper and some sliced Takuan radish.
Roll it up and cut into inch long rolls.
Finally, I like to spice up my Hosomaki by mixing wasabi and soy to make a dip and serving the finished rolls with some gari sushi ginger.
Tuck in and enjoy and look out for more recipes coming soon
