Spring Onion Pesto

April 8th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Light up Japan recipe –No.8

This spring onion pesto makes your pesto a little bit different.

The green part of spring onion brings a delicious bold flavour.

Simply enjoy this pesto as a pasta sauce, or it can be used in so many ways like the usual basil pesto.

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— Spring Onion Pesto  (400ml jar, serves 6-8 people) —

50g spring onion (only the green part), chopped

20g basil leaves, chopped

50g parmesan cheese, freshly grated

2 clove garlic, peels and crushed

3 tablespoons pine nuts

150 ml extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

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Heat a frying pan over medium heat and toast the pine nuts lightly for 2 minutes.

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a purée (don’t over blend).

Either use immediately or store in a jar in the fridge.

Herb Omelette with Smoked Salmon

April 6th, 2011 § Comments Off on Herb Omelette with Smoked Salmon § permalink

Light up Japan recipe –No.7

I came up with this omelette idea when I saw Easter eggs in a shop.

Egg is a symbol of the rebirth, and I believe that Japan’s rebirth.

I like eggs. They are reliable and I can cook them so many ways; sauces, savoury snacks and deserts etc. Very good friend in the kitchen.

This omelette is light, nutritious and cook in a flash.

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— Herb Omelette with Smoked Salmon (2 omelettes) —

3 eggs

1 tablespoon dill, chopped

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

100g smoked salmon

40 g rocket leaves

60g cream cheese

A pinch of salt and pepper

Some oil (for frying)

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Place the eggs and mayonnaise in a bowl and lightly whisk to combine. Add the chopped dill and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Heat a fringe-pan (about 8 inch in diameter) over medium-high heat and add a little bit of oil.

Pour the wharf amount of the egg mixture on to the pan. Tilt the pan in a circular motion so that the egg mixture coats the surface evenly.

Cook the egg mixture for about 1 minutes, flip over and cook the other side for 20 seconds.

Transfer the omelette to a plate. Repeat the process and make another omelette.

Spread the cream cheese on the omelette, arrange the rocket leaves and smoked salmon and fold the omelette in half.

Chocolate Mousse

April 3rd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Light up Japan recipe –No.6

Chocolate can boost your mood and makes you happy.

This is a sweet little treat for the weekend.

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— Chocolate Mousse (6 cups) —

200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

25g unsalted butter

3 tablespoons dark rum

120ml double cream

3 egg whites

1 tablespoon caster sugar

*****

60g dark chocolate (for decoration)

18 raspberries (for decoration)

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— Chocolate cups —

Cut out baking paper 12 inch x 2 inch, 6 strips.

Roll up one strip of the paper and place inside a 2&1/2 inch pastry cutter. Open out the paper and lines the cutter.

Set a bowl on top of hot water and melt the 60g chocolate, leave the melted chocolate until a little bit harder.

Holding the cutter with one hand, spoon the chocolate and put into the cutter, brush the chocolate up the side of the paper to make the top of cup irregular edge.

Carefully lift away the cutter and repeat to make 6 cups. Chill until set and peel the baking paper.

*****

— Chocolate Mousse —

Set a bowl on top of hot water and melt the chocolate, then stir in the butter until melted and add the rum. Stir gently until smooth.

Whip the double cream in a bowl.

Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until peaking, and whisk in the sugar.

Fold the cream, then egg whites into melted chocolate mixture until evenly combined.

Pour the mousse into the chocolate cups and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Topping some raspberries.

Chilled Rice Noodles with Red Sauce

March 29th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Light up Japan recipe –No.5

You know, red coloured foods make you feel lively.

This red sauce is made with full of red coloured ingredients, tahini and lemon juice. It has a refreshing taste, also the tahini brings nutty and rich flavour.

Rice vermicelli noodles takes only few minutes to soak in a hot water to cook, it’s a great energy-saving ingredient.

Full of red foods and full of pep.

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— Chilled Rice Noodles with Red Sauce (serves 2) —

200g rice vermicelli noodles (dried)

Some Italian parsley, chopped

*****

— Red sauce —

2 tomatoes

1 red pepper

1/2 red chilli (medium hot)

1 fresh squeezed lemon

2 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon salt

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Soak the rice vermicelli noodles in hot water (follow the package directions). Rice well under cold water and drain well.

Place all the Red sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Mix the noodles and the red sauce in a bowl.

Garnish with chopped Italian parsley.

Miso Marinated Tofu

March 26th, 2011 § 3 comments § permalink

Light up Japan recipe –No.4

This unique appetizer has a cheese-like flavour and texture.

Just put a tofu into miso paste (fermented soya beans paste) and then miso does all the remaining work.

You can use any kind of tofu as you prefer. Firm tofu will be something like soft cheddar and soft tofu will be creamier. Also any kind of miso paste. Usually the light coloured miso has sweet and light flavour and dark coloured miso has strong mature flavour.

Very easy to make this rich and savory flavoured healthy snack. Suitable for vegans too.

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— Miso Marinated Tofu —

400g tofu

150g white miso paste

150g dark or aka miso paste

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Wrap the tofu in a clean tea towel or some layer of kitchen papers, and place a heavy thing (such as a pan) on top of it to force out excess water, then leave it for about 30 minutes.

Mix the white miso and the dark miso in a bowl.

Spread the 1/3 of the miso mixture into a container, place the dried tofu, and coat all side with the miso mixture, cover and refrigerate for overnight. You can marinate it up to 5 days. The longer marinate the tofu will be saltier.

Lightly wipe off any excess miso mixture, cut into bite sized pieces and serve.

* The miso mixture can be used 3 times for the marinade.

Smiley English Muffins

March 23rd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Light up Japan recipe –No.3

I was thinking about an energy-saving bread recipe for my friends in Japan, and I remembered English muffin! Yes!

You can make English muffins in a frying-pan, and it doesn’t take a long time to cook.

Eat a lot of smiley muffins, and you feel smiley : )

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— Smiley English Muffins (6 muffins) —

250g plain flour

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 &1/4 teaspoon easy dry yeast

1 tablespoon butter (room temperature)

200ml  milk (room temperature)

Some cornmeal for sprinkling

Some black olive

Some sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

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Place the flour, sugar, salt and instant dry yeast in a large bowl and stir together, mix in the butter and the milk.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface board and knead for about 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and roll to coat. Cover the bowl with cling film and and let rise about an hour in a warm place.

Punch down the dough and divide it into 6 pieces and shape into balls. Lightly coat the surface with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal, lay on a flat plate and cover the balls loosely with cling film and allow them to rise for about 40 minutes.

Arrange the black olives and sliced sun-dried tomatoes and make a smily face on the balls.

Heat a frying-pan until hot not burning, place muffins and cook them over low-heat for 5-7 minutes on each side.

Marinated Pan-fried Aubergine

March 20th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Light up Japan recipe –No.2

This is another energy-saving recipe, for my friends in Japan.

It takes only a few seconds to pan-fry each side of the thin aubergine slices and then marinate in olive oil dressing at room temperature.

It’s a classic Italian flavoured side dish, enjoy and be happy!

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— Marinated Pan-fried Aubergine (serves 2) —

1 large aubergine

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 small red chilli, very finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

A pinch of salt

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Cut the aubergine lengthways into very thin slices.

Heat a non-stick frying-pan, fry the sliced aubergine, turning once until it’s soft (should be fry for a few seconds each side). Put them on a plate on top of each other, this helps them to steam and soften.

Place the minced garlic, the lemon juice, the chopped chilli, the chopped basil, a pinch of salt and the olive oil in a bowl and mix together.

Place the aubergine in a flat plate and pour over the marinade.

Marinate for 30 minutes.

Tuna and Avocado Salad

March 18th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Light up Japan recipe –No.1

 

It’s devastating to see what’s going on in my country Japan everyday.

I feel so useless that I live far away from Japan and unable to help people in my country…

I wish with all my heart that Japan will be alright soon and going back to a peaceful place like before.

A lot of my friends live in Tokyo, they try not to use electricity as much as they can, because they are having a serious power shortage, and they need to keep electricity for the disaster area.

So, today’s post is for my friends in Japan. This recipe doesn’t need to use energy for cooking.

I hope the disaster area will light up with electricity and people’s hopes soon.

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— Tuna and Avocado Salad (serves 2-3) —

1 can tuna, drained

2 avocado (medium size), stoned and peeled.

1/4 onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon juice

A pinch of salt and pepper

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Chop the avocado into small cubes.

Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix.

Tofu and Blueberry Pancakes

March 8th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

This is my pancake day recipe.

I added blueberries and mushed tofu in the pancake butter for my diet, because I decided to eat a lot of pancakes today (it’s pancake day!).

The pancakes are fluty and fluffy, not overly sweet and I love the fragrant of maple syrup.

It was a great afternoon treat.

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— Tofu and Blueberry Pancakes (about 5 pancakes, 4 inch size) —

150g blueberry (keep some berries for garnish)

200g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

150g tofu (soft)

200ml milk

3 tablespoon sugar

A pinch of salt

Some butter for frying

Some maple syrup

Some vanilla ice cream

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Place the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl and whisk together.

Mush the tofu in a separate bowl, add the egg and milk, whisk together.

Add the flour mixture in the egg mixture, and whisk just until combined. Add the blueberry and gently mix with the butter.

Heat the frying-pan, melt a little butter over low heat, pour the butter onto the pan spacing the pancake a few inches from each other. Cook them until the bottom of the pancakes are golden and bubbles start to appear on the top surfaces, then turn and cook another 3 minute until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with the maple syrup, garnish with the rest of blueberry and vanilla ice cream.

Miso Duck and Mango Bruschetta

March 7th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

This dish is used an unusual technique of marinating meat. Marinate a duck breast in miso paste after it’s cooked.

Sounds a bit strange?  But this is a quite popular duck appetizer in Japan.

Miso and honey give the cooked duck more flavour and to tenderize it at the same time. Marinate the cooked duck over night, and then you can just take it out of the fridge, slice and eat it like a ham next day.

The combination of the savoury miso flavoured duck and the sweet and sour mango is great, and I really enjoyed this new bruschetta.

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— Miso Duck and Mango Bruschetta —

1/8 Mango

40g rocket

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Some baguette

Some ground black pepper

*****

— for the miso marinated duck —

1 duck breast

100g miso paste

1 tablespoon honey

Some salt and pepper

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To make the miso marinated duck: Mix the miso paste and honey in a small bowl, set aside.

Season the duck breast with salt and pepper.

Heat a little oil in a flying-pan, place the duck breast skin-side down over medium heat and fry for 15-20 minutes until the skin became brown and crispy

Turn the duck breast and fry for 6 minutes until browned,  then turn off the heat, cover with foil and leave the duck in the pan to rest (this will result in meat that is slightly pink in the middle)

Coat all side of the cooked duck with the miso mixture and cover with cling film, refrigerate for over night.

*****

Mix the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a bowl, add the rocket and toss.

Peel and thinly slice the mango.

Lightly wipe off miso mixture from the marinated duck, and thinly slice.

Slice the baguette and toast them.

Topping the rocket salad, the sliced mango and the sliced duck. Sprinkle with some black pepper.

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