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8 recipes

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き, 'grilled as you like it') is the pride of Osaka, where it's cooked on hot iron griddles in lively restaurants. Finely shredded cabbage is folded into a light batter with egg and spring onion, then fried into a thick, soft pancake with a crisp outside. It's painted with a fruity brown sauce and zigzagged with mayonnaise. Bonito flakes are usual on top; this vegetarian version uses seaweed flakes and pickled ginger instead. Chef's tip: don't press the pancake down with your spatula while it cooks. Osaka cooks leave it alone so the cabbage steams inside and stays light and fluffy; pressing squeezes out the air.

35 minSnacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Hiroshima okonomiyaki

Hiroshima okonomiyaki (広島風お好み焼き) is built in layers rather than mixed: a thin crêpe, a tall heap of cabbage and bean sprouts, a layer of fried noodles and a fried egg, all pressed together on the griddle. It's the city's signature dish, and Hiroshima has hundreds of small okonomiyaki counters. Pork belly is the usual layer; this vegetarian version leaves it out and adds mushrooms. Take your time with the layering; it's worth it. Chef's tip: shred the cabbage as finely as you can and pile it high; it looks far too much, but it steams down by half under the crêpe, and that sweet, soft cabbage is the heart of the Hiroshima style.

40 minSnacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable gyoza

Gyoza (餃子) came to Japan from China and became a passion in Utsunomiya, a city north of Tokyo that calls itself the gyoza capital, with a gyoza statue outside the station. These vegetarian dumplings are filled with salted cabbage, shiitake, tofu and garlic chives. They're pan-fried and then steamed, so the bottoms turn crisp and golden while the tops stay soft. Shape a big batch and freeze some for later. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted cabbage really hard. Watery filling makes soggy, torn gyoza; a dry filling keeps the wrappers sealed and the bottoms crisp.

60 minSnacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable tempura

Tempura (天ぷら) became a Tokyo street food in the Edo period, when stalls fried it to order by the city's riverbanks. The secret to the thin, lacy coating is an ice-cold, lumpy batter mixed at the last second and vegetables fried in small batches. Sweet potato, aubergine, pepper, shiitake and green beans all work well. Serve straight from the pan with a light dipping sauce and grated daikon. Chef's tip: keep everything cold. Use ice-cold water, mix the batter only seconds before frying, leave it lumpy, and stand the bowl in a larger bowl of ice. Cold batter hitting hot oil is what makes the lacy, crackly shell that Tokyo tempura masters prize.

35 minSnacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Agedashi tofu

Agedashi tofu (揚げ出し豆腐) is a classic izakaya dish eaten all over Japan: cubes of soft tofu dusted in potato starch, fried until they form a thin, crisp shell, then bathed in a hot, savoury broth. The coating turns silky as it soaks up the sauce while the tofu inside stays creamy. Usually topped with bonito flakes; here it's grated daikon, ginger and spring onion with a kombu-shiitake broth instead. Chef's tip: coat the tofu in starch right before it goes into the oil, not ahead of time; if it sits, the starch turns damp and the coating fries up gummy instead of crisp.

20 minSnacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Edamame with sea salt

Edamame (枝豆) are young green soybeans cooked in their pods, the classic snack with a cold drink in izakaya and beer gardens all over Japan, especially in summer. You squeeze the beans straight from the salty pod into your mouth. Rubbing the pods with salt before boiling seasons them through and keeps them bright green. They're a good source of plant protein too. Chef's tip: rub the pods with salt before boiling, as izakaya cooks do. It scrubs off the fuzz, keeps the pods bright green and seasons the beans inside.

8 minSnacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Yaki onigiri

Yaki onigiri (焼きおにぎり) are rice balls grilled until they form a crisp, toasty crust, then brushed with soy sauce glaze. They are eaten all over Japan, at izakaya, at barbecues and from the freezer section, as a snack or with miso soup. The inside stays soft and steamy while the outside crackles. Best eaten hot, straight from the pan. Chef's tip: let the shaped rice balls dry for 10 minutes before they go in the pan. A drier surface forms a better crust and won't stick, and the glaze goes on only at the end so it doesn't burn.

30 minSnacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable onigiri

Onigiri (おにぎり) are Japan's everyday lunchbox and picnic food, sold in every convenience store from Tokyo to Kyushu. Warm rice is pressed around a salty or savoury filling and wrapped in a strip of crisp nori. This recipe gives three vegetarian fillings: sour umeboshi (pickled plum), sweet-salty simmered kombu, and a soy-glazed mushroom and carrot mix. Children love helping to shape them, and they keep well for a packed lunch. Chef's tip: use freshly cooked, still-warm rice and salt your hands, not the rice. The grains stick together only while warm, and the salt on the outside seasons every bite the way a Japanese mother would.

30 minSnacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views