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819 recipes

Amazake (sweet koji rice drink)

On New Year's Day, crowds queuing for hatsumōde, the first shrine visit of the year, warm their hands on cups of amazake, and shrines all over Japan ladle it out as a welcome. This is the koji kind: cooked rice is held warm with rice koji, whose enzymes turn the starch into sugar, so the drink is sweet with no added sugar and contains no alcohol (unlike the other amazake made from sake lees). It is thick, creamy and gently fragrant, a little like rice pudding you can drink. Serve it hot with a pinch of grated ginger, or chilled in summer. Chef's tip: a cheap probe thermometer is the whole secret; keep the mixture at 55–60 °C and it will turn sweet every time.

480 min

Japanese Drinks

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Tsukimi dango (moon-viewing dumplings)

On the night of the harvest moon in September or early October, families across Japan set a tray of plain white dumplings by the window with a vase of pampas grass, as thanks for the harvest and an offering to the full moon. The round white dango stand for the moon itself, and the traditional count is fifteen, for the fifteenth night of the eighth lunar month, stacked nine, four and two. This Kanto-style dough is steamed and then kneaded, which gives a smoother, firmer bite than boiled dango, with a clean rice flavour that loves a dusting of kinako or a spoonful of sweet red bean paste once the moon-viewing is over. Mochi is very sticky: cut the dumplings small for young children and older people, and see that they chew well and eat sitting down. Chef's tip: knead the steamed dough while it is still hot, wrapped in a damp cloth, until it turns satiny.

40 min

Japanese Desserts

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Konpeito (Japanese sugar stars)

Konpeito came to Japan with Portuguese traders in the sixteenth century and became a treasured gift; Kyoto confectioners still make them the old way, rolling them in a tilted, heated pan for two weeks or more. Today the tiny pastel stars are given as wedding and birth favours, slipped into tins of emergency hardtack biscuits, and nibbled with green tea. They crunch like a sugar cube and taste purely of sugar, sometimes with a hint of fruit. This home version uses a wok over the lowest heat and a few patient hours, which gives smaller, knobbly stars rather than the perfect shop ones. They are naturally egg-free: they are made of nothing but sugar, and the setting comes from thin layers of syrup crystallising one after another. Chef's tip: add the syrup a teaspoon at a time and keep the crystals rolling until dry. The common mistake is pouring in too much, which glues everything into one clump.

240 min

Japanese Desserts

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Isobeyaki (grilled mochi with soy and nori)

In the first days of the year, Japanese kitchens are full of mochi, the rice cakes pounded or bought for Shōgatsu, and isobeyaki is the easiest, most loved way to eat them. The name means 'grilled on the rocky shore', after the sea flavour of nori, and mochi itself stands for strength and long life because it stretches without breaking. Each cake puffs and blisters in the pan, then gets a lacquer of sweet soy and a crisp sheet of seaweed; the outside crackles while the inside turns stretchy and molten. Serve as a snack with green tea, or alongside a bowl of miso soup. Chef's tip: brush the soy on only once the mochi has puffed, or it will burn before the middle is soft.

15 min

Japanese Snacks & Starters

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Chè kho (mung bean fudge pudding)

On New Year's Eve and the last days of Tết, Hanoi families place a plate of chè kho on the ancestors' altar: a smooth, golden mung bean fudge whose sweetness asks for a gentle, prosperous year. 'Kho' means cooked down dry, and that is the whole technique, stirring the bean purée with sugar until it becomes a thick, glossy paste that can be cut. It tastes nutty and delicately floral from grapefruit-blossom water, with a crunch of sesame on top. Serve small slices with lotus or green tea. Chef's tip: use a heavy non-stick pan and a wooden spoon, and never leave it; the paste catches in seconds once it thickens.

75 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Hishi mochi (diamond rice cakes)

Hishi mochi sit on the tiered doll display for Hinamatsuri, Girls' Day on 3 March, and their colours are a little poem about early spring: green for new grass pushing through, white for the last snow, pink for peach blossom (some families also read them as health, purity and protection from evil). The diamond shape is said to echo the water chestnut and a wish for growth and many children. This home version is made from glutinous rice flour set in a square tin, so the cake is soft, bouncy and only gently sweet, with a grassy hint from matcha. Serve small pieces with green tea, or beside chirashizushi and clam soup at the festival table. Mochi is very sticky: cut it small for young children and older people, and see that they chew well and eat sitting down. Chef's tip: press each layer on while the one below is still warm and tacky, so the three bond into one cake.

120 min

Japanese Desserts

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Kẹo cu đơ (Hà Tĩnh peanut and ginger candy)

Kẹo cu đơ belongs to Hà Tĩnh province in north-central Vietnam, where it is chewed slowly with a cup of strong green tea, especially on cold mornings and during Tết visits. Roasted peanuts are folded into a dark, sticky toffee of sugarcane molasses and malt syrup, sharpened with fresh ginger, and the hot mass is sandwiched between two crisp, toasted sesame rice papers. Every bite gives a crackle of rice paper, then a chewy, slightly smoky sweetness and a warm ginger finish. Cut it into wedges and serve it with tea rather than as a pudding. It is naturally egg-free: the molasses and malt syrup are cooked to the hard-ball stage, which is what sets the candy and binds the nuts. Chef's tip: toast the rice papers until they are completely puffed and blistered; the common mistake is under-toasting them, which leaves them leathery once the hot toffee goes on.

45 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Nerikiri (hand-shaped bean paste flowers)

Nerikiri are the jewel-like sweets of the tea ceremony in Kyoto and Tokyo, shaped by hand into the flower, leaf or fruit of the season: cherry blossom in April, hydrangea in June, chrysanthemum in autumn. Each is served alone on a small plate before thick matcha, cut with a pick. The dough is white bean paste kneaded with gyuhi, a soft paste of glutinous rice flour and sugar, and it feels like fine modelling clay, smooth and gently sweet, wrapped around a centre of red bean paste. They are naturally egg-free: the gyuhi gives the bean paste stretch and holds the carved shapes, so no other binder is needed. This simple five-petal flower is a good first shape. Chef's tip: dry the white bean paste well before adding the gyuhi; the common mistake is a soft, wet dough that slumps and loses its petals within minutes.

90 min

Japanese Desserts

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Quinotos en almíbar (Argentine kumquats in syrup)

In Buenos Aires and the river provinces of the Litoral, kumquat trees ripen in the middle of winter, between June and August, and the fruit goes straight into jars of syrup. Grandmothers' pantries held quinotos for the whole year, brought out for birthdays and long Sunday lunches. Each little fruit turns glossy orange and translucent, with a soft, bittersweet skin and a sharp, juicy centre. Spoon them over vanilla ice cream, serve them with a slice of fresh cheese in the style of postre vigilante, or eat them straight from the jar. Many bar menus offer them steeped in spirits; this version keeps only the syrup. Naturally egg-free, the quinotos rely on sugar syrup to preserve them, while pectin from the peel gives the syrup a light, jammy body. Chef's tip: blanch the fruit three times from cold water; the common mistake is skipping this, which leaves the skins tough and bitter.

120 min

Argentinian Desserts

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Bánh in (pressed rice-flour cakes)

Bánh in, literally 'printed cakes', come from Huế and central Vietnam, where they are stacked on the Tết altar for the ancestors and later shared with guests; the moulds stamp flowers or the characters for luck and longevity into each cake. The dough is just toasted glutinous rice flour bound with fragrant syrup, so the cakes are crumbly-soft, melt in the mouth and taste nutty, with a smooth mung bean heart. Serve them with jasmine or artichoke tea. Any wooden or plastic mooncake mould of about 40 g works. Chef's tip: let the pressed cakes rest overnight in a closed tin; they firm up and the flavour of the toasted flour deepens.

60 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Dưa hành (pickled shallots)

In northern Vietnam the saying goes that fatty pork, pickled shallots and red couplets make Tết, and dưa hành is that pickled shallot. It is not the same thing as southern củ kiệu: kiệu are slim scallion bulbs pickled sweet and mild, while dưa hành uses round purple shallots (hành tím) that sit in a salty brine for a few days, turning faintly sour, crunchy and pleasantly pungent. Their bite cuts through sticky bánh chưng, pork in aspic and pressed pork rolls, which is exactly why every northern family makes a jar. Chef's tip: soak the unpeeled shallots in warm water first; the skins then slip off in seconds and your eyes stay dry.

30 min

Vietnamese Sides

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Mứt bí (candied winter melon)

Pale as rice paper and crunchy at the edge, mứt bí is one of the cheapest and best-loved sweets on the Tết candy tray all over Vietnam; its white colour stands for a clean, bright start to the year. The melon is first firmed in clear lime water made with food-grade slaked lime (vôi ăn, calcium hydroxide, sold for pickling), which sets the outside so the batons stay crisp while the sugar soaks in. If you would rather not use lime, a quick blanch and longer drying gives a softer but still delicious result. Serve with green tea, or with candied ginger and coconut. Chef's tip: choose an old, heavy winter melon with a dusty white skin; young ones are watery and collapse in the syrup.

240 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Hanami dango (three-colour dumplings)

When the cherry trees bloom in late March and April, families and colleagues spread blankets under the branches for hanami, and these skewers of pink, white and green dumplings are the sweet that goes with them. The colours tell the story of the season: pink buds on top, white for the fading snow, and green for the summer leaves still to come. They are lightly sweet and pleasantly chewy, with a faint grassiness from the matcha, and need no sauce; just bring a flask of green tea. Mochi is very sticky: cut the dumplings into small pieces for young children and older people, and make sure they chew well and eat sitting down. Chef's tip: add the water a spoonful at a time and stop when the dough feels like a soft earlobe, since rice flours vary a lot in how much they drink.

40 min

Japanese Desserts

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Fukumame (roasted lucky soybeans)

On Setsubun, the eve of spring in early February, households all over Japan fling roasted soybeans out of the door shouting "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (demons out, luck in), then each person eats one bean for every year of their age, plus one for the year ahead. The beans are called fukumame, "fortune beans", and roasting them matters: a raw bean could sprout, and a demon's bean must not take root. Home-roasted ones are nutty, toasty and properly crunchy, far better than the packet kind, and they are good with green tea or scattered over a salad. Whole roasted beans are a choking hazard, so do not give them to children under five; grind theirs to a powder and sprinkle it on rice or yoghurt instead. Chef's tip: let a test bean cool for a minute before you judge it, because hot beans always feel softer than they will be.

30 min

Japanese Snacks & Starters

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Turrón de maníPeanut nougat

On an Argentine Christmas Eve, after midnight toasts, the 'mesa dulce' appears with pan dulce, garrapiñadas and turrón de maní: a chewy white nougat of honey, sugar, whipped egg white and roasted peanuts, often set between two sheets of rice paper. Families make it in the days before Nochebuena. The egg white is cooked by the hot syrup. It is gluten free if you use gluten-free wafer paper or none. Chef's tip: work fast once the syrup is in, as the nougat stiffens as it cools and gets hard to spread.

60 min

Argentinian Desserts

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Kẹo dừa (Bến Tre coconut candy)

Bến Tre, in the Mekong Delta, is coconut country, and its workshops turn out mountains of kẹo dừa, the chewy coconut candy that Vietnamese families put on the Tết tray and bring home as a souvenir from the south. Thick coconut milk is boiled with sugar and rice malt syrup until it becomes a soft, pale caramel that tastes of toasted coconut and a little salt. Each piece is cut into a small bar and wrapped in a sheet of paper-thin edible rice paper, which melts on the tongue. Offer them with green tea, or at the end of a family meal. The candy is naturally egg-free: the long boil reduces the coconut milk until its own fat and solids, with the malt syrup, set it to a chew. Chef's tip: use a wide heavy pan and stir right across the base without stopping; the common mistake is walking away, which scorches the coconut solids and leaves brown specks and a bitter edge.

60 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Kẹo mè xửng (Huế sesame peanut chews)

No one leaves the old imperial city of Huế without a box of kẹo mè xửng, the soft sesame chew sold on Đông Ba market stalls and handed out at Tết and on family visits. Rice malt syrup and sugar are cooked with a little tapioca starch into a glossy, stretchy mass, chopped peanuts are folded in, and the slab is pressed between layers of toasted sesame. It chews like a soft toffee, nutty and gently sweet, and the sesame gives every square a roasted fragrance. Serve squares with hot lotus or green tea after dinner. The candy is naturally egg-free: tapioca starch gives it its springy chew and the malt syrup binds it, so nothing else is needed. Chef's tip: oil your knife and cut while the slab is just warm. The common mistake is adding the starch slurry without stirring hard, which leaves white lumps through the candy.

75 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Rakugan (pressed dry sweets for tea)

Rakugan are higashi, the dry sweets served before thin matcha at a tea ceremony, and the castle towns of Kanazawa and Matsue, both with a long tea tradition, are famous for them. Fine sugar and roasted rice flour are pressed into carved wooden moulds to make cherry blossoms in spring, maple leaves in autumn and plum flowers in winter; they also appear on Obon altars as offerings. They feel firm in the hand but dissolve on the tongue into a delicate, clean sweetness, which balances the bitterness of the tea. Serve two or three per person with matcha or sencha. They are naturally egg-free: a few drops of water make the fine sugar just damp enough to stick, the roasted rice flour holds the shape, and drying sets it hard. Chef's tip: add water a few drops at a time and stop when the sugar feels like damp sand; the common mistake is too much water, which glues the mixture into the mould.

200 min

Japanese Desserts

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Canh bóng (Hanoi puffed pork skin soup)

Canh bóng is the showpiece soup of the Hanoi Tết feast tray: a clear pork bone broth full of colour, with carrot flowers, cauliflower, snow peas and mushrooms floating beside pork meatballs, prawns and bóng bì, the puffed dried pork skin that soaks up broth like a sponge. Its many ingredients stand for abundance, and its clarity for a clean start to the year. It is light yet deeply savoury, served with rice and the rest of the feast. Buy bóng bì ready-puffed in packets from Vietnamese grocers. Chef's tip: soak and squeeze the pork skin in warm ginger water twice; it removes the frying oil so the broth stays sparkling.

90 min

Vietnamese Soups

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Giò thủ (pressed pork roll)

Giò thủ is a northern Tết classic, a mosaic roll made from pork ear, pork tongue and boneless pork cheek meat with crunchy wood ear mushrooms and plenty of black pepper. Using these cuts is an old way of honouring the whole animal at the year's biggest feast, and the roll's neat round slices are a wish for a complete, well-ordered year. The pieces are boiled, sliced, stir-fried with fish sauce and packed hot into banana leaf, where their natural gelatine binds them as they cool. Every slice is crunchy, chewy and peppery; serve with pickled shallots, fish sauce with lime and chilli, and bánh chưng. Chef's tip: pack and press the filling while it is still very hot; once it cools the gelatine sets and the roll will not hold together.

240 min

Vietnamese Meat

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Buri no teriyaki (glazed yellowtail)

Buri, Japanese yellowtail, is the year-end fish of western Japan and the yakimono (grilled dish) of many Shōgatsu osechi boxes, because it is a 'promotion fish' that changes its name as it grows, a wish to rise in life in the new year. Buri is rich and meaty, and the teriyaki glaze turns it deep bronze, sweet-salty and glossy on the outside while the flesh stays moist. The glaze uses sake and mirin, both rice wines; for no alcohol, use water instead of the sake and 2 tbsp water plus 2 tsp sugar instead of the mirin. Serve with rice, miso soup and grated daikon, or chilled in the osechi box. Chef's tip: salting the fish for 10 minutes and patting it dry removes the fishy moisture and helps the glaze cling.

25 min

Japanese Fish

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Mứt tắc (candied kumquats)

In the south, potted kumquat trees heavy with fruit stand at the door for Tết, because their round gold fruit promises plenty; mứt tắc brings that same luck to the candy tray. Each fruit is slit, gently pressed to push out the seeds and juice, firmed briefly in clear water made with food-grade slaked lime (vôi ăn), then candied until glossy and amber, with a chewy skin and a pleasant bitter-sweet edge. A no-lime method is given too. Serve with strong tea, or drop a fruit into hot water with honey for a soothing drink. Chef's tip: blanch the fruit twice in fresh water before candying; it tames the bitterness without losing the perfume.

240 min

Vietnamese Desserts

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Ehomaki (lucky direction sushi roll)

Ehomaki began as a merchants' custom in Osaka and has spread across Japan: on the night of Setsubun each person eats a whole, uncut thick sushi roll while facing the year's lucky direction (eho), in silence, making a wish. Leaving it uncut means not cutting your good fortune, and the seven fillings are linked to the Seven Lucky Gods. This version uses cooked fillings only: sweet rolled omelette, cucumber, soy-simmered shiitake and kanpyō gourd ribbon, cooked prawns, crab sticks and spinach, with grilled eel as an optional luxury. The result is soft, sweet-savoury and crunchy at once; serve with clear soup and pickled ginger. The shiitake are simmered in soy and sugar without mirin, so the roll has no alcohol. Chef's tip: lay the fillings slightly overlapping in one tight line on the lower third of the rice, which keeps every bite balanced and the roll round.

65 min

Japanese Rice & Grains

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Tsukimi udon (moon-viewing udon)

Tsukimi means moon-viewing, and in noodle shops all over Japan the name is given to any bowl topped with an egg: the yolk is the full harvest moon, the white the clouds drifting round it, and it is a favourite around the September moon festival. Here the broth is a vegetarian kombu and shiitake dashi seasoned with soy, sweetened with a little sugar instead of mirin so it has no alcohol, giving a clean, savoury base for silky thick noodles and a rich yolk you break into the soup. Add spring onions and a pinch of shichimi, and eat at once. Egg safety: use pasteurised eggs or British Lion eggs if the yolk will stay runny, and for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system, poach the egg in the broth until it is firm. Chef's tip: heat the kombu slowly and lift it out before the water boils, which keeps the broth sweet and clear.

25 min

Japanese Pasta & Noodles

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