Dinner Party #1- Turning Japanese

Difficulty: Medium-Hard

Serves 6

I’m going to work on several dinner party menus from around the world but first we’re going to kick off in Japan. I love Japanese cuisine. Fresh, light, delicious and served with impeccable attention to detail. Most of the dishes are served cold, meaning that it can all be prepared early and served when your guests arrive.

Let’s take a look at the menu!

Entree

Ama-Ebi Nigiri

Tuna Maki

Roe Maki

Main

Vegetable Tempura

Goma Ae

Served with Miso Soup & Edamame

Dessert

Coconut Sago served with Chocolate Ice Cream

Sounds pretty daunting, doesn’t it? Before you dismiss  delving into the world of Japanese cooking, let me assure you, it’s not that hard. It is very fiddly and a little time consuming but it’s definitely worth all the effort.

So, let’s get to the recipes.

Sushi Platter

Ingredients

• 4 cups of cooked sushi rice
• 3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
• 4 mock prawns, defrosted and cut in half
• 5 sheets of nori (seaweed)
• 1 small carrot, cut into small sticks
• 1 small cucumber, cut into sticks
• 1/2 an avocado, cut into strips
• 1 tomato, cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons of Cavi Art, vegan caviar
• 1/2 packet of mock tuna, shredded
• 1/4 cup Praise Light Mayonnaise
• Pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce

Method

1. First, add the rice wine vinegar to the cooked rice and mix well.
2. First cab off the rank will be the Ama-Ebi Nigiri so you’ll need the prawns, 1/4 of the mayonnaise and one sheet of nori cut into 1cm strips.
3. I use a tablespoon to pack the rice in tightly, then tap it out onto a plate. You should repeat this until you have eight, neat little mounds of rice.
4. Run a strip of mayonnaise down the middle of the mounds of rice and carefully place a piece of prawn on top.
5. Wet the ends of the nori strips and wrap these around so that it holds the prawn and rice in place.
6. Next, you’ll need 2 sheets of nori the rest of the mayonnaise, tuna, 1/2 the carrot, 1/2 the cucumber and the tomato to make the Tuna Maki.
7. Spread the rice out on the sheets of nori, leaving 2cm around the edge.
8. Mix the remaining tuna and mayonnaise together and spread some of it down the middle of the rice. Do the same with the carrot, cucumber and tomato.
9. Wet the edges of the nori and using a sushi mat, roll it up firmly.
10. Cut into pieces about 2cm thick.
11. For the Roe Maki, prepare the rice on the remaining sheets of nori in the same way as the Tuna Maki.
12. Lay one tablespoon of the caviar down the middle of the rice, lay out the avocado, cucumber and carrot and roll tightly.
13. Cut into pieces about 2cm thick.
14. Lay out all of the sushi on a platter and serve.

Vegetable Tempura

Ingredients

• 1/4 of a pumpkin, sliced into thin pieces
• 1 bunch of broccoli, broken into chunks
• 1/2 brown onion, cut into chunks and separated
• 1 small red capsicum, cut into chunks
• 1 small green capsicum, cut into chunks
• 7 green beans with the ends cut off
• 2/3 cup plain flour
• 1 cup corn flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup and 1 tablespoon of soda water
• 1 litre vegetable oil

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wok.
2. Combine flours, baking powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. There is no need to sift the flour as this adds to the texture. Then add the soda water and stir.
3. Dip the vegetables in the batter and then into the oil.
4. Cook until lightly browned.
5. Sit on top of paper towel for a few moments then serve hot.

Goma Ae

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of spinach, finely chopped
• 2 cups of green beans, cut into thirds
• 1/3 cup sesame paste
• 1/4 cup vegetarian fish sauce (or soy sauce if not available)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Method

1. Cook the spinach. I did this in the microwave for 4 minutes however this can be done on the stove.
2. Transfer to cold water for a few minutes and then drain.
3. Cook the beans. Again, this was done in the microwave for 2 minutes however this can be done on the stove. You don’t want the beans to be overcooked.
4. Transfer to cold water for a few minutes and then drain.
5. In a large bowl, combine sesame paste, fish sauce, brown sugar and sesame seeds and combine well.
6. Add the spinach and beans and mix thoroughly.
7. Transfer to a serving plate, and top with sesame seeds.
8. Place in the fridge for at least an hour.
9. Serve chilled.

Coconut Sago with Chocolate Ice Cream

 Ingredients

• 250ml coconut cream
• 250ml soy milk
• 1/2 cup sago
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tub of Tofutti chocolate ice cream
• Agave syrup

Method

1. In a medium saucepan, soak the sago in the soy milk and coconut cream.
2. Add the sugar and stir.
3. Place on the stove and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.
4. Once boiling, simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Once sago has become translucent, remove from heat.
6. Transfer into serving glasses and chill for an hour.
7. Add one scoop of ice cream to each serving and drizzle with agave syrup.

Tags: edamame, goma ae, japanese, maki, miso, nigiri, sago, sushi, tempura