Cherry tomato and spring sugar snaps salad

Fresh sugar snaps taste best when eaten raw.  They really are as sweet as sugar!

A combination of bright green and red will bring spring time to your table.

Serve with tuna and honey lemon dressing.

Ingredients (serves 4)

200g sugar snaps

10 cherry tomatoes

1 large tin of tuna (185g)

Mix all the ingredients below before adding to the salad:

2tbls soy sauce

1tbls lemon juice

1tbls honey

1tbls grated ginger

Method

1.       Slice the sugar snaps thinly and diagonally and cut the cherry tomatoes into ¼

2.       Empty the tuna without the oil into a bowl then add the ingredients and mix well



Vanilla ice cream with sweet azuki beans

Azuki beans are widely used in Japanese confections.

Now you could find a tin of cooked azuki beans in most supermarkets, which is very easy to use.



ngredients (serve 4)

1 can of cooked azuki beans (400g)

200g caster sugar

A pinch of salt

1 tab of good quality vanilla ice cream

Methods

1.       In heavy thick sauce pan, empty all the content of the tin of azuki beans including the liquids then turn the heat on low

2.       Add all the sugar into the pan, place the lid on and simmer on very low heat, keep stirring,  until almost all the liquids evaporated

3.       Add a pinch of salt just before turning  the heat off then leave it to cool completely (once cooled you can freeze it at this stage)

4.       Serve a spoonful of the sweet azuki beans with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Avocado and prawns with wasabi mayonnaise on an asparagus boat

 If you’ve got a tube of wasabi in your fridge and don’t know what to do with it, try this.Mayonnaise and wasabi make a great combination. 

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 bunches of asparagus (about 22 sticks); cut off the hard bits

100g cooked and peeled prawns

1 avocado

1 cherry tomato (cut into ¼ ) to garnish

Salt for boiling the asparagus

4tbls mayonnaise

1tsp wasabi

1tbls lemon juice

Method

1.       Boil plenty of water in a large saucepan with a pinch of salt and cook the asparagus until just cooked, drain and place on a plate (save 2 sticks for decoration)

2.       In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, wasabi, and lemon juice

3.       Put the cooked prawns and finely chopped avocado in a bowl and then stir well

4.       Put the cooked prawns and finely chopped avocado onto the asparagus and arrange the tomatoes and the asparagus for decoration on the top

Be careful not to cook the asparagus for too long or they’ll lose their flavour!



Healthy Japanese pancake with British spring greens

Savoury pancakes are very popular in western Japan.  Using a seasonal whole spring green makes it a very healthy dish. It is hard to find in the UK the paper thin sliced pork belly that is used in Japan for this dish, but bacon is a good substitute.  For a vegetarian version, just omit the bacon or use mixed seafood.

Try this quick and easy dish to make a change from lemon and sugar pancakes!

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 bunch (220g) British spring greens (or a pointed cabbage)

1 bunch (110g) of spring onions

4 slices of bacon

4 tbls vegetable oil

1 tin (about 200g) sweet corn

1 egg

200g self-raising flour

100ml water

For the sauce

Brown sauce and mayonnaise to taste

Method

1.       Cut the spring green and spring onion thinly and the bacon into 1cm wide strips

2.       In a large bowl, mix the sweetcorn, egg, flour, water, spring green, spring onion, and bacon

3.       Heat 1tbls of the vegetable oil in a frying pan then drop ¼ of the mixture to make a circular pancake about 2cm thick

4.       Cook the pancake on both sides on a medium heat for about 3 minutes; repeat this to make 4 pancakes

5.       Serve hot with brown sauce and mayonnaise

Creamy soy sauce chicken and mushrooms

Soy sauce goes very well with cream.

 This could be a gentle introduction to Japanese tastes for those who are not familiar with them.

 Serve with boiled rice or mashed potatoes.



Ingredients (serves 2)

2 chicken breasts fillets (360g)

2 large flat mushrooms or 130g of any other mushroom

1tbls butter

100ml single cream

2tbls soy sauce

4 spring onions

Salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Method

1.       Cut the chicken and mushrooms into 1cm thick strips and chop the spring onions finely

2.       Melt the butter in a frying pan then add the chicken

3.       Add the mushrooms and keep stirring until the chicken is thoroughly cooked through

4.       Pour the single cream, soy sauce and most of the spring onions into the frying pan, mix together

5.       Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste

6.       Serve hot with a sprinkle of the spring onions on top

Avocado with Crab Wasabi Dressing

Avocados are popular and they go well with seafood. Try them with crab meat to make this rich and creamy Japanese-fusion dish: perfect as a starter. Delicious!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 avocados

1 tin of crab meat

Juice of ½ a lemon

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon wasabi paste

1.  Peel the avocados and cut into quarters, allowing half an avocado per person.

2. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl and spoon over each serving of avocado.



Smoked Salmon Sashimi Salad

Here is a tasty starter for dinner or a simple lunch salad.

For ultimate entertainment value, heat the oil and pour over the

salmon platter at the table to ‘wow’ dinner guests!



Serves 4

Ingredients:

300g smoked salmon

1 package baby leaf salad

2 spring onions or chives, finely chopped

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon grated garlic

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Juice of ½ a lemon

1 tablespoon soy sauce

½ cup sesame or olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1.      Cut the salmon into slices about 3cm long.

2.      Arrange the salad leaves on a large platter. Scatter the salmon slices over the salad. Sprinkle the salad with the sesame seeds, spring onions or chives, garlic and ginger.

3.      Drizzle over the lemon juice and soy sauce and season with salt and pepper.

4.      Heat the oil in a small saucepan until smoking, then trickle over the salmon.

Ginger Pork Steak with Fresh Herbs

A combination of herbs and a good dose of peppery ginger bring a light, fresh taste to British pork, which has a much richer flavour than pork in Japan. Serve with rice.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 pork shoulder steaks

Salt and pepper

5cm piece of fresh ginger, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small red onion

Small handful each of coriander, parsley, basil and chives

2 teaspoons thyme

1 small red chilli

1 small green chilli

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

½ cup sake or white wine

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

Juice of 1 lemon

1. Using a rolling pin, flatten the pork steaks between two sheets of cling film. Season well on both sides with salt and pepper.

2. Slice four thin rounds of the red onion to use as garnish; finely dice the remaining onion. Save a few chives for garnish; finely chop all of the herbs together. Dice the chillies and set aside.

3. Heat a frying pan over medium high heat. Add the sesame oil, then the ginger, garlic and onion, and cook for 1 minute.

4. Add the pork to the pan and fry until golden and cooked through, turning half way, about 4 minutes each side. Add all the chopped herbs to the pan and stir.

5. Add the sake or white wine, soy sauce, honey, chillies and lemon juice and bring to boil. Transfer the pork steaks to a serving platter and pour over the sauce. Garnish with the onion rings and whole chives and serve.

Tofu Salad with Wasabi Soy Sauce

This healthy salad is light yet rich in texture and taste,

the creamy tofu and avocado spiced up with a hit of wasabi paste.

Vary the dish by adding tinned tuna, drained and crumbled into the salad bowl.

Serves 4 as lunch, 8 as starter

Ingredients:

1 carton silken tofu, drained

1 tin of tuna

1 large, ripe avocado

4 tablespoons soy sauce

1-2 teaspoons wasabi paste, depending on taste

1 packet or two handfuls salad cress

1. Break the tofu and tuna into rough chunks and place in a large bowl.

2. Slice the avocado in half, remove the stone and peel the skin (being careful not to cut through the skin), cut the avocado flesh first vertically, then horizontally, creating small cubes. Scoop out with a large spoon and add to the tofu and tuna.

3. Cut off any salad cress roots and add to the bowl.

4. Mix the soy sauce and wasabi paste, tasting for desired heat, and drizzle over the salad. Toss gently and serve immediately.



Teriyaki Sardines with Watercress

Sardines are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, and with this dish you can even use the inexpensive tinned fish found in most larders. Quick to prepare, inexpensive and healthy – what better meal for a fast lunch?

Serves 4

Ingredients:
240g fresh sardines, or 2 tins sardines in olive oil (120g tin)
1 large red pepper
1 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
5 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons white wine
4 teaspoons sugar
90ml water
100g watercress
Two spring onions
Steamed rice

1. Core and deseed the red pepper and slice into thin strips. Finely chop the watercress and spring onions.

2. Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Pour in the sesame oil and add the red pepper, stir frying for 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and stir for 15 seconds. Tip the pepper onto a small plate and set aside.

3. In the same frying pan, empty the tins of sardines with oil. Add the ginger and cook gently for 3-4 minutes on medium low heat; avoid breaking up the sardine chunks.

4. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, the white wine, the sugar and the water and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

5. To serve, sprinkle the chopped watercress over a mound of cooked rice, followed by the red pepper. Lift the sardines from the pan and place over the red pepper. Scatter the spring onions over the sardines, then pour over the remaining sauce from the pan. Serve hot with steamed rice.