2011, ABOUT ALL THINGS JAPANESE What are your main influences when cooking? These days it’s often ingredients themselves that dictate what I want to make. Last week, I
regular repertoire. If you can cook Japanese food in a small town in Wisconsin, then you can cook it anywhere!
had some excellent Sicilian fennel sausage and What advice would you give to someone looking
All they needed was some garlic and good olive
to approach Japanese cooking for the first time?
oil and it made an exceptional dinner. Lately,
from an aubergine craving – I cook it all the
Learn to cook Japanese rice properly – it is the crux of so many Japanese meals. It’s not difficult, but it may take some practice. Once you know how to make Japanese rice then you are really not far off making hundreds of Japanese meals – add miso soup, a simple vegetable dish and a protein, and
time, as caponata, Sichuan-style, or with a
you’re there.
stem cauliflower, which is great quickly boiled, served with sesame dressing or Kewpie mayo and sunflower seeds. And I am never far away
sweet miso glaze. What is your favourite Japanese ingredient to cook with? Soy sauce because it’s so delicious and versatile. It’s even good in caramel (better than salt, in my opinion). Do your family enjoy your approach to
Do you have any exciting plans upcoming for the year ahead? I’m putting tripe back on the menu at Nanban, which I am very excited about!
incorporated some Japanese dishes into her
all kinds of things.
from them often, which is nice. She has always
"NANBAN IS A WORD MEANING 'SOUTHERN BARBARIAN' USED TO DESCRIBE EUROPEANS MANY CENTURIES AGO"
always return to?
been a great cook and I’m happy she has
My mother has my cookbooks and she cooks
accommodating if you get involved!
Do you have any Le Creuset pieces that you I have a big, violet shallow casserole that I love. It’s so versatile. Just the other day I used it to make an excellent aubergine and celery stir-fry with loads of chilli bean paste and ginger. It’s great for roasting vegetables, pasta sauces, fried rice,
Japanese cooking, and can they cook, too?
Go out on your own, find a friendly-looking place, and have a few drinks with some locals. They’re so
a very expensive tin of peeled yellow tomatoes.
I’ve also been buying this gorgeous tender
If any of our readers are planning to visit Japan this year, do you have any must-do recommendations?
ZEN Kitchen 23
