RECIPE: 17 deliciously simple Japanese recipes

GYOZA

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Makes 30 pieces

INGREDIENTS

200g minced pork, marinated with 1 tsp salt for 15 min

1 tbsp sake

1 tbsp soya sauce

A pinch of pepper

½ small piece ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup chopped Chinese chives

1 cup minced Chinese cabbage, lightly salted

30 gyoza wrappers

100ml water

1 tbsp sesame oil

FOR DIPPING SAUCE

2 tbsp light soya sauce

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp chilli oil

Mix all the ingredients together.

DIRECTIONS

1 For the filling, mix the pork, sake, soya sauce and pepper in a bowl. Add the ginger, garlic, Chinese chives and cabbage and mix well.

2 Place 1 tbsp of filling on a gyoza wrapper.

3 Fold the wrapper in half. Make 5 to 6 pleats on the top half and stick them to the bottom half to enclose the filling. Repeat for all.

4 Place the gyoza in a frying pan over medium heat. Add water, cover the pan and cook for 5 min.

5 When the pan is dry and the gyoza is a light shade of brown, uncover the pan. Add the sesame oil and fry the gyoza until golden brown and crispy. Serve with the dipping sauce.

YAKISOBA

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Serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS

280g lean pork, thinly sliced

2 tsp white pepper

2 tbsp light soya sauce

4 tbsp cooking oil

3 tbsp minced garlic

1 onion, sliced

300g cabbage, sliced

1 medium carrot, julienned

1 red capsicum, julienned

8 tbsp yakisoba sauce*

480g yakisoba noodles*

3 stalks spring onions, cut into 5cm pieces

Japanese pickled ginger*

DIRECTIONS

1 Season the pork with 1 tsp pepper and light soya sauce. Set aside.

2 Heat the oil in a wok. Add the garlic and onions, and stir-fry over low heat until fragrant.

3 Add the pork and stir-fry for 2min.

4 Turn up the heat to medium. Add the cabbage, carrot and capsicum, and stir-fry for 1min.

5 Add 4 tbsp yakisoba sauce and fry until well-mixed.

6 Add the noodles, 1 tsp pepper and another 4 tbsp yakisoba sauce, and stir until well-mixed.

7 Add the spring onions and fry for another 30sec. Garnish with the pickled ginger before serving.

*Find yakisoba sauce and yakisoba noodles at Japanese supermarkets or the Japanese food section of major supermarkets. We used the Otafuku Yakisoba Sauce and Miyakoichi Teppan Yakisoba noodles, both from Meidi-ya Supermarket, #B1-50 Liang Court, tel: 6339-1111. Japanese pickled ginger is available at sushi counters of major supermarkets.

OYAKO DON

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

For the dashi mixture:

360ml dashi stock

2 tbsp mirin

3 tsp sugar

4 tbsp Kikkoman Usukuchi

Soy Sauce*

4 tbsp Kikkoman Premium

Soy Sauce*

2 tsp salt

2 tsp mirin

200g diced chicken thigh

1 yellow onion, sliced

4 tsp chopped spring onions

4 eggs

4 bowls cooked Japanese rice

*Available from Japanese supermarkets like Isetan Scotts and Meidi-ya.

DIRECTIONS

1 In a pot, bring all the ingredients for the dashi mixture to the boil, then turn off the heat.

2 Bring another pot of water to a boil. Stir in salt and mirin. Blanch chicken for 15sec, then drain.

3 Divide the chicken and onions into four portions.

4 In a saucepan over medium heat, spread out one portion of chicken and onions, then pour in a quarter of the dashi mixture. Cover and simmer for 4min.

5 Add 1 tsp spring onions. Turn the heat to low, beat one egg lightly and pour over the chicken. Stir lightly, and turn to high heat for 5sec.

6 Turn off the heat and cover for 15sec. When the egg starts to set, slide out the chicken and egg mixture onto a bowl of rice. Repeat for the remaining portions.

YAKI ONIGIRI

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Makes 8

INGREDIENTS

A bowl of lightly salted water

4 cups cooked Japanese rice

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

2 tbsp cooking oil, for frying

¼ cup Japanese shoyu or light soya sauce

Bonito flakes*, Japanese pickled ginger or pickled cucumbers (all optional)

*Available at the Japanese section of Cold Storage or any Japanese supermarket

DIRECTIONS

1 Wet your hands with the salted water to prevent the rice from sticking to them. Mix the cooked rice and toasted sesame seeds in a large bowl.

2 Using assorted cookie cutters, shape the rice into your desired onigiri shapes. Rinse the cutters in the salted water after each piece.

3 Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Pour the oil in and fry each side of the onigiri for about 1min, until you get a crispy crust.

4 Brush all sides of the onigiri with shoyu, and fry for 15 to 20 seconds, until they turn golden brown. Don’t worry if the soya coating chars a little as this will add to the flavour.

5 Top with the bonito flakes, pickled ginger or cucumbers, or serve as is.

YAKITORI WITH TERIYAKI SAUCE

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Makes 16 sticks

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp sake

2 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp soya sauce

2 tbsp sugar

2 chicken thighs, cut into

3cm-long pieces

4 stalks of leek, white and pale green parts cut into 3cm-long pieces

1 tbsp canola oil

16 bamboo skewers

DIRECTIONS

1 To make the teriyaki sauce, mix the sake, mirin, soya sauce and sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

2 Thread three pieces of chicken and leeks into each skewer, then marinate the chicken skewers in the teriyaki sauce for 5 min.

3 Heat the canola oil in a big frying pan. Over low flame, fry the chicken for 3 min until golden brown. Turn them over and cook for another 3 min.

SABA IN MISO SAUCE

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 saba (mackerel) fillets

3 tbsp sake

1 small ginger, sliced and julienned

1 tbsp soya sauce

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp mirin

200ml water

1 tbsp miso paste, mixed with 1 tbsp water

DIRECTIONS

1 Make an “X” on the skin of each saba fillet and marinate them with 1 tbsp of sake for 15 min.

2 Mix remaining sake, 2 slices of ginger, soya sauce, sugar, mirin and water in a pot, and bring it to a boil over low heat.

3 Lay the fillets skin side up, side by side in the mixture. Cover the fillets with aluminium foil big enough to fit all of them – so that the sauce bubbles up to cook them. Cook for 8 to 10 min, until the “X” on the saba fillets splits open.

4 Add the miso paste mix and cook for another 2 min until the sauce thickens.

5 Transfer the fillets to a bowl, pour the sauce over and top with ginger.

PORK TONKATSU

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Makes 4

INGREDIENTS

4 pork loin chops, each about 120g and 1cm thick

2 tsp salt

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups tempura flour

3 eggs, beaten

2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

2 cups cooking oil

DIRECTIONS

1 Use a sharp knife to make shallow slits on the surface of the pork chops.

2 Season pork chops with salt and pepper.

3 Place flour, egg and panko in separate shallow plates, then dredge the pork chops through each one in the same order. Press on them lightly to help the panko stick to the meat.

4 Heat cooking oil in a pot and deep-fry the pork chops, one at a time. Cook each side for 3min, until golden brown.

5 Transfer pork chops to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil, then slice into 2cm thick strips.

UNADON

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 pieces grilled unagi (eel) from the

Japanese section in supermarkets

100ml soya sauce

100ml mirin (Japanese rice wine)

80g sugar

35ml sake

4 bowls cooked rice

DIRECTIONS

1 Slice the unagi into 5cm-long pieces. Place the unagi in a pot with the soya sauce, mirin, sugar and sake, and bring to a boil.

2 Pour the cooked sauce equally over the bowls of rice, then place the unagi on the rice.

TEMPURA

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Makes 12

INGREDIENTS

TEMPURA SAUCE

200ml dashi (see recipe above)

50ml mirin

50ml soya sauce

FOR TEMPURA BATTER

100ml water

100g flour

20g rice flour

1 egg yolk, beaten

A pinch of salt

1 ice cube

12 prawns, deveined and shelled with tails intact

2 cups canola oil

½ cup flour

DIRECTIONS

1 To make the tempura sauce, mix the dashi, mirin and soya sauce and bring it to a boil. Set aside to cool.

2 For the tempura batter, mix the water, flour, rice flour, egg yolk and salt in a bowl. Add the ice cube – it makes the tempura crispy.

3 Soak the prawns in a big bowl of water with a pinch of salt for 15 min.

4 Dry the prawns and make three short cuts on the belly. Straighten the prawns.

5 Cut off a third of the prawn tail and coat the prawns evenly with flour.

6 Heat canola oil in a wok until smoking hot.

7 Hold prawns by the tail and dip them into the batter one at a time. Deep-fry prawns until golden brown.

SEAFOOD OKONOMIYAKI

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Makes 12

INGREDIENTS

For the batter:

300g Morinaga hotcake mix*

3 eggs

40ml fresh or pasteurised milk

60g Kewpie mayonnaise*

260g Beijing cabbage, roughly diced

100g picnic ham, bacon or sausages, cut into

1cm squares

80g shredded parmesan, gruyere, emmental or raclette

40g spring onions, diced

For the garnish:

24ml okonomi, tonkatsu or takoyaki sauce*

24g Kewpie mayonnaise

12 slices pickled red ginger*

1 tsp aonori* (seaweed powder)

2 tbsp bonito flakes

*Available at Japanese supermarkets like Meidi-ya and Isetan Scotts Supermarket.

DIRECTIONS

1 Mix the hotcake mix, eggs and milk together, then combine all the other ingredients for the batter.

2 Fill each muffin cup until ¾ full, using about 2 tbsp of batter.

3 Bake in an oven preheated to 180 deg C for 20min.

4 Set aside to cool, then remove from the muffin pan.

5 Brush each cake with okonomi sauce and drizzle a little Kewpie mayonnaise over.

6 Top with a slice of pickled red ginger, some seaweed powder and bonito flakes.

SALMON IKURA DON

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

½ cup rice vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 cups warm Japanese rice

240g sliced salmon sashimi

4 tbsp ikura (salmon roe)*

1 tbsp white sesame seeds

1 tbsp pickled ginger*

3 tbsp thinly sliced nori (Japanese seaweed sheets)

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp wasabi

*Available from sushi counters at major supermarkets.

DIRECTIONS

1 In a large bowl, mix rice vinegar, salt and sugar into warm rice. Leave to cool to room temperature, then divide into 4 bowls.

2 Arrange salmon sashimi over the rice until the slices cover the top.

3 Sprinkle ikura over the salmon, followed by sesame seeds.

4 Add pickled ginger, then garnish with nori. Serve with soya sauce and wasabi on the side.

CALIFORNIA MAKI ROLL

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Serves 5

INGREDIENTS

½ cup rice vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 cups warm Japanese rice

5 sheets nori

1 avocado, cut into 1cm-thick strips

100g crab sticks

1 zucchini, cut into strips

1 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise

100g tobiko (fl ying fi sh roe)*

2 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp wasabi

*Available from sushi counters at major supermarkets.

DIRECTIONS

1 In a large bowl, mix rice vinegar, salt and sugar into warm rice. Leave to cool to room temperature.

2 Cover both sides of a sushi rolling mat with cling wrap, and set aside a bowl of clean water.

3 Place a sheet of nori on a flat, clean surface. With dampened fi ngers, spread a thin, even layer of rice over the nori. Put the sushi mat on top of the rice, then fl ip everything over, such that the sushi mat is now underneath.

4 Line avocado strips along the width of the nori. Line a row of crab sticks beside the avocado, followed by zucchini strips. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on top, then sprinkle with tobiko, saving a little to coat the maki in later.

5 Using the sushi mat, roll the sushi into a tight log. Once the rolling edge of the sushi mat hits the nori, peel it back downwards. Continue rolling into a log.

6 Spread remaining tobiko onto a plate. Coat maki rolls in it, then cut each roll into 6 pieces with a damp knife. Serve with soya sauce and wasabi on the side.

CHAWANMUSHI

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs, beaten

400ml dashi (see recipe above)

1 tsp soya sauce

½ tsp salt

½ chicken thigh, cut into 4 pieces

4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

4 prawns, deveined and shelled

4 tsp chopped spring onions

DIRECTIONS

1 Mix the eggs, dashi, soya sauce and salt in a bowl.

2 Place a piece of chicken, shiitake mushroom and prawn in each bowl or chawanmushi cup.

3 Fill bowls with the egg mixture and add

1 tsp of spring onion in each.

4 Cover bowls with aluminium foil and prick a hole in each of them. Steam for 10 min.

CHICKEN KARAAGE WITH WASABI MAYONNAISE

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Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp ginger, grated

1 clove garlic, grated

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp sake

2 tsp sugar

450g skin-on chicken thighs, deboned and cut into 5cm-long pieces

For the batter:

1 cup plain flour

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp ground black pepper

1½ cups stout

For the wasabi mayonnaise:

²/³ tbsp wasabi powder*

1 tsp water

4 tbsp mayonnaise

Cooking oil, for deep-frying

1 lemon, cut into wedges

*Available from Japanese supermarkets like Isetan Scotts and Meidi-ya.

DIRECTIONS

1 In a large bowl, whisk ginger, garlic, soya sauce, sake and sugar together. Marinate chicken in this mixture for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

2 To make the batter, whisk fl our, egg, garlic powder and black pepper together, then stir in the stout. Set aside.

3 In a small bowl, combine wasabi powder with water to form a paste, and let sit for 1min. Stir in mayonnaise to make wasabi mayonnaise.

4 Heat the cooking oil in a pot. Evenly coat the chicken pieces with batter and deep-fry until golden brown. Transfer onto kitchen towels to soak up excess oil. Serve with wasabi mayonnaise and lemon wedges.

COOL JAPANESE NOODLES

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

30g edamame beans

30g borlotti beans*

30g lady’s fingers

30g baby corn

2 tbsp unrefined sugar

50ml mirin

100ml water or shiitake dashi

50ml brown rice vinegar

100ml Japanese shoyu

2 tbsp lemon juice

1-2 bundles of bincho-tan (white charcoal) noodles** or soba

A dash of sesame oil

½ Japanese cucumber, seeded, diced and chilled

½ tomato, seeded, diced and chilled

Black and white sesame seeds

Nori (dried seaweed) strips

A pinch of mustard powder

A pinch of grated ginger

DIRECTIONS

1 Boil the edamame beans and borlotti beans, separately, for about 4min each. Drain and set aside.

2 Boil the lady’s fi ngers for 5min, until soft but not mushy. Drain, slice and chill.

3 Boil the baby corn for about 4min. Drain and chill.

4 To make the dipping sauce, boil the sugar, mirin, and water or dashi. Remove from heat and stir in the brown rice vinegar, shoyu and lemon juice. Cool and chill.

5 Cook the noodles until al dente, about 15min. Drain and place in a bowl of ice-cold water for 10min.

6 Drain and place the noodles on a plate. Drizzle the sesame oil over the noodles and top with sesame seeds, nori, mustard powder and grated ginger. Place the edamame beans, lady’s fingers, baby corn, cucumber and tomatoes around the noodles.

*Available at Cold Storage

** Available at Fairprice Finest

UDON KANSAI

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

FOR UDON SOUP

1 litre dashi (see recipe above)

75ml soya sauce

5 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

20ml sake

20ml mirin

4 bowls chilled or frozen udon

1 bowl spring onions, sliced

4 litres water

DIRECTIONS

1 To make the soup, mix the dashi, soya sauce, sugar and salt in a pot and bring it to a boil.

2 Add the sake and mirin to the mixture and bring it to boil again.

3 Cook the udon in boiling water according to the packet instructions. Drain and divide udon equally among four bowls.

4 Fill the bowls with soup and top with spring onions and tempura.

CALIFORNIA HANDROLL

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Makes 16 pieces

INGREDIENTS

200ml water

2 cups short-grain rice, washed

1 piece dried kelp

40ml sushi or rice vinegar

5 tsp sugar

A pinch of salt

8 sheets nori seaweed, cut into

2 pieces each

8 frozen crabsticks, thawed and halved

1 avocado, sliced

1 cucumber, cut into sticks

DIRECTIONS

1 Add the water to the rice and dried kelp and soak for an hour, before cooking it in a rice cooker.

2 When the rice is cooked, mix sushi vinegar, sugar and salt, and pour it over the hot rice in a big bowl. Set aside to cool, then stir to mix well.

MAKE THE HANDROLL

1 Place the seaweed on your palm, with the shiny side facing down. Place a thin layer of rice on top side of the seaweed. Lay a crabstick piece, avocado slice and cucumber stick on the rice.

2 Roll the seaweed into a cone. Use a dab of rice to stick the end of the seaweed down and hold it in place.

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RECIPE: 17 deliciously simple Japanese recipes

Make okonomiyaki, oyako don, tonkatsu, onigiri and more with these quick and easy Japanese recipes that make weeknight dinners so much easier.

Privacy Menu

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RECIPE: 17 deliciously simple Japanese recipes

Make okonomiyaki, oyako don, tonkatsu, onigiri and more with these quick and easy Japanese recipes that make weeknight dinners so much easier.

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