Rie Saito

Japanese traditional Shirataki is also known as konnyaku noodles. These are excellent diet food as almost non-calorie, non-fat, rich in minerals and dietary fibre.
These are traditionaly cooked with Japanese syle hot pots and miso soups as those are great absorbing flavour from soups. Shirataki can be used as noodle substitute which is non-calorie! great. Alternatively, why not try Konnyaku stake?

Konnyaku stake
ingredients:
konnyaku 1bag (240g)
soy sauce 1tbsp
sake 1tbsp
mirin 1tbsp
sugar 1/2tbsp
chilli 1 or 1/2tsp
sesami oil 1tbsp
sesami 1tbsp

method:
1. cut the both side of connyaku surface in lattice patteren and then cut it in 2cm/inch cubes.
2. boil some water in a small pan, add the konnyaku and boil it for 2-3min to remove the smell and harshness. Remove the konnyaku from the pan and drain.
3. heat a frying pan with table spoon of sesami oil and add the chilli braking into 2 (or chopped depending on the heat you would like to have. if you are using powder chilli, add after konnyaku) then add the konnyaku. Fry them for a few minutes.
4. Add the soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar into the pan and cook it untilall most of the sauce are absorbed. Sprinkle the sesami and serve.

It’s really easy and ready in 15min!
It’s so simple but yummy. It still taste good cold. Perfect for party, nibbles, snack, dinner or pack lunch. If you reduce or remove the chilli kids will also enjoy it.

Ingredients:

Chicken wings 1kg
Flour for dusting Some
Oil for frying 1litter
Sesami 1tbsp

saurce
Soy source 100cc
Mirin (sweet sake) 100cc
Sake 50cc
Sugar 3tbsp
Sweet chilli sauce(optional)

Methods:

1. Cut and separate chicken wings and drumstics then dust them with flour.
2. Pour all the saurce ingredients in a sauce pan and bring up to the boil. Remove from the heat and pour into a big bowl or container. If you fancy a spicy ones, just add chilli sauce a table spoon or so in the end (if you want spicier, use non- sweeten chilli. always check the taspe)
3. Heat the oil in 170c and fry them about 4min until golden and crispy. Drain the excess oil.
4. Put all the wings and dramstics into the sauce. Sprinkle the sesami and mix them well with the sauce and serve.

Kids love making things. Making models, mold shapes, pretend to cook, decorates or just roll and squeeze them. It is a  great toy get their hands on and let the imagination grow!
You can buy them in a shop but you can make your own in 5 min with things in a cupboard. It is easy and cheap!
Just handed over it to kids with few tools and now you can watch them have a fun.

Ingredients:

Method:

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and add the boiling water. Stir well until its all together and firm.

After kids play, put the dough in a tight sealed container to put away.

Lamb kleftiko

This is easy to cook real Greek food at home.

It looks good and hole family can enjoy with no fuss. Once you cooked, it will be on your recipe book.

Ingredients:

Method:

1. Preheat the oven in 180c or gas mark4.
2. Cut baking paper two sheets in a meter long size and placed in a baking tray in cross.
3. Heat splash of oil in a large frying pan and brown the lamb both sides then drein the excessed oil and placed in centre of the baking paper on the tray.
4. Poke holes in the lamb evenly with knife and push the garlic slives in then season with salt and pepper, Oregano, lemon juice and oilve oil. put bay leaves and cover the lamb with the paper and sealed to make a percel.
5. Put in the oven to roast for 1hr 30min. leave the lamb for 20min to rest then ready to serve.
Fried rice (optional)
Splash the olive oil in a frying pan then add the cold cooked rice. Season with salt and pepper and paprika and fry them for 5min, ready to serve with lamb. alternatively, serve with roast potatos. Enjoy.

Jack O'lantern sushi

Famous Halloween character jack o’lantern face usually curved on pumpkin, I made them with sushi.
I used smoke salmon and nori(seaweed) for pumpkin with face and green beans for stalk.
It’s fun snack or looks good as party food. Rather having too much sweets on this day, I tried something different and it’s tasted as good as it looked.

spooky biscuit

These are made of cracers with cream cheese on top and decorated with seaweeds. It’s quick to make and works! It doesn’t cost much to make fun on the table.

This is lovely I love them. We normally have them in a cold winter but I eat them all year around. It’s perfect for snack or lunch. If you rapped individually and freeze them, microwave to quick snack any time. Believe me or not, this is better than the those you can get it from the Chinese shops.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. put dried shiitake mushrooms in a bowl add 200ml hot water and leave it until mushroom is totally soaked and softened. Finely chopped onion and fly them until golden brown then leave them to cool.
2. Making buns; Pour hot water into milk (should be lukewarm) then add sugar and yeast, mix well to activate yeast. Put flours, salt, baking powder in a large bowl pour into 1. knead the dough until its smooth then add lard and knead well once again. Put the dough in a bowl cover it with dump cloth or wrap and leave it in a warm place until dough become double the size.
3.  While dough is rising make filling. Squeezed excess water of shiitake mushrooms and finely chopped. Grated pinch of ginger. Put all the filling ingredients into a large bowl and mix them well. divide filling into 8 balls.

4.punch the dough to release the gas and divide into 8 pieces then roll into a small ball. Cover and rest the dough for 10min.

5. Roll it out and flatten the dough with rolling pin into 10cm circles. Place filling in a center of the dough and gather all the edges in the top centre to cover the filling and close the dough. Cut grease proof paper in 10 square cm and place the bun. Cover and leave them in a warm place for 30min.

6. Steam the buns for 15min and ready to serve.

This is orange flavoured vanilla cheese cake. It’s very easy to make and lovely.  I didn’t have a vanilla pod, so I used vanilla extract instead also used lemon juice instead of lemon zest but it still worked. He used cherry comport on top of the cake but you can be without it or even try different fruit. I put some blackberry sauce which picked from my garden and made myself. He said this American syle cheese cake is on the menu in The Fifteen Trattoria.

This is great meal to cook for your guest and family. It’s easy, quick, nutritious and looks fantastic!
Great thing is about this dish is you don’t need to major ingredients, you can even add or take away ingredients as you cook to create your own version. Amount of ingredients give you is a rough idea.

cooking time: 1hour 20min.
serves 4 people

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken into 2 inch pieces. Finely chopped garlic, onion, Tomatos and bell pepper. Small diced bacon and chorizo.

2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper anddusted with flour.  Heat the olive oil in paella dish or pan. Add the chicken and fly until golden brown. Also cook the prawns and squids for a couple of minute. Take them out on a plate and cover with a foil.

3. Infuse chicken stock with safron.

4. Stair the chorizo and  pancetta (bacon) in the same pan until brown and crispy. Add garlic, onion and bell pepper until soft. Then add the shells and cook them in wine. Take out the shells and add the rice and stair. Now add chicken, papprika and chicken stock, stair it well heat in high temprature until it started to bubble, then turn down and leave to cook  on medium heat for 10min.

5. Add the peas, prawn,squid, shell cover the top and cook for further 10 min.

6. Lastofall, scatter the chopped parsley leaves and lemon wages and serve immediately.

Kids just love pizza.
They even love to make one themselves. It’s great kids entertainment! Get messy and have a fun.
It taste good and kids　loved it but the dough disappointed me. I used BBC food recipe, or did I do wrong?
I made pizza dough few times. Once I made in Japan it came out great, but then here it seems to come out in different consistency even it made from the same recipe (how disappointed). Is it water that makes difference? (Japan has soft water and Uk is hard water) or the flour makes difference? (yes of course but texture change too?) humm..
I love to find out and mostly want make nice stretchy thin crispy pizza dough just like Italians make.
How can I do that? Does anyone know the trusting recipe?
Trying out few dozens of dough recipes might help…
I will definatly do again.

I am really keen to make my own version of buns now so get my gear going.
I discover that using milk for dough makes mild cake like taste so I used half milk half hot water to make lukewarm liquid for yeast to be active.
Unfortunately this time I rest dough too long after wrapped the stuffing and flattened…..
Last time pork and veg stuffing needed more taste, adding oyster sauce gives sweetness and richness of the flavour.
The stuffing was success! I have got the flavour I want and just like ones that selling in a shop in Japan.
But I fancy making different flavour also so I made sweet bean too.
This was pretty easy. I just bought ready made sweet bean added with grind black sesame. It was great.
I’ll adjust the dough ingredients and hopefully the recipeis up soon.