Japanese Recipes

Japanese food is as much about the preparation and presentation as it is the food itself. A great deal of thought goes into every item served. While we think of only four annual seasons, Japanese chefs consider dozens of seasons and carefully select ingredients that are in their prime with flavors that represent that specific period.Once finished, the food is carefully plated and the finished dish often looks like a work of art.

1) Curry Puffs:

Ingredients-

• 3 Small/Medium carrotschopped bite size
• 2 Medium size potatoeschopped bite size
• 1/2 Medium size onionfinely chopped
• 3 cups Water
• 1/2 package Japanese Curry mix they come in boxes (see pic)
• 1 tbps Neutral oil (canola, grapeseed)
• 1 Package of puff pastry dough

-Steps to Make It-

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a pot over medium/high heat, add oil and onions. Cook for 2 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots, cook for 5 minutes.

Step 2

Add water and bring to the boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Step 3

Add the Japanese curry mix and cook for another 10 minutes.

Step 4

On a sheet pan, cut puff pastry into squares (1 sheet should give you 4 squares) and with a spoon, fill the middle of 1/2 of the squares you have.

Step 5

Cover the top with the empty squares and seal the edges tightly (you can use a bit of water to moisten the edges and help them stick more easily). Cook for 20 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown and serve! 

2) Soy-Ginger Salmon:

Ingredients-

• 3/4 lb salmon steak(s)
• 1 thumb sized ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp oil
• pinch of salt
• 1 leek, cut in half and cut into 2 inch pieces

-Steps to Make It-

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Step 2

In a bowl, mix soy sauce, 1 tbsp oil, grated ginger and a pinch of salt.

Step 3

Add salmon and soy-ginger marinade to a ziplock bag and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Step 4

In a sheet tray, spread the leeks around and add a pinch of salt. Put in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes. Check on your leeks every 10 minutes to make sure they are not becoming too charred. Taste one; the leek should still be a little crunchy but easy to eat. 

Step 5

In a pan over medium/ high heat, add 2 tbsp oil. When the oil is hot, add the salmon  and cook for 2 minutes. Flip the steak over, add 2 tbsp of the soy-ginger marinade and cook for another 2 minutes. 

Step 6

Serve your soy-ginger salmon with leeks and season with salt & pepper.