School Holiday Program (Japanese)

🍣Makizushi- Sushi Rolls

These sushi rolls can be made with any type of seasonal raw fish, and vegetables. A refreshing, light and non-obtrusive vegetable like cucumber, blanched asparagus, carrot, or sprouts.

Serves: Makes 12 rolls 

Total time: 2 hours

Active time: 45 minutes 

INGREDIENTS 

• 450g of sushi-grade fish, sliced into 1x1x20cm batons

• 1 cucumber

• ½ avocado 

• 50g gari (pickled ginger) 

• 10g wasabi

• 6 sheets of nori seaweed, cut in half 

🍶Sushi Su- Rice Vinegar Seasoning

INGREDIENTS 

• 92g rice wine vinegar

• 92g sugar

• 25g mirin

• 16g salt 

• 4g kombu

METHOD

1. In a small sauce pot, heat all ingredients except the kombu, stirring constantly until all the sugar and salt dissolve.

2. Add in the kombu and let steep for 1 hour. Discard the kombu. 

🍚 Shari- Sushi Rice

INGREDIENTS 

• 650g koshihikari- Japanese short grain rice 

• 650g water

METHOD

1. Place the rice in a mixing bowl and rinse it under cold water, swishing it around with your hands. Dump out the cloudy, starchy water and fill the bowl up again. Rinse and repeat 2 times until the water runs semi-clear. 

2. Pour enough cold water over the rice to submerge it by at least 4cm and let it rest for 30 minutes. Drain the rice in a colander suspended above a bowl and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.4.) 

3. Place the rice in a rice cooker with 650g of water or place it into a covered sauce pot with 675g of water. 

4. Cook the rice in the rice cooker for 35 minutes. Alternatively, place a saucepot over medium heat and bring it up to a boil. When the liquid starts to boil, place the lid on, turn down the heat to low and simmer the rice for 13-14 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest for 10 minutes, heat off. 

5. Remove the rice cooker pot from the rice cooker and turn the rice out into a large mixing bowl. Season the rice with the sushi su, pouring it over the rice and using a wooden spatula to disperse it, by sprinkling it all over. Mix the sushi rice, using the side of the wooden spatula to ‘cut’ the rice. Once the rice has cooled to around 40c. Cover it with a damp towel and keep it in an insulated container like an esky. 

6. Prepare a bowl of water for dipping your hands. To form the maki sushi, place 1 sheet of the nori seaweed on a cutting board, rough side facing up. Wet your hands in the water and grab 85g of the seasoned sushi rice. Spread the rice all over the surface of the the nori, leaving a 1cm gap at the top. 

🍘 Okonomiyaki - Cabbage Pancake

Okonomiyaki means ‘however you like it, grilled’ in Japanese which means that in Japan you can find okonomiyaki in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and with every imaginable garnish and topping underneath the sun. We use a little bacon and cabbage as a base for this recipe but feel free to experiment with different combinations of vegetables, and try substitution other protein for the bacon: thin slices of tofu, beef or seafood, for instance. 

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Execution time: 7 minutes 

INGREDIENTS

• 30g flour 

• 50g dashi stock

• 1 eggs 

• 1 slice bacon (25g)

• 50g cabbage, cut into small chunks

• 1 tbsp tenkatsu (substitute rice bubbles)

• 1 tsp vegetable oil 

• ½ tbsp beni shoga (red pickled ginger)

• ¼ tsp baking powder

•  1 pinch salt

Garnishes:

• 1 tsp beni shoga (red pickled ginger) 

• 2 tbsp katsuobushi (bonito flakes)

• 1 spring onion, sliced thinly

• 1.5 tbsp kewpie  (Japanese mayonnaise)

• 1.5 tbsp Okonomi sauce 

• 1 tsp ao noriko (green seaweed powder) 

• 10g kizami nori (finely julienned roasted seaweed paper) 

METHOD

1. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. 

2. To make the batter, combine the sliced cabbage, egg, dashi stock, salt, baking powder, beni shoga, rice bubbles, and flour in a mixing bowl and lightly stir to combine. 

3. Add in 1 tsp of vegetable oil and one slice of bacon. 

4. Gently fry the bacon on both sides until it is lightly golden brown. Be careful not to over fry it. 

5. Pour the batter on top of the bacon. Gently shape the batter into a pancake that’s about 12cm in diameter and a little less than a centimetre in height. 

6. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the pancake starts to feel firm enough to flip, and has a light brown colour on the surface. Flip the pancake and cook it for 1-2 minutes on the other side. 

7. Transfer the pancake to a serving dish. Drizzle an even zig-zag of okonomi sauce over the surface of the pancake. Follow the same with the okonomi sauce. Sprinkle an even layer of the ao noriko over the surface of the pancake, then with the katsuobushi and thinly sliced spring onion. Finally, place a tuft of the kizami nori in the centre of the pancake. 

🥣 Kinoko Miso Shiru- Mushroom Miso Soup 

Miso soup is a fundamental aspect of Japanese cuisine. It’s traditionally eaten as an accompaniment with any meal of the day. This particular version has deep earthy notes from a blend of fresh mushrooms. Miso paste, a fermentation of soybeans, wheat and rice, has a high concentration of various B vitamins, E vitamins, as well as both pro and pre-biotics.

Serves 2

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Execution Time: 30 minutes 

INGREDIENTS 

• 350ml dashi stock 

• 1 spring onion, sliced thinly

• 20g tofu, chopped into 1x1cm cubes 

• 1 tbsp aka or genmai miso

METHOD

1. Place the cut tofu,  sliced shiitake mushrooms, and spring onion into miso soup bowls. 

2. Place the dashi stock into a small saucepan gently heat the stock over medium-low heat until it reaches a simmer. Place the sliced mushrooms in the broth and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. 

3. Place the miso in a mesh strainer and suspend the base of the strainer in the top of the shiitake/kombu stock and mix the miso with chopsticks until it dissolves into the broth. Either discard or dump the remaining bits of soybean from the miso into the soup, depending on whether you prefer a completely smooth or hearty texture. Ladle the soup gently into the soup bowls and serve immediately. 

🐟 Dashi Stock 

Dashi stock is a fundamental component of Japanese cuisine. It has a light, smokey flavour from a mixture of deep-sea kelp, and katsuobushi, or dried and smoked skipjack tuna flakes. 

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Execution time: 15 minutes 

INGREDIENTS 

• 1L water

• 10g katsuobushi (bonito flakes) 

• 10g kombu 

• 10g dried shiitake mushrooms

METHOD 

1. Place the water, dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu in a large sauce pot and set it over medium-low heat. 

2. Heat the water slowly over the course of 5-10 minutes until small bubbles appear around the side of the pot, or when the water reaches around 80C. 

3. Steep the kombu and mushrooms for 40-60minutes.

4. Remove to kombu and shiitake mushrooms from the pot. Discard the kombu. Remove the stem off of the shiitake mushroom and discard it. Slice the shiitake mushrooms into thin slices and reserve for miso soup. Bring the liquid to a just before a boil and immediately shut off the heat. 

5. Add in the katsuobushi and steep for 10 minutes off the heat. 

6. Strain out the katsuobushi through a cheesecloth. 

250ml dashi stock

1.5 tsp organic aka miso

¼ spring onion, thinly sliced

5 pieces of soft tofu, cubed