Tag: japanese

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Recipes

Foodie Friday: Nasu Dengaku (miso eggplant)

This recipe was created by Chef Gianni Carrieri, culinary expert at Appliances Online.

Traditional Japanese Nasu Dengaku

Nasu Dengaku is a very quick and delicious Japanese recipe, also known as miso eggplant. It’s a vegan recipe that all the family will love, packed with flavour, simple to make and very tasty!

  • 2 large eggplant
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp white miso paste
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp chopped chives
  • 1 tsp white sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp flaky salt
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

  2. Halve eggplants lengthways; trim a thin slice from the skin, which will allow the eggplant to sit firmly. Score the flesh in a diamond pattern, being careful not to slice all the way through.

  3. Heat oil in a non-stick fry pan on medium heat; add eggplant flesh side down and cook for 5 minutes or until brown and golden; turn and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

  4. Place the eggplant on the prepared tray and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until tender.

  5. In the meantime, mix miso paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar and sugar in a small bowl; generously brush mixture over eggplant and cook for an additional 10 minutes until brown and golden.

  6. To serve, sprinkle with chives, sesame seeds and salt.
  • Red miso can be used instead of white miso
  • White wine vinegar can be used instead of rice vinegar
  • The miso sauce can be prepared in advance and kept in the fridge
  • It is a perfect vegan meal and can be served with other vegan recipes
  • Alternatively the recipe can be cooked straight in the oven using the fan-grill function to brown up the eggplant
  • If the miso paste is gluten-free, it can turn the recipe into a gluten-free one.
Dinner, Lunch
Japanese
eggplant, miso, traditional Japanese, vegan

Foodie Friday: Spicy sesame soba noodle stir-fry

Today’s recipe was brought to us by The Chilli Factory and was created by food and recipe blogger @thedailyfoodfeed.
Categories
Recipes

Foodie Friday: Salt & Togarashi pepper prawns

Thanks to Tropic Co., who provided us with this tasty recipe.

Salt & Togarashi Pepper Prawns

These moreish prawns are flavoured with Japanese togarashi pepper, giving them a complex flavour that is nutty, spicy, and sweet all at once.

  • 250 ml shaoxing wine
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
  • 1 kg raw Australian tiger prawns (peeled, tails intact)
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying
  • 150 g cornflour
  • 2 tablespoons sea salt flakes (plus extra to serve)
  • 2 tablespoons shichimi togarashi (plus extra to serve)

  1. Combine shaoxing wine and ginger in a bowl. Add prawns and stand to marinate for 30 minutes. Drain prawns and pat dry with absorbent paper.

  2. Preheat oil in a wok to 190ºC. Place cornflour, sea salt and togarashi in a bowl and toss to combine.

  3. Dust prawns with salt and pepper mixture. Shake off excess and deep-fry in batches, stirring occasionally, until light golden and crisp. Around 2-3 minutes.

  4. Drain on absorbent paper and serve with extra salt and pepper mix.

If you can’t find shaoxing wine, you can substitute dry sherry.

If you can’t find togarashi pepper, you can substitute chilli flakes and toasted sesame seeds.

Appetizer
Japanese
fresh, fried, japanese, prawns

Foodie Friday: Prawn Po’ Boy with hot sauce

This recipe was brought to us by Tropic Co. Prawns.

Foodie Friday: Thai prawn red curry

Today’s recipe from AYAM is perfect for those chilly evenings in! Serves: 4 | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 10 min Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 1kg medium green prawns,…
Categories
Recipes

Foodie Friday: Poke bowl

Poke Bowls are having their moment in the culinary scene this year! Try this creation on Maxwell and Williams’ new Daintree range. The three exotic hues that make up the collection serve as the perfect backdrop for this Japanese and Hawaiian inspired dish.

Serves: 4 | Prep: 15 mins

Ingredients

For the marinade:

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  •  1 ½ teaspoons rice wine vinegar

For the poke bowl:

  • 500g sashimi-grade tuna steaks, cut into 1cm cubes
  • 2 large zucchinis, spiralised
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled into ribbons
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage
  • 2 cups cooked and shelled edamame
  • 1 sheet nori, shredded
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted
  • Pickled ginger, to serve

Method

Mix soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar together in a ceramic bowl. Gently mix in tuna and set aside for 5 minutes to let the mixture marinate.

Divide spiralised zucchinis, ribboned carrots, shredded cabbage and edamame equally among bowls.

Top with tuna mixture, shredded nori and sesame seeds.

Serve with pickled ginger on the side.

Play around by substituting tuna with your favourite protein. This versatile dish is equally delicious with sashimi-grade salmon, cooked chicken or beef.

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Recipes

Foodie Friday: Steak & mushrooms in ginger miso broth

Doesn’t this look delicious? The team at Williams-Sonoma know that nothing beats a steaming bowl of savoury noodle soup, especially when it’s laden with mountains of fresh and delicious ingredients. 

Slowly simmering onions, ginger, garlic and miso paste in water creates an easy, savoury broth that forms the basis for this comforting, Japanese-inspired recipe. A beautiful cut of seared steak is the centrepiece here, and a little goes a long way.

It might seem like a lot of other ingredients are required, but they all take only simple preparation, making this a perfect recipe for a weeknight dinner. To save time, you could always prepare the stock a day ahead, refrigerate it and simply bring it back to the boil when you are ready.

Togarashi, the Japanese condiment that typically includes chilli flakes, sesame seeds, seaweed flakes and other seasonings, can be found at most supermarkets or your local Asian grocer along with white miso paste.

Serving suggestion? It’s hard to go past these gorgeous ramen bowls in indigo, paired simply with chopsticks and ceramic soup spoons. Have flavoursome garnishes on offer at the table, such as the togarashi, fresh coriander, lime and chopped fresh chilli, so everybody can tune their meal to their own taste.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbsp (80 ml) canola oil
  • 1 onion, peeled and halved
  • 5 cm piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 3 spring onions, white and light green portions, thinly sliced
  • 250 g fresh shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced
  • 1/4 cup (60 g) white miso paste
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce, plus more to taste
  • 220 g thin dried rice noodles
  • 500 g flank or skirt steak
  • 2 baby bok choy, ends trimmed, halved lengthwise
  • Radish sprouts, for serving (optional, or substitute bean sprouts)
  • Lime wedges, for serving
  • 1 jalapeño chilli, thinly sliced
  • Chopped fresh coriander, for serving
  • Togarashi, for serving

Method

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbsp of the canola oil. Place the onion halves, flat side down, in the pan and sear until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and spring onions and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 2 litres water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the miso and soy sauce until dissolved. Simmer for 30 minutes until the flavours deepen. Season to taste with more soy sauce. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions. Divide among four individual bowls.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbsp of the canola oil. Add the steak and sear, turning once, until browned on both sides and medium-rare in the centre, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a shopping board and cover loosely with foil. Set aside to rest.

In the same sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 Tbsp canola oil. Add the mushroom and bok choy and sauté until the vegetables are just tender, about 4 minutes. Divide the vegetables among the bowls with the rice noodles.

Thinly slice the steak against the grain and divide among the bowls.

Pour the warm broth through a fine-mesh strainer, dividing it evenly among the 4 bowls. Garnish each bowl with some sprouts. Serve immediately, with lime wedges, fresh chilli, coriander and togarashi alongside.

–For more new-season cooking inspiration, head to williams-sonoma.com.au.

Categories
Designers

Travel down The Rabbit Hole to discover a reinvented tea bar

Recently winning a Best Restaurant Design award, it’s no surprise that Matt Woods’ latest project, The Rabbit Hole – Organic Tea Bar, reinvents the tired and clichéd teahouse concept.

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Located in the heart of Redfern, Sydney, the design make the most of the site’s industrial roots with polished concrete floors, exposed herringbone timber ceilings and original brick walls. The harshness of the original architecture is softened through the white-washing of these newly exposed elements, as well as the introduction of oversized windows which allow light to flood the interior.

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Influenced by the Japanese art of Kintsugi (a celebration of the beauty of imperfection in ceramic objects), every element honours its inspiration, from the Kintsugi bowls sitting delicately above turned oak timbers, to the expansive use of crushed ceramic tile, and even the chandelier made entirely of tea bags (by Chilean artist Valeria Burgoa).

image

Juxtaposing these contemporary feature elements are the wire-brushed oak timbers of the table frames, the steel-framed wall with pivoting windows, and the leather seat cushions with brass-buckled back rests. Century-old French oak floor joists are used to create the service counter, while a shark-nosed granite top sits effortlessly in the room as a group dining table.

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Sustainability is at the heart of The Rabbit Hole project, with FSC certified or recycled timber, VOC free paint finishes, energy efficient lighting. Every material has been assessed for its embodied water and energy content, and the project also aims to eliminate the need for AC, turning to natural cross ventilation. Visit the website for more info, or pop in for a cuppa.

Categories
Furniture Homewares

MUJI to open their first Sydney store next month

Japanese retail giant MUJI will open its first flagship store in Sydney this May.

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MUJI’s Chadstone store 

Offering a wide range of household and consumer goods, including men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories, furniture, homewares, skincare products, stationery, bedding and travel goods.

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Located on Level 1 of boutique lifestyle and cultural destination, The Galeries, at 500 George Street, the store will be MUJI’s third in Australia, with the first opening in November 2013 at Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre followed by Emporium Melbourne in April 2014.

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MUJI’s Chadstone store

MUJI has a very interesting history, having opened in 1980 with a limited range of 40 products. These products were the antithesis to the trend at that time, when Japanese consumers arguably placed too much emphasis on brand‐name products, paying a premium for the brand name rather than the value of the product itself. MUJI is derived from its Japanese name, ‘Mujirushi Ryohin’, which means ‘no brand quality goods,’ and the products are characterised by their simple aesthetic and eco‐friendly minimal packaging.

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Opening on 14 May, the Sydney store will bring the total number of MUJI stores worldwide to 703! Opening day will see a number of special offers across the store with limited edition gifts with purchase.

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For more information. 

Categories
Travel

Enough pearls to take a bath in in Dubai!

dubai getaway

dubai tourism platinum heritage shangri-la hotel bloggerati australia 1001 events

I’ve left one of the best things until last and I’m bringing you a real treat today. Dubai’s Pearl Museum knocked my socks off and I still feel very lucky to have had the chance to look around. Not having done my research, I imagined something quite cute and touristy and that I might get the chance to make a few holiday purchases for myself! I’m English and have always loved the classic look of pearl jewellery. Birthday presents from my dad and sister over the years have allowed me to build quite a collection. But when we got to this museum, housed in the National Bank of Dubai no less, I soon realised there was no gift shop and, if there had been, it would be seriously out of my price range!

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While the museum is technically open to anyone, you have to be in a group and to make an appointment some time in advance, so we have our wonderful host Xavier from 1001 Events to thank for that. It was also his first visit to the place and I’m quite sure we won’t be the last group he takes there! The museum houses the private collection of the late Sultan Ali Al Owais and is worth some serious cash. A bank is a fitting home for it! If you put all the pearls together, they’d weigh more than 50 kilos. Wow.

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Before oil, many people forget, or are unaware, that the Emirates were all about pearls. This passionate collector wanted his collection to be available to all to serve as a reminder of this history. Our tour of the museum started by watching a fascinating documentary about pearl diving in a mini theatre. The diving techniques were so primitive it is a wonder more people didn’t die. The collection is also a great look at natural marine pearls which are very rare and expensive, compared to the more often seen cultured pearls, introduced by the Japanese in the 1920s. They form, of course, when an irritant, like a grain of sand, becomes trapped inside the shell of an oyster, whose lining is filled with nacre (mother of pearl). To try and get rid of this pesky irritant, the mollusc secretes nacre to coat it. Layer upon layer build up over years to form the pearl. Isn’t nature wonderful?

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We were lucky enough to see handfuls upon handfuls of beautiful pearls of all shapes and sizes and some stunning jewellery, all housed behind glass. Our guide was extremely well informed and taught us a lot about the history of the pearl trade, and pearl diving, in Dubai. Also on display are some of the tools the divers used and others the merchants used for weighing and measuring.

If you’re visiting, I highly recommend you try and pre-arrange a tour of this very special collection.

I hope you’ve enjoyed all my posts about Dubai. This is the last one but if you missed any, simply search ‘Dubai’ on the site. It was a real honour to be involved in Australia’s largest ever social tourism campaign!

All photos in this post by me.

dubai getaway

dubai tourism platinum heritage shangri-la hotel bloggerati australia 1001 events
Categories
Homewares

Designer Japanese sake and tea cups

Famous for their exquisite dinnerware, Noritake are now bringing Japanese ceramicists Miyama, to Australian shores.

Noritake Miyama Sumi Sake 3

Miyama – winner of five Good Design Awards – have produced a delicate Sumi Sake Set (above) in the highest quality porcelain. Comprising of a carafe and two cups, the Sumi Sake Set takes its elegant design from the earliest traditional shapes, creating a seemingly contemporary aesthetic with long straight lines and an ultra-smooth finish.

Miyama Sumi Sake SetFor those looking for larger tumblers, ideal for herbal teas, Miyama also produced a Minamo Tumbler Set featuring a textured surface in a soft blue glaze.

Miyama MinamoThe Miyama Sumi Sake Set from Noritake retails for $98, while the Minamo Tumbler Set retails for $70.

Shop online.

Categories
Expert Tips Styling

How to create your own Wabi Sabi interior

By Jodie Carter

If you haven’t heard of Wabi Sabi before, in simple terms it is translated from Japanese into ‘a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete… a beauty of things modest and humble… a beauty of things unconventional”. Originally, the words Wabi Sabi were not used together as they do have quite different meanings. Wabi has come to mean simple, unmaterialistic, humble and in tune with nature. Whereas Sabi means ‘The bloom of time’ such as that beautiful patina of weathered grey wood or aged copper. Nowadays people just use them as one and the term is quite well known around the world.

wabi sabi 1

Image from homelife.com.au: Cherry Cottage in Tasmania – Photography by Jared Fowler 
 

I truly believe this is a valid concept for our times. As we become more aware of the environment and sustainability of our planet, then Wabi Sabi becomes even more important. Not only is it better for our planet to embrace some of our existing pieces but it is quite on trend in interiors today. You will find well known designers and stylists such as Sibella Court successfully using aged items in their designs to great effect.

Wabi Sabi is not actually a design style as such – but rather a mindset of a commitment to using and embracing the less than perfect. Living modestly and learning to be happy with what you have.

wabi sabi 2

Image from homelife.com.au: Wentworth Falls Cottage – photography by Sharyn Cairns

Therefore it doesn’t really matter if you’re looking to create an industrial feel, a loft style apartment or a Hamptons retreat, the Wabi Sabi mindset is an additional tool that is not only good for the environment, its good for your soul and your back pocket.

Continue reading “How to create your own Wabi Sabi interior”

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Interiors Addict

A little bit of IKEA in Tokyo

Yes, I’m on honeymoon but I just had to sneak online and share this with you because it made me laugh. Damian and I were exploring Harajuku when I spotted an IKEA sign down a little side street.

ikea japan

Turns out it was a little pop-up shop introducing the latest range. I managed to glean this much from the English-speaking staff member. Apparently (according to an IKEA employee who follows me on Instagram) Japan is the only country that has its own specific range, tailored to the Japanese culture and lifestyle. How fascinating. From what I saw (a Japanese version of what was still clearly IKEA) it seems to be the case!

Continue reading “A little bit of IKEA in Tokyo”
Categories
Interiors Addict

An Issey Miyake table lamp for less than $300?

The Mogura table lamps start from $841

Yes, it’s true! Lamps by legendary Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake are now available in Australia through Artemide and some of them may even be in your budget!

The Hoshigame table lamp is $286
The Hoshigame table lamp is $286

The “IN-EI” range — Japanese for “shadow, shadiness, and nuance”– combines strong 3D geometry with an exceptional illumination capacity to diffuse light. Issey’s artistic vision, applied via a new 3D mathematical process, fuses the Japanese tradition of light with his unique ability to translate tradition into modernity. What’s more, they’re environmentally friendly.

Continue reading “An Issey Miyake table lamp for less than 0?”
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Interiors Addict

Mix and match with new Noritake Colourwave dinnerware

I’ve looked at a lot of plates recently while trying to finalise our wedding registry! Do you go for something plain and simple that won’t date, or be brave with something a little more statement or fun? I still don’t know to be honest! I’m thinking grey. This new Noritake Colourwave range is a nice balance and you could mix and match or stick to one colour.

Colorwave Apple Green and Turquoise combo noritake

The Japanese brand have reinvented their traditional stoneware with the addition of turquoise and apple green (pictured), charcoal grey and raspberry. It’s all super robust, microwave, dishwasher and oven safe.

Continue reading “Mix and match with new Noritake Colourwave dinnerware”
Categories
Interiors Addict

Akira Isogawa for Designer Rugs

Designer Rugs has collaborated with celebrated Australian fashion designer Akira Isogowa for the third time on a stunning new collection and I’m excited to attend the launch tonight.

In this collaboration, HIRAMEKI (meaning inspiration), Akira’s striking rugs reference his current catwalk collections. They showcase his love of exploring the juxtaposition between his traditional Japanese heritage and Australia’s love of colour.

(Above) Akira Isogawa and Designer Rugs’ Yosi Tal

Continue reading “Akira Isogawa for Designer Rugs”