Japanese Potato Salad

You will need Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise for this to taste right but it’s easy to get hold of, either a local Asian supermarket or Amazon will sort you out! I would also advise the chunkiest ham you can get, either go for trimmings or bake a ham joint and use some in this.

2 large floury potatoes

1/2 small tin Sweetcorn, drained

100g ham, chopped

1/2 medium carrot, julienned

1” cucumber, very finely sliced

6 tbsp kewpie mayonnaise

Pinch of salt

– Peel and chop up your potatoes and boil in a large pan of salted water for 20 minutes. Drain and return to the pan, let them air dry for 5 minutes.

– Mash the potatoes until smooth.

– Add your other ingredients and give a good stir through. Eyeball it, if you feel you want different proportions go for it! Alter it to your taste.

– Voila! It’s a Japanese Potato salad!

Tomato, Sweetcorn and Red Onion Salsa

An excellent salsa recipe.  Related very closely to the Tomato and Red Onion Salsa but to be honest this recipe varys every time I make it according to what’s on hand. 

Serves ~8

1x400g tin chopped tomatoes
1x200g tin sweetcorn, drained
1 large red onion, chopped
4 salad tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp ground corriander
1 tbsp dried chilli flakes (less if you want a milder salsa)
2 tbsp lime juice

– Drain most of the juice from the tinned tomatoes and discard (or drink!).
– Mix everything together in a bowl then leave to stand for at least 1 hour at room temperature or in the fridge overnight.

Vegetables

What is a roast without vegetables?  I love vegetables!

I usually steam most of my veg.  If you don’t have a steamer I very much recommend getting one.  I use mine a lot for both veg and especially for Japanese foods.  I even have a microwave steamer, technically for doing rice and pasta, that I use for making individual portions although the timings are very different for that.  If, however, you don’t have one then you can improvise with a sieve and a pan. 

These are guidelines more than anything, if you cut your veg bigger than I do or choose larger potatoes then they’ll take longer to cook.  Test before serving by poking with a sharp knife.  The knife should slip easily through the vegetable if it’s cooked. 

New Potatoes – 25 minutes
Brussel Sprouts – 20 minutes
Carrot slices – 20 minutes
Corn on the cob – 10 minutes
Asparagus – 10 minutes
Brocolli – 7 minutes
Edamame in pods – 5 minutes

I like to stirfry courgette slices in a little butter or olive oil, they take about 10 minutes on a low to medium heat.  They’re cooked when they start to go soft and a bit see through. 

Sweetcorn from a tin is best done in the microwave.  Drain, tip into a dish with a small knob of butter, cover and microwave for 2 minutes. 

Leeks in Creamy Sauce

2 leeks
a knob of butter
3 tbsp corn flour
1 pint milk

– Clean, if necessary, and horizontally slice your leeks. 
– Put them in a microwaveable dish with a good splash of water (about 5mm in the base is good) and a pinch of salt. 
– Cover and microwave for 7 minutes. 
– In the meantime make a white sauce by melting the butter in a heavy bottomed pan and whisking in the cornflour to make a paste. 
– Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk and a pinch of salt. 
– Place the pan back on the heat and whisk constantly until the sauce thickens.
– Drain any remaining water from the leeks and then pour the white sauce over the leeks. 
– Place in the oven to keep warm until serving. 

Braised Cabbage

Cabbage, any colour.  I prefer white.
a knob of butter
a splash of water

– Chop or tear the cabbage into small pieces. 
– Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan, add the cabbage and sprinkle with salt. 
– Stir until the cabbage is nicely coated with butter and starts to ‘pop’. 
– Add the water, cover and keep on a medium heat until the water is absorbed and the cabbage tender.  When it is cooked it will have become ever so slightly transparent.

Chicken Curry Recipe

I love this curry.  It’s a bit more fiddly on the preparation than most things I do as you have to do the ginger, garlic and chillies along with chopping everything else but it’s worth it.  It’s a lovely curry and because of the coconut it still retains its mildness even if you pump up the chilli. 

Serves 4

1 large onion
2 chillies (red are nice as they add colour)
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tsp curry powder
4 chicken breasts
400ml can of coconut milk
1 courgette
Fresh corriander

– Finely chop the onion and chillies.
– Add the onion, chillies, garlic and ginger to a pan with olive oil and sweat over a low heat for a few minutes with a little salt. 
– Add the curry powder and stir for a few minutes. 
– Slice the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and add to the mixture.  Cook until very lightly browned. 
– Add to coconut milk and sliced courgette.  Simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.  Add seasoning if necessary. 
– Scatter with chopped corriander and serve with basmati rice. 

Variation – I also add baby sweetcorn along with the courgette sometimes to bring in another colour and vegetable.