Recipes, Food Photos & Discussion at Nibbledish

Hourensou Garlic Rice

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:29:17 +0100

This is a really, really simple dish that is a kind of fusion between of Greek spanakoriso and Japanese garlic rice. It's great by itself as an entree, midweek main or rice course in a larger meal, but can also be served as an accompaniment to grilled meat or seafood.

Wash,…

Umeshu Variations

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 03:29:30 +0100

The area under my kitchen bench is slowly filling with homemade pickles, jams and various other kitchen concoctions. One of my favourites is Umeshu.

Umeshu is often called "Plum Wine" in English, but in truth ume are not actually plums and the resulting liquor is more like an infused…

Summer Vegetable Pickle

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:09:38 +0100

If you've never tried pickling before, this is a great dish to get started. It's an uncomplicated mix of fresh vegetables that can be used in many different ways. The sharpness of the vinegar and the cool crunch of the pickles are a great mix of summer flavours and textures.

Modern Slaw

Sun, 10 May 2009 14:27:04 +0100

Summer is coming so I put this together as a really light and simple coleslaw for hot days. This uses a dressing which has a nice balance of flavours without being overpowering, allowing the freshness and the individual flavours of the ingredients to shine through.

For the dressing, combine the ingredients…

Fire Chicken

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 03:08:00 +0100

Let me start by saying that this is one of my favourite things to eat in the entire world. My friends and I would often start our weekend unwind by meeting in Shin-Okubo (Tokyo's Koreatown) after work on Friday nights and sinking a few beers and chamisuls while working over…

Yuzu Kosho Grill Plate

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:07:25 +0100

Yuzu is a wonderful citrus fruit that is virtually unknown outside of Japan and China. I know I had never heard of it until I came to Japan. The flavour and fragrance of yuzu is complex, with musky, spicy and herbaceous notes (similar to clove or thyme) matching a flowery…

Salt Crust Nagoya Cochin

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 05:08:03 +0100

A friend called me last night to invite me over to his house for lunch to play some records and discuss names for a new restaurant that he's opening up here in Tokyo. I said I'd bring over some supplies, and in the end decided on roasting a chicken.

Vegetable Confit

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:10:28 +0100

This is a really versatile condiment that can be used almost anywhere; you can add it to stews or casseroles as a great boost to flavour; serve it on top of grilled fish or meat, or simply toss it through some wholemeal pasta with lots of fresh parmesan and some…

Dumpling Day

Sat, 10 May 2008 21:19:25 +0100

I'm crazy about dumplings of any kind, and one of my favourite things to do on a rainy weekend is to make a whole bunch of dumplings of various flavours. They freeze extremely well and after a relaxing afternoon of dumpling making, you have a well stocked freezer and the…

Butter Baked Cabbage

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:39:57 +0100

Cabbage is wonderfully in season right now and this dish is simple and delicious.

First, let's talk about cabbage for a bit. Cabbages and other members of the brassica family contain defensive chemicals (enzymes and precursors) that combine in times of stress on the plant (cutting, cooking, being eaten etc.)…

Pan-European Bollito Misto

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:35:37 +0100

This started out as I just corning a brisket in preparation for a traditional Irish Boiled Dinner, but then over the course of the week that it took to cure, I started having some ideas. This is the end result.

Boiled meats generally gets a pretty bad rap in comparison to…

Winter Harvest

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:59:41 +0100

For starters, let me just say that I'm really happy with the way this turned out, as it demonstrates to me the quintessence of cooking and eating. On the cooking side, this means good, seasonal ingredients where the role of the chef is to bring out their natural characteristics and…

1950's American Lasagna

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:27:12 +0100

I was browsing through a junk sale here in Tokyo a while ago and happened to find a First Edition of the 1957 Sunset compliation cookbook, "Cooking Bold and Fearless". The book is a collection of recipes sent in by the "Chefs-of-the-West"; male food enthusiasts from all walks of life,…

Roast Lamb by the River

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 01:52:19 +0100

All you need to do for this is blend all the ingredients together into a paste, pour it over your cut of lamb and leave it overnight. I use a large ziplock bag for marinading meat like this. Cook it as you like.

The photo is of a 1.5 kilo shoulder…

4x4 Darjeeling Chai

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:25:21 +0100

This spicy, creamy Chai is dead easy and only takes a few minutes to make. The flavours are beautifully simple but the result is a rich and deep flavour that seems so much more complex. Kind of like an intricate tapestry woven out of only 4 colours... that only takes…

Parmesan and Chili Fries

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:27:40 +0100

I made these fries to go with the Baked Meatball Hamburger I made (see my other recipe). They were delicious. The secret to a crispy french fry is cooking them twice. The first frying cooks the chip and drives off the water. The second frying crisps them and leaves you…

Baked Meatball Hamburger with Giardiniera

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:15:11 +0100

There are some days when you just get a craving for hamburgers and for me, today is one of them. This Italian-inspired hamburger is something a little different to your standard ground beef cheeseburger but it is very, very delicious. I find that combining different ground meats makes for a…

Kernel Mustard, in the Conserve, with the Candlenuts...

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 05:36:49 +0100

OK, I'll be honest with you... 90% of the reason I posted this dish is because I can't help but chuckle at the name while I think about how wonderfully clever I am for coming up with it. This sauce has hints of a spiced applesauce for roast pork or…

Crispy Christmas Sasami

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 22:49:32 +0100

Long Title: Fried Shiso and Chili Chicken Breast with Cranberry Tentsuyu This dish is a “Christmassy” take on a fairly traditional but rare Japanese summer recipe I found in Tokiko Suzuki's great cookbook “Homestyle Japanese Cooking”. 1. Remove the skin and fat from the chicken breast. From the centre of…

Lamb Ribs with Asian Salsa Verde

Fri, 25 May 2007 23:58:23 +0100

When I originally thought about this dish, I wanted to make it as a “sushi” of slow roasted crispy lamb belly on a small portion of brown rice. Of course, the age-old problem of living in Japan reared it’s ugly head and I wasn’t able to find lamb belly here.…