Japan and China Archives

Aubergine and black bean sauce with tofu mince

May 1, 2020May 2, 2020
by Jono

Aubergine and black bean sauce with tofu mince

This happened while we were doing our afternoon walkie-talkie through St. Annes Park in Dublin, and trying to decide what to do for supper. The idea of using burnt aubergine flesh as the base of a pasta sauce was intriguing, and as luck would have it – it’s DELICIOUS!

The onions snuck in there because, lets be honest, caramelized onions just go so well with everything, and we needed a little something extra to get it off the ground.

This was set up as a pasta sauce, but it’s robust enough to cover almost any starch or base of your choice – try baking some whole spuds with the aubergine, breaking them open and stuffing them!

The tofu “mince” is incredibly versatile, and can be used to top off almost anything – kinda like a semi-crispy scrambled egg. A proteus that adapts silently to anything you put it with, it adds texture, protein and a subtle, nutty flavour which compliments most savoury dishes.

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Fusion

Cauliflower ginger miso soup

April 24, 2020April 24, 2020
by Jono

Cauliflower ginger miso soup – Miso soup is one of those absolutely timeless classic dishes, perfect in its simplicity. We got the idea for this soup from a recipe in a vegan cookbook called Wicked Healthy, which does excellent, inventive vegan food – highly recommended! If you’re new to Miso Soup and would like to taste the original, here’s the classic.

The cauliflower seems like a strange addition if you’re familiar with the comforting flavours of miso soup, but trust us, it’s a revelation. So much so, in fact, that we think it’s actually better than the original – plain miso soup is ruined for us forever! The cauliflower gives a beautiful silkiness without overpowering, and the whole thing has a gorgeous earthy flavour – It literally tastes like a walk in the forest!

This is a very versatile recipe, and can be adapted to whatever you have on hand – use whatever protein source tickles your fancy, whatever veg you have in the house, and if you don’t have rice noodles – it’s still gonna be delicious!

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Japan and China

Sticky tofu broc stir fry

April 19, 2020April 19, 2020
by Jono

Sweet, sour, sticky and delicious – this tofu broccoli stir fry is perfect comfort food with minimal effort! This is one of our go to recipes when it’s lunchtime and we haven’t decided what to make or don’t have a lot of stuff in the house – its incredibly versatile.

Feel free to mess around with the veggies here – almost anything thats crunchy will work! Tofu can also be substituted for various other protein sources, and you can mix and match what you put in the sauce according to what you have in the pantry.

Similar to some previous recipes on the blog, this is a basic concept that keeps evolving. Inspired by a recipe that involves tossing the tofu with Brussel sprouts in potato starch and deep frying them before coating with the cooked sauce, we’re not a fan of the deep frying, but this sticky sauce lends itself perfectly if that’s something you can see yourself doing.

Fusion

Broccoli and aubergines in a black bean sauce

April 4, 2020April 6, 2020
by Jono

Fermented black bean sauce is a staple of Chinese cooking, made from fermented black soya beans and soya sauce. Available from most Asian grocery stores, and sometimes even in the asian food section of your local supermarket, we discovered this delicious sauce recently and can’t get enough!

This recipe is classically done with beef, but works perfectly well with vegetarian protein sources like tofu or (what we’ve done here) – with black beans! Black beans in a black bean sauce – yum!

Also, get all your prep done here before you start, you don’t want to be frantically chopping stuff while your garlic is burning. Once the prep is done, the cooking only takes 15 mins or so.

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Japan and China

Hearty, satisfying congee bowl

April 2, 2020April 6, 2020
by Jono

Congee is a rice porridge which is served as a breakfast item all over China – very savoury, comforting and hearty, but it’s a bit weird the first time you taste it!

Think of it as a Chinese Risotto and you’ll be all set 😀 We’ve been meaning to make congee since our trip to China nearly 2 years ago (shocking eh) and never got around to it – Until now!

Congee is incredibly versatile, due it its basic flavour profile and agreeable texture, and can be topped with almost anything (the weirdest we had was fermented tofu!) – Works well with crunchy, savoury and salty toppings such as kimchi, salted duck egg yolks, tofu, fresh herbs, roasted peanuts, spring onions, eggs, and even other protein sources like pulled pork or mince.

Jamie Oliver’s brilliant new recipe book VEG has a neat recipe for congee, and this is adapted from there.

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Fusion

Plant based ramen bowl with marmite broth

February 19, 2020April 6, 2020
by Jono

There are 2 types of people in this world – marmite lovers and marmite haters. I fall solidly into the second category – can’t stand the stuff.

However. There are more ways of eating marmite than just smearing it on toast.

The concept of using marmite as the stock base in an asian style broth was a revelation when I first saw it in a recipe book in the Chef’s Warehouse in Cape Town about 4 years ago – it’s been in the back of my mind since then, and eventually we finally got down to it.

A world apart now, winter in Ireland – in need of something warm, comforting and different for supper, so a broth bowl was the natural choice.

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Japan and China

Carrot Kinpira

July 11, 2018July 11, 2018
by Jono

This is a popular vegetable side dish, with the fragrant sweet flavours of soy and sake reminiscent of Kinpira, a strong and dashing mythical hero of ancient Japan.

This is a quick and delicious side dish that pairs well with the Oyako Donburi.

This can also be used as a companion for drinking saké.

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Japan and China

Oyako Donburi (chicken-and-egg on rice)

July 11, 2018
by Jono

The English translation of this fantastically simple dish literally means “Parent and Child” – being chicken and egg of course.

Traditionally a donburi is a deep footed lidded bowl made of porcelain, about twice the size of a regular rice bowl. This works well as a light starter or side, but can also be a simple weeknight supper when you are feeling like something super quick and healthy.

There are many versions of this common dish in different recipe books. This is adapted slightly from Shizuo Tsuji’s wonderful “Japanese cooking, a simple art”.

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Japan and China

Sticky chinese pork and aubergine stir fry

July 10, 2018April 6, 2020
by Jono

We just recently came back from backpacking through southwestern china and the Tibet plateau, and felt it was time to post a recipe from the trip.

The Chinese are the unrivalled kings of stir fry, and this recipe has been adapted slightly to suit western kitchens and ingredients. This is a doddle to whip up, and such a treat.

This is one of the few recipes that I do recommend mise en place, you don’t want to be scrabbling to chop onions while your pork is burning – make sure you have everything chopped and ready before you start.

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European

Wholewheat pasta with harissa bacon relish and an asian…

June 24, 2018June 24, 2018
by Jono

Basically pasta, tomato sauce and salad, just done properly 🙂

This is quite a mix of cuisines, with italian, tunisian and asian influences all playing a part.

We are always of the opinion that normal, “boring” food can be the most spectacular if you do it properly – its the exquisite recipes that make it into our everyday lives and then get simplified and fast-foodified.

This is not a quick meal, but its a social business, rolling out pasta while the tomato sauce reduces, and it’s not as much effort as you think it is. Pour yourself a glass of wine and think of it as therapy.

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Category: Japan and China

Aubergine and black bean sauce with tofu mince