Soba, Sushi, Pancake, Dumplings

This is an ideal summer meal based on Japanese ingredients - cool and refreshing.

Soba
Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour. it is cooked for a short time in hot water then rinsed incold water and eaten cold. The plates have bamboo mats to allow excess water to drain through. the noodles are dipped into a very light sauce made by mixing soy sauce and broth.

Sushi
The sushi show here are actually called Maki, which are sushi rolls sliced into rounds. They can contain raw fish, vegetables or cooked meat.

Pancake
A simple pancake of flour and eggs with chopped shallots and red capsicum.

Dumplings
Japanese dumplings are called gyoza and are first steamed and then lightly fried to crisp the outside.

Warm Beef Salad

This is a summertime favourite, and makes use of the BBQ and Japanese Teppanyaki style cooking.

Ingredients

• 800g lean top-quality beef - diced into approximately 2cm cubes
• 1 large (or 2 medium) kumera (sweet potato) sliced about 1cm thick
• 200g mixed leaf salad leaves
• Half cup vinaigrette salad dressing (1 part olive oil, 2 parts red wine vinegar, pepper & salt to taste)

Method

1. Marinate the beef in a combination of soy sauce, red wine, garlic and pepper for 2-8 hours before cooking.
2. Pre-heat the BBQ (or large fry-pan) and cook the kumera slowly on both sides using the hotplate with a little oil .
3. When the kumera is ready remove and set aside but keep warm.
4. Turn the BBQ hotplate to high and stir-fry the cubed beef for 30-60 seconds so the outside is seared, and the inside is lightly cooked or a bit rare.
5. Put the mixed leaf salad leaves into a large bowl, add the kumera and beef.
6. Dress with the vinaigrette salad dressing and toss lightly.
7. Serve with crusty bread.

An individual serve

Okonomiyaki

A finished okonomiyaki (bacon side down)

Okonomiyaki is a traditional Japanese food of the Kansai/Hiroshima region that is sometimes called "Japanese Pancake" or "Japanese Pizza".  It's a savory dish that is a bit more like an omelette or frittata than a pancake. It can be made in frying pans but is easiest on a flat BBQ hotplate.

There are many different ways to make this dish and lots of useful information and hints on the Okonomiyakiworld website. This is the way I do it.

Ingredients

• 260g Okonomiyaki Flour* - or plain flour seasoned with pepper and salt if not available
• 250ml water
• 2 eggs
• 500g chopped vegetables, primarily cabbage, with some carrot, celery, spring onion, onion
• 4 large mushrooms - sliced.
• 400g diced seafood - prawns, fish, octopus, squid, etc
• 12 strips of bacon approximately 15-20cm long
• Mayonnaise
• Okonomi sauce - or a HP or BBQ  sauce if not available

Method

1. In a large bowl, whisk together Okonomiyaki Flour, eggs and water until smooth - reserve about half a cup of mixture aside.
2. Add vegetables and mix through.
3. Heat the BBQ or pans and lay down the bacon pieces for each of the 4 pancakes. Reduce heat to medium-low.
4. Spoon the pancake and vegetable mixture to cover the 4 sets of bacon slices.
5. Sprinkle the diced seafood and mushrooms on top of the mixture.
6. Pour the reserved pancake mixture on top of each okonomiyaki to bind the engredients and use a spatula to press them down flat, to about 2-3cm high.
7. After about 5 minutes, flip over (bacon side up) and cook for another 5 minutes until firm and well-cooked.
8. Flip onto plates and drizzle with mayonnaise and okonomi sauce.

Serves 4

 Four okonomiyaki on the BBQ hotplate after they have been flipped over to cook the second side

Okonomiyaki Flour* It’s a fine, white flour that’s seasoned with shrimp, scallop, bonito and mixed with another flour made from the exotic sounding Nagaimo yam (Japanese Mountain Yam), which makes the batter sticky and glutinous.