Nemoto Kiko’s Mexican Brown Rice Salad

In the process of indulging my cookbook obsession, I’ve bought lots of books by Nemoto Kiko, a food coordinator and writer who runs a café called Coya in Zushi, not far from Tokyo. Her books feature simple, tasty recipes that are ‘new old fashioned’ – by which I mean she takes traditional ingredients and gives them a twist. Her style is very much neo-japonica – rediscovering beautiful, rustic and simplistic Japanese design for today.

I recently made her Mexican Brown Rice Salad from her book Uchi No Shuumatsu Gohan (Homestyle Weekend Meals) which was simple and delicious. The leftovers kept well for lunch the following day too, which was even better!

Nemoto Kiko’s Mexican Brown Rice Salad

2 rice bowls of cooked brown rice
150 g chickpeas
130 g corn kernels
150 g flaked tuna (note, I replaced tuna with extra chickpeas)
1 celery stick
2 tomatoes
1 avocado
cubed cheese to taste (parmesan, mozzarella etc)
2 Tbsps olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tsps wholegrain mustard
½ tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste
mint or oregano to taste

Put the rice in a large sieve or strainer and rinse under cold water to remove any stickiness. Set aside to drain thoroughly. Drain the chickpeas, corn and tuna (if using).

Cut the celery into 1 cm cubes. Cut the tomatoes in half and de-seed, then cut into 1 cm cubes. Cube the avocado and cut into 1 cm cubes, sprinkling with lemon juice or vinegar to prevent it browning. Cube the cheese.

Put the rice into a large bowl and add the cubed vegetables and cheese, then mix. Combine the dressing ingredients and mix with the rice mixture, then top with fresh mint or oregano as desired.

Addiction : recipe books

I’m the first to admit I have an acquisitive, magpie-like nature. I love buying new cookbooks, my collection of OPI nail polish borders on excessive and shoes, well, let’s not go there.

Last week I was killing time at Book First, waiting for the tracks to be cleared after an accident. Book First is my favourite bookstore – the shelves are crammed with beautifully produced, affordable books.

Japanese cookbooks have long been an obsession of mine. I love the way they’re produced and the way the authors sprinkle essays about their philosophy throughout the books. So, I came home with three new books last week, one of which is Watashi no o-yatsu, kodomo no o-yatsu (My snacks, kids’ snacks), by Yamazaki Shizuka, a food-coordinator, blogger and author.

I want to make almost every recipe in this book! She uses simple ingredients, and has an interesting way of adding Japanese flavours to ‘western’ style baking, with recipes like Kinako Shortbread and Miso Biscuits.

Surprisingly, the first recipe I made from this book was not biscuits, but Daikon Mochi, or Daikon Fritters. We had a massive daikon that needed to be used up, and I’ve always loved the daikon mochi that you get with dim sum.

I made one small change, as noted below:

Daikon Mochi

300 g daikon (approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of a whole daikon)
1/2 large spring onion, finely diced
3 Tbsps sakura-ebi (tiny dried shrimps) – I substituted 3 Tbsps frozen organic corn kernels
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsps flour
1 Tbsp sesame oil

Finely grate the daikon and lightly squeeze the moisture from it. Add the spring onion, ebi (or corn), salt and flour and mix together.

Heat the sesame oil in a medium – large frypan and add spoonfuls of the batter (I found it easiest to use two dessert spoons to lightly shape each mochi). Fry over a low – medium element for 3 minutes with the lid on.

Flip the mochi over and fry the other side for 3 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid, increase the heat and fry until lightly golden and crispy.

Serve with a dipping sauce made with white rice vinegar and soy sauce as liked. Chilli is good too – but not for kidlets!

Makes 8 fritters.

Oola’s Creamy Sesame-Eggplant Spaghetti (Eggplant Mayonnaise Sesame Spaghetti)

Okay, in English, that maybe doesn’t sound so good, but remember, we’re using delicious Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise. Yum.

This a recipe by food writer and blogger Oola, featured in Radish Lad’s monthly magazine Salad. This recipe is from the July issue and is super simple and quick to put together. Perfect Friday dinner.

Creamy Sesame Eggplant Spaghetti

160 g spaghetti
2 eggplants (Asian/ladyfinger)
2 large cloves garlic, finely cut
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
soy sauce
mirin (sweet cooking wine – check your local Asian supermarket)
3 Tbsps hot water (from the spaghetti pot)
2 Tbsps mayonnaise (Kewpie mayonnaise)
2 Tbsps toasted sesame seeds
red pepper threads, finely cut green shiso

Cook spaghetti as directed.

Cut the eggplants in half, and then cut each half into four lengthwise slices. Place the sliced eggplant on a sheet of tinfoil, sprinkle to salt and pepper to taste and ½ Tbsp of olive oil, close the tinfoil tightly, and bake in a toaster oven or under a medium grill for 10 minutes.

Add the remaining ½ Tbsp olive oil and garlic to a large frypan and heat over a low flame until fragrant. Add the eggplant, soy sauce, mirin and water and stir-fry.

Add the cooked spaghetti and mayonnaise to the eggplant, sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve topped with chilli threads and finely sliced green shiso as desired.

Serves 2. 663 cal per serve.

Fried rice. You’d think it would be easy

A couple of weeks ago I was checking Nicole’s Bites From Other Blogs, which mentioned Eat Me, Delicious. OMG, how had I not found Eat Me, Delicious before! Brilliant vegetarian recipes AND baking.

I found lots of great looking recipes which I’m looking forward to trying, but the first one I tried was Fried Brown Rice with Spring Onions, Edamame and Tofu. Yum! Ingredients I love and on hand too. I’d forgotten how hard it is to get fried rice just right – hard to get the right ‘para-para’ texture to the rice.

Mine turned out more like an ojiya than chahan, but still tasted great – and Isaac was very impressed with all the edamame hiding in his rice!


Fried rice with spring onions, edamame and tofu

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp canola oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
4 cups cooked brown rice
3/4 cup seeded and finely diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame, cooked according to package directions and drained
1/2 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) corn kernels
170 g firm tofu, cut into 1 cm cubes
2 large eggs, beaten
3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the garlic, half the scallions and ginger and cook, stirring, until softened and aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rice, red pepper, edamame, corn and tofu and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Make a 7.5 cm well in the centre of the rice mixture. Add the remaining teaspoon oil, then add the eggs and cook until nearly fully scrambled. Add the remaining spring onions and stir through the rice mixture. Add the soy sauce and incorporate thoroughly. Serve hot.