Cooking Nabe on an Induction Hot Plate

A portable induction hot plate is a great addition to any kitchen. They are perfect for cooking a variety of Japanese nabe (one pot) dishes, where family and friends sit around the nabe, eating, cooking, talking and having fun.

In Japanese cooking the nabe pot is usually placed in the centre of the tables and shared by family and friends, not only is this considered a very sociable way to eat, but is the reason for the saying Nabe o kakomu (鍋を囲む"sitting around the pot"), implying that sharing nabe will create warm relations between the diners who eat together from the shared pot.

Nabe is a wonderful meal, especially in these cold winter months.  Induction heating technology means that cooking with an induction hob is not only energy efficient, but time saving as well with up to 90% more efficiency, 50% energy savings and 30% faster cooking times.

For more information visit: www.cookjapan.co.uk

Steamed Chinese Dumplings in the rice cooker

Hard not to love Cha Siu Bau; lovely chau siu pork filling and a light fluffy bun on the outside…perfect with on their own or even with a bit of soy sauce and chilli oil to dip…

As for the rice cooker’s part in this culinary master-snack…fill the cooking bowl with 3 cups of water, place the buns in the steamer tray and use the “slow cook” function for 10-20minutes depending on whether they’re fresh or frozen, and then enjoy…

 

I use the “slow cook” function as it creates the fastest boiling water from which to steam…in addition to dumplings, you can steam anything and everything in the rice cooker.
For more information visit: www.cookjapan.co.uk

Valentines Day in a Rice Cooker

If I could have worked out how to make crab terrine in a rice cooker it would have been a clean sweep, but as it was Mrs Cook Japan had to make do with 2 courses from my favourite appliance…risotto (her request) and a dessert of strawberry and rhubarb compote…

…time for the sweetness later, with the terrine taken care off it was another run out for risotto in the rice cooker.  On the menu this evening was Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto…an absolute breeze and very tasty (although could have perhaps been a tad moister)…

It really is so easy to cook risotto in a rice cooker…braise the shallots in oil and butter, add the rice and cook for a few minutes, then in goes the asparagus and mushrooms followed by chicken stock and pop the whole thing on the “Porridge” (or risotto setting depending on which machine) for 20-minutes and hey presto…

The dessert was made this morning to save some time, then served chilled with good quality vanilla ice cream.  Again super easy in the rice cooker…first cook rhubarb with water and sugar for 20-minutes then add the strawberries and cook for a further 40-minutes or so…

Incredibly simple, but a great dessert full of flavour and amazingly refreshing…

Rice Cooker Ikameshi (Squid stuffed with rice)

For squid fans out there – why not try ikameshi (squid stuffed with glutinous rice)

Its incredibly easy to do in the rice cooker, first up take a large squid and stuff it with glutinous rice (not to full, as the rice will expand), and we also added a few chopped up bits and pieces of squid, then close the end using a toothpick and pop them in the rice cooker…
            
…along with sake, mirin, sugar and a pinch of salt and a little bit of soy sauce. We also put a piece of baking parchment over everything then popped it into the rice cooker for 30-minutes… 

…plate up with the sauce that its been cooked in, you’ll probably find a fair bit of rice has eked out into the liquid but that’s fine and garnish with some spring onion and a bit of grated ginger…

…or just slice it open on a plate and devour it…

For more information visit: www.cookjapan.co.uk

Rice Cooker Slow Roasted Pork with Cabbage and Beans

Frugal freezing February – cheap, hearty warming food is most definitely on the menu this month…

This is a very simple and very tasty dish – and a bit of a recession buster as well.  First up we cooked 2 pork fillet in early grey tea for about 45mins to tenderise the meat.  The water was then thrown away and the pork went into the rice cooker along with a whole cabbage (chopped) and a rinsed can of baked beans.  Rather than buying haricot beans or something similar, rinsing the tomato sauce of a can of baked beans was Mrs Cook Japan’s latest innovation.  For added flavour in went some left over stock from the previous days udon, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, salt and pepper, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.   

Use the slow cook option on the rice cooker and once the cooking cycle is completed just leave it on keep warm until ready to serve.  Alongside some nice jacket potatoes, ‘twas a delight…

Sausage and Chestnut Rice

One of the joys of cooking in a rice cooker is the ease with which you can literally “dump” ingredients into the machine and come back later to a delicious meal.  This time in went shiitake mushrooms, chestnuts and some “sausage-meat-balls”, along with a dash of soy sauce…

Admittedly making meatballs isn’t too difficult or time consuming, but why not just take some sausages, remove the casing, mix with soy sauce and a bit of seasoning then make into bite size meatballs?  If you are lucky enough to be able to get fresh chestnuts then use those, but equally easy is just using canned chestnuts…
   …delicious, simple and a joy to eat.
For more information visit: www.cookjapan.co.uk