Easter Delights

I know it's not the weekend and it's not quite Easter, however I am on my easter holidays so I thought it only appropriate to get my cook on. I asked a friend for menu inspiration this morning and when the reply came back with Japanese I knew there were two things I have always loved however never attempted in my own kitchen.... Teriyaki Sauce and Wakame salad.
Surprisingly, I had most ingredients in the kitchen including the wakame (from a failed attempt at a Japanese pesto), so a quick trip to market and five simple ingredients, I'm ready to go.
This amount is perfect for 300 gms of tofu.



1/3 cup of soy sauce-I used Japanese
1 tbsp of mirin or rice vinegar
1 tbsp of sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
Small piece of ginger, chopped finely. Quantity to your taste.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add more/sugar mirin to taste if required.
Allow to cool. Marinate tofu for at minimum one hour


Wakame is such a healthy food option and is often overlooked.. Seaweed-yuk! Every time I go out for Japanese or even buy a sushi roll I can never go past buying a container of this delight.
Preparing the wakame is a little pain staking but totally worth it.

Soak 30 gm of wakame or mixed seaweed-this will swell but trust me, when you squeeze the water out, it is perfect for say four people.

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1-2 red chilli
2 spring onions

Dry toast the sesame seeds over a low heat until slightly browned and fragrant. Combine soy, mirin and sugar and stir. Add to wakame with sesame seeds and garnish with chilli and spring onions

Cucumber and pear salad
1 cucumber
1 pear
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt

Slice the cucumber in half and remove the seeds. Slice pear, combine with cucumber and lightly salt-set aside. Combine other ingredients and add to cucumber mix. Add a little more salt and combine. Let rest for approximately an hour as the salt will draw the sugar from the fruit-yum.

I served this meal with miso to start and accompanied the above with some brown rice. Enjoy
NB- the wakame salad makes a lot. I used mine in some sushi and added smoked tofu.