Family Cooking Together – Japanese Recipes
Our cooking together events are as much about learning to cook as they are a sociable experience. We hope you enjoyed yours and are ready to recreate the dishes at home.
We Cooked:
- Sweet Potato Gyozas
- Katsu Style Stir-Fry
- Chocolate Fondant or Chocolate Orange Tirimasu
Sweet Potato Gyoza Recipe (Vegetarian, Dairy Free)
Ingredients: Makes 40
If you want a meat version of this dish, switch out the sweet potato and tofu for chicken or pork mince. The rest of the instructions work and just make sure you check to make sure the meat is cooked through before serving. To prepare your sweet potato, leave whole and bake in their skins..it takes about 45 minutes depending on the size. When they are soft and juicy, allow to cool, then peel and mash.
- – 150g shredded cabbage (Nappa or any other softer white/green cabbage)
- – 1/2 teaspoon salt
- – 250g mashed sweet potato (plain, unseasoned)
- – 1/4 block of tofu, chopped small.
- – 1/2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- – 2 minced garlic cloves
- – 1 tablespoon chopped spring onions
- – 2 teaspoons white miso paste
- – 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- – 1/4 teaspoon caster sugar
- – 1 pack gyoza wrappers
For cooking
- – 4 teaspoons sesame oil
- – 120ml cold water
For the dipping sauce
- – 6 tablespoons soy sauce
- – 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- – A few drops of sesame or chilli oil
Method:
- Sprinkle the salt over the minced cabbage in a small bowl. Stir and leave it for 10 minutes. Squeeze the cabbage firmly in a sieve to drain and discard the excess water. Transfer the minced cabbage into a large deep bowl.
- Add the sweet potato puree, tofu, ginger, garlic, spring onion, miso paste, one teaspoon of sesame oil and the sugar. Mix everything together.
- Line a large tray with baking paper. Fill a small cup with cold water.
Place a gyoza wrapper on a flat dry surface and put a heaped teaspoon of the sweet potato mixture in the centre.
Dip one finger in the cold water and trace a line along half the edge of the gyoza wrapper. Fold the wrapper over to enclose the filling. Pinch the wrapper in the centre at the top to seal that spot.
Holding the filled wrapper, pleat the top of the wrapper. Set aside on the lined tray keeping the edge up. Repeat with the rest of the dumplings. - To cook, use a large frying pan with a tight-fitting lid.
Put the pan over a medium heat and add one teaspoon of sesame oil. When it is hot, place the gyoza in the pan, you may have to do in batches, with their edge up. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the bottom of the gyoza is golden.
Add half the cold water and cover immediately with the lid. Steam for about 2 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Please note if cooking meat, check one to see that meat is cooked through.
Uncover, let the water evaporate completely, then add one teaspoon of sesame oil. Cook until the gyoza is crispy in the bottom (when shaking the pan, the dumplings should slide; if not, set the pan aside and cover with the lid for another 2 or 3 minutes). Â
The gyoza dumplings should be slightly translucent and the filling should be firm. - Flip the gyoza dumplings on a serving plate, browned surface up. Cover with foil while cooking and extras.
For a quick dipping sauce
Mix ingredients in a small bowl, ideally something suitable to place on the centre of the serving dish with the gyoza all looking uniform lined up around the edge. #instagram!
Teryiaki Glazed Chicken
Ingredients – Serves 2:
The key to this recipe is the method, you can replace the protein with other meats, salmon, prawns or tofu.
- – 350g chicken diced breast or thigh
- – 1tbsp of soy sauce
- – 1xlime, juice and zest
- – 1tsp of honey
- –1tbsp of sticky teriyaki
- – 1tsp of five spice
- – Vegetable oil for cooking
Method:
- Place all the ingredients into a bowl and massage together. Let marinade, ideally overnight. Remove from the fridge for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
- You can choose to oven roast this, or fry on high heat
- If oven roasting – use 200C for circa 20 minutes depending on the size of your chicken.
- Toss through the stir fry to warm up just before serving.
Katsu Inspired Stir-Fry
Ingredients – Serves 2:
Any vegetables work in this stir fry, use up what you have in the fridge, don’t worry if you are missing any of the ingredients below
- – 1 onion, sliced
- – 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- – Handful tender stem broccoli, sliced
- – 2 spring onions, sliced
- – Choose – asparagus, red pepper, mushrooms
- – Noodles of your choice, cooked and cooled.
- – Vegetable oilÂ
- – mild curry spice such as Kiso or madras
- – a splash of soy sauce
- – 1x lime, juice and zest
- – a handful of chopped coriander
- – 2tsp of desiccated coconut
Method:
- Pre-cook your noodles following the on pack instructions. You can buy wok ready noodles.  Important: Once cooked you must cool the noodles in cold water. You can leave them in the water, but only once cold…alternatively, drain and mix through a little sesame oil to prevent them from sticking.
- Place a wok over high heat and get it hot. Add a splash of oil.
- Sauce the onion until caramelised, followed by garlic. Cook it for another minute.
- Add all the vegetables you use and cook until softened.
- Add the curry spice and coconut, stir through the veg on the heat for about a minute.
- Add the noodles and chicken
- Add soy sauce, let evaporate almost completely.
- Finish with chopped coriander and limeÂ
Chocolate Fondant
Ingredients – Makes 4:
- – 100g butter, plus extra for greasing
- – 100g dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped or broken into small chunks
- – 100g plain flour
- – 100g caster sugar
- – Cocoa powder – enough to coat the inside of your ramekins
- – Melted butter – enough to grease your ramekins
- – 2 medium eggs
- – 2 medium egg yolks
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 190ËšC/170ËšC fan/Gas 5.
- Grease 4 ramekins with butter. If time permits, do this step twice, so butter, fridge then butter again
- Dust inside of ramekins with cocoa powder. We do this by adding extra cocoa powder into the pot, seal with another ramekin on top, and shake.. you should have a complete dusting, repeat if you don’t.
- Put the butter and chocolate into a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water underneath) and leave until melted, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat, sift over the flour and then whisk it in.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until combined, then whisk this into the chocolate mixture, until smooth and well combined.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the ramekins.
- Leave to set in fridge for minimum 20 minutes but can be overnight.
- Bake for 12 minutes – the fondants are ready when you shake each one gently and only the middle moves a little.
- Remove from the oven, and gently loosen the edge.
- Carefully invert each fondant onto a plate and enjoy! Fingers crossed your middle is gooey!
Vegan Chocolate Fondant
Ingredients – Serves 2:
- 5 tablespoons (39 grams) all purpose flour or gluten-free all purpose flour (see recipe notes for oat/oat flour option)
- 6 tablespoons (32Â grams)Â cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons (37Â grams)Â white or cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch fine salt
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150 mls or 5 fl oz) plant-based milk
Optional:
- 2 small dollops peanut butter , or seed butter
- 4 squares chocolate , or a small handful of chocolate chips
Method:
- Preheat oven to 390 °F (198 °C) and have 2 small ovenproof dishes such as ramekins or mini cocottes that will hold about 175mls (6 oz or ¾ cup) ready on a small baking tray.
- If using the optional peanut butter or chocolate (or both!) add them to the middle of both dishes.
- Then to a medium bowl add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix them together well.
- Pour in the milk and whisk really well to combine. It’s easier with a whisk than a spoon as there is a lot of milk and the cocoa tends to want to float on the top. It’s normal for the batter to be very thin.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 2 ovenproof dishes, over the top of the optional peanut butter/chocolate.
- Bake for about 13 to 14 mins or until they have puffed up and look set but if you wobble them or poke the centre really gently you can feel they are still liquidy. They will continue to cook a little once removed them from the oven. If you leave them in too long the centre will set.
- Serve immediately.
Chocolate Orange Tiramisu
Ingredients – Serves 2:
- 200ml of double cream
- 100g of mascarpone
- 1x orange
- 2tsp of caster sugar
- 1tbsp of hot chocolate mix dissolved in 70ml of water
- 100g of lady finger biscuits
- 1tbsp of cocoa powder
- 1tbsp of grated dark chocolate
- Â
Method:
- Put the double cream and sugar into mixing bowl and whish until semi-whipped. Add mascarpone, orange zest and fold together.
- Pour the dissolved hot chocolate into a shallow dish and add orange juice. Dip in a few of the sponge fingers at a time, turning for a few seconds until they are nicely soaked, but not soggy. Layer these in a dish until you’ve used half the sponge fingers, then spread over half of the creamy mixture.
- Using the coarse side of the grater, grate over most of the dark chocolate. Then repeat the layers, finishing with the creamy layer.
- Cover and chill for a bit to firm up (you can speed it up by whipping a bit more firmly). Will keep in the fridge for up to two days.Â
- To serve, dust with the cocoa powder and grate over the remainder of the chocolate.
We hope you enjoyed the class!
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