I get inspired by the strangest things, sometimes. This time it comes in a bottled condiment, called Yuzeful, which I found at the condiments table (every restaurant should have a condiments table) at Chanoma Cafe in the city. It tasted like a funky delicious Japanese Tabasco.
And in my kitchen, that means a new recipe!
I need to begin this post by saying that this is not a post about ramen. Yes, delicious bowls of noodles and mushrooms and pork are involved, but this is most certainly not about that.
This, is about a team with a philosophy, and what a philosophy it is.
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I was introduced to Japanese food at a very young age. My parents appreciate the finer foods in life, and sashimi and tempura was considered quite the treat when I was little. We would get dressed up and visit a nice Japanese restaurant about once a fortnight, and to the little girl that I was, it was the epitome of family time – the three of us, around the table, sharing everything from tempura to salmon sashimi to beef sukiyaki.
And so began my love affair with Japanese food – so much so that often when things get a bit stressful and the weather is depressing, it’s my go to cuisine of choice.
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As we move ever closer to Christmas, the number of parties and social situations seem to just go through the roof. Sometimes it just involves you turning up, and sometimes you might have to bring a little somethin’ somethin’. If you’re in the mood to bring a whole main, I did a roundup here that you might be interested in. Otherwise, how about canapés for little bite sized treats that can be dead easy, but are sure to impress at your next party.
1. Fig and Prosciutto Parcels
If you’re a child of the 80s (and prior), you’re sure to have heard of Devils on Horseback (that involves prunes and bacon). Since that flavour explosion proved to us that dried fruit and cured meat are a dynamo flavour combo, why not try this variation with dried figs?
2. Mini Quiche
More food from the 80s party! Mini quiches were all the rage, and it’s not hard to see why. With a buttery pastry shell and soft luscious filling, you can have many variations of quiche prepared wayyy in advance, leaving you free to enjoy your own party on the day. Just pop it into the oven to reheat and out comes magic delicious canapés.
3. Sea Urchin Butter on Oysters
With Christmas happening in the heat of an Australian summer, it’s no wonder that seafood is a huge favourite for parties. If you want to add another level of flavour to your oysters, why not try this sea urchin butter that you can just melt over the top, adding another layer of luxury.
4. Peach and Crispy Prosciutto Crackers
For a refreshing and simple canapé that you can ‘just throw together’, these peach and crispy prosciutto crackers pair the refreshing fruit of summer, with the wafer thin crispy prosciutto. It’s like bacon, but more sophistimicated.
5. Brazilian Cheesebread
Cheese, in bread! I don’t need to say anymore.
6. Sea Urchin Chawanmushi
If you want to throw something a bit more fancy, then try these teeny weeny chawanmushi. These Japanese steamed egg custards don’t need to have sea urchin in them, and can be totally vegetarian if you want (and if they eat eggs). Only downside is that you’ll need to have/rent little cups that you can steam the custards in. But well worth the effort.
I’m starting to think that I’m a complete Japanophile. Japanese food is one of my go-to comfort foods, and many of the ideas that come to me in the middle of the night – yes I’m that obsessive about food – seem to revolve around Japanese flavours and ideas.
So when it came to coming up with canapé ideas for my little dinner party, the classic Japanese chawanmushi came to mind, but I was going to serve them in sake cups! Aren’t they cute??
Now I know that by definition chawanmushi should be steamed in tea cups, but sake cups are just the perfect size for canapés, and allows your guests to try a variety of things without getting too full!
If you’ve never tried chawanmushi, it is a light, moreish, delicate Japanese steamed savoury egg custard that can have a variety of ‘toppings’, from chicken, to gingko nuts, to mushrooms, to fish cakes…whatever floats your boat.
I happened to get given extremely fresh sea urchin from Cando Fishing – who also gave me lots of information about when’s a good time to buy sea urchin – and I thought that I should keep the actual egg custard simple.
I used:
The important ratio here is that of the eggs to the dashi. You can use some other stock, if you’d like, but I find it simpler to make my own dashi by softening some konbu (kelp) in water, bringing the water up to about 60C, removing the kelp after about 10-20 minutes and adding dried bonito flakes. Simply bring the water up to a simmer, and simmer it till you like the flavour (about 10 minutes for a small batch). Strain, and you’ve got your dashi!
Let the dashi cool before you add them to your beaten eggs and strain. Then pour them into your prepared containers, add your ‘toppings’ (not the sea urchin, though) and steam. Because the egg mixture is so delicate, it’s a good idea to par-cook or fully cook your toppings before adding them into the raw egg mixture. I just lightly simmer the shimeiji mushrooms in some stock or salted water before adding them to the bottom of the cups. Remember to keep the mushroom water though – it’s incredibly tasty and ends up being like a mushroom stock that you can use somewhere else.
Then cover your little cups of goodness with some foil and steam them till they are just set. They will never really stop wobbling till they’re pretty much overcooked, so I find that turning off the heat when they’re at the stage of the softest silken tofu, the mixture changes to an off-white, opaque colour, and leaving it to finish in its residual heat is the most effective.
Then carefully lift them out and using a tea spoon, gently top them with sea urchin – if you’re using any. You can also just serve them straight out of the steamer as is – I know that it’s a breakfast favourite for me. I find that it’s a great starting canapé because it really whets the appetite, and prepares your guests for more.
I always thought that Japan City was a gift shop. Really, I did. I used to walk by the one at the Westfield’s in Hornsby and stare at amazement at the utterly cute things in the window. Well, little did I know that it also had a sushi bar! Would the food be as adorable as the random gifts?
Well they were. The sushi was dainty and a comfortable mouthful, and packed full of flavour. The seafood was fresh and well balanced, and the service was polite and attentive. There wasn’t table service, but they were lovely and polite in seating the group before informing us that we need to order at the counter, and the food will be brought out to us.
We also ordered some gyoza and Japanese marinated eggplant, which were also quite delish. The food came out all at once, which was nice especially we were sharing, and the interior had a lovely bright atmosphere, filled with beautiful Japanese goodies.
In all, a pleasant experience, and one that I wouldn’t mind repeating again. I also loved the extra perk – they provided free wifi and let us sit and chat for as long as we wanted without trying to reclaim the table for other customers. Lovely, fresh and light.
We ate at:
Japan City Top Ryde Pty Ltd
(02) 9809 3001
Shop L1/ 109-129 Blaxland Rd
Ryde NSW 2112, Australia
I’m not usually a soup person. As a child, I used to order noodle soups and then fish the noodle out, so that I get all of the flavour, but have the noodle cool much faster because it wasn’t sitting in soup getting soggy.
But experiencing winter – Singapore has no winter, only rain – in Australia actually inspires me to have soups. Noodle soups, rice soups (ochazuke anyone?), creamy soups, vegetable soups, bone soups…it’s all good to me. There’s something comforting about wrapping your hands around a warm boil of steaming food when your fingers are nearly numb from the cold.
Or you could have a cup of tea. Or coffee. But I like noodles.
And so I went to Zenya Ramen Bar in Eastwood, hoping that it would be a good local ramen bar that I can visit regularly. It being my first time, I decided to go with the Mini Set Menu, where you get a mini version of a couple of things, which allows you to try dishes across the menu! I specifically chose the Mini Ramen and Mini Donburi set, and from that I chose to have the Pork Ramen and the Karaage Don, with dessert and drink. ($16.80)
The ramen came first, and to be honest, it was pretty average. The egg – and you know that the ni-tamago can make or break a bowl of ramen for me – was slightly overdone and under-seasoned for me, the broth was average, and the noodles had a nice bite, but were also average. I did like the serving size though – it was actually the serving size of the meals I would have at home – and the price was not bad for the food, considering the amount of food you get for it.
Interestingly though, for a ramen bar, I much preferred the Karaage Don.
The fried chicken was crispy, not too greasy, and didn’t have a strong chickeny smell that you can get sometimes. Biting into it, it was juicy, fresh, crisp on the outside. My favourite bit though, was the mayo. Sweet, tangy, and just slightly spicy, the mayo completely made the dish for me. This set was actually ordered to share between two people – and there was more than enough to share – but I think I stole the lion’s share of this chicken.
Not knowing that the mini set was actually not entirely too mini, I also ordered a medium plate of mixed sashimi.
The seafood was fresh, and cut so that it was a pleasant mouthful – not so much that I can’t fit in my mouth, but not so small that I miss it completely and am left wanting more. Not the most unique dish, but great quality, and better than I expected.
In all, the food was only slightly better than average, and a good value for money. The service is truly special though, and though the staff might not speak perfect English, I really appreciated the way they interacted with us. For example, when they had to interrupt our conversation to ask if we had any last orders (it was a late dinner for us), they actually hung back till there was a break in the conversation, and then apologised for the interruption in a very gracious way.
I would (and have been) keep going back to Zenya, not so much for the ramen, but for the Donburi and the excellent service.
We ate at:
Zenya Noodle Bar
+61 2 9874 2122
217 Rowe St, Eastwood NSW 2122, Australia
I love me some Japanese food. I’ve always had a fascination with seafood since I was a kid, and am of the firm belief that everything from the sea should be eaten raw. Not that there’s anything wrong with cooked seafood, but there’s nothing that can really compare, IMO, with the sweetness of fresh seafood.
Mel and I went to Itacho over the weekend, and they’re still the best sushi place I’ve ever been to. My wonderful experience there was only tempered by the fact that the staff can be quite…blur, and the hefty price tag. But no biggie, good food like that is worth the price and bumbling staff.
My favourite – Salmon and Salmon Roe roll. Super fresh slices of salmon wrapped delicately around a pinch of rice (that is really just there for the structure) and topped with salmon roe (my little bubbles of absolute joy!). The thick, silky salmon leaves absolutely no aftertaste, and the salty roe is just the perfect match for it. The best things truly come from nature.
The sister dish of the above-mentioned roll, this Salmon mini bowl is basically the same thing, deconstructed. This one gives the eater the opportunity to just have mouthfuls of just the salmon roe, which sometimes is the needed thing.
This Tuna and Crispy beancurd is unfortunately more theatrical in its look than it’s flavour. The crispy texture was a welcome surprise, but the overall flavour was rather bland. It’s really did not do the beancurd anymore justice than other Chinese crispy beancurd dishes out there.
Another mildly disappointing piece is the Foie Gras sushi, as the foie gras did not have the creamy, buttery texture that I’ve come to expect from a piece of fatty goose liver treated right. It was slightly overdone, but not an absolute disaster.
This Crab Miso Gunkan was worth the try. It wasn’t a phenomenally pleasant surprise, but it was a nice surprise nontheless. The crab was soft and light, while the miso packed quite a flavour punch. Not bad.
This Baked Crab was absolutely delightful. Crab shell was filled with a rice and mushroom mixture, and then baked with cheese over the top. Steam immediately escaped upon breaking through the helmet of cheese, and the aromatic mushrooms made their presence felt. Fluffy chunks of crab were carefully woven throughout the dish, and every mouthful was heaven. A must-try.
And who can overlook those delectable slices of raw fish? The fatty salmon was melt-in-your-mouth, but it does happen to leave an oily after-feeling. The dorsal sushi had the same effect, except for a slightly more complex texture. It seemed to have a slight resistance to it before it yielded to the determined eater.
The Hotate was worth every bite, but sadly not the same can be said of the Green Tea Salt. It had a really odd flavour to it, and if anything, undermined the freshness of the scallop and made it seem old and…well, not fresh. Just have the scallop, it’s good enough as it is.
And who can forget the sashimi. As mentioned above, the standard of raw salmon at this joint is beyond reproach. It’s truly the best salmon sashimi I’ve had in my life. The swordfish lived up to the same standard, and melt-in-your mouth texture is the stuff of dreams. And the prawns. Oh my the prawns. The Fairy Prawns have a deep fried head and brings out all the flavour of prawn, and the sweet, succulent body is so delicate, so clean, so pure, that it almost makes me feel like I’m partaking in an act of debauchery by putting it in my mouth.
If you have cash to spare and a reason to celebrate, this is definitely a place that you should visit. Reservations can be made, but there’s a SG$50 per head minimum. Otherwise, there will be a queue for dinner.
Itacho Sushi
Ion Orchard
#B2-18
Singapore
(+65) 6509 8911
Operating Hours:
Sun-Thu: 11am – 10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am – 11pm
Happy munching!